All Saints Chapel Wedding for Rena and Jim!

Rena and Jim chose historic All Saints Chapel for their morning wedding on April 24, 2010. We met in May of 2009 to plan their ceremony. I did not see Jim and Rena again until their rehearsal nearly a year later. Then the big day was here!

 

After the bride's grandparents were seated, Jim escorted his mother in. Then our Maid of Honor, Erin, sister of the bride, processed in. The doors were closed and I asked the guests to stand in honor of our bride as Rena was escorted in by her parents. Jim stepped down from the altar to floor level for the transfer of hands.

The chapel was brightly lit by the morning sun and the ceremony began with a warm welcome to their guests and a tribute to the parents of the couple with special mention of Jim's dad who died 6 years ago.

Jim's nieces, Alexa and Jennifer, read "A Blessing for a Marriage" by James Dillet Freeman.

Jim and Rena exchanged vows and rings and then it was time for the breaking of the glass. When I gave the explanation of this wonderful Jewish wedding custom and placed the glass at Jim's feet, he smashed it thoroughly after which we all shouted "Mazel tov" which means congratulations and good luck. Then the pronouncement of marriage.

And then the kiss.....as everyone applauds! 

And they are married!

After I invited to guests to the reception nearby at Caffe Luna, the wedding party and I gathered for some formal photos. Rena and Jim, great wedding--simple but elegant. Congratulations to you both!

Our Vendors:

I met Kim Shaw for the first time this day. She was in charge of the chapel as Sarah Morris' new assistant. I think this was her first wedding stint. Great job, Kim.

Roxy Haney and her assistant cameraman, Mitchell Beasley, were our wedding photographers from Roxy Haney Photography! 

The florist who provided the unusual bouquet and boutonniere was Kelly Odum Flowers. Both had silver wire artistically intertwined with the flowers.  

Matthew Kanon provided the ceremony music. He is so good! He did not know that the entire processional was one piece but he looped the music seamlessly. Thanks, Matthew, good to work with you again.

Liz and Terry's Fabulous Wedding at the Matthews House!

Just 30 days before their wedding on March 27, 2010, the minister that Liz and Terry hired to officiate for them backed out. They found me and I was available so we quickly met and found we were a good fit. Liz and Terry have been together for a long time, have a wonderful sense of humor and are so laid back that they don't panic, thank goodness. I sent them all my ceremony material and they put together the ceremony that fit them. They provided me with information about the two of them and their history together and we created "their story" for the ceremony, making it unique to them and endearing to their guests with a good sprinkling of humor. We held their rehearsal off site at Liz's parents' home the day before and were all set for the wedding. The day was balmy and beautiful for their wedding. 

 

Liz's father, Tony, proudly escorted her in across the beautiful lawn.

 

I stepped to one side of the couple to address their parents. Both sets of parents were together and had marriages that had lasted about 35 years so Liz and Terry wanted to thank them for setting such a wonderful example of love and marriage. I believe I saw a few tears then!

 

Here I am making the pronouncement and wondered where the ladder was so that Liz could step up and kiss Terry! He did manage to lean down and they had a good kiss while our photographer captured the moment. See, she is standing there waiting for it to happen. After knowing each other 14 years, they have had a lot of practice!

Liz is so happy as she practically danced down the aisle in her magenta high heels! They were both so relaxed during the ceremony.

Terry is such a straight man with dry wit and you never know when it is coming! Their ceremony was full of sweet humor only they could create. 

 

Christina, Liz's sister and Maid of Honor, with Louis, Terry's brother and Best Man, exit followed by both sets of parents. 

 

We circled around through the house, left the guests to have cocktails and reassembled at the ceremony site for pictures. Liz and Terry........I wish you all the happiness and joy in the world! 

Our Vendors

First of all, it was great to start out this year with a wedding at the fabulous Matthews House operated by Nina Davis. Always a pleasure. They do their own catering for weddings and other events there. Here is the reception hall ready for the guests after the cocktail hour. They had pretty colored paper lanterns hanging on what looked like hat racks. Nice idea. The couple and their friends made the burlap wrapped favors of pretty potted flowers.

