Nikki and Jordan Tie the Knot at the Raleigh Sheraton!

Nikki and Jordan came to see me a year ago to plan their ceremony which was to be on March 3, 2012 at the Raleigh Sheraton. They found me on The Knot, a very popular wedding website. They met back in 2009 after Nikki had relocated to Raleigh from Florida on a quest to "make something of her life," not knowing that in a few short weeks she would meet her future husband!  One of her bridesmaids, Jonelle, had done the same thing and so they hung out together with a group of friends. At a party for those with December birthdays, Jordan and Nikki found themselves seated next to each other. They exchanged phone numbers and set the ball rolling and it was not long before they made their relationship "Facebook official" to all the world. They are such a happy and fun couple and I really enjoyed working with them. Their story was full of humor and the guests just loved it, especially the story of the proposal! As part of the ceremony I get them to tell me why they love each other and want to marry. Then as a surprise for them, they hear what they told me for the first time during the ceremony. It is such a wonderful moment of sweetness!

When Marty and I arrived the first thing we did was set up my sound system and do a sound check. Then we found the reception room looking for the cake which had not yet arrived. Martha, the events coordinator with the hotel, was checking on it.

Nikki and Jordan designed a very attractive "tree" for the guests to imprint with their fingerprints for leaves.

The wonderful wedding cake by Stephanie with Piece-A-Cake arrived and had a very cute bride and groom on top!

Molly Olah and Nate Leyland with North Carolina Classical Wedding Music had set up and were warming up for the ceremony. Always a pleasure to work with these two fine musicians! 

Nikki's sister, Veronica, signs the marriage license for me. She was her sister's maid of honor.

We chatted with our lovely bride who was ready to get the ceremony started. Then I left to go find the Best Man, Ben, to get his signature on the license.

 These two cute little boys were handing out the programs and the bubbles.

Martha, with the hotel, is getting the bride's bouquet ready to give her when she appears with her father to walk down the aisle. She is chatting with Valerie, Nikki's aunt, who did a great job as wedding director for the ceremony. Those are the most beautiful color bridesmaids dresses! The pretty bouquets and the lilies flanking the altar area of the ceremony were provided by Ruth Payne of Fleuressence.

And so we begin! Nikki and her father, Andy, float down the aisle toward Jordan and me. Notice all the cell phones out taking pictures??

I believe Nikki told me that there were about 170 guests. The room was packed and some guests sneaked in after the bride. The ceremony was held in the Hanover III room. The Sheraton is quite spacious and I wish I could do more weddings there. The staff is friendly and quite efficient and the location is so handy with a parking garage right across the street. It could not have been more convenient.

 

 

Jordan's Aunt Robyn read "Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog" by Taylor Mali dedicated to their beloved dog Sammy who was at home on guard duty!

Nikki's Aunt Tara read an original piece she wrote entitled "The Marriage House."

Then it was time to tell their story followed by the secret paragraphs then the more serious vows.

 

 The ring exchange......

Jordan and Nikki really liked the Covenant of Salt ceremony where they poured together their two separate containers of salt. "This custom harks back to Biblical days when salt was used to bind a contract. According to tradition, this contract can only be broken if each grain of salt in the container can be sorted, identified and then returned to the rightful owner. Therefore, since your salt is now inseparable, you are joined together forever."

 The closing prayer preceded the pronouncement of marriage and then......

 That kiss!!

 Wow, it is done and now it is time to celebrate! 

A brief moment of togetherness before the wedding party catches up with them then they are off to take some pictures. Marty and I packed up the sound system then headed off to find them. 

They were in the mezzanine area overlooking the lobby. It is really quite a picturesque setting and with the skylights, the lighting could not have been better. We see Jenna Lee with Jenna Lee Photography getting her shots.

 

I got in there to get one with the bride and groom, now married! Congratulations, Nikki and Jordan. All your careful planning paid off really well. And now you begin your new journey together as husband and wife. I wish you all the best in the world! 

April and Dave's Fun Wedding at The State Club!

Some wise match-making friends of April and Dave decided that they should meet each other and persisted until they got them together. Neither April nor Dave was looking for a relationship, both having endured too many relationships that did not pan out. But then on the other hand, they felt they had nothing to lose either! April was known to be very picky and was finally convinced to meet Dave on the basis that "for goodness sake, you don't have to marry the guy!" Once they met each other, the bonding went very quickly and April added Dave to her season tickets for the Canes as they both shared a love for hockey and football, although April is a Giants fan and Dave a Jets. But they have worked out their differences, most of the time anyway. And after a while, they decided that they wanted to make their relationship a committed one by getting married. April's good friend, Andrea, whom I had also married to her husband, John, a few years ago and also performed a baby blessing ceremony for them and their daughter, Rhyan, told her she had to "get Kayelily" to officiate! April also remembered that she used to work with my daughter, also named Andrea, at Michael Dean's a few years back. So we met in February and started planning this wedding at The State Club for Sunday November 6, 2011. (I learned that you don't have to have attended or graduated from NCSU to use this fabulous facility. You do have to join the club but the fee is quite reasonable and certainly budget friendly for weddings.)

