Kathryn and Brett Wed at Yates Mill County Park!

Kathryn and Bret wanted a simple, no frills wedding. They chose Yates Mill County Park on Lake Wheeler Road for the setting. It is a fairly new park and is very nice. The patio in the back overlooks a nice wooded area in front of the lake.  Kathryn called me the end of August about officiating for them and we made all the arrangements via email and USPS. So, I actually met them for the first time on their wedding day.

 I don't know their story but they both were born and probably grew up in the same small town in Oregon so they are far away from family except for their sisters, Sarah and Sara, who served as their witnesses. Tori McKoy was on hand as the photographer.

 

 

 

 

And so it is, they are married! They had a chocolate wedding cake and champagne to celebrate.  Just as they were popping the cork, Marty and I left to go to Highgrove for the next wedding of the day. Congratulations, Kathryn and Bret!

Abby and Devin's Wedding at Second Empire!

Abby and Devin live in Kernersville, NC but used to live in Cary. Her parents live in Pennsylvania and his in Florida so they chose to have their small family wedding in Raleigh on Friday afternoon August 6, 2010 at the Second Empire--a wonderful choice. The wedding was in the East Parlor. I did not have my husband or Marty with me for this wedding so the grooms' father, Chris, volunteered to snap some photos with my camera during the ceremony for this blog. Thanks, Chris!

The couple had one attendant each, Shannon was the "best woman" and Katie was the maid of honor. The color theme was clover green and Abby asked me to wear purple which I did, with a green prayer stole. So, with her green sash, we were all color coordinated. I entered first, then the ladies then Abby and Devin walked in together as we all hummed "Here comes the bride!"

The flowers were beautiful hydrangeas. Abby had the cutest little hat with a a veil. She looked so pretty and radiant.

There they are, husband and wife. Devin and Abby really could not keep their eyes off each other they are so much in love. It is a wonderful feeling to witness this love.

After the ceremony they are admiring their lovely rings. Can you see the amazing tattoo on Abby's shoulder? it was quite intricate and very colorful. I should have gotten a better shot of it. It must have taken many hours.

Finally you get to see Devin from the front! This is one happy man! Abby and Devin, have the most wonderful life together! I wish you a lifetime of happiness and contentment.

No, it is only one cake with its reflection in the mirror. Isn't it beautiful and all color coordinated? The pastry chef at Second Empire does amazing wedding cakes. Our photographer was Lauren Cowart of Lauren Cowart Photography. I had not met her before and she was delightful to work with.

Stevie and Pete Marry at Shady Wagon Farm!

These pictures show the sequence of what Marty and I saw as we arrived in New Hill at Shady Wagon Farm for Stevie and Pete's wedding on June 19, 2010 at 6:30. Never been to a "slow wedding" before! The day was hot as blue blazes though and I knew the guests would prefer that we speed it up rather than slow it down. Shady Wagon Farm is a beautiful pastoral setting with a lake and geese and a fountain and gazebo out of the water. This picture above is taken on the barn side of the lake.

This is what it looks like from the house side of the lake. Cindy Carroll, the owner, and her husband, created such a wonderful setting for a wedding. Cindy was not there today but her Lynn with Happily Ever After was handling things for her.

Marty went over to the barn and got a few shots of the interior to show how pretty it looks.

Cindy also bakes the beautiful wedding cakes for most weddings there. Xu Catering was providing the food for the wedding.

There was also a photo of our beautiful bride on display in the barn.

Back at the ranch, er, I mean, farm, our DJ, Tim Oxendine, of Diamond DJ Entertainment, was sweating it out setting up the sound system for the ceremony music. As I said, it was mighty hot with temps in the upper 90s. Tim was a trooper.

Thanks to Allison, our honorary wedding director, we started right on time--no slow wedding here! After the grandparents and parents were escorted in, the guys and I made our entrance. Can you tell that is a water bottle in my right pocket? The guys are dressed in good looking chocolate brown suits with hot pink vests to coordinate with the bridesmaids dresses. Every little detail had been thought out by Stevie and Pete.

This is Asia, one of the bridesmaids, with her daughter, Amaya, our flower girl. It was a really long walk from the house to the lake but she made it!

Here comes the bride. She was escorted in by her grandfather, Ronnie. He was so thrilled to have the honor. Stevie did not want to choose between her father and her stepfather so she chose her grandfather. Good solution.

