Annie and Paul Celebrate a Christmas Wedding Miracle at The Arrowhead Inn in Durham

Annie and Paul wanted a quiet, intimate wedding and they came from Virginia with three friends to create a wonderful, private celebration of their love. It almost didn’t happen, though, because in August Annie had been thrown from a horse and had broken her back. She worked hard to regain all her functions and Paul had been there with her, helping her all the way. When the wedding day dawned, Annie gamely decided to dispense with her back brace and stand alone for the wedding. She even managed to complete their first dance after the ceremony! (The old-fashioned words pluck and spunk come to mind.)

They chose the lovely Arrowhead Inn for the ceremony and they could not have chosen a more perfect place for their wedding. Intimate, charming and tucked off the highway, it is a lovely little B&B in Durham. The main house has a beautiful parlor and the owners, Gloria and Phil, always have the most beautiful Christmas decorations. The room is beautiful any time of the year but at Christmas it takes on a special glow.

Paul had put together an iPod playlist for the ceremony music and Annie walked in to John Denver’s, “Annie’s Song,” escorted by her friend and Maid of Honor. Annie was looking beautiful in her lovely white gown and, knowing how brave she had been to get to this day, it touched everyone’s hearts. There were tears in all our eyes as she entered, especially Paul’s.

We stood in front of the beautiful fireplace for the ceremony and when the ceremony was finished we all took photos of ourselves together.

The lady in the white sweater in the photo above is the wife of the Best man and she was the photographer for the event. I’m the lady on the far left.

After the photos were finished, the happy couple took their first dance together in the parlor in front of the Christmas tree to Frank Sinatra’s version of “The Way You Look Tonight.” We were all loving what we were seeing; a miracle of medicine, determination and answered prayers was dancing right in front of our eyes.

After the dance, they headed to the dining room for the meal that Phil had been preparing. Not sure what they were having, but it did smell delicious! Here is the lovely little wedding cake Gloria and Phil had provided for them. Bet it tasted every bit as wonderful as it looked.

Annie and Paul, I so enjoyed getting to know you and being a part of your Christmas wedding miracle. You will always be in my heart.
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