Joni called me the day before Thanksgiving to find out if I could officiate her wedding on 12/7/08 at the Chatham Hill Winery in Cary which is right off I-40 at Aviation Parkway. She and Jason had apparently decided to get married on short notice! I was so glad that I was available to do this for them. We made all the arrangements and started working on the ceremony which would include their two adorable daughters, Brynn and Alyssa. 
I had never been to the winery before and was looking forward to seeing it and finding out how a wedding would be staged there. When 12/7 arrived, Marty and I found our way to the winery and were amazed at the nice space they had. The wedding ceremony was held in the Barrel Room which can accommodate 36 chairs with a center aisle. It was quite comfortable but at the same time quite unusual decor for a wedding! Meghan Reynolds, the winery hostess that evening, recognized me right away. She and I had worked together on weddings when she worked at the Matthews House and at Homestead Suites in Cary. It was great to see her again and chat with her. Seems that since I had last seen her she had married and been offered a great job at the winery where she had worked many years ago. She told me that this was the first wedding that has been done there and they would like to host more weddings as well as receptions.Back to the wedding.........when Joni and the photographer and Brynn and Alyssa arrived we were ready to get begin the ceremony.
Our guests who had been waiting (and sampling the wine) were ready to have the ceremony done and the celebration continue! Their beautiful cake was made by Jason's mother and Joni the day before. What a great job they did!Joni's father, Bill, escorted her in and transferred her hand into Jason's. Meghan faded the music and the ceremony began. The couple had edited the ceremony to suit them and it was lovely. We honored their parents and their daughters, they exchanged vows and rings and I pronounced them husband and wife as their guests applauded while they sealed their vows with a kiss!
After the wedding, Jason's mother told me that I had also officiated the wedding of their daughter, Jason's sister, Shannon, and her husband, Mikey, at Duke Gardens many years ago--see their photo! Wow! I was not looking for them so I did not recognize them and they are now the parents of two small children. I did get to speak to Shannon but did not see Mikey before we left. What a small world!
Congratulations, Joni and Jason, Brynn and Alyssa!
