Sarah and Clayton's Wonderful Wedding at the Barn at Valhalla!

Sarah, Clayton and I met in August of 2018 to plan their wedding ceremony for May 25th, 2019. Their event planner was Lillian Suarez Events and their DJ Rodney Holmes. They had chosen the Barn at Valhalla for their wedding ceremony and reception. Their photographer was Richard Barlow and videographer Twenty-one Films. Caterer was Fords Fluent N' Food, and wedding cakes/cupcakes by Cupcakes D'Amour. I was happy to join this extraordinary team of vendors! 

The wedding day arrived and it was beautiful! A bit on the toasty side but with the shady spot for the ceremony, we were good. I was delighted to find that the new owners of the venue had expanded the deck so that there was plenty of room for more guests and moving about without being scrunched in.

I first got plugged into the DJ sound system and did a sound check. Then I went over the processional and recessional cues for Rodney. He was excellent to work with and the sound was impeccable! 

The barn itself was ready for the guests after cocktail hour. 

I sat down to review the ceremony script ahead of time in the house where the wedding party and families were hanging out.

When all the guests were seated and before the ceremony started, I entered and made the unplugged announcement. Then the wedding party processed in around me.

Clayton's parents, Reba and Skip, entered first. Skip and I discovered that we were both students at the University of Georgia at the same time many decades ago!

Clayton and Baxter enter next. Baxter is an amazing well-behaved pooch!

The bridesmaids and groomsmen entered next. 

Then it was time for the many children in the processional including a little one in a wagon. 

I invited everyone to stand in honor of the bride and her beautiful mother who was dressed in traditional Korean wedding dress. (Sadly Sarah's father had passed away just two months before, but not before giving Sarah and Clayton his blessings and his wish that their wedding not be postponed.)

Sarah's mother placed Sarah's hand into Clayton's and was seated with the guests. 

On behalf of Sarah and Clayton, I welcomed their guests for this once-in-a-lifetime gathering of the unique and cherished people who have touched their lives throughout the years.

The words of welcome were followed by a prayer and remembrance of their loved ones who could not be present including Sarah's father and her grandmother in Chicago and many relatives in Korea.

Looks like Baxter is enjoying the ceremony! 

Then it was time to honor Sarah's mother, Sue, and Clayton's parents, Skip and Reba. 

I love to tell the story of how the couple met and fell in love and bring the guests from that day to the wedding day. It all began back in 2013 when Clayton was a post-doctoral fellow and Sarah a grad school student at UNC. They ended up working in labs next to each other. And since they were both single then ended up going to many events together and got to know each other. There were some laughable times for sure! Eventually they realized they really enjoyed being together and after a few rocky starts and stops, they fell in love.

Sarah is hearing for the first time what Clayton told me in confidence that he loves about her, why he wants to marry her and what he is looking forward to in marriage. Then Clayton heard what Sarah told me in confidence. Such a sweet moment for both.

They made their vows of marriage and sealed them with the exchange of rings. 

After a closing blessing, I pronounced them husband and wife and invited them to share a kiss! 

And so the marriage is signed, sealed and delivered! Everyone was cheering them on. 

And out they step into their new married lives--Baxter is smiling too!

Can you tell that I am a dog person and was smitten with this cutie pie of a dog in his tux? 

Congratulations, Sarah and Clayton! It was a wonderful wedding and I am so glad you decided to go forward with this celebration with your family and friends. I wish you the very best always!

Kathleen and Matt's Gorgeous Wedding at the Merrimon-Wynne House!!

What a spectacular wedding this was! Kathleen and Matt and I met in April of 2018 to plan the ceremony for their wedding on May 18th 2019 at the beautiful Merrimon-Wynne House in downtown Raleigh. 

The wedding day was clear and sunny and a bit on the hot side so Kathleen thoughtfully called for the ceremony to be inside the carriage house which is air-conditioned and comfortable.

Meantime the reception was planned for outdoors on the lawn. The white parasols provide some shade although by the time the ceremony and cocktail hour are over, the temperature will be very comfortable outside.

