Angela and Corey Celebrate their Wonderful Wedding At Crenshaw Hall!

Last October, Angela and Corey and I met to discuss their wedding ceremony ideas. Their wedding date was May 14, 2010 at Crenshaw Hall. Go to their website and read the fascinating history of this old plantation. I did a wedding there many years ago, 2004, I believe. I married Ann-Marie and Sean on the front steps which look a lot different today. The old historic mansion has gradually undergone several phases of restoration and renovation. Today it is absolutely a showplace! Before we get to Angela and Corey's wedding, I will take you on a tour.

This is the front of the house which has had many different styles in the past.

This is what it looked like in 2004. The steps were gray concrete and did not wrap around.

What a huge tent for the reception! The vendors were busy getting set up before the wedding ceremony.

Corey and Angela's color scheme was the striking apple red, black and white.

This is the side of the house as viewed from the reception tent. There are beautifully decorated rooms and a very spacious and superbly appointed Ladies Room!

This is the dining room where guests will be able to help themselves to goodies at the cocktail hour after the ceremony before the reception. Also it is a chance to cool off after the ceremony before going back outside again. The temperature was in the high 80s having cooled down a bit from 92 degrees earlier in the afternoon.

This is the view of the other side of the house where the ceremony garden and pavilion are located. The bride will enter from the porch straight ahead. What a grand entrance for her wedding!

This is the view from the porch. See the nice pavilion stage for the wedding. Walking up the aisle are Bruce and Tiana Davis who are the Event Directors for Crenshaw Hall. They are making sure everything is ready for the ceremony.

And now the ceremony begins. First in was Corey's grandmother, then his parents and stepparents, then mother of the bride. Corey, his best man Andrew, and I entered followed by the groomsman, bridesmaid and matron of honor. Above is the flower girl, Angela's daughter, Abby, escorted by our ring bearer, Jeffrey, Corey's nephew--also known as Deuce!

Angela and her father start down the aisle. What a gorgeous lace wedding gown. Angela looked stunning!

Father of the bride, James, transferred Angela's hand into Corey's, and we stepped up onto the platform and the ceremony began with a warm welcome to everyone. I told Abby how important she was to her mother and Corey and he read some very sweet words to her from my book and gave her a pretty ring.

Jennifer, Matron of Honor, and sister of the bride listens intently as I gave the wedding address which contained a bit of humor that Angela and Corey sprinkled in.

  After the vows, ring exchange and family unity sand ceremony, I made the pronouncement of marriage followed by the kiss.

The photographer had them kiss again in the aisle. A friend of Angela's is holding her train because it was snagging on the brick walk but she was trying to get out of the picture too!

Married at last!! They disappeared inside the house for some private time together while the rest of the wedding party and parents and grandmother recessed out. The staff had Mojitos and lemonade ready to quench our thirst. Then the rows of guests were released and they were sent inside the house for refreshments and to cool down. Meanwhile, the bride and groom joined us on the front steps for photos.

Wanted you to see this beautiful wedding gown again!

Everybody's quite happy and ready to celebrate! Angela and Corey, congratulations and best wishes forever!

 Our Vendors who made this wedding possible:

The first thing the couple did was hire Premiere Catering and Gail Stephenson who is the event planner for Premiere Catering. She sent the couple to me. Gail and I have worked so many weddings together and think the same way about weddings. She is so organized and on the ball. She also made their beautiful wedding programs. It was a pleasure to work with Gail again! I also thank Kristin, her intern, for helping out with the wedding.

Gail helped Angela and Corey find Crenshaw Hall and they were so happy with this lovely venue. Thanks also to Bruce and Tiana Davis.

This stunning cake is by Simply Cakes. Angela ordered the stainless steel "W" cake topper. It was amazing that this cake was standing up to the heat of the day in that tent, but it did.


Mitch, the DJ for the reception, was all set up too. He is with Joe Bunn DJ Company.

Our photographer is the famous and talented Terri Lillich with Carolina Mediastar. Worked with Terri a couple of weeks ago. He is so funny and gets wonderful shots. He was assisted by Sarah. They make a good team.

Pamela Hung, OnLoKtion Makeup Artistry, was on hand for make-up for the ladies. 

Florian, a string duo, were on hand to provide the ceremony music.

Wedding of Andrea and Michael at Caffe Luna!

Andrea and Michael chose to have their wedding and reception at Caffe Luna on Sunday April 18, 2010. Caffe Luna is a great place for a fun wedding. The restaurant is closed to the public on Sundays for weddings. Andrea and Michael chose to have only Michael's children, Autumn (age 12) and Andrew (10), for their attendants. 

 We did not have a formal rehearsal for the wedding so after Marty and I arrived and got my microphone plugged into the DJ's sound system, the DJ (Kevin Judicki, far right), Lee (friend of the bride acting as director, far left), Michael (groom) and I huddled together to get our signals straight. Andrew was listening in too.

So, when it was time to begin, Andrew escorted in his grandmother, Linda, then joined Michael and me up front.

