Meghan and Dustin's Beautiful Wedding at Melrose Knitting Mill!

Meghan and Dustin live in Colorado while he is in the military and planned their wedding from afar for December 28, 2018. The met while living in North Carolina so they chose the historic Melrose Knitting Mill for their wedding venue. Meghan's parents live in Florida and Dustin's in Wyoming.

This beautiful cake is by Simply Cakes. The caterer for Melrose Knitting Mill is Mulino's. The florist was Callie with Wylde Flowers and the photographers were from George Creative.

Our DJ was Randy Bennett with Bunn DJ Company. Randy and I have done too many wedding together to keep count. He collects cuff links and he chose these for the couple.

We are behind the drapes connecting my mic to his system.

Making sure everything is synchronized.

The ceremony area is ready. After the ceremony the guests will go downstairs for cocktail hour while the staff flips this room by spreading out all the tables hidden behind the drapes into this area, placing the chairs and creating a dance floor.

Blake Morrin with Southern Oak Events was our wedding coordinator. She had everything under control!

I am in the back room area which is the holding area for the groom and groomsmen. 

When it is time, we get lined up to enter through the drapes to the altar area. 

Their photographer, Katherine, is poised to capture the images of the bridal party and bride when they come down the aisle.

The guys and I have entered and taken our places up front.

After all the bridesmaids entered, it is time for our beautiful bride and her father to enter. 

"Who supports and blesses Meghan as she comes to join in marriage to Dustin?"

After welcoming everyone, there was a short prayer, then I stepped out to deliver the blessing to their parents. A sweet surprise moment for them.

Then it was my pleasure to tell the story of Meghan and Dustin and all their adventures that brought them to this special day.

Time for the vows! 

I asked them each a series of questions to which they replied "I do."

Then it was time for the ring exchange. 

Dustin places the ring on Meghan's finger and makes his promises to her.

Then it is Meghan's turn.

Then I pronounced them husband and wife and invited them to share their first married kiss!

Yay!

And out they go into the next chapter of their lives! Marriage! 

Congratulations, Meghan and Dustin!! Great wedding you pulled together. Thank you for choosing me to officiate for you! I wish you the best always.

Rachel and Jeff's Fantastic Wedding at The Merrimon-Wynne House!

Rachel and Jeff chose the beautiful Merrimon-Wynne House for their wedding. The day was November 17th, 2018 and the weather was wonderful.

I met Jeff and Rachel in November of 2017 to plan their wedding ceremony. They met in 2009 when both of them were students at NC State. They became good friends and their friendship gradually blossomed into romance! Jeff proposed in March of 2017 and they waited until Rachel finished grad school before starting the wedding planning.

The garden is all set up for the ceremony. 

Up front is a table that holds the Anniversary Box into which they will place their unopened loveletters to each other during the ceremony.

Randy Bennet with Bunn DJ Company was already set up to provide the ceremony music. I plugged my mic into his body pack and we did a sound check.

The Carriage House was all set up for the reception. After the ceremony the guests enjoy cocktails in the house before the reception.

Wylde Flowers provided the florals. Beautiful arrangements in white urns flanked the ceremony site.

Jessica King with Happily Ever After was our wedding planner and director. Love working with Jessica! She always has covered all the details and we love giving the couple a wonderful wedding day!

The guests have arrived and taking their seats.

Kristen Moore, our photographer, and Thomas Blake, our videographer, are ready for the processional to begin!  Here is a link to a short video of their wedding.

I entered the ceremony space first and made an unplugged announcement (asked the guests to put away their cell phones and cameras and truly be with our couple during the ceremony without the distraction of technology).

Then the processional of the family, the bridesmaids and groomsmen. 

Rachel chose not to be "presented" in the traditional way. Instead, she and Jeff chose to enter together. 

I invited the guests to stand in their honor as they came together to be married. 

They stopped at the front row to greet their parents and each other's parents. 

As the guests were seated, Rachel handed off her bouquet to the maid of honor then she and Jeff joined hands facing each other.

After welcoming everyone to this wonderful occasion, I stepped out for the Honoring of the Parents segment. Then I got to tell the story of how Jeff and Rachel met, fell in love, and the journey to their wedding day.

I had asked each of them in confidence to tell me what they love about each other, why they want to marry and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

During the ceremony, they got to hear what their beloved told me for the first time. 

Then it was time to exchange vows and seal them with their rings. Jeff reads from my book the vows he has chosen then put the ring on Rachel's finger.

