Raleigh Wedding Blog

Friday, June 27, 2014

Sarah and John's Fabulous Wedding at The Oaks at Salem!

Last August I met Sarah and John. They contacted me because I am a preferred officiant at their venue, The Oaks at Salem. Also turns out that John works at a state agency that I worked at for 15 years before retiring in 2008 and doing weddings full-time. Their DJ, Bill Smith, also works at the agency. So, really the whole team felt like family and John and Sarah and I had fun putting together their wonderful romantic ceremony. The wedding day was June 21, 2014--hot but not raining. Thankfully they both agreed that their ceremony should take place under the tent with the cooling fans, out of the heat, especially for their grandmothers, parents and guests, and ME! Thank you, Sarah and John!

Sarah is a Pinterest gal (and so am I)! So it was fun to see what they had created for their wedding. One thing is this sweet little table made of wood logs. I don't know if they personally made it or found it somewhere. It is perfect to hold flowers and other favors.

They had many framed sayings that they loved scattered about and the window pane table assignments. The bird cage is a sweet touch and birds occur throughout their theme.

The wedding colors were aqua and dusty pink. So pretty together. Their florist was Julie at The Blossom Shop who carried through an eclectic assortment of containers, flowers and candles for centerpieces.

Inside the folks from Edible Art were putting out the cupcakes on an original design for a cupcake stand with wooden rounds cleverly attached. You can see them more clearly in the photo below.

A sweet dish and more sayings.......

Pretty cake stand and wedding cake cutter and server!

The finished table.......

Remember the bird theme? Sweet cake for the bride and groom by Edible Art as well.

Guests were asked to sign the frame........

Bridesmaids and MaryAnn, Mother of the Bride, ready to line up to process in. The bride is hidden away although Sarah and John did do a First Look earlier in the day.

Bill Smith, our trusty DJ with The Magic of Music. I had the honor of officiating at his wedding to his lovely wife Sandra in 2008 before I started this blog. It is always a pleasure to work with Bill. In fact, we will be working together again in September at the wedding of another DJ pal, Brian McGuire!

Joslin is the event manager for The Oaks and overall "go to person" for the wedding day. She does a wonderful job holding it all together and making sure things go smoothy behind the scenes. She has been on board at The Oaks just over a year now and you would think she has been doing this for years. Thanks, Joslin!

First to process in were grandparents, then parents, then the groomsmen and me and the bridesmaids. There were lots of children of relatives that were included too. Here are Dylan carrying the rings and Lily.

Then Jacob and Olivia carrying a sign saying "Here comes the Bride!"

Lastly Makayla entered and sprinkled the petals.

Time for our gorgeous bride!

Mike kissed his daughter's hand then placed it into John's hand. She gave Daddy a farewell kiss and everyone was seated.

We began with a warm welcome and prayer, then remembered those who were no longer with us.

Positioned at the end of the row of bridesmaids was our translator. John's parents are deaf and so are most of their friends who were there. They could watch the bride and groom and see the sign language at the same time.

Then we honored the parents......

The story came next and theirs is a good one.

Everyone enjoyed hearing how they met and fell in love and got to this day.

A view of the entire ceremony. The guests were seated in rows of chairs a step down from the tables and chairs. You can see our photographer, Cristobal Perez with Azul Photography, getting his amazing photos. He is so talented. I can't wait to see his pictures! Scott Logan, a videographer from Maine (Sarah's home state) came down just to video this wedding.

After the story they said their vows as they exchanged their rings.

For our closing blessing, Wendy, John's sister, read the poignant words of Natalie White.

The declaration of marriage!

Nice kiss!

Hooray!

Marty snapped this photo from the deck above while waiting for all the guests to assemble for a group shot below. I believe with this photo, Marty could turn pro! Don't John and Sarah look like royalty waving to their subjects!!

The wedding gang!

Ahhhh! Another great wedding! Thank you Sarah and John for allowing me to be a special part of your day. Your hard work and attention to detail really culminated in a fabulous wedding day! I wish you the best of the best!

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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Jennifer and Brian Get Married on a Beautiful Farm in Angier!

