Heidi and Keith's Stunning Wedding at The Rickhouse!

Heidi and Keith chose for their wedding, the unique venue of The Rickhouse. It is a whiskey distillery located downtown Durham. Their decor vendors Get Lit and Springwell Gardens worked to enhance its natural lighting and industrial features into a magical setting for their wedding.

I love the criss-crossed drape in the center and the strings of white cascading down the glass window into the distillery machinery.

Chalkboards by Julie greeted the guests on this beautiful day of March 23, 2019. 

When the guests were seated and we were ready for the ceremony to begin, I entered solo first to make the "unplugged" announcement asking the guests to truly be with Keith and Heidi in their hearts without the distraction of technology. Then Keith and his groomsmen made their entrance.

They took their places up front then the bridesmaids joined them one by one. 

Then the adorable ring bearer pulled the wagon of babies down the aisle. 

And lastly our beautiful bride was escorted in by her mother and father and another sweet little flower girl. 

At the end of the aisle they gave their daughter their love and support as they transferred her hand into Keith's hand and were seated.

A hearty welcome to all their guests followed by tributes to their family members.

The couple and I had written the story of how they met and fell in love and the adventures they had had since them bringing the guests up to the wedding day.

Telling the love story is my favorite part of the ceremony and it is fun for the couple to hear and watch their guests' enjoying hearing it.

A spectacular photo by our professional photographers, Elyssa and John with Kivus and Camera. In fact, they provided most of the photos for this blog post and I am so grateful. Look for their watermark-- the encircled star in the lower right-hand corner. (The photos without the watermark were taken by my husband with my camera.)

There was lots of laughter as well as tender moments.

And now the big reveal as I tell them what their partner has told me in confidence about what they love about each other, why they want to marry and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

Another humorous moment!

Following the exchange of their vows, they exchanged their rings.

Heidi and Keith chose the Anniversary Box for their unity ceremony. They wrote love letters to each other about this exciting time in their lives and sealed them without sharing. During the ceremony they put them in a special box with a favorite bottle of wine and closed it. I invited them to open the box on their first anniversary and pour each other a glass of wine and read their letters from the other. Then have a conversation about the wedding day and the year that has passed. Write new love letters and seal without sharing and place in the box with the first letters and a new bottle of wine and repeat every anniversary.

We closed with a blessing then the pronouncement of marriage. 

Their first kiss as husband and wife!

Oh happy day!!

The joyous walk back down the aisle into their new life! 

And another kiss! 

Outside after the ceremony the wedding party and parents and the Durham Bulls mascot gathered for some photos. 

The wind was making it extra fun and made for some great photos! 

Emily Thomas, owner of Emily Katherine Events, coordinated the wedding vendors and helped bring the couple's vision of their wedding day into reality!

Keith and Heidi! A fabulous wedding! Congratulations to you on your marriage. Thank you for giving me the honor of joining you in marriage!

Melissa and Derrick Wed at The Rickhouse!

Melissa and Derrick's wedding was so much fun! They are such a fun and interesting couple and I loved working with them to craft the perfect wedding ceremony for them. Their wedding was on November 22nd, 2015 at The Rickhouse. And this is the first wedding I have had the privilege of doing at The Rickhouse, a relatively new venue in Durham. It is located in the Central Park District of downtown Durham. 

It was once a RJ Reynold's Prizery and built of restored and reclaimed wood and exposed brick. 

The venue boasts an inside space that comfortably seats up to 400. It is equipped with state-of-the-art audio and video and rentals include chairs and tables for up to 200 people. 

It is sister space to a "grain to glass artisan" distillery (Revival Spirits). 

It has a large partially covered concrete deck overlooking the famed Durham Athletic Park, the original home of the Durham Bulls. 

The original plan was for the wedding ceremony to be out on the deck, but the weather turned a bit chilly with windy conditions and our thoughtful couple decided it would be more comfortable for everyone to have the ceremony indoors.

 Dave and I arrived at 1:30 this Sunday for the rehearsal before the ceremony which was to start at 3:30. It was not possible to rehearse on Saturday morning because not all the wedding party would have been able to be present.

 Melissa and Derrick each had a display of childhood photos on old windows on easels. 

 Their caterer, Rocky Top Hospitality, was ready to put out the food for the reception. 

 More delicious dishes to anticipate. 

 Photos of their beloved fur babies hold down the gift and card table. 

 A popular calligrapher, Marika, was there creating this wonderful title board. This is the finished product. 

 A little gift bag for the guests to take home. 

 This wonderful cake is by Ashley Cakes. 

 The bartenders are ready for the guests to arrive. The open door behind them on the left is the bride's dressing room. 

 I got my microphone all hooked into our DJ's system. Dail Holderness was our excellent DJ. 

 Finally it was time to get lined up. The couple's friend, Kevin, was our wedding director and did an excellent job. I entered first followed by Melissa's grandparents. 

Then it was time for brother of the groom and best man, Craig, who escorted their mother, Gloria, in to her seat then stepped up and joined me. 

 Melissa's parents, Robert and Terry, enter next and Robert returned to escort in our bride. 

 Then it was time for Derrick and the groomsmen to enter and join Craig and me. 

 Once we were in position, Kevin sent in the bridesmaids one by one. 

 Then it was time for our beautiful bride and her proud father to enter. 

 Everyone stands for their entrance. 

 Melissa's father transferred her hand into Derrick's hand and they turned and faced each other. 

 We began with words of welcome for their family and friends and how important they are to our couple. 

 There was an opening prayer followed by remembrance of loved ones no longer physically with us, especially Derrick's father, David. 

And then it was time to share their love story with their family and friends. The story of how they met, what attracted them to each other, fell in love, and finally the amazing proposal extravaganza that Derrick cooked up. We enjoyed a lot of good laughs, in fact, I had to pause for the laughing to quiet before I could go on. Loved this ceremony and I think everyone else did too. 

 So much so that Derrick had to blow his nose from laughing so much! 

 After their story came the "secret paragraphs" which described what each one loved about the other, why they wanted to marry and what they are looking forward to in marriage. 

 They then exchanged their vows of marriage to each other. 

 They exchange their rings. 

 A closing blessing before the pronouncement. 

 The legal moment in the ceremony when they officially become wife and husband! 

 I invited Derrick to kiss his beautiful wife! 

 And so he did with a bit of drama and flair as he dipped her! 

 "I can't believe you did that!"

 Ladies and Gentlemen, the newlywed couple!!

 And they dashed out! 

 Posing for some photos on the patio.

 Derrick and Melissa, it was a fabulous wedding! Congratulations! I know you are enjoying wedding bliss and so happy to be married. I wish you all the love and peace in the world. 

Our wonderful vendors: 

Venue: The Rickhouse

Wedding Director: Kevin O’Barr (friend)

DJ: Dail Holderness

Florist: Teacup Floral

Photographer: Brad Habeeb

Wedding Cake: Ashley Cakes

Caterer: Rocky Top