Nathan and Stacy Marry at The Barn At Valhalla

At the end of March I officiated Nathan and Stacy's wedding at The Barn at Valhalla.  We had one of those wonderful moments where we were between rain storms on that weekend, and the skies were clear and the rains held off until everyone was safely inside at the reception.  We all breathed a sigh of relief!  It's a wonderful venue and we could have had the ceremony under the covered area on the deck of the barn but it was nice that we didn't have to.

Thank you to Adam Mowery, their photographer for their portrait above. 

I loved Nathan and Stacy.  Nathan has a wry sense of humor and Stacy has a wonderfully warm and open demeanor.  They were both playful and joyful whenever I saw them and I knew that they would enjoy their wedding.  And they did!


All the rest of these pictures were taken by the excellent DJ for the day, Patrick Pless, from Those Guys DJ.  It's a treat for me to be able to ask someone who has a great vantage point who's not a guest.  And I loved the music they chose.  It set a sweet tone.   

 'When I'm 64' for the seating of the grandparents.  'Time After Time' by Miles Davis for Nathan and I to enter. 'In My Life' by the Beatles for the seating of the parents.  

 Enya's 'Only Time' for the attendants to enter and 'The Bridal March' by Jonathan Cain for Stacy to enter.  

 They chose very expressive vows to say to each other:

'You are my best friend and life’s companion,

I promise to live life to the fullest  with you,

I promise to earn your respect and to offer you respect,

I promise to laugh with you and to make you laugh,

I promise to stand with you in times of joy, uncertainty, and grief,

I promise to be completely present with you.

From this day forward, I promise to explore life with you.'

 Then their recessional was 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley.

It was the perfect music for that setting.  

 I got this note from Stacy after they returned from their honeymoon.  "I realized later in all the hub bub I didn't get to say good bye to you and thank you in person for everything.  We were focused on running upstairs to toast each other and say our private congratulations and then once we got summoned for pictures it was all very fast moving from that moment forward.  It was really a great wedding though, just what we envisioned and filled with many great memories!  Thanks again for being such a calming presence.  By Friday, I was much more frazzled than I thought I would be!'  

It's a great reminder to me to tell the couple not to worry about remembering anything that happened at the rehearsal.  I'll guide them through everything.


I wish them the best of everything and a wonderful marriage!