A Very Memorable Wedding for Ashley and Joe!

When Joe contacted me in July about officiating his and Ashley's wedding on September 1, 2013 at the brand new Embassy Suites Hotel at Brier Creek, we were all happy that I was available because it was rather short notice. We quickly put together a wonderful ceremony and I was really looking forward to doing my first wedding at this new location. The outdoor space they described sounded perfect for a wedding. As it turns out, theirs was a rather unusual wedding because of all the unexpected twists and turns that transpired on their wedding day! We are all so grateful to the management and staff at Embassy Suites at Brier Creek for their flexibility, responsiveness and willingness to go over and above expectations of a wedding venue! Special thanks to Fred, Director of Food and Beverage and Brendan (don't know his title).  They were impressive and believe me, they will take care of whatever you need if you have a wedding there! 

Drapes were hung on a stand crafted by the father of the bride to hide the dark brown double doors behind it. A great solution except that it was quite blustery and little did we know then that a big storm was on its way despite the sunny sky.  The drapery panels were blowing around like sails and no matter what we did, we could not make them stay down. Knowing that would be quite distracting during the ceremony and after looking at different options the fathers of the bride and groom and I decided to turn the ceremony around to face the other way.

The manager in charge for Embassy Suites in Brier Creek rallied his staff and they cleared out the patio furniture stashed at that end and turned each chair around. See what a nice view of pretty trees and sky? (The storm was coming from the opposite direction!) He also arranged for the bride and her father to enter from the double doors we had tried to hide and walk down the aisle--so that solved that problem of getting the bride down the aisle. The rest of the wedding party would enter from the left side directly to the "altar" area instead of walking down the aisle. It was quite perfect! The guests who had been assembling in the lobby were then invited to take their seats. During all this activity, Brendan whispered to me that a room inside had been prepared in case of rain. Ahhh, he was wisely looking ahead and had a plan B in place!

And then the sky darkened rather suddenly and the drops began to fall. We had to move the wedding indoors. So grateful that the room inside had been set up with the chairs. The guests were then invited to go to that room as the raindrops increased. I grabbed the sand ceremony containers and took them inside to set up there. Our DJ and our videographer were moving all their equipment to the new space, running cables here and there and doing a sound check. From the reception area, I commandeered a tray table and tray to use for the sand ceremony and got that set up. The table outside was already drenched. The chairs too. Little did we know during the ceremony that a flash flood was taking place!

Are we ready yet? 

Here we go! The delay was not more than 10 minutes though. Everyone worked very well together. The wedding party and parents were hidden away in the reception room across the hall and the bride was sneaked into an adjoining hallway until Joe entered the ceremony room.

Joe escorted his mother, Jean, and his father, Larry, followed them. They were seated and Joe stepped up to join me.

Louis, father of the bride, escorted in Becky, mother of the bride, then Louis circled around and back out to escort the bride. That is Sean, friend of the couple, directing the processional and he did a great job.

Waiting for the bride! 

Ashley was so excited. She was kept informed about all the changes and she was really cool with it and did not get the least bit ruffled. She told me, "I don't care as long as Joe and I get married!" I believe that is Brendan on the right side of the doorway. 

It was a bit of a squeeze to get by the last row but Ashley is moving on and I think Louis had to make a real effort to keep her from galloping down the aisle!

As they walked down the aisle, those of us in the wedding party could see that Louis was trying really hard not to cry. So sweet!

(That wallpaper will make you drunk if you stare at it too long!) 

Both sets of parents have been married for 38 years and have provided wonderful role models for Joe and Ashley. The couple gave me the date and place of each of their marriages and it was a surprise to them for me to relate some humorous details of each of their weddings back in 1975!

Joe and Ashley's story was quite funny too and everyone had a good time hearing it. Then it was time for them to read their vows to each other from my book and exchange rings.

Containers for sand ceremonies have gotten quite fancy these days! Popular right now is a shadow-box with the names and date of marriage engraved on the glass front.

We recessed to the reception area with its pretty up-lighting. 

One of my favorite DJs, Jason, scooted out and was getting ready for the reception. He was a champ! For this wedding he was working for Island Sound. In the future, he is spinning off into his own DJ business Stylus Weddings. Our photographer for the wedding was Tina Loebach and it was good to work with Tina and her assistant again! Their videographer, Whitewater, is with Island Sound & Video. 

