Claudia and Mischa Exchange Romantic Vows on a Castle, May 8, 2010

I love this photo of Claudia and Mischa. Taken after the ceremony by their friend, Jesse, it really catches the romantic feel of the day. This beautiful setting was Claudia and Mischa’s own back yard!

Their wedding was a long time coming and, with Mischa’s Austrian-German heritage (growing up in Austria) and Claudia’s Malaysian-Chinese heritage (growing up in the United States), their love story is multi-cultural, multi-continental and romantic to the core. A true fairy tale come true.

They have a lovely home and decided it would make a perfect setting for the casual, friendly wedding they had in mind. As luck would have it, the previous owners of their home had built a play castle for their children and it had remained when they moved. Claudia and Mischa decided it would be fun to have their wedding atop the castle and what a unique and clever idea it was!

Before we began, Claudia’s sister, Frances, a multi-talented classical musician, played the prelude music on the cello. That beautiful sound, with the notes wafting through the trees, was mesmerizing in that idyllic setting.

During the ceremony, Frances also joined us on the top of the castle, playing keyboard while Claudia sang, “If the Stars Were Mine.” 

Two readers also contributed to the ceremony, joining us on the castle, and here is a photo of Chad reading, “A Fairy Tale Potion for a Modern Day Wedding,” which was most appropriate for this fairy tale love.

At the end of the ceremony, Claudia and Mischa exchanged their kiss...

and slid one after the other down the slide. What a fun recessional and so perfect for them!

Inside the house, everything was set up for a special reception.

On top of the piano (Claudia is also a classical musician), the cake was set up beside a couple of Stitch dolls, dressed for the occasion. 

Why Stitch? I wondered that myself. It turns out that Claudia and Frances had these dolls from childhood and Frances has made them clothes over the years. Note that Claudia’s Stitch is dressed in a tux and red bow tie to match Mischa’s.

It was important to Claudia and Mischa that they include their heritages and in the end they decided to showcase them with the food they served and the music played for the ceremony. Great choices all the way around. For the cake they decided to go with Claudia’s Chinese heritage, using red for good luck and including the traditional Double Happiness symbol on the top. Exquisite. 

This beautiful creation was provided by Chanelle Bakery (inside the Grand Asia Market in Cary) and Claudia told me it was every bit as delicious as it looked.

The wonderful photographer on hand for the day was Penny Noell of Penny Noell Photography. I love her work and can’t wait to see her photos of the wedding when they are online. Here she is scouting out the best location for optimal shots of the wedding atop the castle.

It was a very special wedding for two very special people and I was so happy to have been able to play a part. Mischa, Claudia and I share a love of all things Star Trek so I will wish them all the best in their future with the best wedding wishes I have ever heard; “Live long and prosper!”
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Update:  I had initially not realized that Mischa is also a Trekkie so left his name out of the final paragraph above. But he sent me this note in an email that confirms unequivocally that he is indeed another lover of all things Star Trek;  “I am also a Trekkie! I might not have the complete technical manuals memorized, but I do know the shortest way from Holodeck 3 to Ten Forward.”   I’m still laughing at that as I write and yep, I’d say that’s a true, dyed-in-the-wool Trekkie.   :-)
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Gretchen and Tim marry June 6, 2009 amid symbols of family, love, life and happiness

Gretchen and Tim are a happy couple who love their families deeply and it was a real treat to be part of a wedding where so much thought and effort had gone into honoring the heritages of the two families.

When I arrived for the wedding, photographs were still being taken so I had plenty of time to look around at all the decorations. Gretchen’s mom, with a florist background,

was the artistic director and everyone lent a hand for the creations. It was clear that a lot of care and attention to detail had gone into the process and Highgrove Estate (where the wedding was held) was simply glowing with it all. They must have had a lot of fun creating everything and seeing it come to life in its final glory.

Tim is Chinese and to the Chinese, red means happiness. This was to be a happy wedding for sure because red was everywhere. It was wound around the columns of the arbor where the wedding took place, it was in the flowers, the table decorations, the red on Gretchen’s dress and veil

and even in the hanky of her Great-Grandmother that Gretchen carried with her bouquet.

Gretchen was also wearing a garter from another Great-Grandmother and a ring her father had given her on her 18th birthday. Her bouquet was even wrapped in a sleeve from her mother’s wedding dress... such a sweet and clever idea! Everywhere you turned there was love being expressed for family in so many touching and unusual ways.

Tim’s grandparents had passed on but he and Gretchen wanted to honor them during the ceremony so they set up a photo of his grandparents on a table near where we stood. White roses were waiting on Tim’s parents’ chairs and when the time came, Tim and Gretchen got the roses from his parents and placed them lovingly by the photo of his grandparents.

To further emphasize the idea of everlasting love and spirit, butterflies (an ancient symbol of life and the human soul) were placed everywhere amidst the flowers, the decorations and the table centerpieces.

The place cards for the guests were beautifully done Chinese calligraphy of words one would normally associate with weddings, like love and happiness.

They were compelling all lined up on the table waiting for the guests and once they were sitting on the red tablecloths of the individual tables, they were sure to look stunning.

The incredible wedding cake was done in the red and white colors of the day, with calla lilies placed on the sides and atop the cake as the topper. They were so life-like it was hard to believe they were edible!

The decorations on the cake were beautiful and elegant. The top layer had the traditional Chinese wedding symbol for marriage, known as the Double Happiness. How perfect. The creator of this amazing cake was Cinda of Cinda’s Creative Cakes. I have lately been seeing more of her cakes and every one has been elegant and exquisite. The attention to detail and the perfect final product are always what have drawn my attention.

There was also a quiet little display that spoke volumes in and amongst the memorabilia of the day. It was of Gretchen in Africa, on a mission with a group called Seeds Of Hope Outreach, that is working to provide help to the women and children of Africa who have been devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This group is very dear to Gretchen and Tim and instead of the usual wedding favors normally given to wedding guests, Gretchen and Tim gave a donation to Seeds of Hope Outreach in the name of their guests. I encourage everyone to read about this caring and productive group who are working so hard to make a difference for people whose lives have become desperately hard - particularly the thousands of children who have been orphaned as a result of this terrible disease.

Gretchen and Tim, I know you will fill your lives with the richness of Life in all its forms and through all its gifts. It was an honor to help you launch your new life as husband and wife.

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The photographers for the day were Sarah Alair and Don Parsons of Sarah Alair Photography and I hope to have some photos from them soon to post here. I suspect they are going to be spectacular.

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