Stacey and Len Marry at 1705 Prime in Raleigh

Stacey and Len are such a charming couple, as you can so plainly see in all these photos. They laugh a lot together and their wedding day proved to be bright, sunny and breezy, which seemed a perfect compliment to their temperaments and their style.

The wedding took place by the big tree in the front of 1705 Prime in Raleigh. Their design color was purple and, if you are thinking of using purple (or any other color) for your wedding, notice how they used its many shades to create beautiful effects throughout the decorations. They started with purple lanterns hung in the tree where the ceremony took place. Gently swaying in the breeze, this created a very nice touch.

The purple shades were incorporated beautifully everywhere you turned. The aisle flowers were lovely and the Bouquets with the Bridesmaid dresses were exquisite.

They even had pretty wrist corsages for their mothers and grandmother.

In honor of their last name they had these flower Ts on the front doors.

Len and his Groomsmen wore handsome grey suits and sported purple ties, which looked wonderful as they entered with the Bridesmaids.

Even the table favors picked up the fun and cheery color.

I always love seeing the faces of the couples as they are saying their vows and Stacey and Len’s photographer, Bridget McEnaney of Bridget McEnaney Photography, got some beautiful shots of them during their vows.

She also got a sweet one of the Maid of Honor watching the vows.

Stacey and Len took their first kiss as husband and wife to cheers from their guests and happy tears from their moms.

Stacey and Len, it was such a joy to get to know you and to be a part of your sweet wedding. I hope all the love and happiness you had on your wedding day will stay with you always and those wedding kisses remain a daily part of your lives.

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My thanks to photographer Bridget McEnaney for the use of her beautiful photos.
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Southern Bride and Groom Hosts a Wedding Professional Appeciation Evening at Solas in Raleigh, May 4, 2011

What do you get when you mix an interesting variety of wedding professionals from all areas of the wedding industry, throw in some good food, a great bar with fantastic bartenders, add some fun music and hold the event at a downtown Raleigh hot spot? You get one heck of a fun evening!

Southern Bride and Groom is soon to celebrate their 25th (!!) anniversary with their next publication coming this fall and they hosted a great thank-you event for those of us who have supported them in their growth from a small little publication years ago to the premier bridal resource magazine in our area. Created by Donna Parks, this little magazine is chock-full of wedding tidbits and is a wonderful resource for excellent wedding professionals to help you put together the wedding of your dreams. You can find it all over the Triangle area and it is synonymous with quality and good taste. The magazine has grown through the years to its current prominence and Donna rightly deserves the full credit for this achievement. Here she is (right) with her Assistant, Jenna, (left) and Patricia, the Artistic Director (center). Congratulations, ladies, for your remarkable achievement and for a very fun event that nobody wanted to leave.

They held the appreciation event at Solas restaurant in Raleigh. It was the first time I’d ever been there and I will be looking forward to doing weddings there in the future. What a great place for a special gathering. Very modern and airy, it sports a private open-air patio on the ground level, a nice dance floor on the second level and an open-air patio on the roof, with a great view of the city. There are lots of staging options for weddings or other special events, with each one more interesting than the last.

You’d never know to look at it from the outside in the daylight what this interesting building with its eclectic exterior holds inside, but let the sun go down and it becomes a charming chameleon with many faces.

The interior of the second floor with its dance floor and long bar

And some views from the roof after dark.

SPiN, a local DJ team of Allen Smith and Ryan Pflumm, provided the music for the evening and they were perfect. They caught the feel of the event just right.

Sugarland, a bakery in Chapel Hill, was also on hand with their delicious gelato bar. If you’ve never had gelato before, you owe it to yourself to head over to Sugarland and give it a try. I was hooked with my first bite of their pistachio, but every flavor is creamy and delicious. They have become so renowned that even Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden, who are hosting a Mothers Day luncheon for the military wives in Fayetteville, NC this coming weekend, have chosen Sugarland as their baker. Hopefully they also opted for the gelato bar. Good job, Sugarland. That’s quite a nice feather in your cap!

Lyn Graves of Fresh Affairs provided all the beautiful floral decorations. 

