Cheri and Kelley become Life Partners, February 13, 2010

When Cheri and Kelley contacted me to be a part of their commitment ceremony in their home, I was so pleased that I could be there for them on such a special day in their lives. The love between them had come shining through in their emails and it always warms my heart to be around people so deeply in love. That’s one of the best things about my work and it feeds my soul to see love manifest in so many ways for so many lives.

Cheri and Kelley have a deep and abiding spiritual faith and know for certain that God brought them together. They have been friends since childhood days in the same neighborhood and when Life brought itself full circle, they visited each other again after six years and that friendship bloomed into an amazing love that has transformed both their lives.

This ceremony and gathering of friends and family was all about love and being there for each other. The Unity Candle was engraved with a wonderful saying that speaks perfectly of their love and the box that held their rings said all the rest.

    

They had an altar set up, holding their personal vows, the rings and the Unity Candles. Set into one of the most interesting wooden bowls and pedestals I have ever seen, it made a beautiful presentation of the love it was there to represent and contain.


All around the altar were photos of beloved family members, which put a special glow into the room. An Aunt and Uncle even called during the ceremony so we included them by having them offer their blessings to the happy couple while they were still on the phone. 

As you might expect, with so much love in abundance, there were tears of happiness and moments of sweetest tenderness. Cheri had written a poem to Kelley but she was so overcome with emotion that her sister, Angie, had to read it for her - as Kelley wiped Cheri’s tears away. By the time they read the sincere and beautiful vows they had written to each other there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

After the ceremony was over and the photos were taken, Cheri and Kelley took a moment to snuggle with their dog, Barkley. He’s their baby and he seemed very happy to have his parents making everything official at last - and now get back to paying him some attention.

I learned after the ceremony that they had designed a logo for the 3 of them (Kelley, Cheri and Barkley) and had it tattooed on their ankles. Notice the Roman numeral 13 in the tatoo. Thirteen is very significant to them and it is why they chose to have their ceremony on February 13. While some consider 13 to be an unlucky number, in ancient times it was an auspicious omen of good things to come and a firm foundation under your feet. Seems most appropriate here.

Cheri and Kelley are quite a special couple and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of their love on that day. I now have two more very kind friends. Here is a photo of us all together.

Because it was important to Cheri and Kelley that God be present at their ceremony, I wrote the ceremony around a quote from The Song of Solomon; “This is my beloved, and this is my friend.” Here they are with their hands on that verse in their Bible. I love this photo. It captures who both of them truly are. My compliments to the photographer.

Ladies, you have touched my heart. The sweetness of your ceremony and the kindnesses you have shown me I will carry with me always. You are sure to have a blessed life together.
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Jenna and Chris celebrate family with their wedding at Parizade in Durham, October 11, 2009

Jenna and Chris are a fun couple and I was very much looking forward to being a part of their wedding. When we got together to create the framework for their ceremony and I was hearing all the things they had been working on, I couldn’t wait to see it all come together. It was all very beautiful, heartfelt and special, just as I had imagined. Jenna’s dad had even written the music to which he escorted her into the ceremony, appropriately entitled, Jenna’s Song.

Their adorable little Jr. Bridesmaid and Flower Girls were waiting to have their photo taken after the ceremony and I couldn’t resist taking this cute shot.

The ceremony was held in the courtyard of the Parizade restaurant in Durham. What an amazing place this is and it would lend itself perfectly to any kind of event. We all stood in front of the statued waterfall for the ceremony and what a magnificent backdrop it was!

Guests lingered in the courtyard while the photos were taken and the Bride and Groom were presented and had their first dance.

One of the Bridesmaid’s husbands had carved this magnificent monogrammed pumpkin to be the centerpiece of the head table. How very clever! The glow it put out in the dim light of the evening was just beautiful.

Jenna is an educator at the Museum of Life and Science so she knows a thing or two about how to entertain children. Since all the children guests were little girls, Jenna and Chris created this amazing kids’ table, complete with balloons, feather boas and fairy wings for each girl. The crayons came out almost as quickly as the wings went on. I even saw one of the waiters flirting with the girls when they got him to put on a white boa to match his uniform. It was just adorable.

Jenna and Chris wanted to celebrate their families - both those who were with them and those who were not - so we included those not able to be with us with a mention of their names and a moment of silence during the ceremony. It was very touching.

Jenna’s parents married in 1975 and Jenna and Chris used the cake topper they had used for their wedding so long ago.

Jenna also carried an exact duplicate of her mother’s daisy bouquet, made lovingly by the woman at a Lowe’s Grocery floral department. Jenna told me the woman had taken so much time to make it exactly right and I am sorry that I didn’t get her name to sing her praises here. I don’t think I ever remember a bride carrying a bouquet exactly like her mother’s before and it was such a sweet and touching homage to her mom.

She also wore her grandmother’s necklace as a bracelet. This necklace was always worn by her grandmother and her two sisters have also worn it at their weddings. That is fast becoming quite an heirloom.

To further show the heart of the event, check out Jenna’s wedding shoes.

The music for the event was provided by Jason Eder of Complete Music. What a great professional for someone so young. During the ceremony, my lapel mic went out and Jason had given a hand mic to a reader. She handed it to the end groomsman and one by one they all handed it up to me so I could be heard. How thoughtful of them all! Many guests came up to me afterwards to tell me how happy they were to have been able to have heard the ceremony so kudos to you all for saving the day.

I think the thing that touched me most about Jenna and Chris’ wedding, though, was their unique take on wedding favors for their guests. Many loved ones have been lost to major illnesses in both their families so instead of a favor, the guests were asked to choose a charity and drop their place cards in one of the boxes provided and a donation would be made in their name to that charity. I lost my dad a few years ago to cancer, so I chose that box, and I must say it was a very moving moment to add my card to the box.

