Stephanie, Chuck and Brooke Become an Official Family in a Sweet Wedding Ceremony

For Stephanie and Chuck, it is all about their love and support for each other and their becoming a family with Stephanie’s daughter, Brooke. This thoughtful wedding was to be about the mutual love that surrounds and supports them all and they did so many sweet things to let everyone know how happy they were that their guests could come and share such a special day with them.

For starters, they had goodie bags for all the children so they would have something special for themselves and it wouldn’t be all about just the adults.

 There were colorful tissues on each seat when the guests arrived and I saw more than a few people taking advantage of them during the ceremony - and not just the ladies, either.

Those family members who had already passed on were prominently remembered with photos and memorial candles that the guests could see immediately when they entered. Another way they were honored was that, in lieu of guest favors, Stephanie and Chuck had made a donation to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Their wonderfully different programs had a wedding crossword puzzle on the back that they had cleverly created. “Across” and “Down” were built upon things like the following;

Groom’s favorite sports team

2012 vacation destination with Brooke

Honeymoon cruise line

Bride’s eye color

Groom’s middle name
Bride’s alum university

Grade Brooke is in school

There were 17 questions and at the bottom of the program, under the crossword puzzle, a note said the answer key was to be displayed at the reception. I’ll bet more than a few people took their programs over there to see how they had done!

During the ceremony, Brooke was included all the way through. She was the Flower Girl, she invited everyone to stand as her mother entered down the aisle (and she wielded that mic with some real maturity and presence!), she had a candle of her own for the Family Unity Candle Ceremony,

and in a special presentation to her, Stephanie and Chuck gave her a ring and necklace to commemorate the happy day they all were married. Playing in the background was the Keith Urban song, Making Memories of Us, and it was all I could do to keep from getting so choked up I wouldn’t be able to continue the ceremony.

This trio love each other dearly and Brooke had been saying for months that after the wedding she was going to be able to call Chuck, “Stepdad.” That was a big thing to her and it was touching to see her calling him Stepdad right after the ceremony. Knowing how important that was to all three of them, it couldn’t help but melt your heart when you heard it. Included in the program was a beautiful poem Stephanie and Chuck had written to Brooke and they had signed it, “All Our Love, Your Mommy and Stepdad.”

 Brooke was clearly excited about everything and she was totally captivated by the ceremony. I love these photos showing her looking and listening so intently during the ceremony and speaking animatedly with her Great-Grandmother. She was just adorable.

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Others on hand to help make the day such a happy event for Stephanie and Chuck;

Wedding Planner - Nicole McMillan - Premiere Party Planners
DJ - Steve Lillmars - Complete Music and Video
Wedding Location - Chef’s Palette Restaurant and Bar in Cary
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Stephanie and Chuck, I know you are going to have the most wonderful life, loving each other, having each other’s backs, and raising your charming little Brooke. I’ll be watching your Facebook page for all the photos and updates on your life. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the official beginning of your family.

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Jenna and Chris celebrate family with their wedding at Parizade in Durham, October 11, 2009

Jenna and Chris are a fun couple and I was very much looking forward to being a part of their wedding. When we got together to create the framework for their ceremony and I was hearing all the things they had been working on, I couldn’t wait to see it all come together. It was all very beautiful, heartfelt and special, just as I had imagined. Jenna’s dad had even written the music to which he escorted her into the ceremony, appropriately entitled, Jenna’s Song.

Their adorable little Jr. Bridesmaid and Flower Girls were waiting to have their photo taken after the ceremony and I couldn’t resist taking this cute shot.

The ceremony was held in the courtyard of the Parizade restaurant in Durham. What an amazing place this is and it would lend itself perfectly to any kind of event. We all stood in front of the statued waterfall for the ceremony and what a magnificent backdrop it was!

Guests lingered in the courtyard while the photos were taken and the Bride and Groom were presented and had their first dance.

One of the Bridesmaid’s husbands had carved this magnificent monogrammed pumpkin to be the centerpiece of the head table. How very clever! The glow it put out in the dim light of the evening was just beautiful.

Jenna is an educator at the Museum of Life and Science so she knows a thing or two about how to entertain children. Since all the children guests were little girls, Jenna and Chris created this amazing kids’ table, complete with balloons, feather boas and fairy wings for each girl. The crayons came out almost as quickly as the wings went on. I even saw one of the waiters flirting with the girls when they got him to put on a white boa to match his uniform. It was just adorable.

Jenna and Chris wanted to celebrate their families - both those who were with them and those who were not - so we included those not able to be with us with a mention of their names and a moment of silence during the ceremony. It was very touching.

Jenna’s parents married in 1975 and Jenna and Chris used the cake topper they had used for their wedding so long ago.

Jenna also carried an exact duplicate of her mother’s daisy bouquet, made lovingly by the woman at a Lowe’s Grocery floral department. Jenna told me the woman had taken so much time to make it exactly right and I am sorry that I didn’t get her name to sing her praises here. I don’t think I ever remember a bride carrying a bouquet exactly like her mother’s before and it was such a sweet and touching homage to her mom.

She also wore her grandmother’s necklace as a bracelet. This necklace was always worn by her grandmother and her two sisters have also worn it at their weddings. That is fast becoming quite an heirloom.

To further show the heart of the event, check out Jenna’s wedding shoes.

The music for the event was provided by Jason Eder of Complete Music. What a great professional for someone so young. During the ceremony, my lapel mic went out and Jason had given a hand mic to a reader. She handed it to the end groomsman and one by one they all handed it up to me so I could be heard. How thoughtful of them all! Many guests came up to me afterwards to tell me how happy they were to have been able to have heard the ceremony so kudos to you all for saving the day.

I think the thing that touched me most about Jenna and Chris’ wedding, though, was their unique take on wedding favors for their guests. Many loved ones have been lost to major illnesses in both their families so instead of a favor, the guests were asked to choose a charity and drop their place cards in one of the boxes provided and a donation would be made in their name to that charity. I lost my dad a few years ago to cancer, so I chose that box, and I must say it was a very moving moment to add my card to the box.

Here is the explanation card they had displayed with the donation boxes.

And these are the boxes with the names of the charities and the family members in whose honor the donation will be made. Very touching.

They had wanted to have their dog, Dieter, with them, but it just wasn’t practical. He was there anyway, though, because someone had taken a photo of him wearing a bandana that said, “Congratulations, Mom and Dad.” (Unfortunately, my camera skills are lacking in being able to read his bandana, but it was really cute.)

It was a magical evening with lots of love flowing all around and many special elements coming together to make it moving on so many levels. It was an honor to be a part of it and I will happily add my congratulations to Dieter’s... WOOF!!

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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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