Shawn and Lindsay Marry Amid Great Joy at Prestonwood Country Club

 This Fall it was a real joy to marry Lindsay and Shawn.  They had a fabulous time and so did everyone else - all of us delighted for them.  They had guests that came from  from the East Coast, the West Coast, The North, Canada, even Ireland to share their wedding day with them.   

And just think.  It all started when Autumn, Lindsay’s sister,  who really loves pizza, especially, Checker’s pizza, went there with Lindsay.  And it was there that she met Shawn.  And that, as the expression goes, 'is all she wrote.'  Lindsay and Shawn had their wedding at Prestonwood Country Club, a spacious and elegant setting perfect. 

And they had these excellent professionals and just great people helping make their day perfect:  Dara Blakeley of Dara Blakeley Photography took these wonderful photographs, Sally Oakley was their wedding planner and, Randy Bennett from Joe Bunn DJ Company did both their ceremony and reception music and Watered Garden did their amazing floral arrangements.  

In their ceremony I asked each of them (of course, with the words 'wife' and 'husband'): 'The person who stands by your side is about to become your spouse. They will look to you for gentleness, for support, for understanding, for encouragement, and for protection. You must never take them  for granted, but be continually sensitive to their needs. Your life and love will be their greatest source of joy. So I ask you, will you have this person to be your lawfully wedded spouse? Will you love and cherish them? Will you always uphold her and encourage them? Will you be loyal to them, and true? Will you honor them all their days, and be respectful of them, and will you promise to always bestow upon them your heart’s deepest devotion?'    And of course they said, 'Yes'.

They wanted all their guests to know that their love is unwavering and everlasting.

 And very playful!

 They told me that 'they are so grateful and appreciative of each other for the unconditional love that they give each other. They are grateful for the support that they provide to each other through the good times and the hard times.'  It is the good times that buoy us up and it is the hard times that refine us and define us, and like jewels, help us shine.  This couple has the glow that comes from a mature seasoned love and I am so delighted for them.

 I received this lovely note from Lindsay after their ceremony:  'Hi Robin, Thank you so much for a wonderful ceremony. Everyone has been talking about how much they LOVED you and how special you made the ceremony. THANK YOU. ... It was so wonderful to work with you. You made it such a wonderful and delightful ceremony. We couldn't have asked for anything better. Thank you :)'  And I thank them, too, and send them both many many blessings and know that they will have a love that continues to deepen through all their years. 

Will and Ashley Marry in a Joyful Ceremony at Prestonwood Country Club

Early last fall I had the pleasure of marrying Will and Ashley at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary.  It was a treat to get to know them over the year we planned their ceremony.  They are both easy going fun loving people so had a lot of nervous anticipation for their elegant ceremony.  But it went off without a hitch, or with a hitch, pun intended, and everyone loved seeing them thoroughly enjoy their ceremony.  And the professionals that helped their day go so smoothly were excellent.  Tracy Adams of Adams and Events was stellar as always,  Jessica Arden of Jessica Arden Photography was their fabulous photographer, and Watered Garden created their gorgeous bouquets.

This is some of what we said in their ceremony to honor their love:  'They feel so blessed to have found each other.  They knew immediately that in each other, they had found someone special, someone to share all of life’s adventures, large and small. 

They can envision nothing finer than sharing all that is to come – travels, having and raising children, Celebrating holidays with you, their family and friends, supporting each other in career advances, laughing a lot, crying together when times are rough , and  growing old together, sitting on rocking chairs at the beach or in the mountains. 

Today they celebrate with you how blessed they feel to have found each other, how grateful they are that their love is strong and keeps growing.'

