Beautiful Wedding for Nichole and Chris at the Stone Chapel!

Nichole and Chris live in Florida and contacted me way back in 2010 to officiate their wedding on May 19, 2012 at the Stone Chapel in Wake Forest. They are real planners and so wise to get started early to get their first choice of wedding vendors. Their reception was close by at Wakefield Plantation Golf Club, an elegant venue.  I was impressed at how thoroughly and carefully they thought of everything and made their dreams of a storybook wedding come true. I felt like I was marrying old friends because I had known them much longer than I get to know most couples. Finally the big day arrived! 

It was a lovely day that Saturday and the Stone Chapel was ready! It is an old historic chapel that is now used for weddings and other events. I have done many weddings here through the years.

Betsy Coley, photographer, had the bride and her bridesmaids outside for photos while the groom was sequestered inside the chapel.

Aaron Asbury and James Tigner from Island Sound DJ and Video were there capturing the wedding on video. 

Our wedding director was Megan McReynolds. I have known Megan for many years and occasionally we get to work together. She actually works at Chatham Hill Wineries where I have done a couple of weddings and offers her wedding services to brides who find her. She also makes stunning quilts! Megan is really good at all she does and it is fun to work with her. After the seating of the grandparents and parents, the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered then it was time for the flower girls.  The older one held a sign that said "Uncle Chris, Here Comes Your Girl!" (I know Nichole found that on Pinterest because I heard she was an avid "pinner" and so am I!) As the older flower girl sprinkled petals, the little one began to stop and pick up each petal. It was funny and finally Megan had to retrieve her and hand her over to her mother. I have learned that trying to rehearse little children is a futile task because when the church is filled with guests, it just is not the same as practicing with empty seats!

Nichole asked both her father and her stepfather to escort her in. They were both honored to do so.

 

 And here we go!

 

 

Chris and Nichole won a contest to have an original poem written for them. It was a perfect reading for their wedding and Chris' cousin, Kelsey, did a great job of presenting it.

It was time for their story. They met 5 1/2 years ago when Nichole got a job as hostess at Rooster's, a new restaurant in Charlotte, where Chris was a pastry chef. Their stations were near each other so they got to know each other which prompted Chris to ask Nichole out on a date. His only night off was one of Nichole's work nights so he bribed the other hostess to fill in for her by giving her $20 and free milkshakes for her and her boyfriend! That one date was all it took for these two to fall for each other. Eventually Chris' employment took him to Florida and Nichole followed.

Nichole told me that roosters remain special to them and they collect little figurines of roosters. They brought some to sit atop the envelope box!

Making their promises of marriage to each other and sealing them with their rings......

 

The big pronouncement of marriage, at last! 

 I try to get out from behind the couple for the kiss. They were fast! 

 

Congratulations, Nichole and Chris! You did it! I know you are so happy and so glad that the wedding came off just as planned, making all your hard work worth it! It was simply gorgeous! I wish you two all the best in life!

Meghan and Ernest Tie the Knot at Stone Chapel!

I met Meghan and Ernest in January 2008 when they hired me to officiate their wonderful wedding at the beautiful Stone Chapel in Wake Forest on October 4, 2008. They were so excited at the prospect of creating their own ceremony so they could combine the traditions from which they came. Meghan grew up in New Jersey and teaches third grade in Cary. Ernest grew up in North Carolina and is a student at Campbell College while working a full time job. They met at the beach in NC one summer and knew they belonged together. In their wedding ceremony they included the sand ceremony and gathered sand from the very beach where they met to pour together. The chapel was filled with all their guests who were so excited to see these two tie the knot and jump the broom. The beautiful floral arrangements were provided by Preston Flowers in Cary. Jeffery Pauk was the photographer. Molly Olah and her North Carolina String Quartet provided the heavenly music!

The ceremony began with a warm welcome and prayer followed by a tribute to their parents. Ernest's niece, Nichelle, presented a reading from First Corinthians and after the vows and rings, the couple poured their sand together while a family friend sang An Irish Blessing. Following the pronouncement and kiss, the couple jumped the broom combining the wedding customs of their African/American and Celtic/Irish traditions. The newlyweds and their wedding party recessed and circled around the outside of the chapel and entered the altar area from the side for a group photo of everyone from the balcony. This seems to be a very popular trend as this is the third wedding I've done this year that the couple has requested a group photo of everyone. Then the guests proceeded to the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh for the reception while the wedding party took photos. Meghan and Ernest are honeymooning in Hawaii, too, just like Krystal and Todd I married earlier in the day. Wonder if they will run into each other! All the best to you, Meghan and Ernest!

Another great wedding at the Stone Chapel in Wake Forest!

I met with Maria back last July to plan their wedding ceremony. I met Ray for the first time at the rehearsal on Friday. Maria was born in Puerto Rico and Ray in the Dominican Republic and they found each other in North Carolina. It was obvious seeing them together that they were very much in love! We had quite a large wedding party with two maids of honor and 5 bridesmaids and a best man and 5 groomsmen! The rehearsal was a bit imprecise since several people in the wedding party were not there but it all came together beautifully for the wedding day!

Maria's father escorted her down the aisle and transferred her hand to Ray as her eyes filled with tears. (I handed her a hankie at that point--I carry pretty hankies that I collect and give to the brides, and not infrequently the grooms, who tear up at their weddings!) Maria's sister, Lourdes, and one maid of honor, Kenyatta, presented lovely readings. The bride and groom lit a unity candle and read their vows to each other from my book where I had printed them facing the couple. Their sweet kiss after the pronouncement brought on much applause and cheering! We closed with the Indian Wedding Blessing and I presented the newlyweds to their guests after which they jubilantly recessed down the aisle to more cheering!

Weddings at the Stone Chapel are always fun and Ranee and her assistant Corey did a great job behind the scenes. See the photo of one of the pretty stained glass windows in the chapel. After the wedding the wedding party reassembled for photographs by their photographer, Dan Hadley. Meanwhile Marty and I packed up my sound system and headed home to relax and get rested in all this heat for the two weddings the next day!

"We're going to the chapel and we're gonna get married!"

Yanessa and Preston did just that at the lovely Stone Chapel in Wake Forest April 26, 2008. The Stone Chapel is a great place to get married. Ranee Cloud and her staff are so efficient and think of every little detail. I do use my sound system there so I can speak in a normal tone of voice and put feeling into my voice. Preston's mother commented to me that she "felt my spirit" in my voice during the ceremony and loved every word the couple chose for their ceremony. Since my "roadie" Marty was off duty tonight, I enlisted the help of my husband Dave to help set up the sound system and take the photos you see here--except the one of him! I got the sand ceremony ready to go and we were all set.

The guests filled up the chapel and the ceremony began. Yanessa's two brothers escorted her down the aisle since their dad has passed on. It was very touching and the tears started to flow as I handed Yanessa a hankie. (I collect vintage embroidered hankies to give to the brides--and grooms--who shed tears!) After saying their vows, intermingling their sand, and being pronounced husband and wife, they literally skipped down the aisle and right out of the picture Dave took!

After the ceremony we re-assembled for photos by Diana Beraglia Matthews of Creative Moments Photography. Diana and I did a wedding together at The Umstead in March and she promises to send me photos to post here soon. She is creative and took shots of everyone from the balcony of the Stone Chapel.