Courtney and Nik's Wedding at The Matthews House!

Courtney and Nik met and fell in love on line in a live chat room back in April of 2008. They started talking right away and Nik told me that her smile and giggles just threw him for a loop. I said, how could you know about her smile and giggles in a chat room? He whispered--webcam! Ohhh. Nik was in Kentucky at the time and Courtney in North Carolina. This communication continued continuously until the day Nik left for basic training and they lost touch. They reconnected again on line and decided to give it a try as a couple although they had never met in person. They did not meet face to face until July of 2009 and they both knew they were right for each other. He of course had to return to his military service and went to Iraq but they never lost touch again and eventually Nik asked her parents for her hand in marriage in April of 2010. Courtney and her parents came to see me on October 18, 2010 to officiate the wedding and of course I was tickled to be able to be a part of this wonderful dream come true. 

When Marty and I arrived at the stately Matthews House on the wedding day of March 12, 2011, Ross Merle of Just Music DJ was all set up and his wife, Alice, was at her keyboard. What a great deal you get with these two wonderful people and wedding vendors. Alice provides beautiful music for the ceremony then Ross rocks the reception.

 

Ross is also a ham in front of the camera! I love working with Ross. I know that when he is involved in one of the weddings that he will make sure that every vendor has whatever they need and that the couple is taken care of royally. If something needs to be done, he will handle it. With Ross, there is nothing that is not part of his personal job description!! Marty and I look forward to every wedding where Ross is the DJ. 

The cake was ready too. Simply Cakes was the baker. The Matthews House provides their own in house catering which is so convenient for couples.

It is time to begin, guys, so follow me! Nik had 7 groomsmen. He was so excited for this day to finally be here. 

Here come the bridesmaids, all 6 of them, in their pretty watermelon color dresses. 

Kinzie was the sweetest flower girl and she was a pro. She walked down the aisle slowly, smiling and tossed the petals then stood quietly in front of the bridesmaids until she tired of that then sat on the front row with Courtney's grandmother, Barbara.

Don proudly escorted his beautiful daughter in for this very special day. Don was involved with all the wedding planning and made sure everything got handled. Thanks, Don. Courtney's mother, Evelyn, was also a prime player in organizing and making this wedding day the best that could possibly be for their daughter. 

And they stepped into the ballroom where all the guests were standing in honor of the bride. Courtney's dress was so beautiful.

It's a done deal now! The new Mr. and Mrs. step into their new lives together! Susie McPherson of The Matthews House was our wedding coordinator. She was the first to greet the newlyweds!

 

You might wonder what they are all looking at! Those are all the guests, squeezed together like sardines, looking up at Michael, our photographer, who is on the balcony over the front door taking the group shot of everyone. I know it will turn out great! Michael and Marcy of Michael's Memories were our wedding photographers.  I always enjoy working with them!

Courtney and Nik, congratulations on your marriage, your wedding and your love!

Ariel and Trey's Wedding at Bay 7!

Ariel and Trey chose Friday March 4, 2011 as their wedding date and Bay 7 of the American Tobacco Campus as their wedding venue. They met with me in October and we got started on their ceremony. Finally their big day arrived!

Simply Delicious was their caterer and cake baker and the place was all set up for the reception. The ceremony took place up in the loft. Bay 7 is such a spacious place and a great wedding venue. The whole thing is a dance floor!

Eric Hodgden with All Around Raleigh DJ Company was on hand when we arrived and we set up speakers up in the loft and got my microphone all plugged in. We did a sound check and everything was fine. But, when he was working with the musicians for the ceremony, my AC adapter conked out or shorted out or something. Fortunately Eric is very adept in handling the sound equipment that he was able to switch his adapter to mine before I needed to speak. Thanks so much, Eric! It was great working with you.

Here are three of our musicians. Jennifer Paschal and Marshal Carter, vocalists, were accompanied by Jim Barden on keyboard. They were wonderful and sang during the processional and again during the Covenant of Salt ceremony.

Doing prelude music and the music for the entrance of the grandparents and parents were Hilary Attanas and Brittany Pierce. They were so good! I loved their beautiful harmony!

This set up was for the Covenant of Salt ceremony. This is similar to the sand ceremony but salt is used instead of sand. Salt to seal contracts harks back to Biblical days. According to tradition, the wedding contract can only be broken if each grain of salt can be sorted, identified, and then returned to its rightful owner. Trey and Ariel liked this ancient ritual. They also stood under a Chuppah to pay tribute to Ariel's Jewish heritage.

Debbie, owner of Simply Delicious, just finished decorating the wedding cake with the flowers. Her assistant, Lisa, was busy pinning on boutonnieres on the groomsmen.

A closer view of the cake. The wall behind it is panels of stainless steel that usually has water cascading down but the water was turned off for the ceremony because it can be noisy.

We stashed the groom and groomsmen in the men's room while we got the bride inside and into the elevator. When she was well out of sight, Trey and his groomsman, Chris, and I went to the far end of the area and took our places on the steps. Then our director, Laura, a friend of the bride's, got the grandparents and parents lined up to process in. There were quite a few grandparents present which is so nice to see. These are Trey's paternal grandparents in the front followed by his maternal grandmother escorted in by Daniel, our best man. She was supposed to be escorted in by her grandson and younger brother of the groom, Cash, but unfortunately Cash, got quite ill the day of the wedding and could not be with us. Behind Daniel are Ariel's grandparents.