When Will surprised Ashley and proposed at The Fearrington House and she said, ‘Yes’, they were honoring the strong foundation of love and friendship they had built.   They are best friends, respecting each other’s unique perspectives and rhythms, able to talk about anything and find understanding and acceptance.  Ashley loving Will’s cheesy jokes, and Will loving Ashley’s cooking.  And they were surrounded by their family and friends who also love Will's cheesy jokes and Ashley's style and who danced all evening helped by a great DJ from Island Sound.  They also did the video for them.  And Island Sound is also always great.

I got a wonderful note from Ashley when they got back from their honeymoon, 'Thank you for being a part of our special day.  We are so happy that we were able to work with you! You truly made our day and ceremony unforgettable.  Our trip was wonderful and it has been amazing being married!'   I'm so happy for them and I imagine, these almost eight months later, they are still delighted being married.  I love being married after 15 years with my husband.  It makes what I do even more joyful.

Michael and Sarah Marry at The Umstead on a Glorious Day

On June 1st I had the real pleasure of marrying Michael and Sarah at The Umstead Hotel and Spa.  They sent me their pictures in early August and, alas, I'm just now getting to their blog.  I traveled until mid-August and then proceeded headlong into September weddings.  But I didn't want to keep these wonderful pictures and this wonderful couple to myself.

They are just as genuine and open as their smiles.  They live in Maryland now but she went to UNC-G and he went to NC State so it was almost required that they marry in North Carolina.  

They met two weeks before he graduated from high school and their first kiss happened at his graduation .  They have been together for seven years and know the roads between Greensboro and Raleigh very well.

 They had a beautiful June day and thanks to Kevin Milz for taking these wonderful images for them to cherish.  One really nice thing about The Umstead is the ability to take pictures from above.  I want to also thank Watered Garden Florist for their gorgeous flowers, and Arioso Strings who are always a joy to work with. 

They are best friends, Michael loving making Sarah laugh.  He says it has always been easy and rewarding.  Sarah loving that he can still make her laugh until she can't breathe.  I have heard it said that the shortest distance between two people is laughter.

Michael chose the three stone setting of Sarah's engagement ring to represent their past, present, and future.  And I trust that they will have as wonderful a future together as has been their past, and certainly by these smiles, you can tell their present is a delight for them both.

Sarah and Michael told me that they can't wait to officially become a family  And now they are.

Sarah emailed me with these words:  'I hope you are doing well. Michael and I just wanted to say thank you for everything you did to make our wedding so special! You helped make our ceremony more beautiful than we ever could have imagined :)  All the best, Sarah'

It's always a joy for me to know that a couple loved their wedding ceremony and that it fit them perfectly.   I loved being a part of Sarah and Michael's lives at this special time and I wish them many many blessings.

Matt and Beth Celebrate Their Love in A Sweet Ceremony at The Carolina Inn

It's a treat to be able to celebrate Matt and Beth's Ceremony on March 31st in the Bryan Courtyard at The Carolina Inn again with you now.  I've been doing ceremonies at the inn for 17 years and the staff there always does a great job.  I especially like that, in these later years, they have required a wedding planner to work with the couple if the couple is having their ceremony at the inn.  It helps ensure that every detail is well taken care of.  And they always have the best folks.  For Beth's and Matt's wedding Erin McLean of Erin McLean Events handled all the details.  She was a joy to work with.


Thanks, too, to Robin Lin of Robin Lin Photography, for these radiant photographs.  To see more go to Robin's blog at http://www.robinlin.com/blog/2012/04/17/beth-matt-the-carolina-inn-wedding-chapel-hill-north-carolina/.   Her photos are always great.


A string trio from Save The Date Music provided the music for the ceremony and A Watered Garden created their wedding bouquets.  I love color and when I asked Beth what color she wanted me to wear and she told me any shade of blue I was curious.  Seeing her attendants dresses in all those lovely shades of blue was striking.  And I especially loved Beth's dotted Swiss dress.  How often do you see dotted Swiss these days! 

Matt and Beth have a dog named Egg.  It was fun to mention him in their ceremony and it accented the elegant occasion with the note of humor and their personalities that brought out the twinkle in their eyes.  But they had been twinkling quite a bit that day.