Jennifer, Brian, and Brian's mother, Lynne, came to see me on March 28th to talk about their wedding ceremony which was scheduled to take place on the summer solstice, June 21st 2014 in Angier. Their venue was a lovely farm of a family friend out in the country in Harnett County. They had their hearts set on having the hand fasting ritual and Brian and his groomsmen wanted to carry arms. They are not in law enforcement but this was something that was really important to them. I told Brian I was okay with that as long as the guns were not fired at the wedding!! Brian is a very fine, respectful and intelligent young man I felt I could trust! He and Jennifer seemed very dedicated to each other and very much in love. And, you know, he brought his mom along--how sweet is that? So, they booked me as their officiant and we started crafting the ceremony to be exactly what they wanted.

The wedding day dawned on the warm side but no rain. Yay! Marty and I found our way to the address thanks to the assistance of my GPS I call "Jack" who was not entirely accurate, telling me to turn where there was no road but then getting a grip and "recalculating!"

A sweet tribute to Brian's father who has passed on from this earth.

The back porch of the house was bustling with activity. The runner had been stretched out and was held down with little bags of bird seed. The guests had arrived. I collected the marriage license and my sound system was ready. Their family friend and our hostess, Sue, also acted as our wedding director and got everyone all lined up. I loved the way she took charge! Thanks, Sue!

After the bride's grandmother was escorted in, it was time for Mother of the Groom, Lynne, to be escorted down the aisle by her two grandsons, Cole and Dominic. (I asked everyone to please walk beside the runner and not on it so that it would be as smooth as possible for the bride and her father.)

Mother of the Bride, Sandra, was escorted in by her son, James, and I presume that is her grandson she is carrying!

I am followed by Brian and his best man and two groomsmen--wow, do I feel protected or what!

Awaiting the bride!

Jennifer's father, Kenneth, proudly brings in his beautiful daughter who wisely wore flip flops to navigate the runner!

And so we begin!

Such a beautiful setting under that huge old tree with farmland and a pond in the background. We even had a little breeze cooling us off!

"There is an ancient Celtic tradition of binding a couple in marriage by handfasting. As you join your hands, so your lives are joined. Jennifer and Brian have each prepared themselves in their hearts to begin a new life, one built together on a strong foundation of love and respect. In this, marriage is a rite of passage as their single life is left behind and they walk together bound by the ties of love. Brian and Jennifer, please clasp your left hands together – and with your hands, your hearts. I here bind your left hands together with this cord, which, like your love, holds you together, yet you maintain your individuality."

"And now please clasp your right hands together. You begin your new journey in life shared, bound by your vows to each other. Many are the roads you will take, many the dreams you will share, and many the countless seasons you will spend together. Your hands, thus joined, form the symbol of infinity, blessing your marriage in the eternal ebb and flow of the universe." It looks like I am pointing my finger at Jennifer but what I am doing is tracing the shape of the infinity symbol with my finger. Then they made their vows to each other while their hands were joined.

"Because you cannot always be physically joined, I hereby remove this cord which shall be symbolically replaced by your rings."

"These rings are symbols of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have made and the eternal love and devotion that you share today and always."

"Brian and Jennifer, by the love that has brought you here today, by the vows you have exchanged, and by the integrity of your commitment, it is my distinct pleasure to declare that you are now husband and wife. Brian, you may kiss your beautiful wife!" (Unfortunately we did not get a picture of the kiss. Maybe their photographer did!)

Oh happy day!

And off they go amidst the bubbles! (I did not know until after the ceremony that Jennifer was recovering from the flu. She emitted a few sniffles during the ceremony and was simply thrilled that she did not explode into a coughing fit during the ceremony. She managed to hold it back but after they recessed, the coughing ensued. I know that terrible feeling that you can't stop that little tickle in the throat!)

Jennifer quelled the coughing with help of her bridesmaids and Brian and a bottle of water. We posed for a photo of the three of us and Marty and I were off to the next wedding!

Brian, thank you for the wonderful review you posted on Weddingwire.com: "Words can not express Kayelily. She did a beautiful job with our ceremony. She made everything involving it so much easier then we thought it would be. She spent as much time as we needed going over details finding out what we wanted and didn't want in our ceremony. After our ceremony all our guests came to us to express their feelings on how much emotion was put into the entire ceremony. We both would 100% recommend Kayelily to anyone. Kayelily, if your reading this as well thank you so very much once again."

Brian and Jennifer, you have a wonderful life ahead of you and I wish you all the happiness in the world!