Chad and Jill Marry at The Angus Barn Pavillons

In late April Chad and Jill married at the Angus Barn. We were so lucky. A storm front was moving in so we started the wedding a little early and were grateful to have the reception well in hand before it arrived. Thank you to the wonderful staff at The Angus Barn for helping us start a little early to ensure good weather. Luckily Chad and Jill had arranged that guests have cocktails at the pavilion before the ceremony to be followed by a sunset ceremony. So everyone was already there.

Kevin Milz, their wonderful photographer, captured these amazing pictures of the ceremony. See his blog for more pictures. I thank him for sending these to me.

I love this venue first because it's so spacious. The vista over the water is lovely, yet it's quieter than a public venue on a lake. There's room for a large wedding party without it feeling cramped (Chad and Jill had eight attendants on each side) and room for lots of guests. Then the reception site has two open walls for a full outdoor feeling, but a field stone fireplace and wood paneling for that cozy warm natural materials feeling.

I was delighted for Chad and Jill. They had a wonderful spark between them and were interested in growing together and making their marriage the best it could be. They had put tremendous thought and care into their planning. Our only disappointment was that Chad's parents could not come down to NC at the last minute because of complications in his mother's health.

They chose the wonderful classic poetry of Lord Byron (She Walks in Beauty) and Anne Bradstreet (To My Dear and Loving Husband) to be read by two dear friends of theirs who are themselves happily married. And I loved their vows which included: 'I take you with all of your faults and your strengths, as I offer myself to you with all of my faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help and I will turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.'

They also chose wonderfully upbeat music for their ceremony: Chad, the best man, and I entered to Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love,' the Bride's mother entered to James Taylor's 'How Sweet It Is', the wedding party entered to Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes,' and Jill entered on Tom Petty's 'Here Comes My Girl.' We all loved it.

I wish them all the best and hope I run across them in the future. They both had a wonderful twinkle in their eyes every time I saw them and I bet it will still be there.