Here is the cupcake wedding cake by Mad Hatter Bakery. The florals were done by the English Garden florist.                                                                 

Here I am talking with Susan Hamilton before the ceremony. She is new to the area, having moved here recently from Arizona. The name of her business is Rogue Photo. This is the first wedding we have done together and I hope to see her at another wedding soon!

Our musicians for the ceremony were Marybeth Butler on the keyboard and John Butler, vocalist. The DJ for the reception came all the way from Hope Mills. He is Otara Mills of Livewire Entertainment. Liz had been to another event he worked and decided she wanted him to DJ her reception.

Latercha and Michael's Wonderful Wedding at Crabtree Marriott!

Brenda Ragland contacted me last November to see if I could officiate the wedding of her friends, Michael and Latercha, on January 16th at the Crabtree Marriott. She was the wedding planner and taking care of organizing and procuring vendors for their wedding. Brenda is a Wedding Consultant and Floral Designer for A Perfect Setting. We made arrangements for me to meet her and the couple in a restaurant in downtown Raleigh. I usually meet with couples  in my home but they were interviewing ministers at the location of their choice. I was happy to go meet with them. After explaining my services and reading a sample ceremony to them, they signed with me on the spot. They wanted me to write their ceremony and add the story of how they met and fell in love. So, we emailed back and forth and came up with the perfect ceremony for them.

Marty (my "roadie") and I arrived at the Crabtree Marriott at 2:00 for the 3:00 wedding and got my microphone hooked into the sound system. Michael himself is a DJ and so he was intricately involved with getting this all set up for both the ceremony and the reception which were in different rooms. His friend Rasheed Smith was the DJ for the evening. The theme was red roses and they were everywhere. When Marty tried taking some photos, my new camera (which had worked fine for 5 weddings since Christmas) would not take pictures. It was too late for us to come back home and get my old one so Amanda Olson, our photographer, promised to send me photos when she gets them done. I have delayed posting this blog hoping to get the photos but decided to go ahead and put it up and add them later.

The ceremony went beautifully and Latercha was simply stunning in her wedding dress with her pretty "up-do" hair style. Her father escorted her in and proudly presented her to Michael. We paid tribute to their parents and I told their "story." After the vows and rings, they poured their red and white sand together and I made the pronouncement of marriage which was followed by the KISS then the presentation of the couple to their guests amidst much applause. They recessed followed by the wedding party and parents. Many guests came up to me to say how much they enjoyed the ceremony because it was so personal and different from traditional ceremonies.

After sticking around for photos after the ceremony, Marty and I left the happy couple and their guests to celebrate the rest of the afternoon and probably into the evening. Latercha and Michael, you are such a good match for each other and I appreciate your maturity and dedication to each other. I know you will be so happy!

I want to credit their wedding vendors: I want to thank Kelly Bray, Events Manager of the Marriott, for all of her help with this wedding and for bringing me water when I developed a dry tickle in my throat and coughing during the rehearsal!   John Carter of A Perfect Day Images covered the MC and the video for the wedding. Bob Taylor, videographer was handling the video equipment. Sweet Memories provided the beautiful cake bedecked with red roses and Fallon's did the beautiful rose floral arrangements. Brenda, you did a great job assembling a superb team of wedding vendors and organizing a beautiful and smoothly flowing wedding!

Allyson and Graham Have a Fabulous Winter Wedding!

Allyson and Graham came to see me on January 18, 2009 and hired me to officiate their wedding on January 2, 2010 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship sanctuary on Wade Avenue in Raleigh. At that time, I had no idea how resourceful this young couple would be in creating their dream wedding. But, I found out at their wedding that they did a lot of very careful planning to make their wedding affordable. As Allyson told me herself, it was a DIY wedding! Brian, Allyson's father, told me that she has been a take charge, innovative person since she was a little girl.

Their reception was held at the Royal Banquet on Hillsborough Street across from the Meredith College campus. Marty and I stopped by there before the wedding to get a photo of the wedding cake the bride's mother made. It is a lovely space. We talked to Callie who was in charge of this event for Carla Towns, the Events Coordinator. The caterer furnished the dishes and silverware but Allyson purchased the linens and she and her friends and family set up the tables the night before. Her caterer was Visions Catering of Thomasville NC. I asked Graham how they came to use a caterer that far away. He told me that Allyson expanded her search beyond the Triangle and found Visions and there was no charge for travel within 200 miles and their prices were right.