It was simply a gorgeous day for a wedding!  I had just flown back into town from having attended my 50th high school reunion the Friday and Saturday before. Dave and April were so thoughtful in letting me work with them on the previous Thursday on how to have a rehearsal which they did successfully on Saturday night while I was in Georgia having a good time with my former classmates. I thank you, April and Dave, for being so understanding! The outdoor area of The State Club was bathed in sunlight which highlighted the beautiful fall colors of the trees in the background. Since the last wedding I had done there, another bride had put up a pretty pergola on the lawn and donated it to the club. It fit in perfectly and they put a swag of beige tulle on the front of it to fit into their brown and pumpkin color theme.

Inside the reception area was this adorable cake with two pups on it. After all, Dave and April are dog people just like me! The cake is by Piece-a-Cake and follows the same color scheme.

The reception area was all set up. The florist was Fallon's and they put up the pretty orange paper lanterns on the tables and down the aisle and made the pretty bouquets of the ladies as well as the centerpieces. The State Club catered the food.

John Hensley with Anything Music was our DJ for the ceremony and the reception. Good to work with John again! Beth Tilley Green was our photographer and she brought along a second shooter too.

The processional began with the entrance of me and the groomsmen including Dave's son, Hunter,  followed by April's stepmother, Michelle, Dave and his mother, Judy, and then the mother of the bride, Robbie, and April's stepfather, Eric. Then the junior bridesmaids, one of whom is Dave's daughter, Annalisa. Next our two little flower girls made their entrance.

 

April was stunning in her beautiful dress and pretty flowers in her hair. I saw a tear slip out of Dave's eye as he watched her coming down the aisle.

 

 

April got really tickled during the prayer and could hardly stifle her laughter. I asked her later what was so funny and she said she did not know. The whole ceremony was so much fun and there was lots of laughter throughout.

We wrote a very special section to honor and include Dave's children, Hunter and Annalisa. April made vows to them and they made vows to her then there were hugs all around.

 

 

 

 April and Dave read their vows to each other and then exchanged rings.

 

 

 

And off they ride into the sunset--well, almost! 

What a great wedding, April and Dave! And as I write this, I hope you are honeymooning in a sunny spot! So happy to have had the honor of officiating for you. I wish you prosperity, happiness and enduring love!

Sitting out and waiting for their turn to be in photos are Andrea, my former bride and the Matron of Honor for April, and Best Man, Ron. I spotted Andrea's husband, John, inside and spoke with him for a minute. It was really great to see them again. Andrea and John, you two are looking great and very happy!

Pretty Blue Wedding for Sara and Brian at Bass Lake Park!

Sara and Brian originally met back in 2002 and exchanged pleasantries from time to time but it was not until 2008 when a mutual friend (Scott, one of our groomsmen) saw the potential match for these two and tried to get them together. After several months of putting it off, Scott, Brian and Sara finally met for drinks in  January 2009. As Scott suspected, they hit it off immediately and had a great time together. Brian invited her to his birthday party which was a week later and made sure that Scott got her there. After a couple of drinks at his party, Brian mustered the courage to ask her out and they finally had their first official date the following weekend. It was much better than either of them could have ever hoped for. They knew then that they wanted to spend a lot of time with each other. And so the story goes........fast forward to their wedding on September 24, 2011 at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs. Despite the rainy week before, they had incredibly great weather. We were so surprised to see the sun come out.

They had decorated the deck over Bass Lake with pretty blue and white paper lanterns and flower arrangements.

The chairs flanking the aisle were decorated with huge blue hydrangea blossoms.

The pedestal arrangements flanked the altar area and ferns hung from the beams of the portico. Palms lined the rail behind the altar. All the flowers were done by Patricia Wood, a friend of theirs. They were beautiful.

The wedding cake and the groom's cake were baked by Stephanie English, owner of Piece-A-Cake bakery. The Q Shack was catering. Yummm...I love their barbecue and collards! Our photographer is a friend of the couple's--Dawn with Photo Designs by Dawn from Roxboro.

A good friend of Brian's for many years is Steve Stowe, DJ, with whom I do a lot of weddings. He is with Joe Bunn DJ Company and the Lincoln Agency but he was doing this wedding as a friend and they gave him free reign on the music and he loved it.  Steve rocks!

 

After the wedding party had entered, it was time for our Bride and her father, David.  They are waiting for their cue to enter from Sara's Aunt Betty on the left who was our honorary wedding director. 

It had gotten rather hot with the sun out and Brian was dripping with sweat--little drops running down his face, so I decided to mop his face off. He was most appreciative and the guests and Sara loved it. I had to mop his face again before the kiss! 

Brian's adorable 9 year old son, Corey, thought it was really funny, too!

Sara and Brian wrote their own vows combined with the exchange of rings and read them to each other from my book where the words are printed facing them. Here Brian reads his vows to Sara before placing the ring on her finger. We had to be super careful not to drop the rings because to do so would risk the ring slipping between the cracks of the decking and falling into the lake!

Sara made sure Brian's ring was all the way on with a good shove! 

Congratulations, Sara and Brian! I loved your wedding and how you made it so much fun for you and your guests to celebrate your marriage. What a great time! I wish you much happiness and great joy! Corey too! He is a lucky little boy!