Raleigh Wedding Blog

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

What a Joyful Wedding at Page Walker for Kim and Andy!

I first met Kim and Andy in August to make plans for their wedding ceremony October 17th, 2015. I had a rehearsal and another wedding that day but theirs at 4:00 fit perfectly into my schedule for the day. So with not much time to write the ceremony we got busy. And they were a joy to work with!

They loved the Page Walker Art Gallery which is a historical site in Cary next to the railroad. In fact, in its early days it was the depot. It has been a hotel and now owned by the city. I have done many weddings there. This is the main gallery room where the walls are hung with art and there is a grand piano for recitals and performances. Weddings too when the weather is cold or inclement.

This very pretty cake was baked by Publix! A cherry blossom theme.

The gift table is being hosted by this beautiful bride doll. I don't know her significance but she has been so lovingly taken care of. Maybe she is from Kim's childhood.

In the corridor near the front desk and the elevator, is the long buffet table which will soon be filled with delicious food catered by Ole Time Barbecue.

This is the lovely brick courtyard where I have done several weddings. It is very nice for receptions after weddings too.

The garden adjacent to the building is ready. The pergola is flanked by pretty yellow mums in white wicker pedestals furnished by the bride.

This is my table which I bring to weddings if needed, particularly for sand ceremonies. It has been all over the Triangle from Pittsboro to Nashville!

Across the beautiful lawn is a fountain and a historic old shed.

The guests have started arriving. You notice how the sun is shining on one side of the aisle and not on the other--where almost everyone has chosen to sit! The sun moved around during this wedding!

After the entrance of the parents, Andy and I started walking in.

Followed by his best man, Reed, and groomsman, Zack (he's right behind Reed).

Then Christie, Maid of Honor.

This is Andy's beautiful daughter, Aurora.

Our ring bearer, Jesse, and our flower girl, Aerynn enter right before the bride.

David, father of the bride, proudly escorts his beautiful daughter, Kim, down the aisle!

Kim's mother, Brenda, joined them when they passed by her row and then they stopped for the presentation of the bride. I asked them: "Brenda and David, do you support your daughter's decision to join together in holy matrimony with Andy, and do you vow to receive him as a member of your family from this day on?" They answered "We do" and were seated.

Andy and Kim ascended the steps together and turned and faced each other holding hands. I welcomed all the guests then read "The Wedding Prayer" by Robert Louis Stephenson.

And then the story of their love--They were good friends long before they became a couple. Their friendship grew over the years until it turned into love and romance. A close friendship is such a wonderful basis for a marriage.

They also chose to include words in the ceremony from the Celtic tradition: the anam cara. Translated from the Gaelic is means soul friend. "By entering in a partnership with your anam cara, you are joined in an ancient and eternal way with this person you most cherish" which then led into their vows--so beautiful. (This radiating effect of light is from shooting into the sun but I love the spiritual aura of it!)

As you can see here, the sun has shifted and is in everyone's eyes. But it will move again!

So then they exchanged their rings.

I invited Aurora to join us for the family unity sand pouring ceremony because "a new family is officially born today and the circle of love expands."

We closed with a blessing as the couple took a peek at their guests!

Then the pronouncement of marriage and invitation to seal their vows with a kiss!

Oh yeah!

That sweet "We're married" after-kiss moment!

These kids were so cute and they had a really good time too!

Andy and Kim! What a fabulous wedding! So "you!" I loved working with you and am honored to have joined you in matrimony! May your marriage be blessed in the eternal ebb and flow of the universe!

Our Vendors:

Wedding Director: Ruth Meadows (honorary)

IPod operator: David Mitchell (honorary)

Photographer: Krista Lajara

Wedding Cake: Publix

Caterer: Ole Time Barbecue

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Sam and Samantha's Sweet Wedding at The Cookery!

Sam and Samantha's wedding was Friday October 16th at 6:30 at The Cookery in downtown Durham which has become quite a popular venue for weddings in the last 2 years.

Their photographer, Victoria with Breathe Easy Photography, arranged a first look for them and got lots of photos of the wedding party ahead of time too which was necessary since the light level after the ceremony would be quite diminished. I thank Victoria for sharing her photos with me for this blog and I will credit each photo she contributed with a caption, including this one from their First Look collection that was my favorite one! (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Greeting the guest with the itinerary of the wedding day in place of a wedding program.