We are all assembled now and the ceremony began. Stevie and Pete were matched up on line and found that they were extremely compatible. What attracted Stevie to Pete was that he was a high school soccer coach, which meant that they had soccer in common since she had played soccer since age 4. When he first saw her, she smiled at him and he was smitten. They love being with each other all the time they can squeeze in and enjoy spending time with their dogs. They are looking forward to starting a family some day and going to their children's soccer games.

They had a couple of readings in the ceremony and one was read by Carl, Stevie's stepfather. You can also see our photographer, Ron Cribbs, in this photo too. He is from Sanford and is a friend of Stevie's father, Scottie.

The big moment of the pronouncement of marriage. It was followed by the kiss but I did not get a photo of their kiss, too bad!

They are married! The two red cars in the background are parked on the other side of the lake. It is amazing to me how large they showed up in this photo. I edited them out in the photo above this one.

The new Mr. and Mrs. headed for the cool of the house while their guests went over to the barn for refreshments and cooling down while we took some photos.

See all these color-coordinated good looking men standing around waiting to be in the photos? I really don't know how you guys tolerate the heat in jackets which are probably made of wool or a wool blend. My hat is off to you!

I am so happy that sweat does not show up in photos because we are all dripping! Stevie and Pete are so happy to be married they probably don't even feel the temperature! Congratulations and all the best to you both, Stevie and Pete. You are a cool couple and I know you will love being married and finding out what the future holds for you both!

 On our way to my car to leave, Mr. Puddy, resident Persian cat greeted us. I love seeing this very friendly cat when I do weddings here. He is more like a dog than a cat and loves to run out and greet visitors. He's apparently had a hair cut and has lost a lot of fur on his back but I bet that feels good to him! Such a sweet kitty.

Heather and Steven get married at the Alpha Delta Pi House in Chapel Hill!

Steven's mother, Victoria, called me in mid-May to see if I could officiate the wedding of Steven and Heather on June 19, 2010. I was so happy that I was available and so we set up a meeting on May 24th and sealed the deal. When I realized that the wedding would be at the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house in Chapel Hill I remembered that many years ago I had done a wedding there for one of the sorority girls and Victoria was the house-mother back then--small world. I wrote a ceremony for Heather and Steven and sent it to them to review and make changes they wanted. I also wrote their "story" for them from the questionnaires they answered for me. When Marty and I arrived at the sorority house it was beautiful. The flowers were in bloom and the chairs and decorations in place. I rounded up the sand ceremony containers and sand and set that up. The upstairs of the sorority house reminded me of my days at the Sigma Kappa sorority at the University of Georgia, fond memories of long ago!

When it was time to begin, Steven and I took our places and his brother and best man, Patrick, escorted Victoria in down the front walk. Notice the outfit and shoes. Wonderful and so colorful. I had no idea of the color scheme for this wedding. The guys were so wise in wearing vests rather than the jackets on this 90+ summer day.

Then Derek, the brother of the bride and also a groomsman, escorted in his mother, Peggy. She knew what to wear to be cool!

Next in was Shelby carrying Stella, the couple's daughter, who was delivered over to Heather's mother for the ceremony.

Then Gina, maid of honor, made her entrance and took her place.

Our beautiful bride was escorted in by her father, Robert. What a beautiful wedding gown! Heather is such a beautiful young woman.

And so we began..........

Stella behaved herself so well during the ceremony. She was entertained by a cup of water her grandfather held. Even during the Child's Blessing for her she looked at me and seemed to understand what I was saying although at 14 months of age I doubt she did!

Heather and Steven both grew up in Detroit but their paths did not cross until one day in 2006 in Charlotte when Heather went into a Chili's restaurant for an interview and noticed Steven who was wearing a Detroit Tigers hat. He heard her talking about Michigan and perked his ears up. They ended up both working at Chili's and fell in love. And, as they say, the rest is history! They enjoyed hearing me tell their guests their story.

They made their vows and exchanged their rings. 

Then we had the family unity sand ceremony. Heather was represented by the white sand, Steven by the black, and Stella was the pink sand. It was so pretty.

No explanation needed here! 

Married at last!

Heather and Steven, you were meant for each other and I truly loved officiating for you. Stella is precious and I wish you and your family all the best!

isn't that a beautiful cake? I wish I had remembered to ask who baked it. Maybe someone will email me and tell me or put a comment on the blog.

Scott Paulson was both our DJ and photographer.