Jane and Zac marry with elegance at Barclay Villa, March 20, 2010

Jane and Zac knew each other in high school and then went their separate ways after graduation. But while Jane was in college they ran into each other again on MySpace and the friendship renewed, culminating a few years later with their beautiful wedding celebration.

The event was planned as a black and ivory, 50’s-style wedding and the color scheme was picked up in everything from the attire of the Bride and Groom and their Bridal Party to the table decorations, guest gifts and wedding cake. It was very elegant.

Here is a table set up for dinner and you can see on it the black and ivory monogrammed cookies and the black and ivory handmade calendars standing by the goblet. I’ve never seen handmade calendars as gifts for the guests before but it was a lovely touch and very handy to tuck into a pocket or a purse. They are sure to be used by everyone who got one.

And here’s the elegant wedding cake, provided by Ashley of Ashley Cakes.

This wedding incorporated a lot of handmade elegance and everything was beautifully done. The Bridesmaids’ necklaces and Jane’s wonderful necklace and earrings were made by one of the Bridesmaids. They were perfect for everyone and Jane especially looked like a Russian empress in her gown and jewelry... which was perfect because she is of Russian heritage.

The wedding and reception were held at Barclay Villa, one of my favorite wedding locations in our area. Sitting out in the countryside in Angier, NC, it looks like a castle as you approach it and the ambience inside is a lot of fun. The great hall is a giant ballroom with a grand staircase for making grand entrances and the back of the villa is a beautifully landscaped wedding garden. This particular day all the pink cherry trees were in bloom - including a magnificent one by the wedding gazebo - and the sun shining on it made it glow even more. First time I’d done a wedding there with the cherries in bloom and it was spectacular!

Overseeing everyone and making sure everything went off without a hitch were Cathy Hunneycutt and Cindy Ebersbach of Barclay Villa. With both of these professional ladies at the helm, we were sure to have a very successful event. One of the great things about Barclay Villa is that they offer so many amenities in-house so it makes it very easy for couples to plan their weddings with them.

Other wedding professionals on hand to help make the day a success;

Photography - Rob and Amy of Emory Lane Photography
Flowers - Linda Wallace of Garner Florist
Music - ceremony/Alice Merle - DJ for the reception/Ross Merle - of Just Music! DJ Service
Hair and Makeup - Jessica Williams of Lather Hair Salon
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Jane and Zac, it was a treat getting to know you and being a part of such a special wedding. It was obvious how much heart you put into everything and if that is the way you live your lives always, you are going to have quite a special life!

Kim and Brian marry with a classy Halloween style at Barclay Villa, October 31, 2009

So how do you marry on Halloween and, keeping it solemn, still give a wink and a nod to the day... but not let it get campy? You follow Kim and Brian’s lead.

First you find a castle. In this case the wonderful Barclay Villa, an Italian villa with a baroque interior set in the countryside of Angier, NC. Among other amenities, it comes complete with a great hall and a grand staircase that lent itself perfectly to the wedding festivities.

Here is the head table where the Lord and Lady of the castle (Groom and Bride) sat. How perfect is that?!

Barclay Villa has beautiful landscaping throughout the grounds and Kim and Brian used that to great effect as well. The ceremony took place at the gazebo in the back and look how cleverly they decorated the area.

They even made the Handfasting cord that we used for the Handfasting Ceremony after their vows. It was waiting for us to use on the table in the gazebo. Woven of their Halloween colors and with stones sewn onto it, it was truly beautiful.

And what reception theme do you use of all the possible options for Halloween? Kim and Brian chose the haunted castles of Europe. Each table card was the name of a haunted castle in Europe. There was a long information card printed up about each one, standing beside the very clever pumpkin table card holders.

The pumpkin stems were sliced to hold the cards.

And then once you have all that in place, you run with it and have some fun. Like Kim’s bat earrings (check the top photo more closely) and Brian’s bow tie and hankie - an orange ground with bats in a grid pattern.

And the skeleton bride and groom candle holder that stood by the place cards.

And the fun napkins.

Many couples nowadays have photos on display of themselves as children and of special times through their relationship. Here’s how Kim and Brian did the same but kept the Halloween theme.

This is their wedding cake, provided by Donna Ford of Sweet Memories. She picked up the Halloween theme perfectly, complete with bats flying off the sides of the cake.

And this adorable cake topper was actually crocheted by Kim and Brian themselves, each making their own self. Quite clever - and what a fun keepsake to pull out every year for their Halloween decorations. Their children who come alone one day are sure to love the story of how this cute couple came to be!

And of course things just wouldn’t have been complete without some trick-or-treat candy before you left, with black boxes for you to put it in.


It was such a fun and clever wedding celebration and just perfect for a Halloween date. Here is a photo of me with Kim and Brian, taken with my camera by their photographer, Stacy Borelli, of Swank Studio. (Why can she get better photos out of the camera than me? Must be why she’s the professional.)

Also on hand to provide the perfect musical accompaniment was their DJ, Ron Smith, of Ron K. Smith Productions. He must have had a great time planning the music for this wedding!

As I was leaving the wedding that night, I noticed there was a full moon and I could hear dogs howling in the distance...

“Ah, de children of de night.”

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