Christina and Erik Wed at King's Daughters Inn!

Christina and Erik are a delightful couple! I enjoyed getting to know them during my Marriage Optimization course they took. They wanted to double-check their compatibility and be sure they were beginning their marriage with a firm foundation in relationship skills. I might add that their instincts that they were very compatible were right on!

They chose to have their wedding at the King's Daughters Inn in Durham on November 8th, 2014. It is a lovely old historic building that has been used for many purposes through the years including a retirement home for old ladies! You can read all about it on their website. For the past 6 or so years it has been a venue for weddings and other events. They have suites where the families and guests can stay, a dining room, and a large lower level for a fun reception. It is very homy and comfortable. When Marty and I arrived, our photographer--Ashley with Story Photographers--had their families and wedding party assembled for photos in the front of the inn.

 Our sweet little flower girls, Adalyn and Caroline, were eager to make their walk down the aisle. 

 This is a very interesting collection of information about our couple for the guests to read! 

 Erik poses with his father, Frank, in the center, and his Uncle Tony on the left.  

 The dining room....Rocky Top Hospitality was their caterer.

 Strawberry-Kiwi jam or Blueberry-Peach for the guests to take home......

The two mothers--Dory, Erik's mom on the left, and Terri, Christina's mom on the right who might have just heard some surprising news!?

 Erik's parents are ready to enter first. 

 Erik, his best man--Bolton, and I follow mother of the bride's entrance. 

 Our Maid of Honor, Sara, enters, followed by our flower girls!

Then our beautiful bride makes her entrance from the doorway at the back of the room. I asked the guests to stand in her honor. 

As she began walking down the aisle, Erik began walking toward her. They met in the middle and walked the rest of the way down the aisle together to be joined in marriage. Love that symbolism!

The parlor is such a pretty and soft setting for these small intimate weddings. The acoustics are fabulous without any amplification.

The light from the windows behind us render us back-lit so without a good strobe light on my camera, the photos are a bit dark.  I know Ashley got some fabulous pictures with her professional equipment!

After the welcome, a tribute to their families and remembrance of Christina's father who unfortunately had passed away in September, Erik's sister Amanda read a sweet poem. Then it was time for the story! Erik and Christina met at a speed dating event and both felt an attraction which resulted in their first date a few weeks later. From then on they became inseparable. They felt so comfortable together and Erik was good at planning adventures for them from seeing live comics, to visiting museums and historical places and zoos, to snuggling on the couch with their good friend Netflix! They took a trip to New York for Christina to meet Erik's family and not long after that, Erik surprised Christina with a proposal during a trip to the Biltmore.

I stepped back behind the couple to reveal what each had told me in confidence about what they love about their partner and are looking forward to in marriage. The tears started flowing for Christina and she grabbed the not-very-absorbent handkerchief out of Erik's breast pocket before I could hand her a much more absorbent hankie I always carry for that purpose. Everyone was laughing at this point.

A few more tears as Erik put the ring on her finger and repeated after me: "This ring is a symbol of my love, my promise to you, and a sign that from this day forward, you will be surrounded by my love." 

 Christina said the same words to Erik and placed the ring on his finger. 

Then it was time for them to place their love letters to each other into the lovely wooden box that also holds a bottle of wine that they are to open, pour each other a glass, and read the letters for the first time on their first wedding anniversary so they can remember how madly in love they are with one another. And, pass this custom along in their family as an example of true eternal love.

 The pronouncement of marriage.....

 The kiss and the "after-kiss" moment that is always so sweet as their wedded state is really sinking in! 

And away they go! 

Christina and Erik, finally you are married and can live happily ever after! You are a wonderful match and with your determination, compatibility and understanding of each other, I know you will have a fulfilling and enduring marriage!

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Katie and Greg Have a Wonderful Wet Wedding at The Sutherland!

Katie and Greg's wedding was Saturday June 12, 2010 at The Sutherland in Wake Forest. It was a beautiful day but quite hot with temps in the nineties. The wedding was to be outdoors in the lovely Walled Garden. As Marty and I were driving north on Hwy 1 to Wake Forest, we noticed the wind kicking up and some gray clouds moving in. When we got to The Sutherland the wind was blowing over the umbrellas and the plant stand with the ferns.

Here is what the garden looked like about 45 minutes before the wedding was to start at 6:00. The lovely parasols were there to shade folks from the intense sun but could not be opened because the wind would blow them over. You can see the darker clouds coming in. 

One of my favorite DJs, Lenny Fritts, was waiting for us to plug in my microphone and do a sound check. He takes such good care of all that for me. Anyway, here we are talking about something but notice how the sun is still out but the wind is whipping around my hair and prayer stole.

