Raleigh Wedding Blog: Mel Manning DJ

Showing posts with label Mel Manning DJ. Show all posts

Monday, October 2, 2017

Beautiful Wedding for Meredith and Thomas at The Oaks at Salem!

Meredith and Thomas live in Florida. Their wedding day was September 9th, 2017 just as Hurricane Irma was sweeping through Florida and up through Georgia into Tennessee. For that reason, some of their guests sadly could not make it to their wedding. Their photographer from Florida had to be routed through Chicago to Raleigh but she made it. It was a crazy time but their wedding was beautiful here in North Carolina.

The first thing I do when I arrive at a wedding is get my sound equipment on and do a sound check to make sure every guest can hear the wonderful words of the very personalized ceremony the couple and I have created together.

The Oaks at Salem is a gorgeous wedding venue. They recently put a beautiful walkway around the lake from the house to the ceremony site.

Looking from the walkway over to the mansion and the tent over the terrace where the reception will be.

The view from the reception area to the ceremony site. They also put in a fountain in the small lake.

The reception area is all decked out for the reception. Catering by Design is the caterer.

Meredith and Thomas met and fell in love in Raleigh then Thomas' career relocated him to Florida and Meredith relocated there as well. But they love North Carolina and featured the state as their guest book!

Mel Manning is our DJ. Always a pleasure to work with Mel!

So now the guests are seated for the ceremony and the parents have been escorted in. Time for Thomas and I to make our trek around the lake and take our places.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen make their entrance.

They are all wearing sneakers!

All are in place and ready for the bride to make her long walk around the lake with her father.

And they are almost here!

After words of welcome, remembering those not with us, and a tribute to their parents, I got to tell the story of how they met and fell in love, what attracted them to each other in the beginning, and all their adventures together.

It all began 7 years ago when they lived next door and Thomas was a student at NC State.

There were some funny times too!

Then I revealed to Meredith what Thomas told me about why he loves her and wants to marry her.

Then Thomas hears what Meredith told me!

They exchanged vows and then the rings.

Meredith gets that ring on Thomas' finger as she says words after me.

The pronouncement of marriage!

Thomas wasted no time kissing his bride!

The newlyweds!

They were so happy to be married!

Meredith and Thomas, thank you for choosing me to officiate for you. I loved working with you to create exactly the ceremony you envisioned. Best wishes for a wonderful marriage!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Jessica and Brent Wed at The Oaks at Salem!

Weddings at The Oaks at Salem are so wonderful! A truly gracious Southern setting with spacious facility and well-groomed grounds conveniently located in Apex. April Maness, the owner, knew what was the perfect venue for weddings when she purchased the property and built the beautiful manor. Jessica and Brent fell in love with it and had their wedding there on Sunday May 18, 2014.

Valet parking service is routine for weddings at The Oaks.

A view of the back of the manor house from the side of the lake. The tent on the terrace serves as protection for both rain and intense heat of the sun. April even has lighting and speakers installed within the tent.

Plenty of room for seating of guests for the reception and the ceremony.

Jessica and Brent had large cookies as wedding favors for the guests and they are all laid out for the taking!

Just inside the terrace is the bar, food bar and the wedding cupcakes! This lovely configuration is by Bitty Cakes. Thrills from the Grill was catering. Yummy! A Ming Rose was the florist.

DJ Mel Manning was in charge of the music for both the ceremony and reception. Jessica and Brent chose to have their wedding under the tent from the very beginning to avoid everyone sitting out in the sun. Turns out it was seasonably cooler that day with a cloud cover and forecast of scattered showers--which did not happen!

Okay! It is time to begin. Joslin, the wedding director for the venue, cued the music and the processional. You can see her in the background. The seating of Brent's grandmother was first, then his aunt, then the parents of the groom and mother of the bride.

Greg and Justin, the groomsmen entered after Brent and me.

Here comes the bride and her father!

Jessica bids farewell to her father and joins Brent.

The tree in the background is the popular spot for some weddings but serves as a nice backdrop for weddings under the tent.

Our lovely bridesmaids witness the ceremony. The maid of honor is Jessica's sister, Lillian. I did not get the other two girls' names but I know the middle one is engaged to Justin, one of the groomsmen.

It is unusual to get a photo of the guests but it is so telling of the feelings they have for Jessica and Brent. That is Brent's aunt wiping away some tears of happiness. Note up just above Brent's parents' head are a couple--he with glasses and she a blonde with an aqua top. That is Jay and Alyssa whom I married last July at The Cotton Room. I had no idea that Alyssa and Jessica were college roommates. It was so good to see them again. You can view their wedding here.

The blessing of the parents.......

The telling of their story: Jessica and Brent met at work where a lot of love stories begin. Jessica had just been hired and her cube was right next to Brent's so he was the go-to person for all her questions. She said he had immeasurable patience with her. He said he relished in the opportunity to be with her the questions afforded! They never tired of each other and decided to go out to a basketball game after work. Even though Jessica's alma mater UNC beat their opponent, Brent's alma mater NCSU, they had so much fun that the die was cast and there was no looking back.

Brent proposed to Jessica three years later and since then he has earned a graduate degree, they moved to a new city and bought their first house together, all while planning this wedding!

This is where I reveal to each of them what their partner told me in confidence they love about each other. "Brent, along with always letting her try a small bite of your food, killing spiders for her, and many other things, Jessica knew you were a keeper. She loves the way you cackle when you laugh and the way you make her smile...."

They read the vows they had written for each other from my book where the words were printed facing them as they exchanged their rings.

I pronounced them husband and wife and told Brent he could kiss his beautiful wife!

Off into the world, they go!

Photos after the ceremony were on the front lawn. Their photographer, Francis Wong, was getting the family photos so we waited our turn. The couple with Brent's parents, Jane and David.