Allyson's mother, Becca Lipscomb, is a cake baker. She owns the business Cakes for a Cause.  They donate part of every cake purchase either to fund research for childhood cancer or to  your charity. What a wonderful and generous enterprise! This is a lovely cake and I bet it tasted fabulous. It is missing its cake topper which was with the groom over at the church. The cake topper which I never did get to see is a replica of their two dogs!

Here you can see photos of the couple and their Labrador retriever, Huckleberry Finn, and their beagle, Bailey.  

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I was most impressed with their centerpieces! Allyson found these beautiful tall vases herself and filled them with the crystal pebbles. The florist, Madelyn's Flower Shop, from Nashville NC, topped them off with white mums. They were stunning! Good job sleuthing out your vendors, Allyson.

 

The attendants, groom and I are in place waiting for the entrance of the bride and her parents.

Here they come!

The sanctuary of the Unitarian Church is such a beautiful contemporary setting. The acoustics are amazing! Bo, the person in charge of the sound system there, was helpful in getting my microphone plugged into their system and the sound was perfect. The couple saved money by using CD music for the prelude and burned a special CD of the processional and recessional music and it worked very nicely!

The ceremony was sweet and simple, just the way they wanted it. They found a great reading I had not heard before that fit their beliefs and feelings about love and marriage. It is titled: "When a Man and a Woman are in Love" and the author is unknown. They read their vows to each other from my book and after the exchange of rings, I pronounced them husband and wife. They really took to heart my homework assignment to practice kissing and smoothly executed a great kiss!  Sorry that I don't have a photo of that but our professional photographer, Penny Noell, surely does. Penny is a friend of the family and was wonderful to work with.

Let me tell you the story of Allyson's beautiful wedding gown! She fell in love with it when she tried it on almost two years ago at David's Bridal. But her family found another dress they liked better and she liked it as well and bought it. But, she could not stop thinking about that first dress. Later on she saw it on eBay in her size in perfect condition and bought it for a song! So, she sold the first dress she bought on a preowned wedding dress site and came out ahead. How is that for resourcefulness! The dress was perfect for Allyson. It was made for her figure and not only that, it was soft and comfortable and did not wrinkle when she sat down. A dream come true!

Allyson and Graham, you are young but you have known each other for years and have carefully thought out your decisions. I know you are going to have a wonderful and satisfying marriage! All the best to you! And hopefully I will see you again soon because Allyson's grandparents have been married almost 50 years and told me they were thinking of doing a Renewal of Vows ceremony! Just call me!

Wonderful Winter Wedding for CJ and Justin!

CJ (short for Caroline Judith) found me on The Knot and called me on 8/13/09 to see if I was available for her wedding date of January 2, 2010. We chatted and decided that since she and Justin, her fiance, lived in Boston, that I would meet with her parents to discuss my services and get to know each other a bit. Her parents, Susan and Gerald, live in Morehead City and it just so happened that my husband and I were going on vacation at Atlantic Beach nearby the following week. So we made all the arrangements and met one afternoon at the beach. I enjoyed meeting with Gerald and Susan and they reported back to CJ and Justin what they thought of me. Apparently I made a good impression because CJ and Justin decided to hire me as their wedding officiant and we got the contract signed and my fee paid quickly.

Then we began the process of creating their special ceremony via email. They really loved the idea of including their "story" in their wedding ceremony. CJ and Justin told me how and when they met, what first attracted them to each other and what they love most about each other, what they look forward to in marriage, what marriage means to them, and shared some of their cute stories and adventures with me. I took their material and crafted it into a running history of CJ and Justin and with their editing and approval, we had the bulk of their ceremony completed. All three of us loved it. It also included some great humor that I knew the guests would enjoy and I really looked forward to delivering the ceremony.  I love hearing the stories of couples and passing it on to their guests. I find the guests love it too and are in rapt attention throughout the ceremony.

