Stephanie and Jonathan Tie the Knot in Raleigh!

"Out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened--Stephanie and Jonathan found one another in, of all places, the streets of New York City!" That is a quote from the wedding ceremony of this wonderful couple. Stephanie was on a trip to NYC when she met Jonathan, one of "NY's Finest" on patrol duty. Seems she stopped him to ask for directions. It must have been a magical meeting because somehow they both knew they were meant to be together! A courtship commenced and finally they decided to marry and set the date for April 4, 2009 at the Bedford Falls Clubhouse in Raleigh. Stephanie met with me last August and we signed a contract and got started on their ceremony. It did not take too long to come up with a beautiful ceremony which fit them both. They will have another ceremony in the Catholic church in NY this summer.

The clubhouse was spacious and we held the ceremony on the deck overlooking the pool. It was nice weather--in the seventies--and NOT raining! It was quite windy at the rehearsal on Friday afternoon but the winds calmed down for Saturday. The sun was shining and the day was almost as beautiful as Stephanie in her gorgeous bridal gown. She was radiant and so happy to be marrying Jonathan. Her daughter, Brie-Ann, was one of our flower girls and I could tell she was happy to have Jonathan for her daddy. They interacted so sweetly. We had 4 bridesmaids and 4 groomsmen, a Matron of Honor (Wendy, Stephanie's sister), and a Best Man. The girls were dressed in lovely latte dresses and the guys had latte vests. Jonathan had a champagne vest. They looked so handsome all spiffed up.

Their friends, Derrick Avery and Dawn Herring (married to each other), were our DJ and photographer. Dawn has just started her own photography business called Ragan Photography and this was her first wedding to shoot. Rocky Top Hospitality, owners of many restaurants in Raleigh including Michael Dean's, Twisted Fork, and Bogart's, catered the reception and catering manager for 1705 Prime, Kevin Dehimer, was on hand to make sure everything went flawlessly. Sure smelled delicious! Their scrumptious cake was by Edible Art and was decorated with calla lilies, Stephanie's theme for the wedding. Her wedding programs were very nice and I believe she did them herself. Great job!

The deck of the clubhouse filled up with their guests and family from Stephanie's hometown of Raleigh and their friends and family from NY. After we had all processed, everyone stood for the bride who was escorted in by her father. He transferred her hand into Jonathan's and I welcomed all the guests--many were from NY and this was their first experience of a "southern style" wedding! The ceremonies I officiate are much more warm and personal than the ones I have heard in the northern states. All the guests were very attentive and they could hear every word I spoke thanks to Derrick who hooked up my microphone to his system. We remembered loved ones who could not be with us and had a simple prayer. We recognized their parents and Brie-Ann and how important she is in this newly joined family. They exchanged vows and rings and while they poured their sand together followed by Brie-Ann adding hers, Jonathan's mother, Maureen, sang The Irish Blessing. She told me she is a cantor with the Catholic Church and she did a great job. Although she did not have a microphone, her voice carried very nicely and those in the back could hear her well. I pronounced Stephanie and Jonathan married and invited Stephanie to kiss her husband--always gets a few chuckles. After the kiss and closing blessing, the happy couple dashed down the aisle--see the photo of Jonathan sticking out his tongue at the camera thrust in front of them! The wedding party and parents proceeded through the clubhouse out onto the emerald green lawn of the bell tower for photos. What a beautiful wedding day!

Scottish Wedding for Mary and Michael at the Raleigh Rose Garden!

Mary called me a couple of weeks ago looking for a minister to officiate her wedding to Michael and a place to have the wedding. She and I met one day last week. She told me that she and Michael had each been married before but they both had been single a long time and were ecstatic to have found each other at long last. Mary is a professional clown. Michael is an IT person and they are both members of historial "re-enactment" groups for fun and it is there they met. I loved hearing the wonderful story of their meeting and falling in love. It sure seems meant to be.

Mary and Michael had already written most of their ceremony. Michael is a descendant of the Robertson clan in Scotland and they wanted to have a wedding with Scottish traditions--the Quaiche (sharing the cup of wine) and the Pinning of the Tartan (the groom or a member of his family pins a rosette of the family tartan on the bride after the pronouncement symbolizing their acceptance of her into their family). Mary took one look at the Raleigh Rose Garden at my suggestion and fell in love with it. So, that was the place and April 2 was the big date. She emailed me her version of the ceremony and I polished it into a complete ceremony to include recognition of their family and friends at the ceremony. We incorporated the Quaiche and the Pinning of the Tartan into the ceremony. They revised their vows using my collection of vows as guidelines. Then we just waited for the day.

