Gina and Joe Wed at The Stockroom!

Gina and Joe chose The Stockroom at 230 in downtown Raleigh for their February 24th, 2018 wedding. 

The simple yet elegant sheer fabric in graceful drapes was gorgeous topped off with a pretty chandelier. 

A closer view.....

What wonderful words Joe and Gina had for their loved ones. 

Great signage for the bar!

Upstairs in The Glass Box, the wedding party was hanging out before the wedding. This is the bride's beautiful bouquet resting on an acrylic table. Petal & Oak furnished the florals.

And here is our flower dog, Lucy! She is so excited and well-behaved. Rick is the designated dog handler!

A quiet relaxing moment while waiting for the guests to arrive for the ceremony. 

The gift table greeted the guests when they stepped out of the elevator.

Lyla's furnished this beautiful wedding cake.

Beau's Catering was all set up and waiting for the room to be flipped after the ceremony. 

Ben Felton with East Coast Entertainment was ready to go. Thanks to Ben for plugging my receiver into his system and running the sound for me. What's the point of writing a fabulous ceremony if the guests can't hear it?

The guests have all arrived and the sun was setting right on schedule for us to begin a few minutes after 5:00. Our wedding planner and director was Becky Chapman with Lily Rose Events.

The parents of the bride await the processional to begin. 

And so do Joe's parents. 

Joe and I take our places at the top of the steps. 

After the parents had taken their seats, Joe and I entered together and took our places up front. 

Mark escorts Tracy down the aisle.....

Then Gabrielle (Gina's daughter) is escorted by Richard (Joe's son).......

And last is our Matron of Honor, Tina, escorted by the Best Man, Len (brother of Joe). 

Then Mason (Joe's grandson) accompanies Lucy and Rick down the aisle. Like most Golden Retrievers, Lucy wanted to greet every guest as she walked down the aisle.

The music changed and I invited the guests to stand as our beautiful bride and her son Ryan entered. 

Ryan placed his mother's hand into Joe's left hand, shook Joe's right hand, then took his place as a groomsman.

The ceremony began with a warm welcome and thank yous to everyone for traveling from near and far, followed by a tribute to the couple's parents and recognition of their children.

Then we remembered those not with us.

Lucy let out a few sweet whines at this point. She really wanted to be right in the middle between Joe and Gina! 

I stepped out and presented a reading "To Love" and then launched into the story of how Joe and Gina met. It was really quite a fun and funny story and many of the guests had traveled along with them so there was lots of good laughter.

After meeting at a business trip to Michigan in 2011, these two who were smitten with each other early on, spent the next 2.5 years traversing the country seeing each other about every 3 weeks thanks to business conferences and trade shows. Joe lived in California and Gina in North Carolina. In September of 2013 Joe relocated to North Carolina to be with Gina and her kids. They were inseparable and Joe proposed which brought them to see me last August about officiating their wedding.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Joe and Gina making their ceremony very specific to them. I know from personal experience that when you've been married before, it is a priority that this ceremony really be a reflection of your beliefs, your personalities as well as your love and commitment. Joe and Gina felt the same way.

They had each told me in confidence what they love about each other, why they want to marry and what they are looking forward to in marriage. Then this sweet information is revealed to them during the ceremony.

Then we came to the time in the ceremony for them to make their promises to each other. 

They read their vows to each other from my ceremony book where the words were facing them.

Then they sealed their vows with their rings. Joe places the ring on Gina's finger.

Gina places the ring on Joe's finger.

A closing blessing for Gina and Joe.......

I pronounced them husband and wife and invited them to share their first kiss as a married couple!

Perfect! 

There is that "after-kiss" moment when reality hits! 

Married...at last!

Stepping into the future!

The wedding party and parents exited to The Glass Box while the guests moved to the upper level of The Stockroom while the main area was being flipped for the reception.

Our photographers were Kerri O'Brien and Dee Bowers capturing this wonderful occasion.

Gina and Joe, you are perfect for each other!! What a great wedding you pulled off. It was definitely well planned to be exactly what you wanted. I congratulate you on your marriage and may your marriage be a grand adventure!

Nicole and Akira's Fabulous Wedding at The Cotton Room!

