Brenna and Jacob's Wonderful Wedding at Shady Wagon Farm!

Brenna and Jacob chose the fabulous Shady Wagon Farm for their wedding and the date was November 8, 2019. The day was sunny and sparkling and the temps were a little chilly, but pleasant.

The gazebo and chairs were in place. Daniel's Florist had the shepherds hooks lining the aisle with hanging jars of colorful flowers.

First thing I do when I arrive for a wedding is find the DJ and get the sound hooked up and do a sound check. 

Our DJ was Bill Freeman of Freeman Productions. Bill does lots of weddings at Shady Wagon and we made a good team. The sound was perfect!

The couple thoughtfully put out the hand warmers for their guests.

When the guests had arrived and were seated, it was time to start the ceremony. I walked in first and made the "unplugged" announcement asking the guests to put away their phones and cameras and truly be with Brenna and Jacob without the distraction of technology.

Jacob escorted his mom Renee in to her chair then joined me up front. 

Mother of the bride, Bethanne, was escorted in by her son, Connor. 

Then all the groomsmen made their entrance and took their places up front. Handsome guys!

The bridesmaids come in one by one and filled in the front. Above is our Maid of Honor, Meghan.

Our flower girl Jillian and ring bearer Landon got a ride in the wagon down the aisle!

After their wagon ride, the kids were retrieved by their parents.

Brenna and her dad, Scott, had been waiting in the house for the signal to begin their walk to the ceremony. 

What a happy moment! 

As they made their way down to the gazebo bridge, our photographer Amy with Your Still Life Photography was stationed on the bridge and her second shooter, Scott, was covering the aisle.

At this juncture I asked Scott: "Who gives their love and support to Brenna as she comes to join in marriage to Jacob?" He answered "Her mother and I do" and placed Brenna's hand in Jacob's. Brenna gave dad a little kiss and he carefully skirted around her dress to take his seat with the guests.

And so Brenna and Jacob turned and faced each other holding hands centered in front to me. If you look closely, you can see Amy on the gazebo getting some amazing shots!

After a warm welcome to all the guests, a prayer and remembrance of those who were not present, I stepped out from behind the couple to address their parents and give them a sweet blessing from their children. "And so with this marriage a new branch of the family tree is born and will be strengthened and enriched by the love, traditions and knowledge of their family roots." 

Then the storytelling began as I started telling the story of how Brenna and Jacob met. Most couples love adding in some humor here and Brenna and Jacob were no exception!

Reminiscing about their college years and watching Big Brother together at their dorm. 

Then there were the challenges of being apart while Brenna went to London for school then after graduation to Disney College. The proposal took place on the bridge where they first fell in love and of course Brenna said yes. The next challenge was to find Jacob a job in North Carolina which was accomplished in May of 2018 and the wedding planning hit high gear!

Next I revealed to each of them what their partner had told me in confidence about what they love about each other, want to marry and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

Next came the vows--their promises of marriage to each other. 

I called for the rings which had been brought in on Brenna's grandmother's Bible--a family tradition. 

Brenna said the words after me as she placed the ring on Jacob's finger. 

They chose the Anniversary Box for their Unity Ceremony. The box was in the gazebo. 

They had each written loveletters to each other and sealed without sharing. During the ceremony I handed them the letters and asked them to put them in the box to be opened on their first anniversary.

Now it was time for the closing blessing. 

During the blessing I invited them to turn and gaze at their guests and feel the love surrounding them on this very important day in their lives.

The pronouncement of marriage--the moment they become legally married to each other.

Jacob goes in for the kiss as I get out of the way! 

I thought the kiss was a bit too brief for their photographers to get a good picture so I asked them to kiss again.

Not a problem at all! 

The bride has her bouquet and I introduced them to their guests for the first time as husband and wife and invited them to join me in congratulating them!

As the guests walked over to the barn for cocktail hour, the geese decided it was time to go for a swim! 

Chatting with Monica, the venue manager and our very capable and experienced director, about how well everything went.  We love working together!

Brenna and Jacob! What a wonderful and beautiful wedding! I loved it and I loved working with you to write our ceremony. Congratulations on your marriage and I wish you all the best forever!

Lauren and Tyler's Fabulous Wedding at Shady Wagon Farm!

Lauren and Tyler's wedding was one of the prettiest, sweetest weddings of my career as a wedding officiant. And all that despite their wedding weekend being one of the rainiest weekends in May. Their wedding was May 19th, 2018 at Shady Wagon Farm in New Hill. 

They waited to the last minute to call the wedding but the weather just could not be counted on to stay dry for the ceremony. Above is where the wedding would have been had it been dry enough. The gazebo stands empty this day! See other weddings at Shady Wagon Farm. 

Jeffry Surles was our amazing florist. He put this together the day before not knowing what the call would be. It was perfect for the ceremony.

So the ceremony took place on the covered terrace area where cocktail hour usually takes place after weddings at the gazebo. I loved the arc of the chairs and the beautiful natural backdrop of the woods.

