Melissa and Ryan Have a Sunny Wedding at The Sutherland in Wake Forest

So how do you know for sure that your fiancé loves you? There are many signs, obviously, but for Melissa, her fisherman fiancé showed her by selling his beloved bass boat to buy her an engagement ring. For those of you with avid fishermen in your lives, you will fully understand how huge this is. Ryan wanted her to know how much he loved her and what better way than to sell a prized possession to buy something for her.

Both Melissa and Ryan have had wonderful examples of long, loving marriages in their families so it was not too hard for Ryan to know how to show his love. Ryan’s parents have been married for 28 years,

photo by Brian Anderson

Melissa’s parents have been married for 27 years,

photo by Brian Anderson

and Melissa’s grandparents have been married for 61 years!

photo by Brian Anderson

Ryan and Melissa have some mighty big footsteps to follow! During the ceremony they wanted to make sure their parents and grandparents were honored for the great examples they had set for them, followed by Melissa and Ryan surprising them all with roses for their moms and grandmother. Many tears were seen as they presented the roses. Such a touching moment.

photo by Brian Anderson

Melissa and Ryan chose as their wedding location the beautiful The Sutherland Estate and Gardens in Wake Forest. What a wonderful location this is for a wedding. Tucked off the highway, it is all enclosed and private and they include skilled wedding planners in their packages. Ashlee Adams was in charge of making sure everything went well for Melissa and Ryan and she was certainly a professional in all she did. It was great working with her.

Here are some shots of this most impressive wedding and event venue;

the main house where the Bride and her Bridesmaids dress and the Settler’s Cottage where the Groom and Groomsmen dress

photo by Brian Anderson

the brick area where the ceremonies take place, the wedding garden lawn as it extends back toward the house, and the large brick patio behind the house, perfectly suited for setting up a large dance floor

photo by Brian Anderson

photo by Brian Anderson

the rustic dining room that leads into the bright, airy anteroom where the cake and some of the refreshments were served

Melissa’s beautiful wedding dress had been copied by her Grandmother for one of Melissa’s childhood Barbie dolls and I couldn’t resist getting a photo of Melissa and Barbie together.

Barbie also had a place of honor down in the traditional dining room where the gift table was set up and she later joined the revelry out by the dance floor in the evening. 

photo by Brian Anderson

The accent colors for the wedding were aqua and yellow and what a happy, cheery combination that is. Melissa and Ryan used it to perfect effect for the Bridesmaid dresses, the bouquets and boutonnieres,

the pomanders they made for the aisle chairs, 

the table settings and centerpieces under the reception tent,

 the jelly beans they made themselves (!!) for guest favors,

the wedding cake and table,

even Melissa’s wedding shoes were a cheery shade of yellow!

Their gifts for their Bridal Party were engraved beer mugs for the men and yellow and aqua polka dot glasses for the ladies.

Here you see Melissa’s brother and Ryan’s best man with the polka dot glasses in hand, no doubt going to get refreshments for the ladies.

photo by Brian Anderson

It was a sunny day with sunny decorations and it all matched perfectly the sunny dispositions of this happy couple and their families and guests. It was quite a special event and I know everyone there was having a marvelous time. Even Barbie herself, who must have been privy to some special moments in Melissa’s childhood, must have been enjoying every moment.

The photographer for the wedding was Hilton Pitman, of Hilton Pitman Photography. Some of his wonderful photos are included here with his watermark embossed. (Thanks, Hilton) He also did some wonderful engagement photos of Melissa and Ryan and I wrote a blog post about it a few months ago. Here’s a link to that post if you’d like to read it.

My thanks also to Melissa’s cousin, Brian Anderson, who provided most of the photos used here. 

Melissa and Ryan, it was such a joy to get to know you and to be a part of such a special day in your lives. Thank you again for the beautiful birthday flowers and sweet card you gave me on my birthday. I was so touched by your thoughtfulness. (My birthday was on their rehearsal date and they gave me flowers and a card signed by everyone at the rehearsal.)

May all your dreams come true in unique and wonderful ways - and may Ryan’s new bass boat (when it comes along) be a joy for you both.

Update 9/1/11- I have just learned that Melissa and Ryan’s wedding will be featured in the Spring / Summer 2012 issue of The Knot North Carolina, which will be on sale in stores starting Dec. 27, 2011. Can’t wait to read it!

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Update 1/23/12 - Here is the link to the blog post I wrote when their wedding was featured in The Knot North Carolina magazine.

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Monica and Joe Exchange Vows at Treyburn Country Club in Durham, Nov. 20, 2010

Monica and Joe are a handsome couple, as you can see here, and they are every bit as nice as they look. It was so much fun being a part of their wedding; everything was beautiful and elegant and they were warm and easy-going through the whole process. That is always a good combination for a happy wedding.

