Manuela and Rodney Have a Beautiful Wedding at the Wagner House!

Manuela and Rodney met with me in July to talk about my officiating their wedding on September 17, 2011at the Wagner House in Clayton. Actually they were already married a year before and although it was not a secret, Manuela really wanted a formal wedding ceremony with a big white dress with friends and family surrounding them and Rodney was supporting her in this all the way. I was happy to do the honors for this sweet couple and help make their dream come true!

The Wagner House is a historic colonial mansion in downtown Clayton, NC. I have done many weddings here for the past 12 years. Brenda and Mac Avent, the owners, have made a showcase out of the old home. Every year Brenda has made some improvement and embellishment. The gazebo and ceremony space in the back yard is magnificent. I look forward to seeing what she has added each year.

Years ago there was a circular drive and just the garden and gazebo. She has added the roof and fans and lights and has done away with the circular drive. We can actually do weddings in the rain there if it is not blowing. She also had a door cut in the garden dining room on the back of the house so that you can come out to the garden area covered in case of inclement weather. Her plantings and lush flower beds are something to be admired. This year she told me that she guesses she has done all she can and she will be miserable next spring because she won't have a project! What a problem to have but I bet she will think of something! Brenda is a professional caterer as well so the Wagner House comes with the caterer. She also caters offsite.

This is the garden dining room. It is so sunny and cheery. The door you see to the right leads out to the garden. There are two other dining rooms so she can accommodate quite a crowd.

Piece-a-Cake provided this yummy, lemony looking wedding cake. It is so pretty and I bet it tasted just as good as it looks.

When we were ready to begin, Rodney's best man, who is his brother David, and I entered the gazebo followed by Rodney who escorted his parents in, and then Dorte, the Maid of Honor. Manuela was escorted in by her father, Ulrich. Her parents are German and do not speak English so my question was translated for him.

And the ceremony began. I was so glad I had my sound system because there was a festival going on a few blocks away and we could hear the music. But nothing was going to stop this wedding celebration!

After welcoming all the guests and giving a prayer, I asked Rodney's father to bring forth the couple's young son, Alexander, into the gazebo to be blessed and baptized. He was the sweetest little boy and had the biggest blue eyes. He did not feel well that day so he was unusually quiet, which might be a good thing under the circumstances. He was very cooperative though, even when I sprinkled his head with water.

That was followed by the Family Unity Sand Ceremony in which the couple poured beautiful stones and sand representing the three of them into the container. Lauren with Waterhouse Studios was our photographer for the wedding and you can see her hand and camera on the right getting a good shot of the sand pouring.

Rodney and Manuela had written secret vows to each other which they heard for the first time on this day.

They sealed their vows with the exchange of rings: "This ring is a symbol of my love. Receive this ring as a token of wedded love and faith."

I declared them husband and wife and asked them to share a kiss to celebrate!

A very happy couple!

After the guests went to the reception, we gathered on the front steps for photos. Manuela and Rodney, I love the look in your eyes when you look at each other. Your love is very evident and radiates from you. Alexander is a very lucky little boy! I wish you all the happiness in the world.

Jennifer and Christopher's Wedding at the Wagner House!

Jennifer and Christopher (AKA "Kip") fell in love with the Wagner House in Clayton and it was available 10/12/08 for their wedding. Brenda and Mac, the proprietors of Wagner House, have a beautifully appointed property, a fairytale-like setting for a romantic wedding. Brenda also bakes the wedding cake and does the catering and it is her green thumb that has made the garden and gazebo so lush with plants and decorations that she changes for each season. (I love to see what she does at Christmas because she goes all out and it is worth a trip to Clayton to see what she does each year!) I really enjoy doing weddings in this setting. Unless the couple have a DJ providing ceremony music, I provide my sound system so that all the guests can hear the words of the ceremony the couple chooses.

