Mark and Kate Marry at The Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill

I had the pleasure of talking with Mark and Kate via email and the phone in March of this year so that they could decide that I was the right person to be marrying them.  You see, they live in Ann Arbor, MI where Kate is getting her Masters Degree in Public Health.   They would be coming down to NC about a month before their wedding and we would meet then.  That worked well for all of us and we had fun planning online.  They wanted a relaxed simple ceremony in the side yard of the Horace Williams House, in downtown Chapel Hill.  That picturesque historic home in Chapel Hill has several wonderful areas on their lawn to have ceremonies.  

Thank you to Kate's Uncle Stewart Nowlin of Stu Nowlin Imaging for these wonderful pictures.  He is based in Kansas but his card says that he will go on location anywhere.  I imagine he's photographed some interesting weddings.


It was important that their ceremony be inclusive and honoring of their families and they brought to me an expression from Mark's grandmother that I had never heard before:, 'Cut the apron strings but leave the kitchen door open.'


On the side of the Horace Williams House is a lovely huge old bell.  At the end of the ceremony they recessed to the bell and rang in their marriage there.

They're a playful couple with delightful senses of humor.  On the wedding day, they were transmitting it live to Australia and California via MarryMeLive.com.  While all the connections were being set up they had lots of on camera fun moments.  It was a great way for everyone to enjoy their spirit and their day.


Guglhopf Bakery, that wonderful German bakery in Durham, baked their beautiful cake and they decorated it themselves with seasonal flowers.

Kate also made her own bouquet.  

They love to cook together so we had a Salt Covenant in their ceremony.  It was a wonderful way of personally honoring their commitment in a way that brought them joy every day.

Then Mark's father read the lyrics by Roger Glover from the CD 'The Butterfly Ball' called 'Love is All.    They were wonderful and just like Mark and Kate's generous and joyful spirits.

I wish them much much happiness and joy!

Matt and Alli Light up the Day at the Horace Williams House

Alli and Matt wanted a small wedding and the Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill provided the perfect venue for the 50 plus guests of friends and family.  I've done lots of ceremonies there over the years and it adapts well to many needs.  ( I even did a ceremony years ago under the branches of the Magnolia tree on their yard.  We all climbed into the little cave created by the massive branches, about 9 of us, and felt that we were in a chapter from Tolkein's 'The Lord of The Ring' trilogy.)

Matt and Alli chose the front porch of the house in the sunshine, and it was a gorgeous day.  Almost everyone had traveled to NC to be with them.  They're both in, or have been in science programs at UNC so Chapel Hill is their home now.  They met in 2004 at a summer internship together.

Alli and Matt both have a dry easy low key wit.  They connected over cooking and their shared senses of humor so decided to have a quote from Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' because, as Julia says, 'Cooking is like love; it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.'

I also loved their music choices and their musician.  Local classical guitarist, Matthew Kanon was wonderful, and he played 'Grow Old With Me' by John Lennon for the processional and 'Here Comes The Sun' by The Beatles for the recessional.

They had their cocktail hour at the Horace Williams House ...

 

and then everyone walked downtown, or rode, to The Franklin Hotel for the reception with Greg Ramsey from Joe Bunn DJ Company and I'm sure a wonderful cake by Sugarland Bakery in Chapel Hill.  Alli's and her attendant's flowers were made by Charles House at University Florist.


  
Carisa Chee was their fabulous photographer. .Here's the link to the slideshow of 9 of her pictures for Matt and Alli's wedding on WeddingChannel.com:  Enjoy.  http://galleries.weddingchannel.com/Wedding-Details/87562/view.aspx?id=87562&type=18

I loved having Matt and Alli in my life for that short time.  They are easy low stress people.  They even had their photos taken before the ceremony so they could relax and enjoy their guests after the ceremony.  Their ceremony was a sweet moment on a lovely NC spring day.  I'm so glad I was there with them.  I wish them many many blessings!