And then, about 10 minutes before 6:00 the rain started coming down and Ashlee of The Sutherland wisely moved all the guests to the porch to wait it out and stay dry.

Lenny was a trooper though and stayed out in the rain, his equipment protected with plastic Marty retrieved from my car and the canvas umbrella he had rigged to keep his equipment shaded. His back was not protected though. You can see his jacket is getting really wet by clicking on this photo to make it full size. He was playing music with rain in the theme!

Ashlee was watching the weather report and saw that a break was coming up in the storm cells and so when the rain slowed to a sprinkle, she started having the ushers re-seat the guests after her staff had dried off the seats. You can see how overcast it was and the mist formed by the rain mixing with the hot temperature of the ground.  Greg and Mike, his best man, and I were hold up in the Settler's House, a quaint cabin near the garden that is one of the original structures on this plantation.

Allison Satterfield of Sandfoot Photography was on the job despite the rain.

After the seating of the grandparents and the groom's parents and mother of the bride, Greg and the groomsmen and I took our places up front. Then it was time for the pretty bridesmaids. First was Amy. Normally you don't see a bridesmaid carrying an umbrella down the aisle! But, Ashlee was so prepared. She handed each bridesmaid and the best man one of these large pretty white umbrellas to have handy should the rain pick up.

Then there is Shante carrying her umbrella followed by Sandra, our maid of honor, who is also Greg's twin sister.

One of the very nicest things about The Sutherland's Walled Garden is that the green grass is really green turf. So, no matter how wet it gets, there is no mud and our shoes do not sink into and get stuck in the ground. It is so wonderful and no need for any kind of walkway.

And it is time for the bride! A little cloud appears to be sitting right there on the terrace as she and her father, David, entered. It did not look so misty to the eye but this is what my camera saw and recorded.

See how quickly that cloud lifted as they walked out of the mist into the garden. Katie's dress was gorgeous and I love her color choices of light yellow and sky blue.

I think the large parasols really add a unique touch to this setting and Katie and Greg and their guests will never forget this really different look for their wedding day.

So here we are. It is still sprinkling a little but not so much that we needed those white umbrellas. My pages were getting a little spattered but the ink of the words did not run. The couple are looking at their parents as I read the tribute they wrote to them. So sweet. Notice the wonderful gray suits the guys wore which went so well with the yellow and blue. Not such a stark contrast that black tuxes would have been. (The Wedding Guys said that the hot color trend in 2011 will be charcoal gray for the men and teal for the bridesmaids and blush for the bride.)

Katie's father, David, presented a reading called "The Master Speed" by Robert Frost. Good job!

Then Stephanie, family friend, presented Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare. She has a British accent and so it was quite nice to hear her speak Shakespeare's words.

Greg and Katie have known each other eight years. They were in high school together and both were "band geeks" which they loved about each other. Both are very smart and stood out from the crowd to each other. When Greg went away to college, they realized then how strong their love for each other was and decided to spend their lives together. Wisely they waited until they both graduated from college and had jobs. 

Katie and Greg chose to have the Wooden Wedding Box ritual in their wedding. Instead of placing a bottle of wine and wine glasses in the box, they chose to place mementos of their life together including a wedding program from this day in the box along with the love letters they wrote to each other. You can see the box to the left in the photo where they have just locked it during the ceremony. They ordered it specially made for this day.

 The pronouncement of marriage............

And then Greg planted a big kiss on Katie! They must have been practicing!

The white parasols add so much to this wedding! So different and so pretty! It had completely stopped raining about half way through the ceremony and the guests had put their umbrellas down.

I am so happy for Katie and Greg! They had a wonderful wedding despite the weather; in fact, the weather made their wedding distinctly different from the norm. Katie and Greg, I wish you a lifetime of joy and happiness! And have a fantastic time on your honeymoon abroad.

I wanted to show you the tent that had been set up for the reception. It was much larger than this picture makes it look. The background is all natural wooded area. If the rain had not stopped when it did, we would have had the ceremony here.

Look at this amazing cake! Their colors of light yellow and blue with the doves on top. The cake was made by Laurae Porter but I could not find a website for her to link to.

As I mentioned before, Allison with Sandfoot Photography was covering the wedding. What fun it is to work with Allison. She is so easy going.

Catering the wedding was Caffe Luna. Always great food. My thanks to Lenny Fritts for all his help with this wedding. He is a fantastic DJ too.

Salon 123 did Katie's beautiful hairdo. It was truly beautiful and the damp weather did not faze it.

Thanks again to Ashlee Adams, one of the owners of The Sutherland. She is always prepared for whatever needs to be handled. It is always a pleasure to do weddings with her.