Wendy and Paul's Family Wedding at Ruth's Chris in Cary!

Wendy and Paul came to see me last November about officiating their intimate family wedding on May 4, 2012 at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Cary. It is a lovely facility and upstairs there is a private room where we held the ceremony and a private dining area outside the room for the delicious dinner reception. 

We got their candles and the sand ceremony set up and then began the ceremony.

Wendy processed in followed by Paul. I welcomed the guests and opened with a prayer. Then we passed "blessing stones" around for the guests to infuse with their blessings for Paul and Wendy during the ceremony. 

I am lighting the Source candle from which the flame will be passed to the other candles which represent all family members who have departed the earth but will be forever in the hearts and memories of their loved ones.

 

After Paul and Wendy lit a candle, each guest was asked to come forth and light a candle. The transfer candle they are using is one that Wendy and Paul got in a little church in Italy for this occasion.

Paul had written sweet words he read to Wendy's daughters, Melissa and Danielle.

Wendy tells Paul's son, Brian, and his daugther, Chandi, how important they are in the family created today.

We also recognized Wendy's parents and the couple's siblings who were present and thanked them for their loving presence in their lives.

They each had written special vows to each other which they read from my book and sealed them with their rings.

 

 

Then it was time for the family unity sand ceremony. Paul and Wendy pour in 1/2 of their sand making two individual layers.

 Danielle poured in all her sand. 

 Melissa was next to pour in her sand. 

 Paul's daughter, Chandi, put in her sand. 

 Brian added his sand and the vase was getting nearly full. 

Paul and Wendy then blended the remainder of their sand together for the final layer but did not get it all in.

The idea was to put the stones that the guests had infused blessings into on top of the sand, but there was no room so they put the stones in another container. Wendy and Paul can scoop out some of the sand when they get home and add the stones.

 "It is my pleasure and my honor to now pronounce you husband and wife!"

 "I invite you all to come forth and offer your congratulations to the newlywed couple!"

 

Wendy and Paul, it is my great honor to join you together in marriage. May God bless you with abundance and prosperity!

Linda and Jared's Wedding at the Preston-Woodall House!

Weddings at the Preston-Woodall House are always wonderful! Although it is 42 miles from my house to theirs, it is a trip well worth it. Linda and Jared's wedding on Sunday September 13th was no exception. Linda and Jared were referred to me by Reta Kohari of French 75 Events wedding planning services. Reta and her daughter, Meredith, knew that I welcome couples who want to be an integral part of writing their own ceremony so that it fits their beliefs and feelings. When Linda and Jared decided on their venue and their wedding date of September 13th, we met and got started on their ceremony.

Linda's dad, Lee, brings our beautiful bride down the aisle where Jared is waiting at the bottom of the steps to take them up to a "higher level" for the wedding ceremony!

Jared and Linda love children and want to have their own soon! You can see that there are children of their friends in the ceremony and there were quite a few in the audience as well. At this point in the ceremony, Samantha, our flower girl, is being held by her father Rich, our best man. When she got fussy and the novelty of being in front of all those people wore off, her mom, Barb, the last bridesmaid on the left had to retrieve her and take her to someone in the audience. Sam's brother, Nick, our ring bearer, was so good. He stood there next to his dad like a champ the whole ceremony.

Jared and Linda barely took their eyes off each other during the whole ceremony! They wrote secret vows to each other that they heard for the first time on their wedding day. Another element that they wanted on their wedding day was Blessing Stones. They have an affinity for rocks and stones and this tradition spoke to their hearts. Each guest was given a stone to hold during the ceremonyto infuse a blessing for the couple then placed the stones in a bowl as they exited the ceremony to be displayed in the couple's home.

Bianca gets a good shot at the now married couple!

Congratulations, Linda and Jared. Have a great trip to Disney World and let me know when you start your family and we will do a baby blessing ceremony!

This cake by Sweet Memories was made to represent a rafting trip the couple went on! How clever.

Linda followed a fall theme throughout. The table decorations were so attactive!

Our Vendors:

French 75 Events. Reta and Meredith, thanks so much for sending Linda and Jared to me! It was a pleasure working with you again. I know I can count on you to be easy to work with, thorough and cover all the details!

Matt Kanon provided wonderful classical guitar music for the ceremony. Thanks, Matt. It was good to see you again at the Preston-Woodall House.

Bianca and Seth of A Moment Like This were our photographer and videographer. Their work is super!

One of my favorite DJs, Lenny Fritts, was doing the reception. It was good to see him at the wedding.

Denise Hutter was there behind the scenes doing the make-up for the bride. She is so good. Check out her website: Images by Denise.