They also chose a reading I love but I don't see couples choosing often.  It is from excerpts from letters of Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo.  Like Van Gogh's art, they are vibrant and alive and full of love for all of life.


Beth and Matt had their first look before the ceremony.  I find that this often relaxes couples so am glad when it works for them.  And Robin Lin got great pictures of them with the classic Southern architectural features of the Carolina Inn that are so lovely.

I love that the couples I marry are creating lives of meaning and passion in so many ways.  Beth shot me a quick note after I followed up with her about getting copies of their license (which I send to all couples) with a quick note, "Everything was awesome!  Sorry for the delay in response- I have an immunology mid-term today that I've been studying for - my test is in 1.5 hours!'

I trust that the exam went well and with the semester now over, they can celebrate some more.  I wish them many blessings and a long and wonderful life together!

Chad and Jennifer Wed Between Rain Drops on May 7th at Duke Gardens

On May 6th it was my delight to marry Chad and Jennifer.  They're such a fun loving couple who had been together 10 and 1/2 years, both with a large group of close friends and both very close to their families, and each others' family.  It was a celebration that everyone took joy in.  They also are close to their 2 dogs and 2 cats, but they had to stay home.

Thank you to Jeffrey Minnish of Jeffrey Minnish Photography for the good shots.  The bad shots are from my DROID.  I really admire how Jeffrey found all the beautiful backdrops at the Sarah P Duke Center to use for the photos after the ceremony when it was pouring down.  Here's a photo of the rain after the ceremony.  NC has such amazing rain storms.  No dainty showers here.  The skies open and it pours.

The photo above is from my DROID.  In Jeffrey Mannish's photo below you can see how we were trying to keep Jennifer's veil from blowing into her bride's maids.  It was a windy day!

 More wind evidence in the processional.  But we were all soooo glad that we got to have the wedding outside at all.  It was touch and go.  And it worked!  Here Jennifer is processing with her father.  His grin is almost as big as hers.

 

Here I am trying to get out of the way when they kissed.  I like to keep from being the floating head behind the shot that the photographer has to try to photo shop.

This is a lovely shot that Jeffrey took from the back of the gardens during the ceremony.  I hope it can be enlarged because it's such a unique angle and the reflections in the pool are so lovely.

It's so easy to rely on nature, but photographer Jeffrey Minnish's eye for architectural beauty to border his pictures was really lovely. 

 

We were VERY lucky that Friday evening to JUST have enough time to have the wedding outside before the skies opened and the rains poured for the whole rest of the evening.  But it didn't dampen their spirits at all.  I loved the sunshine that they brought into the ceremony with their wonderful colors of coral and mint.  In an outdoor setting you need colors that will show up against all the greens and browns and these did, with all the exuberance of their joy and playfulness.

A special treat for me at Jennifer and Chad's wedding was their Maid of Honor, Hayden.  She handled all the planning details with aplomb and it was a huge gift to Jennifer.  I loved seeing that friendship and Hayden's clear way of handling all the details with such grace.


The above picture is from my DROID. You can sure tell can't you.  (I'm shopping right now for a little good camera that I can keep in my pocket.)  I just had to capture their colorfulness.  It was so lovely and livened up the room tremendously.  It just looked so celebratory I bet it overcame any rainy day doldrums that might have tried to sneak in. 

Randy Bennett of Joe Bunn DJ Company was, as always, impeccable.  Some of his equipment got soaked in the rain during the reception.  I sure hope it wasn't ruined.

So many professionals help to make the event seamless.  The staff at The Sarah P Duke Center were great.  Jennifer and Chad's cake was by Savory Fare Catering in Durham as was their food.  Classic Party Rentals provided their linens, and Deb at Watered Garden was their florist.



They brighten up my day just by looking at these pictures.  I wish them every happiness and feel sure they'll have it.