Jessica and Boyd's Wedding at Second Empire!

Jessica and Boyd chose the historic Second Empire for their wedding venue. The wedding was June 1, 2019 and it was a beautiful day for a wedding! 

The East Parlor was ready for the ceremony. Significant for our couple is that they were engaged at Second Empire and so it had special memories for them. It is a wonderful place for a small intimate wedding.

The florals by their friend Jennifer Mueller are gorgeous and the Anniversary Box was ready for their love-letters. 

Our musicians from Elegant Ensembles were in place for the ceremony. 

I was happy to lend a hand to pinning on the boutonnieres. 

The reception was going to be in the Atrium, a light-filled room just off the bar downstairs.

When the attendants and I had taken our places, it was time for Jessica and her dad to make their entrance. 

It was a narrow aisle but they made it and the couple turned and faced each other as I began speaking. 

Jessica and Boyd turn to look at their parents as I give a tribute to them and then to Boyd's children. 

Then we turn to the story of how they met and fell in love and the characteristics they love in each other. 

Then it was time for the vows and exchange of rings. 

Jessica places the ring on Boyd's finger. 

They wrote love-letters to each other and sealed them without sharing. During the ceremony I handed them the letters and asked them to place them in the Anniversary Box. I invited them to open this box which contained a bottle of wine on their first anniversary, pour each other a glass of wine and read their letters from each other. Then have a conversation about their wedding day and the year that has elapsed, then write another love letter to each other, seal without sharing, place the new letters and the old letters in the box with a new bottle of wine and repeat on each anniversary.

A closing blessing for Jessica and Boyd. 

I was delighted to pronounce them married! 

They sealed their marriage with a kiss! 

The bride retrieved her bouquet and I presented them to their guests! 

And out they go into the next chapter in their lives together!

Jessica and Boyd! A wonderful wedding and I trust you are now enjoying wedded bliss! Thank you for giving me the honor of joining you in marriage. I wish you the best forever!

Kathleen and Matt's Gorgeous Wedding at the Merrimon-Wynne House!!

What a spectacular wedding this was! Kathleen and Matt and I met in April of 2018 to plan the ceremony for their wedding on May 18th 2019 at the beautiful Merrimon-Wynne House in downtown Raleigh. 

The wedding day was clear and sunny and a bit on the hot side so Kathleen thoughtfully called for the ceremony to be inside the carriage house which is air-conditioned and comfortable.

Meantime the reception was planned for outdoors on the lawn. The white parasols provide some shade although by the time the ceremony and cocktail hour are over, the temperature will be very comfortable outside.

Snap Pea is our caterer. They create very unique and original cuisine that is based on the time of year and available delicious foods. The menu is never set and the couple allow Snap Pea Catering to use their own creativity in the offerings for the wedding.

The table setting are bright and simple. Meristem Floral provided the centerpieces and all the florals for the wedding including the spectacular florals in the carriage house for the ceremony and the bouquets for the bridesmaids and bride.

One table is now completed and the others are in the process of being florally enhanced! 

Meantime, Bronwyn Duffield, our photographer, is getting photos of our lovely bride on the side porch. 

Elegant Ensembles is tuning up in the carriage house for the prelude music and processional. They hired Island Sound to provide the microphone for me and one for the reader. 

While the guests are being directed to the carriage house for the ceremony, the wedding party and I are assembling in the parlor from which we will process.

It is a full house! 

Kaila, the event manager for the Merrimon-Wynne House, is also our director for this wedding. She is going to get the wedding party started processing in.

The bride's grandmother then, Matt's parents, then the mother of the bride enter first. 

Then Matt and I took our walk down the aisle together 

His groomsmen joined us.

Then it was time for the bridesmaids to process in. 

And now Kathleen and her dad begin their walk down the aisle! 

The guests are standing in honor of the bride. 

Kathleen and Matt turn and face each other and we begin with a warm welcome to everyone. We remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

A sweet surprise for their parents is next as I tell them how grateful our couple is for their love and support all their lives.

Their friend Christine then shared the words of The Key to Love by Robert Millay with us. 

Then I had the great pleasure of sharing the story of how Matt and Kathleen met 7 years ago in college and how they got to their wedding day today including Matt's proposal in 2017. It has been a wonderful journey.

There were some humorous moments in the story too and we loved laughing. 

Then they each got to hear what the other told me in confidence why they love each other. 

They exchanged their secret vows by reading them to each other from my book. Some humor here also! 

Then it was time for the rings as Matt place the ring on Kathleen's finger. 

Then Kathleen put the ring on Matt's finger. 

After a closing blessing, I pronounced them married and invited them to kiss! 

We missed getting a photo of the kiss but here is the beginning!

This is Bronwyn's spectacular shot of the presentation of the newlywed couple! 

Please stand and join me in congratulating Matt and Kathleen, now married!

And away they go1

So happy to finally be married!

As I was removing my microphone, this nice gentleman came up to me to find out who I was since I was not listed on the program, and to tell me that was the best wedding ceremony he'd ever heard!

While the guests were enjoying cocktails inside the house, the wedding party gathered in the garden. Snap Pea servers brought this delectable plate out for Kathleen. It looked fabulous and she enjoyed every bite while Kaila bustled up her train. Also please note the bodice of Kathleen's incredibly beautiful wedding gown!

Meanwhile Matt and his best man and groomsmen were digging up the flower bed to find the bourbon they had buried upside down to ensure nice weather on the wedding day. It worked.

It took a bit of digging to locate it. Kaila told me that many bottles have been buried there and she wouldn't be surprised if he found more than one!

Matt and Kathleen!! What a spectacular wedding! Thank you for giving me the honor of joining you in marriage! You are a great couple and I wish you the most happiness ever!
Thank you for this wonderful review too!

Kathleen , married on 05/18/2019 

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Unique, Personalized and Professional

My husband and I chose to have Kayelily officiate our ceremony about a year before our wedding. We first found her based on the phenomenal online reviews and then scheduled a time to meet in person. At this meeting Kayelily walked us through her entire process for creating each ceremony and she also gave us helpful information on obtaining our marriage license and getting a name change after the wedding.

We left the meeting confident that we'd be able to create a ceremony unique to us and our story, which was very important to us. Kayelily was helpful with input throughout the process, but also let us take our time on figuring out how we wanted the ceremony laid out. It's up to each couple how customized they'd like the ceremony to be.

I can't begin to tell you how many people came up to us after the ceremony, wrote to us afterwards, and are still telling us months later how amazing the ceremony was. I would highly recommend working with Kayelily. She's professional, has a great sense of humor, and really wants the ceremony to be unique to the couple.