Katie and Tim's Wonderful Wedding at Wakefield Plantation Country Club!

Many thanks to my friend and wedding colleague, Kevin Seifert, for photographing this wedding for me to post on this blog! 

The site of Katie and Tim's wedding was TPC Wakefield Plantation, a golf and country club in Raleigh very close to Wake Forest. The wedding date was October 7th, 2017. They have a beautiful outdoor area in the back of the club for wedding ceremonies however, the weather turned rainy for this wedding and the staff there hustled to move the ceremony inside about 30 minutes before start time.

This is the indoor area for the reception which is all set up and ready. 

Above the mantel. 

Peeking out the window at the rain which was starting to fall. 

Edible Art made this beautiful cake!

The Sweetheart Table

The staff brings in the floral decorations from the arch and the aisle. The Purple Poppy furnished the florals.

Where the wedding would have been. 

Our couple's photographer, Shawn Tomkinson, gets a shot of Tim with one of his groomsmen. 

Photos of family weddings.

Katie and Tim live in Atlanta but  grew up together in North Carolina which will always be home. 

The Georgia Peach was their signature cocktail. I am partial to this because I was born and grew up in Georgia!

So now the double room adjoining the reception room is being readied for the ceremony. 

The staff is busy putting the florals taken from the garden into place in this pretty room that has awesome acoustics. I did not even need a microphone. The monogram from the reception area was placed above this mantel. Add a few candlesticks and other gold decor and it was complete.

Very nice job! 

I found a quiet spot to review the ceremony script before the guests arrived. 

Pinning on the corsage for a grandmother. 

The guests are being seated and having a look at the wedding programs. 

Shawn, our photographer, and Meghan, the venue director, go over last minute details. 

Peter Krumenacker with Island Sound DJ provided the ceremony music. He and Shawn meet each other. 

With the family in the lobby getting ready to line up and process in. There were 3 grandmothers and 2 grandfathers in attendance. 

Tim and I make our entrance followed by the groomsmen.

After the bridesmaids entered, it was time for Tanner, nephew and ring bearer, to enter with his dad, Stephen. The original plan was for Tanner to ride in a cute little wooden wagon but Tanner decided he would rather walk in.

A tearful Katie and her dad, Tim, enter as the guests stand in her honor. 

The couple turned and faced each other as the guests were seated and we warmly welcomed them to this beautiful wedding. We remembered those loved one who were not present.

I invited the parents of Katie and Tim to stand for a surprise tribute and they were really surprised that I knew all the dates and places of their weddings.

This is when I was addressing Tim's parents, Sarah Grace and Mark, and the words were: "It probably seems like only yesterday that exactly four years later you brought your second—and, Tim assures me, favorite—child home from the hospital, and now you’re here to see him get married." 
This generated a bit of laughter, especially from our best man, Eric, older brother of the groom! 

The most fun part of the ceremony was telling their story which spanned 17 years and lots of adventures. They met in 2000 in the eighth grade when Katie's family moved to Wake Forest from California. Katie had a crush on Tim from day one and chronicled for the story many humorous incidents from those years in school. They went their separate ways for college but eventually found their way to each other. It is a good story bringing us up to the wedding with many more stories to come in the future.

Then the story mentioned that Kristie, Katie's younger sister, tagged along when they went to the State Fair one time. And that Katie locked the keys in the car to boot!

The story included quite a bit of humor which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. 

Then what they love about each other, why they want to marry, and what they are looking forward to.

They read their vows to each other from my book then they exchanged rings. 

I made the pronouncement and invited them to kiss. 

Married finally at last!

The presentation of the newlyweds!

Time to celebrate!

A few more kisses!

The rain had stopped so we went outside for post-ceremony photos. 

Katie and Tim, I loved working with you to create your amazing and funny ceremony. Congratulations on the journey of your lives. I am so honored to have joined you in matrimony!

Anna and Jason Get Married at Wakefield Plantation!

Anna and Jason met in college (ECU) and became friends, then roommates and good friends. It was after Jason went home for the summer that they realized that they really cared for each other. And, so when he returned to school in the fall, they became a couple. They finished their degrees, adopted their dog, and moved to Raleigh for better jobs. Their relationship even survived buying and remodeling a house so they are pretty sure their marriage has stood the test! This past February Jason proposed after Anna dropped a few hints (or a few hundred) over the past few years. And then the wedding planning began in earnest.

They chose the date of July 20, 2013 and the lovely Wakefield Plantation for their venue. The day arrived with sunshine and plenty of heat and humidity with a slight breeze everyone was thankful for. This is the view from the ceremony site.

Their ceremony music was provided by this trio with The Music House. Paula is the vocalist and Johnny plays the dulcimer among many other instruments. Don't know the name of our violinist. They created some very pretty music for the prelude, processional and recessional. 

It is time to begin and so after the parents and grandparents were seated, Jason and I, followed by the groomsmen, marched in to take our places.

Then the bridesmaids entered one by one. Friend of the bride, Michelle, was our director.

Our sweet flower girl, Zoey, made her entrance sprinkling the petals. The ring bearer, Riley, was supposed to enter before her but no sign of him. I figured he chickened out at the last minute!

But, can you see that Jason and I are looking off to the left above? We spotted Riley on the sideline trying to decide to come in or not. We gestured him to come on and he scampered up front and got into his place before I invited the guests to stand for the bride! 

Kimberly Miller, the catering manager with the club, fluffed the train right before Anna and her dad, Hudson, began their walk in.

 Anna is such a beautiful young woman and a gorgeous bride! 

Their story was a lot of fun and we made sure it had plenty of humor. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, especially our Maid of Honor, Jamie, who is the groom's sister. I must have been telling something on her brother at the moment this photo was snapped.

Anna and Jason decided to include the Celtic tradition of handfasting where I bound their joined hands with a cord which represents their love.

I think here I am pointing out that their joined hands and arms form the symbol of infinity, blessing their marriage in the ebb and flow of the Universe.

 They made their promises to each other while their hands were joined.

Then I removed the cord and they placed their rings which symbolically took the place of the cord. Riley at this moment decided to check out what was going on!

 "You may kiss the bride!"

At our rehearsal, Jason had been a little shy about the kiss. But he got through it just fine. 

In all the excitement, Anna forgot her bouquet! Oh well, no big deal! 

 

They had the cutest wedding programs that were fans for which all the guests were grateful!

Our photographer, Elizabeth Burchette, was snapping photos of the bridal party.

Then it was time for me to get a shot with the bride and groom! Anna and Jason, it was a pleasure working with you. I thank you for choosing me to be a part of your special day. May all the happiness in the world be yours!

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