Raleigh Wedding Blog: MW Calligraphy

Showing posts with label MW Calligraphy. Show all posts

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Melissa and Derrick Wed at The Rickhouse!

Melissa and Derrick's wedding was so much fun! They are such a fun and interesting couple and I loved working with them to craft the perfect wedding ceremony for them. Their wedding was on November 22nd, 2015 at The Rickhouse. And this is the first wedding I have had the privilege of doing at The Rickhouse, a relatively new venue in Durham. It is located in the Central Park District of downtown Durham.

It was once a RJ Reynold's Prizery and built of restored and reclaimed wood and exposed brick.

The venue boasts an inside space that comfortably seats up to 400. It is equipped with state-of-the-art audio and video and rentals include chairs and tables for up to 200 people.

It is sister space to a "grain to glass artisan" distillery (Revival Spirits).

It has a large partially covered concrete deck overlooking the famed Durham Athletic Park, the original home of the Durham Bulls.

The original plan was for the wedding ceremony to be out on the deck, but the weather turned a bit chilly with windy conditions and our thoughtful couple decided it would be more comfortable for everyone to have the ceremony indoors.

Dave and I arrived at 1:30 this Sunday for the rehearsal before the ceremony which was to start at 3:30. It was not possible to rehearse on Saturday morning because not all the wedding party would have been able to be present.

Melissa and Derrick each had a display of childhood photos on old windows on easels.

Their caterer, Rocky Top Hospitality, was ready to put out the food for the reception.

More delicious dishes to anticipate.

Photos of their beloved fur babies hold down the gift and card table.

A popular calligrapher, Marika, was there creating this wonderful title board. This is the finished product.

A little gift bag for the guests to take home.

This wonderful cake is by Ashley Cakes.

The bartenders are ready for the guests to arrive. The open door behind them on the left is the bride's dressing room.

I got my microphone all hooked into our DJ's system. Dail Holderness was our excellent DJ.

Finally it was time to get lined up. The couple's friend, Kevin, was our wedding director and did an excellent job. I entered first followed by Melissa's grandparents.

Then it was time for brother of the groom and best man, Craig, who escorted their mother, Gloria, in to her seat then stepped up and joined me.

Melissa's parents, Robert and Terry, enter next and Robert returned to escort in our bride.

Then it was time for Derrick and the groomsmen to enter and join Craig and me.

Once we were in position, Kevin sent in the bridesmaids one by one.

Then it was time for our beautiful bride and her proud father to enter.

Everyone stands for their entrance.

Melissa's father transferred her hand into Derrick's hand and they turned and faced each other.

We began with words of welcome for their family and friends and how important they are to our couple.

There was an opening prayer followed by remembrance of loved ones no longer physically with us, especially Derrick's father, David.

And then it was time to share their love story with their family and friends. The story of how they met, what attracted them to each other, fell in love, and finally the amazing proposal extravaganza that Derrick cooked up. We enjoyed a lot of good laughs, in fact, I had to pause for the laughing to quiet before I could go on. Loved this ceremony and I think everyone else did too.

So much so that Derrick had to blow his nose from laughing so much!

After their story came the "secret paragraphs" which described what each one loved about the other, why they wanted to marry and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

They then exchanged their vows of marriage to each other.

They exchange their rings.

A closing blessing before the pronouncement.

The legal moment in the ceremony when they officially become wife and husband!

I invited Derrick to kiss his beautiful wife!

And so he did with a bit of drama and flair as he dipped her!

"I can't believe you did that!"

Ladies and Gentlemen, the newlywed couple!!

And they dashed out!

Posing for some photos on the patio.

Derrick and Melissa, it was a fabulous wedding! Congratulations! I know you are enjoying wedding bliss and so happy to be married. I wish you all the love and peace in the world.

Our wonderful vendors:

Venue: The Rickhouse

Wedding Director: Kevin O’Barr (friend)

DJ: Dail Holderness

Florist: Teacup Floral

Photographer: Brad Habeeb

Wedding Cake: Ashley Cakes

Caterer: Rocky Top

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Sam and Samantha's Sweet Wedding at The Cookery!

Sam and Samantha's wedding was Friday October 16th at 6:30 at The Cookery in downtown Durham which has become quite a popular venue for weddings in the last 2 years.

