A Celtic Ceremony for Chris and Tim

On Sunday, April 11th at 1:30 pm, Chris and Tim got married! It was a quiet ceremony but I'm sure even the heavens noticed the great joy of it.

Most of these wonderful photographs are by Craig Carpenter of Luster Studios. He has a way of capturing fleeting moments that will never occur just the same again and that now will stay in your heart forever. You can see lots more great shots of Tim and Chris's wedding on his blog. There were lots of friends with cameras too, and Tim's uncle, J, Eric Morris, got one of the sweetest, (but then there were many sweet) photos of the day. I've attributed it to him below.

We also thank Tamara Davis of Cherished Moments for her fabulous planning, and Teri Freeland-Jones of Floral Alternatives (919- 395-9887, tfreela@bellsouth.net) for her beautiful floral arrangements and petals. John Schodtler, a very talented bagpiper, at abagpiperforhire@hotmail.com piped the guests into their seats and the bridal party into the ceremony. He lent just the right air of formality to the setting.

Tim and Chris reserved the shelter with a fireplace and a quiet sunny corner balcony overlooking the woods in this secluded corner of Umstead Park at the Reedy Creek entrance. It's a perfect place for a ceremony for perhaps 30 to 40 people. (This is my photo before the wedding. Not a stellar shot but I want you to see how perfect the site is.)Here's Craig taking a picture after the ceremony of Tim and our bagpiper, John. This is inside the shelter (A wonderful backup location and a great place for photographs.)

Tim and Chris chose a beautiful poem called 'A New Beginning' by Gwen Frostic to celebrate the spring of their love in this the most glorious weekend of the spring of the year.

They also chose a wonderful small poem by our prolific author, Anonymous, called 'True Love.' It goes: ' True love is a sacred flame that burns eternally, And none can dim its special glow or change its destiny. True love speaks in tender tones and hears with gentle ear, True love gives with open heart and true love conquers fear. True love makes no harsh demands, it neither rules nor binds, And true love holds with gentle hands the hearts that it entwines.' It was a pleasure to read.


When Chris called me to learn about my services we felt a kinship. Our life paths were similar in that we needed to find the self before we could know, and celebrate finding our true love. Not too long ago I ran across the quote on a bride's Facebook page that I had married: 'The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.' This applies to Tim and Chris, and it was a joy to celebrate their clear choice and clear hearts.


A special part of their ceremony was the Celtic Handfasting ceremony with a hand-fasting cord made by their good friend. They did the full ceremony with the knots made which bind them as they make their promises.

It's easier as the cord gets shorter. At first, I was trying not to whap them in the heads with my hands. Luckily I didn't.
This is the picture Tim's uncle took and it says 'Happily Bound' under the photo. You can see his blog of the event at, http://restedtraveler.blogspot.com

After the pronouncement, we blessed their marriage with both the Apache Wedding Prayer and the Irish Wedding Blessing, which goes: 'May you always have enough happiness to keep you sweet, Trials to keep you strong, Success to make you eager, Friends to give you comfort, Wealth to meet your needs, Enthusiasm to look for tomorrow, and a growing love to make each day better than the day before.' Their delight was contagious, and their laughter after the ceremony was full and rich.

The reception was, I'm sure, great fun. I wish them great happiness, more great fun, and the great adventure of a wonderful marriage.

I thank Craig for this wonderful picture of me at Chris and Tim's wedding in my Emerald green stole. I always glow a little from the privilege of celebrating a marriage such as this. The stole added to the glow and Craig added his magic with the camera. Thanks, Craig!

Kendra and Scott at 1705 Prime in Raleigh

I just got some wonderful pictures!









On June 20th I married Kendra and Scott at 1705 Prime in Raleigh on East Millbrook Road.

It was an intimate wedding site for their close family and friends and this was the perfect venue for it. Parents and honored guests sat in chairs facing the wedding party. Guests sat at tables in a semi-circle around the hardwood floor dance floor. This was also where Kendra and Scott and their wedding party stood.

We were all grateful on this hot summer day for this comfortable and easy venue.

Musicians played 'The Luckiest' when Scott entered with his parents. And indeed he and Kendra both beamed during their whole wedding.

They had some unique elements to their ceremony which befitted their fun personalities.

They said their vows with their hands placed upon a Scottish Oathing Stone (you can find out more about Scottish wedding customs here). This was a real stone from Scotland brought all the way here by Kendra's Maid of Honor who had flown in the night before. Kendra and Scott both placed their hands upon the stone then we said these words of introduction:

'The vows Kendra and Scott make together this day will provide a firm foundation for the life they share together from this day forward. To symbolize this firm foundation they will be borrowing from an old Scottish Tradition in which the couple will use an Oathing Stone to set their vows in stone.' They then proceeded with vows in their own words that they spoke to each other.

Their rings were carried into the ceremony each in its own beautifully decorated box carried each carried by an earnest young ring bearer. They were placed on the small table behind me until we were ready for them.















They ended with an Irish Wedding Blessing spoken by two young nieces:

May you always have enough happiness to keep you sweet
Enough trials to keep you strong
Success to make you eager
Friends to give you comfort
Wealth to meet your needs
Enthusiasm to look for tomorrow
And a growing love to make each day better than the day before.

Their ceremony was also rich in other music perfect for a wedding.
To honor those family members who had passed on their friend sang a beautiful rendition of 'I'll Be Seeing You.' And another friend sang the Sarah McLaughlin song 'Push' which was a particular favorite of theirs. I loved how their warm and loving personalities shone throughout the whole occasion. I wish them many blessings.