Their romance began many years ago, when they were in the 8th grade. They went to a Valentine’s Dance together and, although life eventually parted them, they met again in 2006 and have been inseparable ever since. Someone had framed this great write-up and photo of that first date. Such a sweet way to begin a romance.

They chose as their wedding location the beautiful Treyburn Country Club in Durham. Weddings are always special there because the setting is so amazing and this particular day, with all the trees glowing in their autumn splendor, it was even more gorgeous than usual.

The day couldn’t have been more beautiful for Monica and Joe. Here are the arbor where we stood for the wedding, the sun glowing on the back of the clubhouse and the sun shining on the walkway where we all entered for the ceremony. Everything was glowing that day, including Monica and Joe.

The Special Events Coordinator at Treyburn is Lauren Barry, who was so very kind, patient and friendly. She was a joy to work with and Monica and Joe both commented to me about how great she was for them.

The flowers for the whole event were provided by Flowers by Gary and they were just perfect for the day.

 Monica added a special touch to her bouquet by attaching her grandmother’s brooch.

While we waited for the wedding to begin, Joe was chatting with the ladies of the Bridal Party and I couldn’t resist getting a cute photo.

The simple, elegant cake was provided by Cinda Putnam of Cinda’s Creative Cakes. Everything she creates is beautiful.

The wonderful DJ for the day was Randy Bennett of Joe Bunn DJ Company. I always love working with Randy. He is quiet and unassuming, has the couple’s best interests at heart and always knows how to keep things moving along with just the right style. First class all the way.

Monica and Joe, may you have many happy Valentine dances together and may those beaming smiles on your wedding day remain forever on your faces and in your hearts.

Katherine and David Become One at The Highgrove Estate, October 10, 2010

Katherine and David currently live and work in Maryland, but they met at graduate school at Wake Forest University. With family still in the area, they came back to NC to marry. What a charming couple! They contacted me by phone and I was very flattered when they decided to work with me for their wedding without having met me beforehand. (Thanks, you guys.)

They chose The Highgrove Estate in Fuquay-Varina as the perfect setting for their wedding. On hand to make sure everything went off exactly as it should was Ann Eberle, who is a staff wedding planner at The Highgrove. She is so good at what she does that I always know weddings where she is in charge are going to be caringly and professionally managed.

Because David is of Spanish heritage, he and Katherine wanted to incorporate their different cultures into the ceremony. They decided that they both would say their ring vows in Spanish, which was a lovely idea. Katherine did a beautiful job of it and you could see David’s family leaning forward to hear her speak in Spanish - and smile happily for her when she was finished. Talk about the family rooting for you! It was a very sweet moment.

To further include the Spanish heritage, they had a friend, Nadya, read a passage from First Corinthians in Spanish and incorporated the traditional custom of the groom giving 13 coins to the wife to represent his trust in her to help him provide for the family. And with a modern and decidedly American twist, Katherine gave him back the coins to represent exactly the same thing to the husband.

When Katherine was a little girl she had been a Flower Girl at a wedding and her mom had saved the dress all these years. She used it to make the ring pillow and ring pouch for Katherine’s wedding. Both are shown here, with the pouch being held by the Best Man, Orlando, who carried the rings into the ceremony in that pouch.

Her mother also made this beautiful family tree sampler as a wedding gift for Katherine and David and it was appropriately displayed on the guest book table between wedding photos of each of their parents.

Katherine loves the designer, Kate Spade, and couldn’t resist these blue satin pumps to wear as her “Something Blue,” along with the blue accent in the hairpiece in her hair.

The Farrell Sisters were on hand to provide the ceremony music in harp and flute. That is always a beautiful combination and Brittany and Marissa did an exemplary job.

Because it is October, they used these cute little pumpkins as place card holders for the guests. How elegant they all look sitting on the table.

In the photograph below, notice the photographer in the background. That is Jennifer Kromhout of Acorn Photography. Jennifer and I have not worked together at a wedding in a long while and it was great seeing her again and watching her in action. I know her photos are going to be tremendous - they always are. She was ably assisted that day by Ashley (sorry I didn’t get your last name, Ashley.).

The wedding flowers were not the orange and yellows one might expect of an October wedding. They were instead rich tones of reds and purples and were just magnificent. Matching and accentuating the purple of the Bridesmaid dresses, these flowers were so amazingly beautiful that they took your breath away. Created by Mel Day of Dogwood Tree Floral Designs, they were just elegant. No wonder they are an award-winning floral design house!

Here is the gorgeous wedding cake, also strewn with the beautiful flowers. 

Katherine and David, you put together a beautiful and touching wedding that celebrated both your families and your heritages in a rich and elegant way. My best wishes to you both in your lives to come. Mejor de las suertes! (Best of luck!)