Ashley and Joe, what a ride! And it turned out great despite all the ups and downs. You were both so flexible and went right with the flow. I know the most important thing was that you got married to each other and that was going to happen no matter what! Congratulations! You are a great couple and you have proven that you will have a very happy and satisfying marriage, no matter what life puts in front of you!

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To contact me:

mailto:kayelily@aweddingminister.com

919-345-4608

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Shelly and Jeff Get Married at the Cardinal Club!

August 31, 2013 was the lovely wedding day of Shelly and Jeff at the Cardinal Club in the Wells Fargo building that used to be Wachovia. They held the ceremony on the 28th floor in the area in front of floor to ceiling windows overlooking downtown Raleigh at the foot of the beautiful spiral staircase that leads up to the mezzanine level. Quite elegant and unique. When Dave and I arrived we greeted Jeff who was ready to get the show on the road and met his son Matthew and set up my sound system. Yikes, my battery was running low and the back up battery also proved to be low. Thankfully I carry back ups for my back up! So we were fine and now I have a new pack of batteries ready for the next wedding!

Then it was upstairs to find the lovely cake by Cinda's Creative Cakes. Gorgeous as usual!

The English Garden provided the very colorful floral arrangements. Purple was the predominant color scheme.

When it was time to start, my dear friend and colleague, Ross Merle our DJ, directed the processional. Ross is like that, ready to jump in and do whatever is needed. We did not have a rehearsal and I knew I could count on him to help with the ceremony. He is a wonderful DJ too--his main job at weddings--but I can always count on him to do whatever needs doing! His lovely wife, Alice, played the piano for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Sorry Dave did not get a picture of her. Dave is not as "well trained" as my usual assistant, Marty, who was on vacation!! But I am so grateful he would come with me and take pictures for this blog. Matthew and I entered first followed by Jeff who escorted in his mother, Marcella. Waiting in the wings is Shelly's mother, Barbara, escorted in by her son, Chip.

We are waiting for the bridesmaids and the bride here. There was a long pause and I never did find out why.

Ross is giving some kind of instruction here to Caitlin, Jeff's daughter, and Kim, Shelly's friend and Maid of Honor.

They each entered and it was time for the bride and her dad, Bill. 

Shelly is just beaming! 

We began with a warm welcome to everyone, paid tribute to their parents, remembered those who were with us in spirit, and then recognized Jeff's children, Matthew and Caitlin, who stood up with their father. Shelly and Jeff's kids made sweet vows to each other and I think a few tears slipped out at that point.  

Shelly and Jeff discovered each other on line 4 years ago when for her birthday Shelly thought she would try something new to mark the milestone. She joined eHarmony. Shelly, being a woman of confidence and unwillingness to settle for less than she wanted, specifically stated that the man of her dreams would have to learn to love her dogs. Jeff, having been on the site for a while and had not found the woman of his dreams, spotted Shelly's profile among his "matches" and thought that since she was pretty, sounded intelligent and sincere he would check her out--dogs or no dogs! Jeff was Shelly's third date through the matching service and the only one to make it to a second date which was very memorable--rollerblading at Lake Pine in Apex followed by dinner at Jeff's house. It is a funny story and a bit long to tell here (the room was filled with laughter as I told it during the ceremony!) but I will just say that Shelly was new to rollerblading and had not mastered the ability to stop. Despite making a plan just in case she needed to stop, somehow Shelly got ahead of Jeff and he watched in helpless terror as she crashed at Dead Man's Curve and thankfully only ended up with a few bruises and a black eye giving him the opportunity to display his home nursing skills as well as his cooking skills. Needless to say, they bonded and have been together ever since, traveling the world together, buying a house together, and Jeff admitted that he really has come to love Shelly's two dogs, Simon and Sally.

They made their promises to each other by reading them from my book. 

Then they exchanged their rings. 

At last, the pronouncement of marriage! 

Jeff really laid that kiss on Shelly! 

Enjoying the first moments of wedding bliss and taking in the cheers of their friends and family! 

Ahhh.....I can see the happiness on their faces and the relaxation pour over them now that the deed is done and it was time to party!

