Shelly and Jeff Get Married at the Cardinal Club!

August 31, 2013 was the lovely wedding day of Shelly and Jeff at the Cardinal Club in the Wells Fargo building that used to be Wachovia. They held the ceremony on the 28th floor in the area in front of floor to ceiling windows overlooking downtown Raleigh at the foot of the beautiful spiral staircase that leads up to the mezzanine level. Quite elegant and unique. When Dave and I arrived we greeted Jeff who was ready to get the show on the road and met his son Matthew and set up my sound system. Yikes, my battery was running low and the back up battery also proved to be low. Thankfully I carry back ups for my back up! So we were fine and now I have a new pack of batteries ready for the next wedding!

Then it was upstairs to find the lovely cake by Cinda's Creative Cakes. Gorgeous as usual!

The English Garden provided the very colorful floral arrangements. Purple was the predominant color scheme.

When it was time to start, my dear friend and colleague, Ross Merle our DJ, directed the processional. Ross is like that, ready to jump in and do whatever is needed. We did not have a rehearsal and I knew I could count on him to help with the ceremony. He is a wonderful DJ too--his main job at weddings--but I can always count on him to do whatever needs doing! His lovely wife, Alice, played the piano for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Sorry Dave did not get a picture of her. Dave is not as "well trained" as my usual assistant, Marty, who was on vacation!! But I am so grateful he would come with me and take pictures for this blog. Matthew and I entered first followed by Jeff who escorted in his mother, Marcella. Waiting in the wings is Shelly's mother, Barbara, escorted in by her son, Chip.

We are waiting for the bridesmaids and the bride here. There was a long pause and I never did find out why.

Ross is giving some kind of instruction here to Caitlin, Jeff's daughter, and Kim, Shelly's friend and Maid of Honor.

They each entered and it was time for the bride and her dad, Bill. 

Shelly is just beaming! 

We began with a warm welcome to everyone, paid tribute to their parents, remembered those who were with us in spirit, and then recognized Jeff's children, Matthew and Caitlin, who stood up with their father. Shelly and Jeff's kids made sweet vows to each other and I think a few tears slipped out at that point.  

Shelly and Jeff discovered each other on line 4 years ago when for her birthday Shelly thought she would try something new to mark the milestone. She joined eHarmony. Shelly, being a woman of confidence and unwillingness to settle for less than she wanted, specifically stated that the man of her dreams would have to learn to love her dogs. Jeff, having been on the site for a while and had not found the woman of his dreams, spotted Shelly's profile among his "matches" and thought that since she was pretty, sounded intelligent and sincere he would check her out--dogs or no dogs! Jeff was Shelly's third date through the matching service and the only one to make it to a second date which was very memorable--rollerblading at Lake Pine in Apex followed by dinner at Jeff's house. It is a funny story and a bit long to tell here (the room was filled with laughter as I told it during the ceremony!) but I will just say that Shelly was new to rollerblading and had not mastered the ability to stop. Despite making a plan just in case she needed to stop, somehow Shelly got ahead of Jeff and he watched in helpless terror as she crashed at Dead Man's Curve and thankfully only ended up with a few bruises and a black eye giving him the opportunity to display his home nursing skills as well as his cooking skills. Needless to say, they bonded and have been together ever since, traveling the world together, buying a house together, and Jeff admitted that he really has come to love Shelly's two dogs, Simon and Sally.

They made their promises to each other by reading them from my book. 

Then they exchanged their rings. 

At last, the pronouncement of marriage! 

Jeff really laid that kiss on Shelly! 

Enjoying the first moments of wedding bliss and taking in the cheers of their friends and family! 

Ahhh.....I can see the happiness on their faces and the relaxation pour over them now that the deed is done and it was time to party!

Shelly and Jeff, you are both resilient and resourceful and I know you are going to enjoy wedded bliss and easily overcome any obstacles that life throws your way. As I said at the ceremony "We pray your love increases and overflows beyond anything you can yet imagine!"

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Briana and Jason's Fabulous Wedding at the Cardinal Club!

Briana and Jason met and live in the DC area where they work. Since Briana grew up in Cary they decided to have their wedding here in the Triangle at the elegant Cardinal Club atop the Wells Fargo building in downtown Raleigh. They contacted me last December and we arranged a teleconference call to get to know each other and see if we were a good fit. And indeed we decided we were. They knew they wanted a simple, no-frills non-religious wedding ceremony that was a reflection of the two of them and since I encourage my couples to put together what they want so that it is exactly what they envision, they were pleased and eager to get started creating their special ceremony. 

The Cardinal Club is a wonderful location for a wedding. We were all so happy that Jason and Briana chose an indoor venue for this very hot time of year! Rebecca Naderman, the events manager there, was a pleasure to work with and had all the details handled to perfection. The ceremony room was on the lower level of the penthouse and the cocktail area and reception room were on the very upper level of the 28th floor with a commanding view of downtown Raleigh. 

These intricately folded wedding programs were very unique. Jason told me that the bride and her bridesmaids made them.

Our DJ, Joe Bunn, attaches a microphone to Jason's lapel. 

Our Wedding Director, Lynn Scott of Happily Ever After, goes over the cues for the music with Joe. 

Hey, Bob, look this way! Bob Taylor of TaylorMade Video videoed the wedding for the couple.

Outside the ceremony room, the couple had a poster as a guest book. The guests were asked to sign or initial a balloon on the poster.

The impressive stairway connecting the upper and lower levels of the top space together.

This chandelier is so gorgeous, especially when the sky is dark and it is all lit up.

The bartenders are ready for cocktail hour after the ceremony.

This is the reception room. You can see how expansive the view is from here. In front of the window is the cake stand but the cake was still in the cooler. It was made by Sweet Memories but we did not get a photo of it because it still was not out by the time we left. 

The flowers for the ceremony and the reception were by Gregg Kennedy of Brides and Bouquets.

Down on the first level, the girls were getting ready in the Sir Walter Room. Our photographer Craig Carpenter of Luster Studios is busy getting some shots of our beautiful bride. 

While Briana's father was seeing the bride for the first time all dressed and ready to walk down the aisle, some of the bridesmaids gathered outside the room. Pretty purple dresses and shoes!

The grandparents, parents, wedding party and the bride were escorted into separate rooms off the ceremony room to wait for the guests to be seated and the ceremony to begin. 

Time to begin! 

The mirror behind us did funny things to the focus of the camera! 

Their story went over really well and everyone had fun hearing it, especially the groomsmen! Then it was time for their vows which they read from my book to each other. They had almost memorized them.

The ring exchange...

The pronouncement of marriage! 

Jason and Briana, it was my pleasure and my delight to work with you and to officially join you in marriage. You are an impressive young couple with lots of determination and ability. I know you are both going to be successful and happy in marriage! My best wishes to you!