Katie and Chris Exchange Vows in the Raleigh Rose Garden, October 2, 2010

Some people know how to find enjoyment everywhere in life and Katie and Chris are just such a couple. They share a love of live music performance and their relationship developed traveling to and from concerts. This has become such a big part of their lives that they came up with the idea of making their Save-the-Date card into a VIP ticket for their wedding. Looking exactly like a concert ticket, it was a very clever idea.

Their ceremony took place in the Raleigh Rose Garden amid hundreds of roses. I had not realized that roses would bloom this late in the year, but there were glorious colors as far as the eye could see.

They set up the chairs in the center part of the garden with the beautifully simple arbor standing in front of the cherub fountain.

This was the view looking up through the top of the arbor. Despite its being so open, it still provided a charming sheltering feeling.

The colors of the Bridesmaid dresses and the matching accents in the Groomsmen's ties and vests were a beautiful compliment to the glorious colors of nature all around us. The flowers, provided by Jeffrey Surles of Jeffrey's Florist Limited (910-891-7000), were a beautiful mix of summer sunshine and autumn accents.

The day was beautiful, Katie and Chris were radiant, their vows were heartfelt and love was in abundance everywhere. Everything about this wedding was simple and elegant and I was so happy to be a part of it. My congratulations to you both. I wish you many great times ahead, attending concerts, living life to the fullest and enjoying each other's company as you know how to do so well.

Others on hand to make the event a success for Katie and Chris;

Photography - Martha Manning of Martha Manning Photography, assisted by Brad Matthews
Wedding Planner - Jeffrey Surles of Jeffrey's Florist Limited, 910-891-7000
Music - Matthew Kanon on classical guitar
Hair - Marigold Parlour, 919-833-0146
Make-up - Julie Hafer of Beauty Ethics
Limousine - Vern Bullock of Classy Transportation
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Lauren and Rick marry June 20, 2009 at the Raleigh Rose Garden

It was one of those gloriously bright and sunny days that NC is famous for and it fit the feelings for the day perfectly. We all gathered at the Raleigh Rose Garden in the morning to celebrate Lauren and Rick’s wedding. They are a charming couple and I had fallen in love with them as soon as I had met them a month earlier. Everyone in the family and Bridal Party had a part in setting up the decorations, directing the guests and making sure we all began on time and Aunt Josie did the beautiful bouquets and floral arrangements.

One of the things Lauren and Rick wanted to do from the start was to honor their grandparents who had passed on and they decided to use a Sand Ceremony. Sand Ceremonies normally show the combining of two lives or two families, but for Lauren and Rick it was to show that we hold the hearts of our loved ones within us forever. It was a beautiful sentiment. And it became all the more poignant when, at the beginning of the ceremony, Rick’s dad carried in sand to represent his father and Lauren’s mom carried in sand to represent her mother. When Lauren and Rick later combined the sands during the ceremony, they chose a perfect vase - a flower - an ancient symbol of the human soul and beautifully representative of the Rose Garden where the ceremony took place.

Our keyboardist for the day was Renée Cooper, who did a wonderful job. It was our first time working together for a wedding and I can recommend her heartily to anyone looking for a good keyboardist. She was a consummate professional and knew how to keep the music timed and paced for the event, even when things didn’t necessarily go as originally planned. Renée does not yet have a website, but here is a link to her email.

Ably assisting that day as her “roadie” was her husband, Mark. (Thank goodness for our helpful husbands!)

Lauren and Rick chose as their photographer a young, budding talent in the photographic world, Cait Elizabeth. Cait is only 18 but has been photographing weddings for three years already - and her website shows she knows what she is doing. We are sure to be seeing Cait’s name rise among photographers and I am going to be able to one day say I knew her when! Here’s a sample of her work that I found on Cait’s blog, taken of Lauren and Rick for their engagement photos.

Lauren and Rick, I know you are going to be very happy together and I hope that all your children to follow will have the winning combination of your big smiles and kind hearts.

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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.