Snap Pea is our caterer. They create very unique and original cuisine that is based on the time of year and available delicious foods. The menu is never set and the couple allow Snap Pea Catering to use their own creativity in the offerings for the wedding.

The table setting are bright and simple. Meristem Floral provided the centerpieces and all the florals for the wedding including the spectacular florals in the carriage house for the ceremony and the bouquets for the bridesmaids and bride.

One table is now completed and the others are in the process of being florally enhanced! 

Meantime, Bronwyn Duffield, our photographer, is getting photos of our lovely bride on the side porch. 

Elegant Ensembles is tuning up in the carriage house for the prelude music and processional. They hired Island Sound to provide the microphone for me and one for the reader. 

While the guests are being directed to the carriage house for the ceremony, the wedding party and I are assembling in the parlor from which we will process.

It is a full house! 

Kaila, the event manager for the Merrimon-Wynne House, is also our director for this wedding. She is going to get the wedding party started processing in.

The bride's grandmother then, Matt's parents, then the mother of the bride enter first. 

Then Matt and I took our walk down the aisle together 

His groomsmen joined us.

Then it was time for the bridesmaids to process in. 

And now Kathleen and her dad begin their walk down the aisle! 

The guests are standing in honor of the bride. 

Kathleen and Matt turn and face each other and we begin with a warm welcome to everyone. We remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

A sweet surprise for their parents is next as I tell them how grateful our couple is for their love and support all their lives.

Their friend Christine then shared the words of The Key to Love by Robert Millay with us. 

Then I had the great pleasure of sharing the story of how Matt and Kathleen met 7 years ago in college and how they got to their wedding day today including Matt's proposal in 2017. It has been a wonderful journey.

There were some humorous moments in the story too and we loved laughing. 

Then they each got to hear what the other told me in confidence why they love each other. 

They exchanged their secret vows by reading them to each other from my book. Some humor here also! 

Then it was time for the rings as Matt place the ring on Kathleen's finger. 

Then Kathleen put the ring on Matt's finger. 

After a closing blessing, I pronounced them married and invited them to kiss! 

We missed getting a photo of the kiss but here is the beginning!

This is Bronwyn's spectacular shot of the presentation of the newlywed couple! 

Please stand and join me in congratulating Matt and Kathleen, now married!

And away they go1

So happy to finally be married!

As I was removing my microphone, this nice gentleman came up to me to find out who I was since I was not listed on the program, and to tell me that was the best wedding ceremony he'd ever heard!

While the guests were enjoying cocktails inside the house, the wedding party gathered in the garden. Snap Pea servers brought this delectable plate out for Kathleen. It looked fabulous and she enjoyed every bite while Kaila bustled up her train. Also please note the bodice of Kathleen's incredibly beautiful wedding gown!

Meanwhile Matt and his best man and groomsmen were digging up the flower bed to find the bourbon they had buried upside down to ensure nice weather on the wedding day. It worked.

It took a bit of digging to locate it. Kaila told me that many bottles have been buried there and she wouldn't be surprised if he found more than one!

Matt and Kathleen!! What a spectacular wedding! Thank you for giving me the honor of joining you in marriage! You are a great couple and I wish you the most happiness ever!
Thank you for this wonderful review too!

Kathleen , married on 05/18/2019 

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Unique, Personalized and Professional

My husband and I chose to have Kayelily officiate our ceremony about a year before our wedding. We first found her based on the phenomenal online reviews and then scheduled a time to meet in person. At this meeting Kayelily walked us through her entire process for creating each ceremony and she also gave us helpful information on obtaining our marriage license and getting a name change after the wedding.

We left the meeting confident that we'd be able to create a ceremony unique to us and our story, which was very important to us. Kayelily was helpful with input throughout the process, but also let us take our time on figuring out how we wanted the ceremony laid out. It's up to each couple how customized they'd like the ceremony to be.

I can't begin to tell you how many people came up to us after the ceremony, wrote to us afterwards, and are still telling us months later how amazing the ceremony was. I would highly recommend working with Kayelily. She's professional, has a great sense of humor, and really wants the ceremony to be unique to the couple.