Then Rachel does the same. 

They placed their unshared loveletters in the Anniversary Box to open and read on their first anniversary.

After a closing blessing for Rachel and Jeff, I pronounced them husband and wife and invited them to kiss!

Yay! First kiss as a married couple!

The guests cheered as I introduced the newlyweds!

Congratulations to you, Rachel and Jeff! What a wonderful wedding for two people so much in love and happy to be married! I loved working with you and telling your great story! I wish you all the best in the world!

Corey and Tyler Wed at Cedar Grove Acres!

Cedar Grove Acres in Creedmoor is a pretty cool place! Corey and Tyler liked the rustic setting, the variety of activities for wedding guests and the easy-going nature of the owners, Richard and Paula Kolarov. This was the first wedding I have done there. 

Corey and Tyler's wedding was May 27th, 2017. It was a hot day made hotter by the humidity and the forecast was for spotty showers. We had our fingers crossed! But it turned out to be just fine!

Off to the side is a meadow that is the perfect place for the ceremony. There is a platform for the wedding party to stand on and an arbor to decorate. The walk is compacted sand with a brick frame. Much easier to walk on than concrete and does not snag the bride's train either! I think the two guys handing out programs are the bride's brothers, Joseph and Ian.

The structure behind the chairs is the site of the reception. It is called the Hay Shack. The sides are open with a deck overlooking the ceremony. That is also where our DJ, Eric Hodgden, All Around Raleigh DJ is set up.

I have plugged my mic into Eric's body pack and now making my way down to the arbor to do a sound check.

Eric is happy the way the sound works and agrees that this is a great place for a wedding! 

There are many different buildings. This one is where the bar is set up. 

Looking down the way from the drive up area is this wide expanse of gravel with cornhole boards. That is Paula in the red shirt on the left. The building on the right is where Southern Harvest Catering is set up to prepare the food. Just in front of it is a lemonade and water stand.

Quentin Dyson, day of planner with the caterer, got all the wedding party lined up and cued us in. I have already processed in with Tyler and now the guys are coming in. The bridesmaids are ready and the bride is hidden around the corner. 

It's a fairly good walk. You can see that I am almost at the arbor with Tyler. 

Here come the bridesmaids! Dave is shooting just behind Cristobal Perez with Azul Photography, our professional photographer who is so kind to let Dave snap these photos for this blog!

As the last bridesmaid makes her way to the arbor, the guests began to stand for the bride. Note all the cell phones ready to get a record of this!

Here comes our beautiful bride with her proud father, Paul.

After the presentation of the bride, all the guests were seated and Tyler and Corey stepped up onto the platform and faced each other for the ceremony. I began with a warm welcome to everyone.

Then I stepped out from behind the couple and thanked their parents on their behalf for all their love and support. 

Then it was time to tell the story of how Corey and Tyler met, how they fell in love and all their adventures together. We had some good laughs too!

Next were the secret paragraphs and then the exchange of vows and rings. 

Tyler placed the ring on Corey's finger as he read the words from my book.

Then Corey made her vows to Tyler and placed the ring on his finger. 

After a closing blessing, I made the pronouncement of marriage and invited them to kiss! 

No problem here! 

They turned and faced their guests. My mic kept sliding off my ear because I was perspiring so much! Introduced them as husband and wife to their guests and the recessional music began amid cheering and applause!

And away they go! 

Corey's mother, Margaret is escorted out by her two sons, Ian and Joseph, followed by Paul.

Kevin and Patricia, Tyler's parents followed. 

Quentin directing the guests where to go. They told me there were some raindrops falling but I never felt any and besides, they went away. I heard one guest say that there was a rainbow over the trees!

Getting unplugged now and relaxing. Eric is so much fun to work with. We are both members of the NC Wedding Ring and love working weddings together.

Quentin helped me round up the witnesses to sign the marriage license. 

Almost done! 

Meantime, Quentin and Eric are putting the fabric drape that was on the arbor onto the rafters over the sweetheart table.

Got a quick photo with Quentin. He is such fun! If you book Southern Harvest for your caterer, he comes with the deal! 

Watching the guests mingle while re-hydrating with a cup of water! 

Off toward the open field to the left of the catering barn is a great fire pit. 

Congratulations, Corey and Tyler! Fabulous wedding you pulled off! It was great working with you and getting to know you. My honor to join you in matrimony! I wish you a fabulous marriage and all the happiness in the world!