Then it was time for Autumn to walk down the aisle. She looked so pretty but I think she must have been nervous because I could not get her to smile!

Here comes the bride! Andrea's father is beaming as he and the bride enter. (By the way, those empty chairs were extras that were already set up and not expected to be filled by guests!)

And, the ceremony began with a warm welcome to all the guests and a Blessing for the Parents and Michael's children, Autumn and Andrew. 

 

The ceremony included the story of how Andrea and Michael met and fell in love which guests are always eager to hear about. They exchanged their vows and rings.

 

The couple and the children poured their sand together as a symbol of family unity.

What pretty layers of sand combining the lives of this blended family.

Then followed the pronouncement and the first kiss as husband and wife! 

And out they go, husband and wife, now married! 

Andrea and Michael are just beaming! It was a great wedding. Thank you, Andrea and Michael for allowing me to be part of your special day! I wish you many years of love, peace and happiness!

Kevin Judicki DJ provided the music for the ceremony and reception.  Strother Floral Gallery provided the beautiful flowers. This beautiful cake was created by Ashley of Ashley's Cakes. The make-up artist was Unforgettable Beauty. The photographer was a friend of the family, Jon Sutphin.

Andrea and Michael creatively made the table top signs by taking different photographs of themselves as children and teenagers, labeling the numbers and cleverly standing them up on corks. Cool!

Amanda and Alex's Elegant Wedding at The Umstead!

When Marty and I arrived at The Umstead Hotel and Spa for Amanda and Alex's wonderful wedding on Saturday April 17, 2010, Amanda was being photographed by Kevin Milz and his assistant, Julie, in front of a wall that was covered with vines.

 And this is Amanda, our radiant bride, in one of the most stunning wedding gowns I have ever seen, and I see a lot! It was a creamy ivory lace covered skirt and organdy shirred bodice. And, it looked very comfortable.

This is in a courtyard outside the guest rooms on the first floor looking out onto the garden. The landscaping and design of The Umstead is so unique and immaculately manicured.

 It was time to get the ceremony started so Ami got us all lined up and ready to go. Alex escorted his grandmother in first, then his parents entered. His brother, Peter, escorted in the mother of the bride and then returned to come in with the rest of the groomsmen.

And now it is our time to walk. I was followed down the aisle by one of the finest, best looking group of guys I have seen in a long time!

And now these pretty bridesmaids dressed in cobalt blue with creamy yellow flowers. They also all wore the same shoes which is not something I see very often. Such a coordinated wedding!

Here comes the beautiful bride and her proud father making their way down the aisle. Notice the balconies of the guest rooms in the photo.

The guests are standing for the bride as he brings her forward to transfer her hand into Alex's.

Here is the view from the main floor balcony of the hotel. How spectacular. Notice the harpist to the left and our photographer getting pictures from behind the guests.

What pretty flowers on pedestals with the water and water fountain in the background shimmering with the sunshine.

Amanda's cousin, Kirk, wowed us with his singing of The Lord's Prayer. The couple and I also noticed that during his performance more and more guests appeared on their balconies to watch the ceremony.

I really don't remember now what was funny at this point in the ceremony but Amanda got tickled. Maybe it was in anticipation of the pronouncement coming up.

Or maybe it was in anticipation of the kiss that was coming up! This is my favorite part of the ceremony. If you click on this photo to enlarge it, you will see my grinning face between them! One of the guests is getting a picture of this moment too!

Wow, it's all over and they are married! No, Alex is not carrying a purse! That is a bag held by the photographer that they had just passed by. I had to take a second look to figure that one out!

So now the ceremony is done and it is time for photographs. Alex and Amanda, you are an amazing couple and you meticulously planned an amazing wedding. Amanda, thank you for stepping in and generously volunteering to be on a panel of brides for the Professional Wedding Guild luncheon when another bride dropped out at the last minute back in February. Congratulations to you both and I wish you all the best in the world!

Our Vendors:

First of all, The Umstead Hotel and Spa, for the lovely setting and astute staff, especially Ami Wheeler who is in charge of weddings there and makes us all feel like royalty! Amanda, I saw Ami this afternoon for a rehearsal for a wedding there tomorrow and she told me that your wedding went so perfectly, more perfectly than any wedding she has ever seen.   I also want to thank George, the person in charge of the sound system at The Umstead. I have worked with him for years now and he just discovered recently that he knows my daughter well and just made the connection........small world!

I thank Anita Burroughs-Price for her wonderful music and her magnificent golden harp. Anita, you are the best! It was great working with you again.

Kevin Milz and his assistant, Julie, of  Kevin Milz Photography were all around getting great pictures for Amanda and Alex. It was a pleasure to work with you again!

A Watered Garden was the florist for this wedding. Their work is always breathtaking and this centerpiece is no exception.

Joe Bunn DJ Company provided the music for the reception and Joe Bunn himself was the DJ! Go read his blog about this wedding reception here. Sounds like great fun.

Donna Ford of Sweet Memories Bakery provided this lovely wedding cake. Always a treat to see her work.

Lather Salon did the hair and makeup for the wedding.