Here is the explanation card they had displayed with the donation boxes.

And these are the boxes with the names of the charities and the family members in whose honor the donation will be made. Very touching.

They had wanted to have their dog, Dieter, with them, but it just wasn’t practical. He was there anyway, though, because someone had taken a photo of him wearing a bandana that said, “Congratulations, Mom and Dad.” (Unfortunately, my camera skills are lacking in being able to read his bandana, but it was really cute.)

It was a magical evening with lots of love flowing all around and many special elements coming together to make it moving on so many levels. It was an honor to be a part of it and I will happily add my congratulations to Dieter’s... WOOF!!

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Leah and Brad exchange vows June 20, 2009 at the Park Alumni Center on NC State Campus

Leah and Brad are both graduates of NC State so of course the Wolfpack was going to play into the wedding in some way. They chose to marry at the beautiful Park Alumni Center on the Centennial Campus of NC State and my goodness, what a beautiful and elegant location for a wedding that is. As you approach the Center, it looks like any other nicely-appointed office building, but as you enter the lobby, you step into a two-story, expansive gallery and your jaw drops. It is a building that lends itself beautifully to special events like this one and is sure to be a huge hit with graduates of NC State looking for a perfect place to marry.

On the outside of the building are two groupings of amazing wolf statues...

and a photo op with one of them was of course obligatory.

The nuptials were carried out under a beautiful, white satin chuppah, laden with flowers. Leah and Brad are an interfaith couple and we wrote their ceremony so it would weave in elements of both their Christian and Jewish backgrounds. It was a beautiful and respectful blending and I am sure their guests enjoyed it very much because they put so much heart into its creation.

The reception was amazing! The Bride and Grooom were both very much involved with the planning of the wedding and it was clear in everything they did. The obvious choice of color for this event would have seemed to have been black and red, in honor of NC State, but that would have been like everyone else so they decided instead to go with black, white and hot pink. What a great combo! Here is a shot taken from the balcony of the 2nd floor, looking down into the reception area.

Leah and Brad are big sports fans and Brad, being a transplanted New Yorker, especially loves the New York Yankees. So the unexpected and charming table names and place cards reflected that in a very clever way. The place cards had the Yankees logo on one side and the seating location on the other.

And the table names were all famous players and their numbers from the history of the Yankees. My husband and I sat at the Babe Ruth table and the lovely smile in this photo belongs to Leah’s grandmother, who I was lucky enough to sit beside for the evening. What a charmer!

Leah wanted to include their dogs for the wedding, but it just wasn’t practical so they found ways to include them; they were mentioned in the ceremony, there were photos of them at the Bride and Groom table, and they were shown in the adorable topper of the wedding cake. Here again is another shining example of the great work done by Cinda of Cinda’s Creative Cakes. How did she ever do that topper... and also pick up the exact style of Leah’s dress?!

Naturally, an event like this needs a great DJ and Lenny Fritts of A Touch of Class Djs is exactly that. I have worked with him many times before and he is always a true professional in everything he does. His assistant that day was KC Harmsen and they both were dressed in stylish tuxes, most appropriate for the evening. Lenny even brought along a bubble machine to make the atmosphere more romantic for Leah and Brad’s first dance! Nice touch.

It was a fun evening and a great time was had by all. Leah and Brad, your life together is going to be the best ball game you ever play and you are sure to continue to hit ‘em out of the park.
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Other vendors on hand to make the event a success were;

Photographer - Bella Rose Photography

Limousine - White Horse Transportation

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Julie and Evan share a magical wedding in the Raleigh Rose Garden - May 30, 2009

The Raleigh Rose Garden sits in a quiet little ravine behind the Raleigh Little Theater and contains literally thousands of roses. It is a wonderful place for a wedding, especially when the roses are in bloom - and the roses were in beautiful full bloom for Julie and and Evan’s wedding.

We had magical elements for the wedding that day; two absolutely adorable Flower Girls with huge blue eyes, wearing fairy wings and carrying wands. Each entered with a little dog on flower-strewn leashes and each dog was wearing fairy wings of their own. Our handsome young Ring Bearer carried the rings on a pillow with a large blue rose that matched the color of the fairy wings and dog leashes.

Evan’s last name begins with M and he and Julie were privileged to enter and leave their wedding ceremony on a monogrammed runner, lovingly made by the Maid of Honor. It was the first time I had ever seen that done. What a thoughtful gift it was and one that it is sure to become a family heirloom.

Making sure the music was perfect and we were all in sync to it was our DJ, Stephen Scott, of Show Pro Events. It was the first time I have worked with Stephen and I will be looking forward to our working together again. He came to the rehearsal and was very helpful there and also for the wedding. He is a real professional who loves his work and it shows. He has a big, infectious grin and you could tell he was enjoying himself. It’s always fun to work with people who love what they do.

The photographer for the day was Carolyn Scott (no relation to DJ Stephen) of Carolyn Scott Photography. She moved here recently from Pennsylvania and hopes to find a good home here in the south. There was a beautiful wedding portrait of Julie, taken by Carolyn, and it was displayed on the table with the Unity Candle. You couldn’t help but notice it because of Julie’s eyes. Julie has big eyes to begin with, but that portrait made them the focal point of the pose and it was magnificent. Here is a photo of it, taken from Carolyn’s Blog at her website;

Despite the heat of the day, by the time the evening wedding started there were longer shadows coming into the ravine, cooling things off, and a slight breeze started up right as we came down the aisle. It was a welcome touch to a truly beautiful day. The magical elements were indeed there for us for the wedding. Must have been those fairies.