Chris and Taylor Become Husband and Wife on a Brilliant Autumn Day at MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary

The day was brisk and sunny and everything in nature was sparkling. It was a beautiful backdrop for the happiness in the hearts and on the faces of everyone there - an absolutely perfect day for a wedding!

Taylor and Chris are a great compliment to each other except for one thing - he loves going camping and rock climbing but she would rather be at home, surrounded by her modern life. Over the years they have been together, she has learned to go with the flow for Chris and can now enjoy being out in the glory of nature - but firmly planted on terra firma, please. She brought that up in her vows and everyone laughed. It was a fun moment.

Taylor and Chris chose to marry at MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary. The very capable Event Coordinator there is Makeda (“mah-KAY-dah”) Pride and she did a wonderful job of making sure everything was in order for this happy celebration. I love doing weddings at MacGregor Downs because of the feel of the clubhouse and the radiant beauty of the grounds. On this particular day, radiant was the operative word, with the sun shining on the bright green grass of the golf course behind us and bouncing off MacGregor Lake, making the glow of the day even more intense. It was magical.

Makeda told the photographers, Carolyn and Geoff, of Carolyn Scott Photography, about a hidden area of beautiful pink grasses across the green and this resulted in some very special photos. When I first saw these particular photos I thought they must have been Photoshopped, but no, they are the actual photos. So romantic! Kudos to Carolyn and Geoff for their skill and to Makeda for letting them know this marvelous place existed.

By the way, all the photos in this post have been contributed by Carolyn and Geoff. If you would like to see more of their photos from the wedding, here is a link to their blog post about it. Thanks for the use of your photos, Carolyn and Geoff. Your work is totally awesome, as always.

Carolyn and Geoff are a husband and wife team and this particular day was also their first anniversary. I had been the minister for their wedding and it was great to be able to share their anniversary with them. It made for an even more magical day as all of us celebrated two very happy love stories.

Some fun things Taylor and Chris did for their wedding;


One of Taylor’s nephews was Sign Boy and entered with this great sign announcing Taylor’s entrance. He was followed by another nephew who was the Leaf Boy and dispersed leaves down the aisle. Leaf Boy’s red hair really set off those autumn leaves.

Taylor and Chris had also asked if we could do the Chinese Finger Ceremony that represents how couples are meant to be together. I had never seen this done before and was very glad they brought it to my attention.

The Chinese believe that all the fingers on the hand represent our relationships with our families and that they show by their very capabilities how partners in life are meant to remain together;

the thumb represents our parents

the index finger represents our siblings

the middle finger represents ourselves

the ring finger represents our spouse

the pinky finger represents our children

Here is how it works;  you put your palms together, not quite touching, and bend down your middle fingers (that represents yourself) so they are touching at the second knuckle. Then you put all the other finger tips together. You will find that you can separate all the finger tips except your spouse finger because your parents, siblings and children are meant to go from you in their lives. Only your spouse is meant to stay with you and, indeed, you cannot separate your ring fingers from each other when your hands are held this way. I had everyone join in as I was showing them what to do and explaining the symbolism as I went. There was a very powerful shared moment as all the guests came to realize this amazing symbol of love and commitment we each carry in our own hands.

When it came time for the wedding kiss and the recessional, a pair of Canadian geese flew over  the aisle from the lake. Canadian geese mate for life and those geese seemed an apt symbol of the deep and abiding love and commitment Taylor and Chris have for each other. Yes, it truly was a perfect day for a wedding.

 Taylor and Chris, may you always have the glorious life together that your wedding day portends.

___

Carolyn and Geoff Celebrate Their Marriage with a Zombie Jamboree at Artspace in Raleigh, October 23, 2010

I first met Carolyn and Geoff when they were the photographers for a wedding I did last year. Being an amateur photographer, I find it interesting to watch what the photographers are doing when I can and in the case of Carolyn and Geoff, they were all over the place, in the strangest of positions, going for unexpected and interesting angles for the shots. I knew without a doubt that the photos would be spectacular because of this and I was right. (Here is a link to their professional website, Carolyn Scott Photography.) So when they called me to be a part of their wedding, I knew it was going to be a fun time. I was right about that, too.

Halloween-themed weddings are always fun and Carolyn and Scott put together quite a special event. Held in Artspace in Raleigh, it was a perfect accompaniment for the unique and creative evening they had in mind. There are so many good photos to showcase their creativity so I will include a lot here and let them speak for themselves. Many of the photos are by their photographer, David E. Jackson.

Here are the cute aisle markers,

and the greeter at the guest book.

Loved this fun shot they had taken earlier in the year.

The ceremony was very touching in so many ways and Geoff brought out an even bigger smile on Carolyn’s face when he read his vows.

They decided to include an Anniversary Box ceremony. Both had written secret letters to each other to be placed into a box that would be opened on their first anniversary. Into the box would also go their favorite drink ingredients (rum and Coke) and the box would be formally sealed with their signets until their anniversary. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall when those letters are read a year from now!

After the ceremony, everyone headed upstairs for the celebration. The bar was appropriately appointed with a huge cauldron and the seating chart was titled, “Your Final Resting Place.”

A cookie table is a tradition in Pennsylvania, where Carolyn and Geoff hail from, so all kinds of Halloween cookies awaited our pleasure at that table;

and the cake, made by Geoff’s Aunt Leah, was just perfect - spiders and all.

Sprinkled throughout the tables were fun decorations. Here are just a few.

Geoff designed Carolyn’s ring and isn’t this a clever shot of their rings together.

Here they are during their first dance.

Followed later by Carolyn’s choreographed-on-the-fly dance with her dad. The song for their dance was written and recorded by her dad specifically for that moment. They wowed everyone.

And Geoff’s sweet dance with his mom touched every heart in the room.

Their exemplary DJ for the night was Stephen Scott, who was having as much fun as the rest of us.

This is a photo of their VERY tall photographer, David E. Jackson, taken after the wedding. He flew in from out of town to photograph their wedding.

As the evening progressed, the guests had a few surprises of their own for Carolyn and Geoff.

So the Zombie Wedding Jamboree was a huge hit and all the zombies partied into the wee hours of the night. Carolyn and Geoff went off into their own crypt later, and the guests retired into theirs with the sights and sounds of a good time had by all.

Carolyn and Geoff, I hope your life together is every bit as fun as your wedding!