April and Paul Marry in NC State Colors at All Saint’s Chapel in Raleigh, March 5, 2011

April and Paul met at a mutual friend’s birthday party over five years ago and finally started dating about three years ago. Their relationship is all about their love and partnership and everything about their ceremony reflected how much they love each other and their families. It was very touching.

Their beloved NC State plays a large part in their lives so it came as no surprise when they told me their wedding colors were to be the NCSU colors. They did a beautiful job of combining the red, white and black of the Wolfpack. It was everywhere throughout the ceremony and beautifully captured in the Bridesmaids’ dresses, shoes and jewelry, the Flower Girl’s dress and shoes, the bouquets, the suits and ties of the Groomsmen and Ring Bearer, and even the colors of the Sand Ceremony. It really was a perfect use of such radiant colors, made even more radiant that day by all the love that was so much in abundance from everyone.

All the florals and wedding decorations picked up the color theme and were created by the artistry of Gregg Kennedy of Brides and Bouquets. I have been seeing his work a lot at weddings and events lately and his creations have a classic elegance about them that is just lovely. Here are some more examples of his work for April and Paul.

The ceremony was held at the historic All Saint’s Chapel in Raleigh. Built in 1875 and recently moved to its new location, it is a charming little chapel with beautiful stained glass windows that reflect romantic, multi-colored light into the room. It is so reminiscent of an era gone by and I am very happy to see it is still alive today after having been restored to its former glory.

This is the interior of the chapel, lit by all the candles, chandeliers and aisle lanterns April and Paul used for decorations.

Our photographer for the day was April Sirit of Evoke Photography, very capably assisted by her second
shooter, Beth Jarvah, of  b. Jarvah imagery. I have worked with April before at weddings and her photos are just wonderful. Here is a link to her blog post about April and Paul’s engagement photos so you can see her skill as a photographer as well as learn a little more about April and Paul. Can’t wait to see the wedding photos from April and Beth - they are sure to be spectacular.

Our extremely talented musicians for the day were a trio from Arioso Strings, composed of David on cello and Emi and Mary on violins. They created an amazing sound in the little chapel and the musical selections were a perfect touch for the wedding, as always. They are consummate professionals and I always look forward to hearing them play. Mary wrote a blog post about April and Paul’s wedding and you can read it through this link. She has a really nice perspective from a musician’s point of view.

April and Paul, you have built such a happy life for yourselves and I know you are going to have many more happy years ahead of you.

Go Wolfpack!

Melissa and Alan - a classic Hollywood style wedding at Brier Creek Country Club, Raleigh, June 12, 2009

This was a fun wedding from beginning to end and I will never forget all the surprising and amazingly creative things that Melissa and Alan did for their wedding. They wanted the feel of old, classic Hollywood and they created it right down to the smallest detail - and most of the creations they did themselves. The theme was “Feathers-n-Pearls” and the colors were black, white and hot pink, used creatively in everything they did. Melissa even wore a feather and pearls in her hair and made beautiful pearl necklaces for her bridesmaids.

While planning their wedding, Melissa wrote a blog, appropriately called Feathers-n-Pearls. I encourage everyone to read it if you haven’t already. She has so much great information there and you are sure to find it very useful as you plan your wedding. And it’s a fun read. Here’s a link to a post I wrote about it some time back.

The ceremony took place in the wedding garden at Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh. There is a large arbor there and for weddings white sheers are hung amongst the beams and they billow with the wind. It makes an incredibly beautiful backdrop and suited Melissa and Alan’s plans perfectly.

The pink pomanders that hung from the chairs and were carried in by the flower girl were hand made by Alan and Melissa. They were so beautiful you would never have guessed they were actually made of tissue paper. They found the directions for them online - so there is sure to be a post about it in her blog.

Also in her blog, Melissa mentioned she was dying her wedding petticoat hot pink and I couldn’t wait to see it at the wedding. Here’s a photo of the finished product - it perfectly matched her bouquet. Nice touch.

Unbelievably, with all the many other things Alan and Melissa did for their wedding, they also found time to write a beautiful ceremony that reflected their feelings for each other as well as their guests. They included a lovely Sand Ceremony and one of their guests caught a great shot of them pouring the sand. (Love those smiles!)

Once the ceremony was concluded, we all went inside for the reception and what a treat for the senses awaited us there! There was the tallest chocolate fountain I had ever seen and lots of hors d’oeuvres, all laid out beautifully. Yum!

But the real treat were the table decorations. Following the feathers and pearls theme, the table centerpieces, created by The English Garden, were very Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard)

and absolutely perfect for the occasion. The tables glistened with the crystal, pearls and candles and each table was named for a Hollywood Icon - Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Cary Grant... just to name a few.

The beautiful cake, created by Cinda’s Creative Cakes, was a knockout and the topper was absolutely perfect for the event. Everywhere you turned it was one amazing thing after the other and it was a total delight to be a part of such a fun and creative evening. I am sure their friends and family will be telling them for years how great their wedding was.

Alyse Woodward of Alyse Woodward Events was the wedding planner and she kept everything rolling along on schedule. There was a lot to oversee for this wedding and she seemed to take it all in stride. I had never worked with Alyse before but she was a lot of fun to be around and I can see why Melissa and Alan chose her.

The photographer for the event was April Sirit of Evoke Photography. I watched her work from the sidelines and she took so many wonderful-looking photos that Melissa and Alan are going to have trouble deciding on just a few hundred. That’s going to be a huge wedding album! Can’t wait to see the final shots once they are online.

And of course, where would an event be without a great DJ? Bethany, of All the Right Grooves (an all female DJ company) was on hand to create the musical backdrop for the evening and she had plenty of Ol’ Blue Eyes in there for the theme of the event. And many other classic greats as well, all chosen by Melissa and Alan. I am always amazed at the range of music that DJs have and Bethany is no exception. Good job, girl!

It was a great evening, and as Alan and Melissa sail off into the sunset, I know they are going to live happily ever after.

(cut - print - that’s a wrap!)

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Other vendors who helped make the wedding a success;

Hair and Make-up - Elizabeth Tolley

Video - Keith - K A Studios

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Update -  Melissa and Alan became the proud parents of Dylan Alexander on August 29, 2010. Congratulations, Mom and Dad!

Here are two great photos, taken by their wedding photographer, April Sirit, of Evoke Photography.

Sharing the love of a child brings an incredible new depth to a marriage.
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