Nicole and Akira are a great couple! I enjoyed working with them to make their ceremony exactly what they envisioned. Officiating their wedding was even more fun! They chose The Cotton Room, a wonderful venue in Durham. It was perfect for them. The wedding day was January 6th, 2018. It was a very cold day outside but we were toasty warm inside.

When Dave and I arrived, everything was ready for the guests. This table was for the guests to sign the heart-shaped petals of the tree.

 View from the front of the ceremony area to the back where the bar is. 

 The best man signed the marriage license for me. 

 One of their guests is trying to decide which leaf to sign! 

 Photos of their years together leading up to this wonderful day! 

 James Walters, our esteemed photographer with Walters and Walters Photography. 

Ashley Cakes made this beautiful cake and the cupcakes. It is stowed away in the area where the reception will take place.

 A close up view of this beautiful cake. 

Alex Choi with Vox DJ was our DJ. Love working with Alex. He got me plugged into this sound system and we did a sound check before the guests were seated.

 Alex also provided this stunning uplighting. 

A peek behind the drapes reveals the reception area which will later be expanded into the ceremony area while the guests are enjoying cocktail hour. Petal and Oak were the florists. Triangle Catering is providing the delicious dinner.

 Summer is the event manager and wedding director for The Cotton Room. We love working together! 

 Stealing a quiet moment to review the ceremony script.

 Alex and Summer go over the cues for the processional. 

 Isn't this beautiful? So simple yet so elegant. Fabulous design. 

 Phil McInnis with Twenty-One Films is wiring me for the video. 

 So the guests have begun to arrive.

After the guests have been seated, the wedding party gets lined up. A moment to chat with James since the last wedding we did together.

 The groom and groomsmen and I were discussing something......

 I checked their boutonnieres and all were secure. 

 Phil is placing the video microphone on Akira. 

 Akira wanted to look at his vows one more time before the ceremony.

 Then our dog-sitter, Chase, came in with Sadie, Nicole and Akira's beloved fur baby. 

 She was so excited to see Akira and he had to calm her down. 

 Sadie's garland of flowers were placed around her neck. She was the Flower Dog, after all! 

Summer is cuing Alex to begin the first music for the processional as Pat, brother of the bride, escorts his mother, Merry Lea, into the ceremony then circles back.

 And down the aisle they go! 

 I go in next followed by Akira and Austin, the best man.

 Then the couples enter: Kelsey and Pat

 Alex and Zack

 Jessi and Sam

 Then it was time for Miles, our ring bearer.  He was not sure he wanted to do this.

 But once he got going and saw Akira and his grandmother at the end of the aisle, he speeded up! 

 Sadie couldn't resist greeting the guests as she made her way down the aisle to Akira!

 And here comes the bride and her dad, Chris! 

 Chris answered my question and transferred Nicole's hand into Akira's and then joined the guests. 

 I am checking Nicole's eyes for spillage of tears and got out my hankie. 

A warm welcome to all the guests was first. Then a tribute to those loved ones no longer living. Truly missed was Akira's mother, Machiko, as well as some of their grandparents.

 Meanwhile Chase has rounded Sadie up and taken her behind the scenes to wait! Such a sweet dog!

Next was a tribute to Nicole's parents, Merry Lea and Chris, and Akira's father, Robert. Always a sweet surprise for the parents. 

 After telling their wonderful love story, I revealed their secret paragraphs to them, so sweet. 

This was when I said to Akira from Nicole: "She can’t wait to have little quarter Asian babies with you and argue over how to raise them." Akira and the guests cracked up at that! 

 Then it was time for the vows.

 Akira read his promises from my book where they faced him. 

 He did a great job and Nicole told him so! 

 The lovely bridesmaids witnessing the ceremony.

 Then Nicole read her vows from my book to Akira. She did great too! 

 Best Man Austin handed me the rings.

 Akira said his words to Nicole as he placed the ring on her finger.

 Then Nicole placed the ring on Akira's finger.

 I pronounced them husband and wife after a closing blessing! 

 It's time for the kiss! 

A good one! Everyone was cheering.

The newlywed couple and the wedding party and parents recessed out and disappeared behind the drapes while I invited the guests to cocktail hour. When the ceremony space was cleared, we went back to the ceremony area for some photos.

Sadie is so patient! 

Nicole and Akira! Fantastic wedding! Great planning job. I loved working with you and I am so happy for you and wish you the best of everything forever!