There were so many wedding professionals there that night and it was great to have some leisurely time to just sit and chat with everyone and catch up on their lives. Here are just a few;

Ann Eberle of Highgroe Estate, Tracy Adams of Adams and Events, Sally Litton of Paperwhites, Vickie Ismael of Highgrove Estate, Joy Edwards of A Joyful Occasion (I did not get the name of the lady on the far left)

John Hayes of Southern Video Design and Rev. Robin Renteria with her sweetheart, Ruben (right) 

The Three Amigos - Rev. Robin Renteria, Rev. Kayelily Middleton, and myself, Rev. Barbara Lodge

Wedding Planner Sally Oakly of Sally Oakley and Videographer John Hayes  of Southern Video Design 

Wedding Planner Angie Wright of Chic Details

Photographer Chris Perez of Azul Photography

Photographer Craig Carpenter (center) of Luster Studios

Photographers Meredith Walters of Walters and Walters and Chris Perez of Azul Photography

Photographer Neil Boyd of Neil Boyd Photography (who helped me with some settings on my camera - thanks, Neil)

Rev. Robin Renteria and DJ Ryan Pflumm of SPiN

Ashleigh Collins of Capital City Club, Devon Schwartz and Tracey Nielson of The Carolina Inn

It was a wonderful evening and all of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I hope when you see a copy of Southern Bride and Groom you will pick it up and take it home to use it as the treasure it truly is for planning a wedding.

Congratulations Donna, Jenna and Patricia for your milestone achievement of 25 years and thanks again for such a fun time.

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Allison and Adam Have a Windy Wedding at J C Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, April 2, 2011

It was a beautiful spring day, sparkling and sunny, with a lot of wind. But the wind did not deter our intrepid couple and their guests. The only thing that changed was that Allison decided not to deal with a blowing veil in the wind and left it sitting in a grove of trees for the ceremony, putting it back on later for the reception.

The wedding was held in the newest of the wedding areas at J C Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh. Already a beautiful wedding location with some charming wedding gardens, they have recently added an arbor to a huge, bright, grassy lawn that can easily accommodate very large weddings. Allison and Adam were the first couple to marry in the new area and that made it even more special for them.

Here are some photos of the lawn, taken from the side and looking down the aisle toward the arbor. That little Japanese maple tree that stands in front of the arbor is really beautiful.

Their photographer for the day was Mike Phongsa of M P Photography and most of the photos in this post are by him. Thanks, Mike, for the use of your wonderful shots.

Allison and Adam arranged for the Olde South Trolley Company to provide transportation to and from the wedding location and what a fun ride that must have been for everyone. They have added a white trolley to their fleet, especially for weddings and special occasions, and here are Allison and her wedding party riding in the trolley and Allison emerging from it at the Arboretum.











The cheery spring flowers were provided by Fallon’s Flowers and what a great job they did with the aisle and bouquets.

Mike got a photo of Adam’s father, who was also the Best Man, signing the license as a witness.

Before the ceremony began, Allison’s dad got a Skype call on his iPhone from Allison’s grandparents who had not been able to make it to NC for the ceremony. Her dad aimed the phone at Allison so she could talk to them and they could see the beautiful bride, her bridal party and the arboretum. It was very sweet. Then later, during the ceremony, I noticed Allison’s uncle was continuing the Skype communication through the whole ceremony, allowing the grandparents to be there. That was the first time I’ve ever seen anyone do that at a wedding and it was just wonderful. That our modern technology can keep us so connected during such a special family time is a real gift. Here’s a photo Mike took of Allison and her dad coming down the aisle and her uncle pointing the phone so the grandparents could see. Very touching.

The Ring Bearer and Flower Girl were Allison’s twin cousins, who were having a grand time of it.

During the ceremony the wind was blowing like crazy but I found out later that the guests could still hear us just fine as well as the violin music, provided by Lindsay Skipper. That is amazing acoustics for such an open, outdoor location. Most impressive.

Here are a few moments during the ceremony when Adam was saying his vows and at the end after they have just kissed. Love the looks on their faces. Great job, Mike.

After the ceremony we all exited to the grove of trees beside the lawn while the guests left to take the trolley to the reception. This is always such a sweet time with family hugging and kissing and I love watching all the interactions and the happy faces.

Allison and Adam, your wedding ceremony was so beautiful because you put your hearts into making it so. I join with your families and friends in wishing you all the grand things that Life is sure to hold in store. May all your dreams come true for you in unique and wonderful ways.