CJ and Justin and I met face to face for the first time on December 22nd when they got back to NC for the holidays. We went over the logistics of our ceremony since we were having the rehearsal at a site different from the ceremony venue of the Carolina Club--the UNC Alumni Center. Both the bride and groom are UNC grads and of course this was the perfect setting for them. I had gone by there the week before (the day it snowed!) and met Sallie Sullivan, the events coordinator, and took a good look at the ceremony venue and how it would be set up for the wedding. Sallie was great and gave me a grand tour. I look forward to doing more weddings there! Finally the big day arrived! It was rather chilly with a wind chill factor down in the teens but it was warm and cozy in the Carolina Club and this beautiful wedding began.

After the grandparents, parents, groom, best man and the attendants and I entered, it was time for CJ and her father, Gerald, to make their grand entrance and float down the aisle. Here our photographer, Elizabeth Burgess, has them turn briefly and face her for a great photo.

There were about 140 guests filling this beautifully appointed and richly decorated room. There was a trellis with a floral arrangement on top and a huge fern on each side flanked by the candelabras which you cannot see from here.

A friend of theirs, Melissa Bennett, on the left here, sang a Beatles tune "In my Life" which is a favorite of CJ and Justin's and they were almost singing along with her! She was accompanied by their friend Jeffrey Danielson on keyboard. 

This is an amazing photo because the professional photographer's flash went off at the same time as mine and we got fantastic illumination of the moment I am making the pronouncement of marriage. (You can click on any of these photos and get a larger image.)

It's done! They're married!

The bride and groom and wedding party and parents and grandparents all exited to a private room while the guests went on to the reception. Then we went back into the ceremony room for photos. Here I am talking with Cindy and David, Justin's parents, holding hands, and Susan, CJ's mom. Their kids have been together since high school and they were all so thrilled with this marriage and this wedding ceremony.

Congratulations to the new "Missus!" She is really radiant! I believe all her expectations were met and she is so thrilled. No fussy babies or misbehaving children! On the left is one of our bridesmaids, Sandra, and on the right behind us is Justin's brother, Jake.

The beaming newlyweds. It's off to Jamaica in the morning! Do you think we have a Carolina Blue theme going on here? Just you wait and see!

Just look at that gorgeous wedding gown. It was encrusted with sparkles and beads and was pretty heavy. Once the train was in place, it hardly moved!

See what I mean? Carolina Blue everywhere and a UNC monogram on the glasses. This lovely cake was created by Ronald Johnson of UNC Alumni Club Catering. Our florist was Charles House of University Florist. Our capable photographer was Elizabeth Burgess of Burgess Photography and her assistant was Laurence Lynn with whom I have worked many weddings. What a team they make! I know CJ and Justin will have some fabulous photos of their special day. The make up artist was Jenny Raele of Make-up Art by Jenny.

Our DJ for the reception who also provided the sound for my microphone during the ceremony was Ken Holmes with Joe Bunn DJ Company. It was great to work with Ken again. Cindy Shuford, family friend, did a superb job of directing the wedding.  Thank you, Cindy! Sorry that the photo Marty took of us was not good enough to use--my camera was misbehaving!  

CJ and Justin, you are a wonderful couple and I know you will be very happy together and continue to live life to the fullest! You have such a bright and beautiful outlook on life and your future. I hope you will keep in touch! Have a great honeymoon in Jamaica!

Lisa and Brandon Wed at Caffe Luna!

Lisa and Brandon were married on December 6, 2009 at Caffe Luna in downtown Raleigh. It was a wonderful wedding and the space was filled with their guests. Caffe Luna is a wonderful place to get married and have a casual but elegant wedding with the reception right there too. Ryan Hill, catering manager, was there to make sure everything flowed smoothly for the ceremony and reception. Thanks, Ryan. It is always a pleasure to do weddings at Caffe Luna.

Lisa was escorted in by her Uncle Joe who was a bit nervous but Lisa was such a beautiful bride radiantly sweeping down the aisle to her sweetheart!

Lisa and Brandon chose to have their guests facing the Hargett Street side of the restaurant and placed a drape behind the ceremony area for some privacy. The Christmas wreaths in the window remind us that it is the Christmas season. We paid tribute to their dear mothers which evoked a few tears and then asked their guests for a community blessing. Lisa was cool and calm until it came time for her to say the words to Brandon when they exchanged rings. She started choking up but after a deep breath she was okay. I could tell that Brandon just wanted to hug her and comfort her but I told him "no kissing yet!" which got a good laugh from everyone. We proceeded on to the pronouncement and then they kissed and I presented the newlyweds to their delighted guests. They wedding party and parents exited and the guests went to the two back rooms which were all set up for the reception. Then the staff started transforming the front room for the reception too. It was pretty busy and I joined the couple in the VIP room to congratulate them and get some photos.