The forecast earlier in the week was for a sunny day but alas, it was raining on their wedding day--like so many weddings I have officiated this year. The rain was a fine mist, on and off again. Michael and his son Brandon were waiting for Marty and me when we arrived about 15 minutes before the ceremony start time. Michael was in full Scottish regalia with his kilt of the family tartan and all the accessories! Brandon was draped with the family tartan as well. We gathered in the shelter at the rose garden and waited for the bride and her family. See photo of Mary approaching carefully as the ground was so soft her heels were sinking! We decided to stay under the shelter for the ceremony. I had brought my handy little table to hold the Quaiche cup, the tartan and they added their two cell phones connected to family in California and Washington so they could hear the ceremony.

We began with a warm welcome to all and a prayer. We acknowledged all seven of our guests and the loved ones who were not with us but were listening by phone. After a brief wedding address the couple read their vows to each other. It was so sweet. They were both so happy they cried and had trouble getting the words out but they did it! Then they shared the Quaiche by each drinking to the love they shared in the past, to their love on this their wedding day, and to the love they will share in the future and forevermore! They then exchanged rings and I made the pronouncement of marriage. But before they could kiss, Brandon did the honors of pinning the Tartan on Mary accepting her into their family. Then Michael kissed his wife and Mary kissed her husband. They couldn't stop kissing! It was a great wedding and everyone had a wonderful and tearful time sharing their happiness. Cead mile failte ("one hundred thousand welcomes" in Gaelic) to the wonderful world of marriage, Mary and Michael. I am so happy for you and I wish you all the best in the world!

An Elegant Wedding for Sara and Kevin at the Carolina Inn!

Sara and Kevin planned for their wedding at the Carolina Inn to take place in the Ann Hill Courtyard but the rainy forecast dictated otherwise. So, prudently they opted to have their ceremony in the Hill Ballroom instead. You can never go wrong with a wedding there! It was gorgeous. They hired Kate Foster of Kate Foster Productions for their wedding planner and I know from working with her before, she is on top of every little detail, especially the decor. You see the aisle in the photos? Well, that is not the carpet pattern you see, that is tons of beautiful red, pink, orange and yellow rose petals thickly covering the entire aisle! It was stunning. The guests were escorted in from the sides to prevent the petals from getting scattered before the wedding party processed in.

Chris Ferrer was our very capable photographer and so easy to work with. I have worked with him before and it is always a pleasure. He always asks if I mind flash photography during the ceremony. I don't. Seems that I am so focused on the ceremony I am oblivious to the photographer. It was fairly dark in the ballroom so flash was definitely necessary. He does not mind when Marty steps up with my camera to get a few shots for this blog. Thanks, Chris. A couple of musicians I had never heard of provided wonderful music for the ceremony. These guys, Stephen Murtaugh (guitar, piano) and Brendan Rice (violin), are actually two members of a rock band but on the side, they play for weddings and they are great. They call themselves The Sunday Paper. Marty and I ran into Joe Bunn, DJ, in the Old Well room setting up for the reception. Joe and I work together often and refer weddings to each other. Below is a photo of the two of us today. While we were there we took a look at the huge, beautiful, impressive wedding cake and met Wayne Swank of Swank Cake Design who was setting up the cake with his assistant. He said they baked all day today to get this cake made, delivered, and set up for the reception. I told him I had some of his delicious red velvet cake at a wedding a couple of weeks ago. It was nice to finally meet him.

On with the wedding! Sara's father escorted her in and Sara literally floated down the aisle on top of those petals. Her dress was stunningly beautiful. It was something wonderful. Sara sniffled a few times during the ceremony which Kevin told me later made him nervous and he was afraid she was going to lose it but she was fine! They created a beautiful ceremony that included a contemporary version of First Corinthians. They chose the "I do" style vows so they did not have to worry about speaking too much in front of their guests which numbered close to 200. The rings were exchanged with a few "repeat after me lines" and then we did the sand ceremony. Before the ceremony I had taken a look at the small opening on the central container with funnel nearby and warned Kevin that it would not pour very fast. Someone needs to jiggle the funnel to keep the sand flowing. So wisely they got a little bit of their sand in during the ceremony but did not prolong the ceremony by standing there trying to pour it all in. (After the ceremony we completed the pouring with me jiggling the funnel! That is the photo here which shows the back of Sara's amazing wedding gown. Kate told me later that she should have heeded my warning about getting a container with a large opening!) I pronounced them husband and wife and then invited Kevin to kiss his beautiful wife! We closed with a blessing and introduction of the newlywed couple to their guests--and out we went for photos while the guests proceeded to the reception. The intense part of the whole wedding was over and it was time to party and have fun! Best of everything, Sara and Kevin!