Shelly and Jeff, you are both resilient and resourceful and I know you are going to enjoy wedded bliss and easily overcome any obstacles that life throws your way. As I said at the ceremony "We pray your love increases and overflows beyond anything you can yet imagine!"

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To contact me:

mailto:kayelily@aweddingminister.com

919-345-4608

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Tami and Gene's Fabulous Wedding at Prestonwood!

I met Tami and Gene in May. They planned a wedding on August 30, 2013 on the green at The Club at 12 Oaks, a new upscale subdivision and golf club and course in Apex. They envisioned the ceremony out on the green and fairly casual. Both Tami and Gene are avid golfers so that was quite a fitting venue. However, about a month before the wedding, they found out that the clubhouse was not going to be ready on time and so switched their wedding and reception location to Prestonwood Country Club. The wedding in the grand ballroom took on a more formal elegance at that point and Tami decided to wear a traditional wedding gown. Dave (Marty being on vacation) and I arrived when the couple were posing for photos for their photographer, Aaron with Wedding Bug, on the beautiful stairway at the club.

This gorgeous and elegant staircase really showcases weddings! 

Our DJ, Tim Hazell with TJDJ Music, was already set up and waiting to hook my mic into his system and do a sound check. We have worked together before and so this was easy! 

The couple and I posed for our photo together then Gene took me aside, away from the bride, to tell me he was planning a surprise for her during the ceremony. He sings and plays the guitar, which I did not know until then. He told me that Tami had been wanting him to play and sing during the ceremony but he kept telling her he just was not comfortable doing that. All along he knew he would and had written a special song just for the occasion. So he and Tim hid a chair up on the landing ahead of time and planned for Tim to bring him his guitar when I announced "Tami, Gene has a surprise for you!" 

I found a comfortable spot to review the ceremony. It was going to be so much fun, especially with their story and the surprise!

When it was time to begin, I walked in first then Gene escorted his mother, Jean, in then stepped up onto the landing with me.

The Maid of Honor and sister of Tami, Mary, was escorted in by Gene's nephew Steven and Gene's son, Trey.

The bride's nephews, Angelo, Adrian and Julian, were our "golf club bearers!" They presented the flowered golf club to Gene then were seated.

And now, Tami was escorted in by her brothers, Tim and Tom. 

Low light levels turned this into a silhouette wedding! 

You can see Gene seated, playing and singing a wonderful song he composed for Tami. Of course the hankies came out and tears flowed!

Now, I have to tell you their story which I was probably doing at this point in the ceremony. Tami is quite a confident and secure woman and had decided years ago that she would not marry if she had to "settle." She is a career woman who also likes to have fun and always wanted a steady companion but he never walked into her life--until now. One day she decided to try online dating and posted her "request to the Universe" which read "Please be a gentleman, raised to be courteous, have sisters, be intelligent, affectionate, make me laugh, funny, and be a serious golfer, 12 handicap or below." One week later to the day, Gene sent her a message stating that although he did not possess any of those qualities, he was sure his stunning good looks and charm would overcome any shortcomings. Tami decided to humor him and agreed to have a brief dinner date. She was pretty sure it was a waste of her time but she needed to eat anyway and it was in a public place. Upon arriving, Gene presented her with a rose and a card since it was Valentine's Day. Tami was struck by his good looks, incredible fitness and magnetic charm. After dinner, Gene was feeling like it was time for him to leave when Tami bribed him to stay with a sleeve of golf balls and said "It's Valentine's Day. Please be mine and don't deny me." How could Gene resist? Well, he didn't and the next of many dates was on the golf course where he dazzled Tami with his game while she charmed him with her witty banter and equally good golf game. Well....maybe he is the better player, but now if he could only learn to putt as good as she can......It did not take them long to decide to marry and started planning this wedding which led to this wonderful day! 

And so I pronounced them husband and wife and invited them to kiss......

They make their way to the cocktail area to greet their guests. 

This beautiful cake by Prestonwood's pastry chef is transported to the center of the ballroom.

Congratulations, Tami and Gene! I am so happy you found each other. Tami, I am so proud that you held out for the best partner for you! Gene, that was an incredible song! May you both have a lifetime of happiness and good golf!