Erinn and Kelsey's Fun Wedding at Top of The Hill Great Room!

Erinn and Kelsey were high school sweethearts who grew up into adulthood together.  Unlike some couples whose high school romance faded away, Erinn and Kelsey persevered together throughout college and their relationship is even stronger today. Kelsey staged a dramatic proposal in April of 2017 and they set their date of November 18, 2018. They are a fun-loving couple and TOPO was the perfect choice for their wedding venue.

After checking in with their DJ, Jeff Brown--A Bride's DJ--and getting a sound check, I ventured to the back bar where the wedding party (14 people) were hanging out before the ceremony. The couple had done a first look and were having fun being with all their friends too.

Back to the great room to meet our wedding artist, Dan Nelson and his lovely wife Nancy (on left speaking to the DJ). Dan was set up in the back of the room next to the DJ's table.

He paints with both hands at the same time!

 He takes a break from painting to enjoy the ceremony. 

The basic composition is in place. 

This is the finished painting. It is really beautiful. Visit his website to see all the wonderful paintings that Dan creates! 

Time for everyone to get lined up to process in. Laura with TOPO was our wedding director.

The parents were escorted in first and there are empty chairs up front for the wedding party to sit in after the bride is escorted in.

After the parents were escorted in, Kelsey and I took our places up front. Our photographer, Brandi Leigh, stands at the end of the aisle to get photos of the wedding party as they enter.

One of the"flower boys" has successfully made his way down the aisle! 

Bride's attendants are typically a mix of men and women in contemporary wedding ceremonies.

Here you can see the groom's side! 

Erinn's father escorts her in and down the aisle.

I am pointing to Erinn's bouquet for Emily (maid of honor) to take. Then I asked her dad a question, he answered and placed Erinn's hand in Kelsey's hand and took his seat as the attendants also took their seats except for the maid of honor and best woman.

And so I welcomed everyone to this wonderful occasion and told them how thankful our couple was to have them with them on this special day.

We remembered those no longer with us and honored their memory. 

Then I stepped out front and addressed their parents to pay tribute to them. 

Then I told the story of how Erinn and Kelsey met in high school and their journey from that day to their wedding day.

They've been together since they were teenagers so the story spanned a few years, through college, getting jobs and finding themselves.

There were some funny stories along the way and our guests enjoyed some good laughs. 

Next was hearing what their partner told me in confidence they loved about them!

Time for the vows and the ring exchange.

After they placed unshared loveletters in their Anniversary Box and a closing blessing, I pronounced them married and invited them to kiss!

The guests were cheering them on! 

Finally! 

Happy to be husband and wife! 

Erinn and Kelsey, congratulations! What a fun wedding. I loved all the laughter and celebration. Thank you for choosing me to join you in marriage!

Yasemin and David's Beautiful Wedding at the Top of the Hill!

Yasemin and David are such a beautiful couple. They are both very tall as you will see in these photos! They planned their wedding for December 19th, 2015 at The Top of the Hill Great Room which has become a very popular wedding venue the last few years. I love doing weddings there because the events manager, Danielle Olcott, is terrific to work with! She is such an asset to couples because she not only directs their wedding, she recommends and coordinates the different vendors, plus more! 

I love these vintage looking chairs they rented. It does not show up well in this photo but the framed sheet of glass with the order of service on it is very attractive and different.

These pretty lanterns lined the aisle. 

Not only does Danielle manage the event and the facility, she is an artist as well. She puts the finishing touches on the seating chart on the large mirror with oil-based chalk pen.

One of my favorite DJs (and former groom whose wedding I officiated last year), Brian McGuire, with McSound Productions!

 In the back room the groomsmen have found some entertainment while waiting for the ceremony to begin. 

 So after the parents were escorted in, Dave and I stepped out from the side room and took our places up front. 

This handsome groomsman, Drew, is another former groom whose wedding I officiated a couple of years ago. Drew and his wife Shannon both had friends getting married this weekend so she went to her friend's wedding and Drew fulfilled his groomsman duties for his friend David.

 After all the couples had taken their places it was time for Yasemin's father to walk her down the aisle.

When everyone had gotten seated again, the ceremony began. A very touching tribute to their parents followed the welcome and prayer.

 It was so much fun telling the story of how they met and fell in love. They were both freshmen at Carolina back in 2006 when they met and started hanging out with each other. Their height is one of the important parts because they spotted each other "across a crowded room!" They graduated and spent some time apart, David pursuing his soccer career, and Yasemin pursuing a graduate degree at The Citadel. In 2014, they were both able to settle down in Raleigh and started planning this wedding after David surprised Yasemin with a proposal on a bridge one rainy night overlooking Nashville TN en route from Texas to NC after spending Christmas with his family.

