Sweet Wedding for Mary and Joe at St. Mark's Chapel!

I met with Mary last October to discuss officiating her wedding to Joe. I did not meet Joe until their wedding day. They live in the DC area but chose to have their wedding in Raleigh because Mary's parents live here. Joe's parents live in South Carolina. Mary fell in love with the quaintness and charm of historic St. Mark's Chapel on the Mordecai campus in downtown Raleigh where the wedding took place at 2 PM on Saturday April 10, 2010 with an evening reception at The Umstead. 

Here the guests are standing for the entrance of the bride while John McHugh pumps away at the bladder of the Uilleann Pipes with his elbows to produce the wonderful Celtic music he is so well known for.

Our beautiful bride, Mary, made her entrance alone, to be met halfway down the aisle by Joe who was at the altar. Doesn't she resemble Grace Kelly? 

Mary is an attorney; Joe is a chef. They met when Mary decided she did not want to be a lawyer any more and ventured into the culinary arts field. She attended chef's school in New York and if I remember her story right, she and Joe met either in school or after she graduated and was working in a restaurant.

After a while, she decided being an attorney was not so bad after all so she returned to that career but the bond between these two was very strong and was not to be severed! Mary had been married before and she knew a good man when she met Joe and was not going to let him get away! When I met Joe, it was so obvious the feeling was mutual. They are very much in love and it shows. 

During the ceremony they paid tribute to their parents both of them having been married for over 50 years. I congratulate them all!

Now for the pronouncement of marriage!

I love the kiss part of the ceremony and, oh boy, was this a kiss or what! They really meant it!

The deed is done: they are married at last!

Mary and Joe, your love is so evident and it radiates from you. I know you will be so happy together and I wish you all the best in life forever and ever!

Diane with Neil Boyd Photography and her assistant were present to document this wonderful wedding. And of course John McHugh provided the fabulous music.

Sheree' and Brian's Beautiful Wedding at Second Empire!

Sheree' contacted me last October to see if I could officiate hers and Brian's wedding in March. Over the next few months Sheree', Brian and I got to know each other quite well as we worked on optimizing their relationship and planning their upcoming wedding. Finally March was here and the weather turned out to be absolutely beautiful for their well planned wedding on Saturday March 13, 2010. Many members of their families traveled all the way from Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, DC, Connecticut and South Carolina to be here for them. And the wedding was skyped  to Frankfurt, Germany.

 

Sheree's father was looking forward to escorting her down the aisle. 

Jacquie, niece of the bride, was our pretty flower girl.

The East Parlor of Second Empire is a stunning but cozy setting for a small intimate wedding. The walls are covered in a luscious warm color of ultra-suede which make the acoustics in the room extra nice. Sheree's sister, Kathy, was maid of honor and Brian's son, Corey, was best man. We also recognized Brian's other two adult children, Patrick and Heather, during the ceremony.

Both being of Irish descent, Brian and Sheree' chose to have the handfasting ceremony in their wedding. Here I am looping the traditional red handfasting cord around their clasped hands and wrists to show they are bound by love.

After they made their vows and exchanged rings, we had a closing prayer and I made the pronouncement of marriage.

That is Patrick, Brian's son, with the camera as they skipped merrily out to the front porch for photos.

Well, we caught Brian with his mouth open! What a great couple! Congratulations, Sheree' and Brian! You did it! I wish you a very happy and contented marriage with lots of adventures together!

John McHugh played the Uilleann Pipes (pronounced ilen) and tin whistles for the ceremony. This music is so beautiful and so fitting for a Celtic wedding. John and I have done a few weddings together and have another one coming up soon. John can be seen on this website about Irish Folklore and he also has an ad on Craig's List for playing at weddings! Sheree' had learned about John and his music on my wedding blog and knew that was the music she wanted. John sent me a thank you note he received after the wedding from Sheree':  
"Dear John,
We were so happy with the music you provided for our wedding.  We had many guests commenting on how they enjoyed it. It made our day very special and we really appreciated your presence there.  Loved the music and the outfit!  You were a pleasure to work with.
Sincerely, Sheree' and Brian"

Their reception was held downstairs in the Atrium of Second Empire. This is a lovely setting with lots of sunlight streaming in all the windows.

The chef at Second Empire does a fabulous job baking wedding cakes. This one is Mocha with raspberry filling I heard!

Our photographer for the wedding was Marie Fulcher. Marie is always a pleasure to work with and is so low key. She does a really good job, of course! Thanks, Marie.

Carrie and Russ Marry at St. Mark's Chapel, Raleigh!

If I was planning my own wedding, I would have it at St. Mark's Chapel. It is located on the Mordecai House Campus in downtown Raleigh. It was built in the 1800s and moved to its present location. It is very simple, rustic, and cozy with maximum occupancy capacity of 55 . The chapel can be left plain without decorations or it can be decorated to the hilt! It is air conditioned too! Carrie and Russ thought this was the perfect setting for their wedding too. They wanted to be surrounded by family and close friends and to include Dino, Russ' 8 year old son, in the ceremony. Dino is just adorable and was so excited to be all dressed up and in his Dad's wedding. He really enjoyed the sand ceremony as he and the couple had fun layering their three colors of sand. Afterward, as a sweet surprise, he gave Carrie a rose!

Marty and I arrived for this late Sunday morning wedding on May 10th which was also Mother's Day. Carrie looked so pretty in her simple but elegant wedding gown. Her sister, Erica, was her maid of honor and Russ' friend, Michael, was his best man. Carrie's Aunt Martha was our director who expertly got everyone in place. The beautiful and uplifting music was very unusual and something I had never heard or seen! John McHugh plays the Uilleann Pipes and Tin Whistles. The pipes sound just like a bagpipe but not nearly so deafeningly loud. It is played by pumping the bellows with his elbow and depressing the numerous keys. He also played the tin whistle. He plays for weddings and special events and I would highly recommend him, especially for anyone wanting an Irish/Celtic wedding. His information is at this website. Amanda Byrnes was our photographer and it was good to be working with her again! She took the top two photos and send them to me for this post. Thanks, Amanda!

All the best to you, Carrie, Russ and Dino!