Their guest book! 

Monica West, granddaughter of the owner of Shady Wagon Farm, is the on-site event manager. We are going over the logistics. This is the first time for me for the ceremony on the terrace.

Inside the barn this beautiful cake was set up. Cinda's Creative Cakes baked this beauty. Cook Shack was our caterer.

The barn is all set up for the reception. The wedding party and parents will congregate and process from here.

I paid a visit to the bridal suite to speak to Lauren and get her maid of honor to sign the license for me. Our little flower girl Penny was preoccupied with her electronics and not at all nervous about her upcoming duties.

Lauren's dress was one of the most gorgeous I've ever seen. It even had pockets and the style and color (a rose-gold-ivory)  fit her perfectly. 

At the groom's quarters the guys are all dressed and ready. Tyler's father, Jerry, was his best man and so I got him to sign the license for me.

Back at the terrace....there were so many little thoughtful details at this wedding. Lauren and Tyler love going on adventures and travel in their truck, their side-by-sides off road, bow hunt, fish and kayak.

Monica goes over the cues for the music with our DJ, Bill Freeman. I really liked Bill. He is out of Sanford and I had not met him before.

I took advantage of a quiet moment to review the ceremony script. I love Lauren and Tyler's story. They met in high school but went their separate ways to college and did not connect until they graduated and moved back to Raleigh and were ready to concentrate on their relationship.

This old wagon is perfect for displaying wedding signage and other goodies that will be added for cocktail hour.

Buck and Summerlin referred Lauren and Tyler to me and I appreciate that so much. I married them in 2014 at Fletcher Park. HERE is a link to their wedding. It was so good to see them again and to learn that they have a little daughter!

Penny and Noah, both age 4, were really taken with each other. They met for the first time at this wedding and soon became inseparable. It was so sweet! Who knew? Wonder what their future will be!

Getting the processional lined up. Tyler will escort his mom in then circle back. 

After the parents are seated, Tyler and his groomsmen and I entered and took our places up front. 

The guys are all in place. See the empty chairs? People at weddings tend to fill up from the back first! 

Now all the bridesmaids have processed in and taken their places. There were 6 attendants on each side. 

I invited the guests to stand for the bride and her father. 

Lauren's father, Henry, answered my questions then placed her hand into Tyler's hand then took his seat next to her mother, Myra.

We began the ceremony with a hearty welcome to everyone and thanked them for making the journey to be with us.

Then we had a prayer and remembered those loved ones no longer with us. 

At this point I invited the parents to stand. I asked Tyler's dad to stand with Tyler's mother Karen for the parents' blessing where we paid tribute to them and thanked them for their love and support of our couple.

Now is the time I had the great pleasure of telling our guests the story of how Lauren and Tyler met. It is a good story and filled with humor. Lauren, Tyler and I had fun putting this story together in a way no one had ever heard before.

Now you can really see how beautiful Lauren's dress is. And it has pockets! How wonderful! It was the prettiest color--a pale rose gold.

After the story they got to hear the secret paragraphs for the first time--what they love about each other! 

Of course there was more humor here too! 

Before the vows, we had a musical interlude. Cayleigh, Lauren's friend from college, sang a song in memory of Lauren's grandmother who had recently passed away. It was a bit tearful for all those who knew her, especially Lauren and her mother.

Following the song were the vows. They read them to each other from my book. Tyler stumbled over a few words adding even more humor to the wedding ceremony. At one point I cracked up and so did everyone else including Tyler and Lauren! More memories!

Of course Lauren's recitation of her vows was perfect! 

Then they exchanged rings. Tyler placed the ring on Lauren's finger and said the words after me line by line. 

Lauren did the same. 

They chose the Fisherman's Knot for their unity ceremony and it was quite appropriate given their love of the outdoors and sports. It is a very nice symbolic ritual for two people joining their lives in marriage.

Back to the center for the closing blessing. I think our ring bearer is now bored. I was amazed that the two 4-year-olds, Penny and Noah, and our 6-year-old Trey stood still in their places during the whole ceremony.

I placed my hand on theirs and pronounced them husband and wife and invited them to share their first kiss as a married couple.

They were most happy to oblige! 

There is that "after-kiss moment" when reality sinks in! 

Presenting the newlywed couple to our guests! 

Jubilant! 

Out they go followed by their wedding party and parents while the area was flipped for cocktail hour. 

The Fisherman's Knot. The more you pull on it, the stronger it gets. 

We gathered for photos after the ceremony. Thankfully it had not rained. 

Tracy Timmester was our incredible photographer. She has posted some of her photos of this wedding on Facebook here. 

Lauren and Tyler! Congratulations! What a fabulous wedding you planned and it turned out so beautifully despite inclement weather. You are a great couple and so well matched. I loved getting to know you and working with you to create your memorable ceremony--in many ways! I wish you all the best forever!!