Fernanda and Michael Marry in Kayelily's Wedding Garden!

It's another rainy weekend in Raleigh! I looked at the forecast earlier in the week and thought, not again! Michael and Fernanda drove up from Fayetteville where Michael is in the service to meet with me about a month ago. She is from Mexico and attending college here and they wanted to get married before Michael is deployed. We set the date of March 28 for a small wedding in my wedding garden with about 20 guests. Her family was coming from Mexico for this special occasion. We created a ceremony then Fernanda translated it into Spanish for their friend, Brenda, to alternate reading with me during the ceremony so all present could follow the ceremony. They also wanted to incorporate the sand ceremony to symbolize their union.

The big day arrived and thankfully it was not raining but the forecast was for severe thunderstorms later in the afternoon. Fernanda and her family arrived first and we decided on the colors of sand to use. I had some bags of colored sand and she chose blue for Michael as it is his favorite color and white for herself. We got that all set up and ready to go. You can see that I put out a little green rug for the couple to stand on so the bride would not slowly sink into the soft earth with her high heels! Fernanda is such a beautiful woman and, of course, a gorgeous bride. Her heritage is both Mexican and Chinese. She and her father waited inside the house so Michael could not see her until we began. Michael looked so handsome in his dress blue military uniform.

A few of the guests got lost getting here and so we waited for them. In the meantime, Nicholas, our ring bearer, dropped the groom's ring on my deck and it rolled into one of the cracks and disappeared beneath the deck into the muck and debris trapped between the boards and the concrete pad underneath. We searched with a flashlight but could not see it. Nicholas was quite upset as you can imagine. I felt so sorry for him. So, Michael's dad offered his wedding band to use for the ceremony. When all the guests arrived, we proceeded with the ceremony as rain was threatening. Brenda (in red standing next to me) translated the ceremony paragraph by paragraph and we finished in plenty of time without any drops of rain falling. After the cheering and applause for our bride and groom, now wife and husband, I asked my husband, Dave, to pry up one of the boards on the deck to see if we could find the ring. And we did! So I had Fernanda place the real wedding ring on Michael's finger saying: "With this ring, I thee wed." As you can tell in the photo, Nicholas was a happy little guy! We returned the substitute wedding band to Michael's father and all was well! Whew!

We posed for photographs with all the family members and the happy couple and their families and friends departed to Vivace to celebrate. About 30 minutes later, the soft rain began. Marty and I are off to the next wedding at the Carolina Inn at 6:30. Thankfully, the wedding has been moved inside to the Hill Ballroom so we will be dry and cozy--see my next post.

We bless you this day, Michael and Fernanda!

(A friend of Michael's who is also in the military has arranged for his wedding to be here July 4th, so I hope to see this happy couple again in a few months!)

Jennifer and Jonathan's Wedding at Second Empire!

Jennifer contacted me in December about officiating a small private wedding for her and Jonathan. She wanted a natural landscape with a pretty view. I suggested many places around the Triangle area but none seemed to fit. I also suggested the Second Empire even though it is right downtown and does not offer a scenic view of the countryside! But, that is what they found to suit them just right. Second Empire is happy to have your ceremony there for no charge other than the food and beverages and reception area which is so special and elegant. Tracy at Second Empire will see to every detail for you. So, they decided on having the ceremony outside on the brick landing with their small number (10) guests standing close by so they could hear the ceremony. I wrote a sweet ceremony for them that they got to edit and approve ahead of time.

The weather was just right on March 21 at 4:30 PM. Jennifer and Jonathan hired Greg Putnam to play the Chapman Stick which is a 13 stringed instrument that combined the guitar and the bass and played like a piano just pressing the strings to make very pretty music. He can be reached at (919) 934-7816. The guests, the groom and I gathered on the landing and awaited Jennifer who was escorted in by her parents. We began with a welcome and a parents' tribute and they gave roses to their mothers. They exchanged their vows and the rings and I pronounced them husband and wife. After the kiss everyone gathered around to congratulate them. We took a few photos and then the guests adjourned to the Capital Room which was set up with a large square table to seat 12. The beautiful wedding cake was made by the pastry chef at Second Empire. We left the happy couple and their families and friends to celebrate! All the best to you, Jennifer and Jonathan!