Trey's mother and father, Doricia and Ben, are ready to walk in. Behind them are Ariel's mother, Lisa, escorted in by her son, Ian. She is speaking to one of the staff at Bay 7.

 

Now for the bridesmaids. Notice to the far left is our bride in the elevator! 

 

Ariel's father, Joel, is holding that door open as they get ready to walk out. 

Isn't Ariel's wedding gown dreamy? So soft and full. To the left is Stacy Borelli of Swank Photo Studio getting the photos. I wonder what Joel is looking at on the floor? Ariel's red shoes? Nope. Lisa told me later that he was looking down trying to figure out how to NOT step on The Dress!

And so the ceremony begins. Ariel, Trey and Joel together made the lovely chuppah we are standing under. The ceremony contained an explanation of the symbolism of the chuppah. 

 

You can get an idea here of how large this space is and how the loft is positioned around three sides of the space. I had not done a wedding up in the loft space before. There is actually plenty of room and a very long aisle! The guys and I entered from the right side where you see the musicians and DJ seated during the ceremony. Because of the length of the aisle, Marty was not able to get very close to take photos for me. 

It is all over! Let the party begin!

She really did float down the aisle!

They look pretty happy to me!

After getting my microphone packed up, I chased after the wedding party that was headed out to take photos around the American Tobacco campus. I had to get Jenny, our maid of honor, to sign the marriage license before they all scattered. Lisa, mother of the bride, on the left, is so happy the way the wedding went. She told me she loved the ceremony and I saw her shed a few tears during the parents' blessing too.

I could not resist putting both of these photos on the blog because Ariel's dress is so pretty and suits her so well.  Trey and Ariel, you have a lot going for you and I know you will be so happy! I wish you all the best life has to offer!

The New Garden Ballroom at Highgrove!

Angela, one of the wedding consultants at Highgrove, told me last year that their huge ballroom tent was going to be transformed into a permanent structure with windows all around and a fireplace at the far end.  Curiosity got the best of me and I took a trip down to Fuquay Varina last Thursday to see for myself how the construction was coming along. The photo above was taken of the mansion in 2004.

  

The two photos above were taken before a wedding in 2004. The landscaping had not matured at that point and the vines had not yet grown onto the portico. 

I have been doing weddings at Highgrove since they opened almost 10 years ago. I believe I officiated the first or second wedding they had there. The estate was originally the home of a prominent dentist in Fuquay Varina. When the property went on the market, two enterprising women (Maria and Vickie) bought the old place and turned it into a gorgeous wedding venue--one of the loveliest around. I love doing weddings there. I remember when they started out, there was no patio or tent in the backyard. There was only the portico and steps. Then they added the concrete patio and base for their large ballroom tent and put in beautiful landscaping. They enlarged the kitchen and the dining room and eventually transformed the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs where the bride and her bridesmaids get ready and a holding room for the groom and his groomsmen! 

This wedding of Erin and Tom was September 2010. Note the vines on the portico and the larger bushes framing the steps. In addition to adding the garden ballroom, they are also extending the portico on both sides and altering the seating area configuration to accommodate 200 guests.

Here are Tom and Erin and their rather large wedding party. This was taken on the front porch. (You can view other weddings I officiated at Highgrove since 2008 here.) I did not realize that the exterior of the mansion was vinyl siding. In addition to building the Garden Ballroom, the owner has removed the vinyl siding and restored the original clapboard exterior. It looks better than ever. They also have expanded the kitchen again. 

Maria, one of the original owners, built Chateau Bellevie on the adjacent property a few years ago which is a bed and breakfast and where smaller weddings can be held.

So, this is how the mansion looked last Thursday. There was a big pile of discarded white siding in the parking lot and the house looked pristine! 

From the parking lot, you can see the new ballroom where the tent used to be. It is every bit as big and spacious. I walked around to the back to see what it looked like from the patio area. 

This is the grand entrance from the patio. The patio will be bricked over in a pattern that will reflect the unusual pattern of the glass fretwork in the entrance and be continuous with the brick steps to the portico. No more loud A/C unit blowing us as we enter for the wedding and interfering with the music. Yay!

 

As I was wandering around out back taking a few photos, Susan Blakeslee, stepped out of the house. Susan has been in the wedding industry for many years and has recently joined the Highgrove staff. It was good to see her. She graciously took me inside the ballroom for a good look and so I could get some photos! 

It is huge! And, so bright and light inside even with no lights installed yet. Look at all the windows.

Here's the fireplace. That is such a wonderful new feature for this ballroom. I forgot to ask what the floor covering would be but I know they will have a large dance floor and of course the beautiful chandeliers like they had in the tent. They also plan to drape the ceiling like the tent as well.

This is the tent last September. The new ballroom will be just as beautiful and more! I am looking forward to my first wedding there this year on May 14th. There is also an announcement on Highgrove's blog that there will be an Open House to showcase the new Garden Ballroom on April 30 from 10AM to 1PM. I will probably be there since I have a wedding at Chateau Bellevie that day and that they still have a few openings for 2011 weddings!