Have a great time in Vegas, Lisa and Brandon! You are a dear couple and your love for each other is so evident. I wish you all the best ever!

This is one of the rooms in the back of the restaurant all set up for the reception. The owner, Parker Kennedy, is a dear friend and neighbor of mine and his talented wife, Nicole, painted all the wonderful paintings that hang on the walls.

Lisa and Brandon are big time Disney fans. See Mickey and Minnie topping the cake! They would have gone to Disney World for their honeymoon except that they had recently been there on another trip. So they decided to immerse themselves in the glitz and glitter of Las Vegas instead. This cake is by Lisa's friend, Melissa Taylor.

Melissa Taylor was also our wedding director. She did a super job directing the wedding party in. Here she is with Gene Raffel, our DJ with Gene's Mobile DJ Service  getting their cues lined up. Gene was really good to work with. Thanks, Gene and Melissa. Our florals were done by Ty Batista of A Floral Essence. Our photographer was Kelly Martin. It was good to work with her again.

Wonderful Wedding at the Matthews House for Martha and Ryan!

Martha and Ryan planned a lovely wedding outdoors at The Matthews House in Cary. It is a gorgeous venue for a wedding. But, tropical depression Ida almost forced the wedding indoors! It rained all week and we got almost 6" of needed rain here but Martha and Ryan were hoping for a reprieve on Saturday afternoon and the sun finally popped out about 1:00 for this 4:00 wedding. The ground was quite soft though and the bridesmaids in high heels gave the lawn a good aerating! Some of them wisely switched to flats though.

Stella is our 3 year old flower girl assisted by Martha's niece, Isis, our 9 year old junior bridesmaid.

Isis did not think that Stella was throwing out enough petals so she helped her by scooping out more and filling in the aisle. But, they finally made it down the aisle and Stella managed to stand up quietly with us for the entire wedding.

Martha was escorted in by her parents, Marty and Melissa. Marty sure looks like he has got a good grip on his daughter before they entered. I don't know who the tall gentleman with the camera is but he is watching for the cue for them to enter.

You can see that the wedding colors were purple and green. The groomsmen had green vests and ties and the bridesmaids wore deep purple dresses that were quite interesting. They were skirts and the tops wrapped in different configurations making each bridesmaid's dress unique. Their sweet purple nosegays by Daniel's Florist were perfect for their dresses.

Martha and Ryan are pouring their sand. Hers is purple, his a light green. Their containers are unique (see close-ups below). You can see we provided a piece of runner for the bride and groom to stand on so that her dress would not get all muddy. I brought a small green rug for me to stand on.

Here they are! The Newlywed Couple! I think Martha is scampering along on her tiptoes so she won't sink! It was a great wedding. Two of their attendants did readings and one sang and played the guitar during the sand ceremony.

After the wedding while we were taking photos, Stella came up to me and just hugged my legs! She was such a little sweetie. I think she really liked my purple velvet prayer shawl!

The customary shot of the couple with the minister! I am standing on a step above them and finally almost eye to eye with Ryan for the first time! Congratulations, Martha and Ryan. You created a fabulous wedding! I wish you lifetimes of happiness!

Martha is so talented. She handmade every one of her programs and you can see how beautiful they are. She batiked linen paper in a long but loving process. Each one is unique. She told me she thought that some guests might like to frame the cover. What a great idea.

Dan Hadley was our photographer. He is so much fun to work with. Thanks, Dan, and send me some of your photos!

The guitarist is Ken Wilson from Winston-Salem where the couple grew up. He and the flautist made beautiful wedding music.

Here is the pretty sand ceremony before the wedding. The containers are engraved. The individual containers have their names on them. The central one has the initials of both of them and the wedding date. Very nice.

They carefully poured their sand in to make layers and mixing the very top layer. A real keepsake.

This is the wedding cake! All the delicious cupcakes were lovingly made by several of the bridesmaids. Wonderful friends to have.