Carolyn and Geoff Celebrate Their Marriage with a Zombie Jamboree at Artspace in Raleigh, October 23, 2010

I first met Carolyn and Geoff when they were the photographers for a wedding I did last year. Being an amateur photographer, I find it interesting to watch what the photographers are doing when I can and in the case of Carolyn and Geoff, they were all over the place, in the strangest of positions, going for unexpected and interesting angles for the shots. I knew without a doubt that the photos would be spectacular because of this and I was right. (Here is a link to their professional website, Carolyn Scott Photography.) So when they called me to be a part of their wedding, I knew it was going to be a fun time. I was right about that, too.

Halloween-themed weddings are always fun and Carolyn and Scott put together quite a special event. Held in Artspace in Raleigh, it was a perfect accompaniment for the unique and creative evening they had in mind. There are so many good photos to showcase their creativity so I will include a lot here and let them speak for themselves. Many of the photos are by their photographer, David E. Jackson.

Here are the cute aisle markers,

and the greeter at the guest book.

Loved this fun shot they had taken earlier in the year.

The ceremony was very touching in so many ways and Geoff brought out an even bigger smile on Carolyn’s face when he read his vows.

They decided to include an Anniversary Box ceremony. Both had written secret letters to each other to be placed into a box that would be opened on their first anniversary. Into the box would also go their favorite drink ingredients (rum and Coke) and the box would be formally sealed with their signets until their anniversary. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall when those letters are read a year from now!

After the ceremony, everyone headed upstairs for the celebration. The bar was appropriately appointed with a huge cauldron and the seating chart was titled, “Your Final Resting Place.”

A cookie table is a tradition in Pennsylvania, where Carolyn and Geoff hail from, so all kinds of Halloween cookies awaited our pleasure at that table;

and the cake, made by Geoff’s Aunt Leah, was just perfect - spiders and all.

Sprinkled throughout the tables were fun decorations. Here are just a few.

Geoff designed Carolyn’s ring and isn’t this a clever shot of their rings together.

Here they are during their first dance.

Followed later by Carolyn’s choreographed-on-the-fly dance with her dad. The song for their dance was written and recorded by her dad specifically for that moment. They wowed everyone.

And Geoff’s sweet dance with his mom touched every heart in the room.

Their exemplary DJ for the night was Stephen Scott, who was having as much fun as the rest of us.

This is a photo of their VERY tall photographer, David E. Jackson, taken after the wedding. He flew in from out of town to photograph their wedding.

As the evening progressed, the guests had a few surprises of their own for Carolyn and Geoff.

So the Zombie Wedding Jamboree was a huge hit and all the zombies partied into the wee hours of the night. Carolyn and Geoff went off into their own crypt later, and the guests retired into theirs with the sights and sounds of a good time had by all.

Carolyn and Geoff, I hope your life together is every bit as fun as your wedding!

Penny and Aric exchange vows at Martha’s Chapel in Apex, January 16, 2010

Penny and Aric met in a most unusual way - they met at the airport waiting for the same flight to Boston. Or at least Aric thought it was the same flight. He found out later that he had been waiting at the wrong gate, but what a lucky mistake! A long distance romance quickly followed and eventually Aric moved south to be with Penny, who is a local wedding photographer (Penny Noell Photography).

Penny and Aric are all about family and kids, even though they don’t yet have any of their own, so they decided to have their Bridal Party made up of the children of their family and friends. It was the first all-child Bridal Party I have ever witnessed and they were just adorable and probably stole the show. In the first photo Penny and Aric are shown with their Jr. Bridesmaid and below is a photo of all the Bridal Party in the gazebo outside the church. What a bunch of charmers.

The beautiful bouquets and altar arrangements were provided by Rachel at Tre Bella Florist. Here is a close-up of Penny’s wonderful bouquet.

The altar flowers were placed to honor family members who had passed on.

The wedding took place at the historic old Martha’s Chapel in Apex. In the photo above you see the serene mural painted at the back of the altar area that gives an added charm to the little church. Built before the Civil War, it saw its share of sorrow and pain during that war and has weathered many a strong storm through the almost 200 years that it has stood. One hurricane even took the bell tower off so they shortened it afterwards to keep that from happening again.

After the wedding, everyone went outside for the formal photos and it was quite an effort to gather all the Bridal Party around, especially when the piled up leaves were spotted. I don’t think there’s a kid alive who can resist those, no matter how they are dressed.

Waiting to take everyone to The Carolina Inn for the reception was this limousine, courtesy of Blue Diamond Limos in Raleigh. Now that’s riding in style!

The reception was held in the famous Old Well Room of The Carolina Inn and it was a sumptuous feast. The tables all had floating candles and flowers and the candlelight flickering off all the glassware was a beautiful sight.

Their amazing wedding cake was provided by Chuck and Wayne of Swank Cake Design. It was one of the most elegant cakes I have ever seen and I have tried to capture some of the intricate details in these photos.

Here’s the Groom’s cake - bet all the sports fans in attendance were smiling at his design.

The wedding planner for the whole event was Barbara Clark of An Elegant Affair and as usual, she did a superb job of keeping everyone on track and helping Penny and Aric create the magical day and evening they had envisioned. Here she is on the left, chatting with Joan, one of the charming guests at our table.

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Other vendors on hand to make the day and evening such a success were;

Hair and makeup - Margo Williams of Belloviso

Music - for the ceremony and cocktail hour - Arioso Strings

- the band for the reception, Black and Blue

Photography - Amanda and Rachel with Millie Holloman Photography

Videography - Melissa Davis with Life Stage Videography

Photobooth - Shutterbooth

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It was a wonderful wedding and a great celebration of love all around. I enjoyed meeting Penny and Aric and helping them create such a special wedding celebration. How lucky they had to wait for their flights that first day!

ps.... Aric, thanks for the tip about Stargate Universe.