They hired a violin/viola duet, Suzanne and Evelyn, put together by Musicians Booking Agency, to play for their ceremony so Marty and I got there early and set up my sound system which is invisible to the guests amidst all the pretty flowers. Katie Garcia was our photographer. Right before the ceremony we decided to ditch Kip's white vest as it just would not lay flat but puckered out of his jacket. With permission from the bride, he gladly removed it and looked just fine. Jennifer and Kip chose not to have attendants so it was just them and me in the gazebo as their parents and guests enjoyed their lovely ceremony. It was a beautiful October day--no heat, no rain, and no bugs! The couple wrote personal vows to each other which they read to each other from my book. They also chose to include the sand ceremony. After the pronouncement, kiss and a closing blessing, I introduced them to their guests who were applauding the couple as they swooshed down the aisle. Congratulations, Jennifer and Kip!

A Blue and White Wedding for Kate and Ryan!

Kate and Ryan were united in marriage today, June 20, 2008, in the beautiful gazebo and pergola at the Wagner House in Clayton. It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze that could have turned into a storm but thankfully it passed over us! Brenda Avent, the owner of Wagner House and assisted by her sweet husband and son, is so innovative. Just when I think there is nothing possible to add or change about the property, the next time I am there, it is further enhanced. She just never runs out of ideas in spite of having recently recovered from a serious health challenge!

Kate and Ryan thoroughly planned their color scheme of royal blue and crisp white: the bride's train had an insert of royal blue with white embroidery and a bodice trim of the same, the chaircovers were white with blue ribbon, the bridesmaids' dresses were royal blue, the white roses in the bride's bouquet were tipped with blue, the cake was royal blue (by Sweet Memories), one of the vases of sand was blue, and to fit in, I made myself a new prayer stole of royal blue. We were all so well coordinated, even Virginia, the mother of the bride wore royal blue! (I am seeing lots of blues for attendants' dresses this year.)

Kate and Ryan came up with a unique solution to the issue of how to get all the photos done before the wedding so they could be with their guests immediately after the ceremony versus the groom not seeing the bride on the wedding day until she walked down the aisle. So, Brandi Autry, photographer, got all the family photos and wedding party photos done with the bride and groom separately from 4:00 to 5:00. Then a private meeting of the bride and groom was staged at 5:00 under the pergola with just the photographer present catching that sweet moment of seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day. I came into the area to do a sound check after a while and caught them kissing and teased them that they weren't supposed to kiss--yet! They told me they were just doing the homework I assigned them at the rehearsal--to practice their kiss for the ceremony! We all had a good laugh!

The ceremony began on time at 6:00 with all the guests present--a full house. The attendants and I waited for the bride in the gazebo, then as she and her father approached the little bridge connecting the gazebo and pergola, Ryan walked over the bridge to have her dad transfer her hand to Ryan. Then they together crossed the bridge back to the wedding party and me. I love the symbolism of the bride and groom making some physical step or bridge as taking their relationship up to a higher level. I also am different from other ministers in that I like for the bride and groom to face each other holding hands during the whole ceremony. It has always seemed so stilted to me for the bride and groom to stand on either side of the minister not touching during the ceremony until the rings. Standing facing each other allows the bride and groom to look easily at each other, their guests and me.

Ryan and Kate put together a wonderful ceremony that was warm and welcoming to their guests, endearing to their parents, and included the sand pouring ceremony. Ryan is a bit shy about speaking in front of people so they had me ask them the questions to which they replied "I do." Then they chose ring vows that were only two lines repeated after me. We finished the ceremony in exactly 20 minutes from start to finish which is exactly what they wanted.

I had developed a chest cold with a tickly cough earlier in the week and was so afraid I might start coughing during the ceremony and once started, the coughing goes on and on. But I stashed a bottle of water near where I was standing and kept sucking the cough lozenges and made it through just fine with only one swig of water as the bride came in (all eyes were on her so no one noticed me except the best man)! With my Countryman E6 wireless theater mike, I don't have to strain my voice and can speak in a normal tone, and that sure helped a lot today!