Rev. Judy's Wedding for Caroline and Will at Sugarboo Farm in N. GA Mountains!

My dear friend, Rev. Judy McNichols, officiated this wedding for Caroline and Will in the mountains of NE Georgia at Sugarboo Farms on May 5, 2018 and I played the part of her photographer (for a change!). Judy and I have been friends since 1986 when we both lived in Tennessee. I officiated her wedding to her beloved Carl in my garden in August of 2010. Later I mentored her to begin her own wedding ministry in Georgia. This is a link to her website. Since I had no weddings this weekend, Dave and I traveled down to visit Carl and Judy on their cattle farm outside Athens GA.

It was a 1.5 hour drive from Carl and Judy's home to Sugarboo which is nestled in the mountains of North GA just a few miles south of Murphy NC. When we arrived, the set up was almost done.

Sit-down dinner at the lodge for the reception. 

There is indoor space and outdoor space. The weather was beautiful so they could use both!

This lovely cake made it all the way through the winding roads intact!

A little chalkboard art welcomes everyone.

What a nice plaque for events at this venue! 

This is the winding path down to the ceremony site in the woods. Most guests walked. Some got a ride on the golf cart.

Judy is doing a sound check. Fortunately the guitarist brought an amplifier and furnished Judy with a lapel mic. She brought her sound system just in case but did not need it.

I don't have this musician's card but he came all the way from Oklahoma to play for this wedding. His music was beautiful and very fitting for this natural setting. He managed to find an outlet and string an extension cord to the site.

The guests have arrived and are filling up the seats. Funny how the back rows fill first!!

Meanwhile the wedding party and families are sequestered down near the path where the wedding director will get them lined up in order than lead them to the ceremony site.

Judy is leading the pack! 

Waiting for the cue to start walking in. 

Caroline and her father wait for the music change and for Judy to invite the guests to stand in honor of the bride. 

And down the aisle they go! 

Everyone is seated now and the ceremony begins. The sound was perfect! 

I am so proud of Judy! She is a natural and did such a good job officiating this lovely wedding. 

She asked the parents of the bride for their blessings for this marriage. 

Then the groom's family......

It was time to tell the story of how Caroline and Will met and fell in love and all their adventures. They are outdoor people so it is fitting that they met at a caving meeting at Georgia Tech where they were students. Their relationship progressed from friendship to being a couple from there and they shared many fun adventures including travels around the world, camping, scuba diving, hiking, graduation and settling down in Oregon where they now live and planned this wedding from. 

After they exchanged their vows to each other, it was time to seal them with their rings. 

The next thing in the ceremony was the tying of the Fisherman's Knot--so appropriate for these nature lovers.

Judy explains the symbolism of the Fisherman's Knot while the couple began tying the cord together. Obviously they had practiced this ahead of time and knew how to do it.

Once tied, they each pull on the knot tightening it and making it strong, symbolic of their unity in marriage. 

As part of the final blessing, Judy invited to couple to look around at their guests and feel the love. 

Then she pronounced them married and invited them to kiss! 

Here are the newlyweds! 

Congratulations to Will and Caroline on a wonderful wedding! And congratulations to Judy for doing a superb job joining them in marriage.

Heather and Parker's Very Unique Wedding at Imurj!

Heather and Parker are two independent and out of the box people who have found each other and decided to get married. So they began planning their unique wedding and found me! I believe that the wedding is about the couple--not about me, their parents, the state, the church, etc. So I am willing for the couple to create just the ceremony they want. I started them off with a "proposed" ceremony draft for them to make their own. And they did. They practically rewrote the whole script which was fine with me. 

They also chose a very unique setting for their wedding in downtown Raleigh. One of their favorite places to hang out with their friends and listen to music is Imurj--a bar and music venue on MacDowell Street. The wedding date was Sunday April 29th, 2018.

When Dave and I arrived for their wedding, the place was closed to the public and Parker and Heather and their friends and family had the place for themselves. The tables were covered with black tablecloths and colorful centerpieces.

These tables were all set up for  a buffet reception later. 

Their friends and families were standing around and began gradually getting to their seats. 

The first thing I did was collect the marriage license from Parker and Heather then go over how we would enter and where we would stand. Heather's dress was beautiful. It looked quite vintage but she assured me it was a new dress--a one of a kind found in Cary!

So when everyone was seated, I took my place on stage. 

Everyone got quiet as Heather and Parker processed in to some music. 

Heather handed her mother the bouquet and she and Parker turned and faced each other.

The space was cozy so I did not need amplification. The first thing was to welcome everyone and ask them to leave behind the worries and concerns of every day life and join us in the celebration of Heather and Parker's marriage.

They included a few quotes from Albert Camus that they particularly thought fit the occasion well and expressed their beliefs.

There was a sweet tribute to their parents sitting at this table.

Then a recognition of their siblings and then their friends. 

Then it was time to reminisce about how Heather and Parker got to this moment in time. "So, what exactly led us here today? Can we pinpoint an exact moment or experience over Heather and Parker’s four years as a couple? There are some strong candidates." 

It was entertaining and everyone could relate to some event in their lives or another!

Our photographer was Jessica with Three Region NC photography. 

The guests were quite engaged because they had no idea what was coming next. This was NOT a traditional wedding ceremony but entirely Heather and Parker's creation.

I wrapped it up and got ready for the vows and rings. 

Parker placed the ring on Heather's finger after I explained the significance of the ring and Heather made her pledge to Parker.

Then I revealed the significance of the ring Heather placed on Parker's finger as he made his pledge to Heather. 

I then placed my hand on theirs and pronounced them married and invited them to kiss! 

And so they did! 

I was not sure that Jessica got a picture of the kiss so I asked Parker to kiss Heather again!

He was happy to comply!

The newlyweds! 

Their brothers were their witnesses signing the marriage license at the bar. 

The sushi appeared along with some chicken teriyaki. 

Parker and I chatted for a few moment while waiting for Heather to come up on stage for my customary photo with the couple.

Parker and Heather, congratulations! You did it and it was completely YOU! Thank you for finding me and giving me the joy of joining you in marriage! All the best!