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Alicia and Valencia commit their lives to each other January 9, 2010

When Alicia and Valencia (known to their friends as AJ and Vee) contacted me about being the minister for their commitment ceremony, we all felt an instant connection and I was so pleased they decided to sign with me. Putting together their ceremony with them and writing it so it fit them perfectly was a lot of fun and included many sweet and touching moments. Their ceremony was a celebration of the love between themselves, their families and their guests and my husband, Bill, and I were happy to be among the well-wishers.

Here is a photo of Vee and his son, Dameon. I think I fell in love with Dameon when I first met him. He is a handsome, quiet and polite young man with a huge artistic talent that I hope he pursues someday. You can tell he has had wonderful care and guidance from his parents and he should go far in his life as a result. And just look at those two great smiles!

Here’s the happy couple, beaming like crazy and happy to be committed Life Partners.

The Flower Girls and Junior Bridesmaid were all the daughters of friends and family. Their dresses picked up the lovely color combination of the event, lime green and purple. Very cheery choice.

During the ceremony they celebrated their commitment with a Blending of the Sands, using green and purple sand that made a lovely keepsake for their home. On the table with the sands they had placed photos of their mother and grandmother who had both passed on. It was a lovely homage to both the women who had meant so much to them.

AJ and Vee were very clever in finding their cake. Apparently Wal-Mart provides wedding cakes (who knew?!) and this is their lovely cake.

The go-to person for the evening was their niece, Talisha Gummell. She made the bouquets, the decorations, the centerpieces... everywhere you looked there was her handiwork. It was lovely and very impressive for such a young person. I am told she hopes to one day become a wedding and event planner and she would certainly be a natural.

Their photographer was Amanda Olson and while watching her work I could see she was finding so many sweet moments to capture. I can’t wait to see her photos!

The hair and makeup were provided by Tineka Richardson of Unique’s Beauty Salon. Great job, Tineka. Everyone was beautiful and AJ was simply glowing. Her makeup even stayed on through her tears. Tineka can be reached by phone at 919-699-4377.

The ceremony was held at the Marriott RTP, which created a lovely backdrop for the deep and sincere love in evidence that evening.

It was a loving ceremony, a magical evening and a foreshadowing of the magnificent future AJ and Vee are sure to have in store together. I was so happy to have been asked to play a part and I wish you both all the best Life has to offer.

Joe and Karissa marry at Brier Creek Country Club, December 5, 2009

Marrying in December, the obvious choice for a design theme would be to use all the Christmas decorations in abundance around you - which is exactly what Karissa and Joe decided to do. Everything they chose had an elegance to it and Brier Creek Country Club - always an elegant setting for a wedding to begin with - was a perfect backdrop. The club is a beautiful, upscale wedding location but at Christmas they simply outdo themselves with style, color and abundance. The beautiful setting Karissa and Joe created with Brier Creek was elegant, warm and welcoming - just like they are.

The wedding planner Karissa and Joe chose to work with for their wedding was Joy Edwards of A Joyful Occasion. With her personable assistant, Lindsey Moyer, the two were an unbeatable team of efficiency, complete with walkie-talkies. It was fun to watch them work as they maneuvered us all through our paces.

Also on hand to help with the background details was Kristie Taylor, the Catering Director with Brier Creek Country Club. She, Karissa and Joe were responsible for the beautiful surroundings of the wedding and reception and they certainly did themselves proud.

All the florals for the wedding and reception were provided by Mel Day and kenju of Dogwood Tree Floral Designs. I had thought this was the first time I had seen their work but it turns out I have been an unknowing admirer of theirs for many years. They did all the glorious Christmas decorations at Brier Creek and have been doing that for quite a long time. Their work is always beautiful and for the wedding it also had a unique and elegant flair, which was a winning combination. Here is a photo of the reception centerpieces with roses hanging from golden stems.

The colors for the evening were ivory and gold amidst all the Christmas decorations and it was simply beautiful. Even the cake, provided by Donna Ford of Sweet Memories, took up the color scheme in a dazzling display of cake artistry with a golden bow at the top. I am always in awe of the wedding cake creators and Donna is certainly one of our finest in the area. I have never seen her duplicate a single cake at another wedding and every design seems more amazing than the last.

The photographer for the event was Mike Bayley of Mike Bayley Photography. I have not seen Mike in a while so it was good to work with him again. He had a lovely second photographer with him that night, Kathleen Kelly, and between the two of them they were taking what looked to be some very sweet and heart-warming shots. Can’t wait to see the photos when they are posted online.

And last but not least for the ceremony was an excellent string duo from Florian Music. What can I say - perfection as always.

Karissa and Joe, it was a wonderful wedding full of celebrating life, love and family and I don’t think I will ever forget seeing your four little stepping-stone Flower Girls in their beautiful white dresses, coming down the aisle in a line, holding hands. That was just adorable. And Karissa, wearing your mother’s wedding dress to the rehearsal was such a sweet and thoughtful homage to your mom. She must have been very touched.

I know you are going to have a grand life together and can’t wait to find out where you decide to go for you honeymoon in a few months. Have a spectacular time wherever it is!

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Update 12/14/09

I have just learned from Karissa the name of her invitation and program designer; Mindy Sorboro of Sorboro Smiles in Cary, NC. All of the women at the reception were raving about the beautiful programs for the wedding and how unusual they were. If you are looking for something handcrafted and out of the ordinary in the way of invitations and other decorative stationary for weddings, you owe it to yourself to check out Mindy’s work.

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