Their photographer, Victoria with Breathe Easy Photography, arranged a first look for them and got lots of photos of the wedding party ahead of time too which was necessary since the light level after the ceremony would be quite diminished. I thank Victoria for sharing her photos with me for this blog and I will credit each photo she contributed with a caption, including this one from their First Look collection that was my favorite one! (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Greeting the guest with the itinerary of the wedding day in place of a wedding program.

Sam's groomsmen......

Samantha's attendants. Instead of a Maid of Honor, she had a Man of Honor, Seamus.

Calligrapher Marika Wendelken transforms the chalk board into a beautiful work of art.

The finished product!

Instead of a guest book, they collected stones signed by their guests with a short message to them.

A frame for their favorite wedding photo. I think the one of them on the railroad tracks would look great!

This brooch and wheat bouquet is so unique! Each bridesmaid carried one.

Sign greeting the guests as they arrived.

View from the mezzanine of the interior of the building looking toward the garage door opening for the outdoor ceremony.

Looking toward the stairs. Our DJ, Pete James, is getting his gear set up while Marika works on the board.

Pete and I did a sound check before the ceremony and the sound was great. He had a speaker up near where the groomsmen were to stand. However, when the outdoor lights were turned on they overloaded the circuit and the outlet the speaker through which my voice came blew in the beginning of the ceremony therefore, I had no amplification and had to "raise my voice" to be heard. That was unfortunate but there was no way to know ahead of time that was going to happen. But, I could tell from the laughter during the ceremony that people could hear me!

The Mezzanine........

The bartenders are ready to pour!

This is a sign sitting on the end of the bar telling the fascinating history of this building which was built in the early 1900s. It began as a grocery store then transformed into a culinary incubator among many other purposes.

Pete James, DJ, who brought along his wife, Akita, to help him. Didn't get her photo.

The ceremony space is ready.

The couple and their family members did the floral arrangements with natural wildflowers, sheaths of wheat and simple ribbon.

And the guests began to arrive and take their seats.

And now it is time to begin. Pete began the music for the processional and the groomsmen and I took our places.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Victoria is getting a shot of Sam escorting his mother, Sharon, down the aisle.

Sam and his mother (photo with my camera).

The bridesmaids processed in one by one and took their places. Victoria is going to get the following photos of Samantha and her father, Sam, entering.

Here they come!

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

We rehearsed the night before at the couple's friend Allison's home. She also served as our wedding director.

"Who has the privilege of presenting this young woman, Samantha, to be married to this young man, Sam?" Of course her father answered "Her mother and I do."
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

A warm welcome to all their guests followed by a prayer. Then we remembered their loved ones no longer here physically, and in particular Sam's father, Jim. (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then I got to tell their story. They were both born in Pennsylvania but their paths did not cross until many years later and several hundred miles south. They were matched up on line and because they liked what they saw, they decided to meet in person. Neither of them can remember the date of their first date but it was probably April 4th, 2011 at The Busy Bee Cafe downtown Raleigh. (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Samantha found Sam adventurous and silly and name-wise, he fit right into her family! Sam was impressed with Samantha's down to earth colorful language! And they have been together ever since. (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Because Samantha tends to ruin all her own surprises by finding them out ahead of time, Sam had to plan carefully and stealthily to propose after a few failed attempts. He succeeded by planting an empty ring box in the bottom of a fake pot of gold on St. Patrick's Day of 2014 and arranged with the help of her teaching assistant for her to find it during school hours and when she did, he popped out of the locker in which he had been hiding, got down on one knee, and popped the question. I watched the video and Samantha was truly surprised! (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

And then I revealed to them what the other had confided in me about what they love about each other, why they want to marry each other and what they are looking forward to in marriage. So sweet!
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

They answered "I will" to my questions about taking each other as their beloved.

Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then they read their secret vows to each other from my book. Sam got a little choked up.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

He recovered quickly and placed the ring on Samantha's finger.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Time for Samantha to do the same.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then she got a little tickled and had to recover!

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

And she did and got that ring on Sam's finger.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

In the closing blessing I ask them to think of the happiness they are feeling at that moment and close their eyes and let it sink in.
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then I ask them to open their eyes and look around them at their guests who have come to honor them on their wedding day. Sam does look a bit like a deer in the headlights though! As if he had forgotten all those people were watching!
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)