Sam's groomsmen......

Samantha's attendants. Instead of a Maid of Honor, she had a Man of Honor, Seamus.

Calligrapher Marika Wendelken transforms the chalk board into a beautiful work of art.

The finished product!

Instead of a guest book, they collected stones signed by their guests with a short message to them.

A frame for their favorite wedding photo. I think the one of them on the railroad tracks would look great!

This brooch and wheat bouquet is so unique! Each bridesmaid carried one.

Sign greeting the guests as they arrived.

View from the mezzanine of the interior of the building looking toward the garage door opening for the outdoor ceremony.

Looking toward the stairs. Our DJ, Pete James, is getting his gear set up while Marika works on the board.

Pete and I did a sound check before the ceremony and the sound was great. He had a speaker up near where the groomsmen were to stand. However, when the outdoor lights were turned on they overloaded the circuit and the outlet the speaker through which my voice came blew in the beginning of the ceremony therefore, I had no amplification and had to "raise my voice" to be heard. That was unfortunate but there was no way to know ahead of time that was going to happen. But, I could tell from the laughter during the ceremony that people could hear me!

The Mezzanine........

The bartenders are ready to pour!

This is a sign sitting on the end of the bar telling the fascinating history of this building which was built in the early 1900s. It began as a grocery store then transformed into a culinary incubator among many other purposes.

Pete James, DJ, who brought along his wife, Akita, to help him. Didn't get her photo.

The ceremony space is ready.

The couple and their family members did the floral arrangements with natural wildflowers, sheaths of wheat and simple ribbon.

And the guests began to arrive and take their seats.

And now it is time to begin. Pete began the music for the processional and the groomsmen and I took our places.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Victoria is getting a shot of Sam escorting his mother, Sharon, down the aisle.

Sam and his mother (photo with my camera).

The bridesmaids processed in one by one and took their places. Victoria is going to get the following photos of Samantha and her father, Sam, entering.

Here they come!

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

We rehearsed the night before at the couple's friend Allison's home. She also served as our wedding director.

"Who has the privilege of presenting this young woman, Samantha, to be married to this young man, Sam?" Of course her father answered "Her mother and I do."
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

A warm welcome to all their guests followed by a prayer. Then we remembered their loved ones no longer here physically, and in particular Sam's father, Jim. (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then I got to tell their story. They were both born in Pennsylvania but their paths did not cross until many years later and several hundred miles south. They were matched up on line and because they liked what they saw, they decided to meet in person. Neither of them can remember the date of their first date but it was probably April 4th, 2011 at The Busy Bee Cafe downtown Raleigh. (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Samantha found Sam adventurous and silly and name-wise, he fit right into her family! Sam was impressed with Samantha's down to earth colorful language! And they have been together ever since. (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Because Samantha tends to ruin all her own surprises by finding them out ahead of time, Sam had to plan carefully and stealthily to propose after a few failed attempts. He succeeded by planting an empty ring box in the bottom of a fake pot of gold on St. Patrick's Day of 2014 and arranged with the help of her teaching assistant for her to find it during school hours and when she did, he popped out of the locker in which he had been hiding, got down on one knee, and popped the question. I watched the video and Samantha was truly surprised! (Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

And then I revealed to them what the other had confided in me about what they love about each other, why they want to marry each other and what they are looking forward to in marriage. So sweet!
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

They answered "I will" to my questions about taking each other as their beloved.

Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then they read their secret vows to each other from my book. Sam got a little choked up.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

He recovered quickly and placed the ring on Samantha's finger.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Time for Samantha to do the same.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then she got a little tickled and had to recover!

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

And she did and got that ring on Sam's finger.

(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

In the closing blessing I ask them to think of the happiness they are feeling at that moment and close their eyes and let it sink in.
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)

Then I ask them to open their eyes and look around them at their guests who have come to honor them on their wedding day. Sam does look a bit like a deer in the headlights though! As if he had forgotten all those people were watching!
(Photo compliments of Breathe Easy Photography)