A Fantastic Wedding for Megan and Brian at Market View!

Megan and Brian chose to have their wedding in downtown Raleigh at Market Hall in City Market. However, instead of having the ceremony inside, they decided to have the ceremony outside on the cobblestone street in front of the venue. All it took was getting the City of Raleigh to agree to close that little street. Wow! What a great idea. 

Their wedding was June 1, 2019--a beautiful day and not too hot. There was some shade from the buildings and trees too. First thing I did when I arrived was get my sound set up. 
Nicole with Premier Party Planners was our wonderful director. She and I have worked weddings together for many years and Nicole is a blessing! She is standing beside our DJ, Jim Unger, with All Around Raleigh DJ. He and I have also worked together many times in the past. Love this team of vendors! Sarah Lowder was our photographer and John Warlick our videographer. Here is a LINK to his wedding trailer video of this wedding.

Chatting with Tara, Nicole's assistant. Good to see her again and work with her too! 

Upstairs in the Bridal Suite, Megan and Brian had staged a First Look that took place earlier. So everyone was relaxing and staying cool. With them in their beloved labradoodle Annie who is our Flowerdog! What a sweet pup! They have been wonderful dog parents to her I could tell!

Here is the reception area all decked out and ready. See the purple uplighting by the DJ. 

The guests have arrived and taken their seats. 

A view from the back of the aisle. 

Getting Annie's flowers on for her entrance! 

It is time for me to enter and make the unplugged announcement asking the guests to put away their cell phones and cameras and truly be present with Megan and Brian during the ceremony.

Please unplug! 

Megan's grandparents enter and take their seats. 

Brian escorts his mom, Kitty, in. 

Close behind them are John, Brian's dad, and Annie!

Then Mother of the Bride, Judy, is escorted in by her son who circles back to join the groomsmen. 

Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen process in as couples. 

Finally it is time for the bride and her dad, Kevin, to enter. You can see the Cook Shack truck behind them. They catered this wedding. 

The English Garden furnished the pretty florals including the bouquets and boutonnieres. 

The guests stand for the bride and her dad. 

We began with words of welcome to everyone and thanked them from coming from near and far to celebrate this special day with Megan and Brian.

Then we remembered their loved ones who were no longer with us. 

I stepped out to address their parents and tell them how much their children love them and appreciate their love and support throughout their lives.

Now to tell the story of how Megan and Brian met at college and the journey of their relationship from then to their wedding day.

We laughed a lot and everyone enjoyed hearing the funny stories!

Then I revealed to them what their partner had told me in confidence they love about them and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

Then it was time for their vows. 

Brian read his promises of marriage to Megan from my book. 

Then Megan read hers to Brian. 

Time to exchange rings.

Megan puts the ring on Brian's finger.

I was thrilled to pronounce them husband and wife!

Sealed with a kiss!

Their guests are cheering them!

Yes, you can walk back down the aisle now! 

The wedding party and Annie make their exit.

Congratulations, Megan and Brian! What a fabulous wedding you had. Thank you for choosing me to join you in marriage. You were great to work with and I love your story! I wish you the best always!

A Sweet Mother-Daughter Wedding Theme for Rachel and Jake!

On October 14th, 2017, Rachel and Jake pledged their hearts in marriage to each other. They chose The gardens of Fred Fletcher Park and The Borden Building  for their wedding. It was a beautiful sunny day. Many thanks to Kevin Seifert who accompanied me to this wedding and took these fabulous photos for me.

The garden is so pretty. You can't see it but my small sound system is set up in the flower bed and practically invisible.

Fallon's Flowers was their florist.

On the right is Tara with Premier Party Planners who organized and orchestrated the wedding day. Great job, Tara! We are going over the processional while waiting for guests arrived. Because of fair traffic, the ceremony started 30 minutes late.

This lovely wedding turned out to be a "mother-daughter" wedding. Each bridesmaid walked in with her small daughter. To continue the theme, Rachel's mother escorted her in.

Jake is taking care of our ring bearer dog, Buddy, a rescue by Rachel who has become their beloved fur child and of course had to be included in the wedding.

Our quartet is Integrity Strings and they did a beautiful job!

The guests began arriving and finding their seats. Funny how the back rows fill up first???

Writing notes to the couple.......

Jake's mother, Marybeth, a young guests and her father, and Tara and I await the start of the ceremony. 

The groomsmen are all ready to go!

The guests have all arrived and the chairs occupied!

My cue to walk in from the side and make an announcement to the guests to please put away their cameras and cell phones and be truly present for this wedding without the distraction of technology.

Jake escorted his mother down the aisle followed by his father, Joe.

Giving Dad a hug!

The sun is shining right in our faces as the processional begins. Our wedding photographer, Lori, with The Purple Tree Photography, kneels down to get a good photos of the bridesmaids and their daughters.

And here they come!

And now Buddy makes his entrance with Nate.

Nate brings Buddy forward to Jake where he was expected to sit quietly beside him during the ceremony.

Rachel's mother, Pam, escorts Rachel down the aisle as everyone stands in their honor.

Pam placed Rachel's hand into Jake's hand and gave them a hug.

We began with a warm welcome to the guests for being with us. Then we remembered those who could not be with us, in particular Rachel's father and their grandparents.

Then I stepped out to address and pay tribute to the couple's parents. Buddy chose that time to roll over on his back and wiggle in the grass, upstaging us all! We all had a good laugh at him.

After the parents' blessing, I told the story of how Rachel and Jake fell in love when they were freshmen in college 11 years ago. The story included summer jobs at the Outer Banks, Rachel's travels to the West Coast and Thailand, and Jake's journey through law school then finally settling down together in Raleigh leading up to this wonderful wedding day.

It turned a bit hot in the bright sun so Rachel needed to mop Jake's face a little!

They made their vows to each other and exchanged rings.

A glance down at Buddy to whom Rachel referred to in her vows!

The pronouncement of marriage!

Their first kiss as a married couple!

Nate dashed up to hug Jake as I introduced the newlywed couple to their guests.

The wedding party followed. What sweet little girls! 

And away they go. Their reception was later at the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. The guests were invited to the lawn of the Borden Building for a champagne toast.

Retrieving my sound system!

The champagne toast!

Rachel and Jake--a fabulous wedding! Congratulations on the journey of your lives to this wonderful moment and celebration. I am honored to have met you, worked with you and joined you in marriage!