Professional Wedding Guild (PWG) Luncheon at the Sheraton Chapel Hill

This luncheon last Wednesday 2/24 was my first professional wedding outing since my surgery in January. The last PWG luncheon was in November and they don't have one in December. The January one was the day after my surgery. So, it was good to be back at one of these networking events. We met at the lovely Sheraton Chapel Hill. It has been remodeled and redecorated since I was there and it is beautiful and spacious. They can accommodate a large wedding reception of 400+ people! The photo above is of a section of the ballroom. The lovely table decor was by Andy Karras of A Special Event. The table linens were so pretty. That is harpist Marilyn Wienand standing behind the wedding cake by Buy the Pound which was delicious and was served by the baker, Sandra Timmons. I was so happy to get a slice of the middle layer which was chocolate pound cake--yum, one of my favorites!

I saw lots of wedding professionals as usual and it was great to see them again after a long break. We were entertained before lunch was served by Patrice Kaluza  of Sea Sound Studio Entertainment. Patrice is a wonderful vocalist but unfortunately she developed laryngitis the day before and was unable to sing for us.  Maybe next time?

Across the table from me are Julie McKay and Ashleigh Collins from The Carolina Inn. Ashleigh is new to the Inn and Julie was introducing her around. Standing behind them is Rev. Robin Renteria, close friend and colleague. Rev. Barbara Lodge and Rev. Phran Gaucher were there too.  See the pretty table linens Andy provided? The flowers were provided by Flowers by Gary.

Jim Shaw of Jim Shaw Photography and Brian McGuire of McSound Productions (DJ) were busy networking!

Our program this month was a panel of 4 brides and one mother of the bride for us to ask questions. It was quite interesting. One of the brides was Amanda Jones whose wedding I am officiating. They are from left to right: Chanel Francis, Amanda Jones, Cecilia Mackey, Jane Peppler, and Danet Bratton. Cecilia's wedding was last October and so she was able to answer questions from that perspective and what she might do differently. Jane is our mother of the bride whose daughter's wedding is in June. Jane comes to PWG luncheons because she is a musician who sometimes plays at weddings so she had an "inside" perspective. To the far left is our moderator and publisher of Perfect Wedding Guide, Gail Galloway, who had received questions from us ahead of time that she presented to the brides and mother. It was a great program and I am sure we all learned some valuable tips from these brides.

After the program Gail was discussing things with Dajuan Jones from In His Image Photography who took photos at the luncheon for PWG. They will be posted on the PWG website soon.

Well, it was a great experience today. To make it even more terrific, I won one of the door prizes--a nice bottle of Chardonnay from Bartending Unlimited. (Thank you, Contada!) Good to be back in the groove. Weddings for me start on March 7th, next weekend at Nicole and Steven's wedding at Caffe Luna. Watch for a post on their wedding!

The Grand Marquise Ballroom is Open!

The Grand Marquise Ballroom in Garner opened this month, October 2009. It is an elegant new venue for weddings, receptions and other events. It is conveniently located about 10 minutes off I-40 and in a quiet neighborhood. I had the great good fortune of attending a Professional Wedding Guild (PWG) vendor networking luncheon there today, 10/28/09. The photographer for the event was Dajuan Jones and he has posted much better photos of this venue on his blog. Go take a look. Thanks, Dajuan!

The owners of Anfesa's Jewelers who built this lovely venue thought of everything. It will accommodate up to 500 guests and has parking for over 300 people.

This is the view when you walk into the ballroom from the spacious arched foyer. The grand staircase makes a great backdrop for a wedding ceremony and a great entrance for the wedding party into the ballroom for the reception.

This is the view of the ballroom from the side of the stairway.

This beautiful monogram projected onto the dance floor can be customized for each wedding couple.

There are gorgeous chandeliers on the ceiling and mood lighting as well. Notice the different colors of the room when the lights are changed. The doors lead into the beautiful foyer entrance where wedding guests can assemble for cocktails after the wedding ceremony while the ballroom is being turned for the reception.

Let me tell you, the bathrooms are equally well appointed. The mosaic above is in the ladies room as well as huge mirrors and chandeliers in each compartment.

This is the ceiling above the grand staircase.

Meredith Matthews, one of the owners, was gracious in giving us a tour of the ballroom. There is a fully equipped kitchen for caterers for events. There are no dedicated caterers at this venue so brides can bring their own choice of caterer.

This lovely peacock mural is in the bridal suite which is upstairs. The furnishings are really plush and elegant.

Three way mirrors and all the amenities.

A sweet swan lamp graces the spacious vanity area.

I had to show you the fancy "throne" for the bride!

And the matching sink! Note the pretty mural on the wall.

This is Rev. Robin Renteria who is our speaker for today's luncheon. She spoke on "hot buttons" -- how they get triggered and what to do about them. It was a great talk! Thanks, Robin.

Two of my favorite DJ's, Ross Merle on the left, and Lenny Fritts on the right, flank our PWG hostess, Gail Galloway!

Gail again. I like this photo of you, Gail!

This is Joy Edwards of A Joyful Occasion, wedding planning, special events and travel.

Two popular photographers I enjoy working with: Jennifer Kidd on the left and Jennifer Aanerud on the right.

Catherine and Kyle help out at the registration desk.

Marilyn Wienand graces us with her heavenly harp music. Marilyn is terrific on the organ too.

We-Cook-4U catered our luncheon today. It was delicious, Alvin! Ashley Cakes provided the cupcake desserts and brought this beautiful cake to display.