 They exchanged their vows and sealed them with their rings.

 Then the closing blessing and pronouncement of marriage! 

 They did not waste any time sealing their vows with their first kiss as husband and wife!

 Hah! We did it! Time to celebrate! 

As the room was being turned for the reception, Ashley with Ashley Cakes, arrived with this gorgeous wedding cake and groom's cake and was setting it up. 

We quickly posed for our photo together. Yasmin and David, congratulations! What a beautiful wedding you planned. The work was well worth it. I wish you all the best in the world!

Our Vendors: 

Wedding Venue: Top of the Hill Great Room

DJ: Brian McGuire--McSound Productions

Photographers: Silver Feather Studios

Cake: AshleyCakes

Floral: TreBella / Bouquets- Leticia (Mother of the groom)

Make up and hair: Make Up For Your Day

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919-345-4608

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Kristina and Michael's Fabulous Wedding at TOPO Great Room in Chapel Hill!

Kristina called me first then sent me a note on September 18, 2014 about her wedding a year later on September 19th, 2015 at Top of the Hill Great Room in Chapel Hill. Her note said: My fiancé and I are hoping for a simple non-denominational wedding.  We live in Durham and met at Top of the Hill after a basketball game. He is from Maryland and I was born and raised here. I was one of Jacqueline Rice's bridesmaids as I mentioned on the phone today. We are looking forward to meeting you on Tuesday. (Jacqueline and Tom's Wedding at The Carolina Inn)  And so we met and found we were a great fit. We signed the contract, they filled out some wedding details for me, gave me a check for my fee and I reserved their wedding and rehearsal on my calendar for 2015. Kristina and Michael were great to work with and have a great story that I was looking forward to telling their guests at their ceremony.

The centerpieces by Flowers by Gary were ready to go on the tables once the Great Room was turned after the ceremony.

These tables in the Franklin Room adjacent to the great room were set and ready. This is the room where the groom, groomsmen and I hang out before the ceremony and enter from.

They were doing the wooden wedding box which holds a bottle of wine, letters from their parents, and love letters to each other. The letters from their parents are to opened and read on their first anniversary. The love letters to each other are not to be read until their 5th anniversary in 2020! Will they be able to wait?

Will, our ring bearer (not quite 3 years old!), was much happier with the iPad before the ceremony than hanging out with the flower girls!

Kaitlin signs the marriage license for me. 

Then Ryan does his legal duty signing the marriage license too. 

Our director was the amazing Danielle Olcott with The Great Room. Danielle does a fabulous job helping the couple find and book vendors, coordinating them all, and directing the wedding. For this wedding she directed the rehearsal because I could not be there due to another wedding. I met with Kristina and Michael earlier the week of their wedding to rehearse the ceremony with them.

The guys and I got our cue to emerge from the Franklin Room and take our places up front. 

The flower girls were the last to enter before Will and then the bride.  Carolina Media Star photographers Terry and Sarah were covering this wedding. Love working with them and it was so good to see Terry again his having miraculously survived a very serious health crisis. He looked healthy and was getting his usual fabulous pictures. 

They were so cute!

Kristina and her proud daddy, Marty, started their trip down the aisle! 

All the guests stood in their honor. 

Black and red weddings are so striking! Love the girls' fire engine red shoes! 

Welcome to all and thanks for making the journey to be with us! 

A blessing for their parents brought forth some tears!

Sarah got a good shot of the parents receiving their blessing. 

Friends Lauren and Kendall share a funny poem "She's His Soulmate to the End," author unknown.

Then their wonderful story! They met at this very place, Top of the Hill, back in January 2013 following a Maryland-UNC basketball game. Mike had come to Chapel Hill for the game with some of his friends. Kristina was there with some of her friends. 

The friends began interacting and Mike challenged Kristina to get the bartender's attention and he would buy her a drink. Little did he know that Kristina happened to know the bartender. He was impressed with her VIP status.

They danced the night away and Mike asked for her phone number despite living hundreds of miles away so before giving it to him, she made him promise to use it! And of course he did and the rest is history!

The big reveal of what they love about each other and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

They made their vows to each other then exchanged rings. 

After Kristina place the ring on Michael's finger, the letters from the parents and from each other were placed in the wooden box with the wine.

The legal element of the ceremony! 

Then the fun part! 

That sweet "after kiss" moment!

And away they go! 

I snagged Jacqueline and Tom for a quick picture. They live in Texas now. It was so good to see them again and I think they are happier than ever! It has been almost 3 years since their great wedding!

Kristina and Michael, wow! Great wedding. It was so perfect for you. Loved working with you and am honored to have been the one to join you in marriage! I wish you the best forever!

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To contact me:

Email me

919-345-4608

My Website

Pinterest

Facebook

Or leave a comment below!

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