Pete and Alyssa have a Sweet Wedding Ceremony in J. C. Raulston Arboretum's White Garden

Alyssa is an art teacher and has a lovely personal style and flair. She signs her emails now:, 'artist, art teacher, wife of pete, do-gooder, day-dreamer'.   I thoroughly enjoyed seeing that come to life in her and Pete's wedding.  Pete and Alyssa met in college but didn't know each other then.  Then a couple of years after she graduated they met again at a concert with mutual friends and have now been together almost four years.  They cherish that they are good friends, equals, encouraging each other, accepting each other, and respecting each other's kindness, openness, consideration, and commitment to their future.  It was a joy to celebrate their deep love for each other.  Thank you to Sabrina Duffy of Sabrina Duffy Photography for these lovely photos!

 The White Garden in J. C. Raulston Arboretum is the perfect place for a small wedding with lots of good possibilities for out door photographs.  Pete and Alyssa's wedding was the first wedding I had done there that also had their reception in the garden on the rooftop terrace.  They and their friends did all the decorations and it was so perfect for the arboretum, simple, joyful, green!

 Pete and Alyssa chose a classic Celtic Handfasting Ceremony to honor the ties they were creating with each other in their marriage.  I tied their hands together, tying another knot with each promise they made to share their laughter and joy, to encourage each other's dreams and aspirations, and to treat each other with respect and kindness. 

 Then they exchanged rings as symbols of the ties that had just made and the promises they had given.

 Theirs was a tender, sweet ceremony and it fit them perfectly.  They are thoughtful considerate people, generous and kind, much loved by everyone there.

I got this very special note from them after their ceremony:   'Thank you again for everything you've done for Pete and I. I know that sounds like such a blanket statement, but please believe me when I say that we were so beyond happy with having you for our day. We are so excited to be married with a wedding we almost didn't think could be so great. It almost makes me emotional to look back and be able to say that we had such a perfect ceremony. You were so wonderful and we're very appreciative.'

To give credit to the other wonderful local professionals who made their wedding such a success:  Whole Foods in Raleigh did their flowers and their cake, Laura Zeiger at Neomonde Deli provided the catering.

I wish them many many happy years together.  They have begun their marriage in much love surrounded by those who love them.  What better beginning can there be.

Brian and Melissa Marry in a Sweet Ceremony in The White Garden at J.C. Raulston Arboretum

Sometimes the small weddings are the sweetest.  Melissa and Brian chose a Thursday night because they both could get that night off from work, and they both had the weekend off so they could even arrange a honeymoon.  They asked two dear friends to be with them, and these four lovely people, one of whom is Brian's cousin and their photographer, and I met at the J C. Raulston Arboretum White Garden in the early evening.

I loved how spontaneous and alive the moment was.  They didn't have time to get nervous and no one to get nervous in front of.  It was just us and they could just be themselves.  And they are both delightful people.

 I'm glad I always carry tissues, too.  In their ceremony was honored their families, who couldn't be present with these words:  'Love is best when shared with all those whose lives ours touch, especially with family and friends.  So we're lucky and blessed that love transcends time and place.  While Brian's and Melissa's families could not be here today in body to celebrate their marriage with them, they are present in love and in spirit and celebrate the love that Melissa and Brian have found with one another.  We bring them into this community of affection now, knowing that they are here in love.'  And joyfully, Brian and Melissa would be seeing their families, who live in Massachusetts, soon to share their joy with them.

 They chose the poem 'Love' by Roy Croft speaks to them of their love and reminds us all of what the journey of a loving marriage is about.

 Both Melissa and Brian are in helping professions and are compassionate and kind people.  They are the people who bend the world toward goodness by their work and their lives.  It was a joy and privilege to be there with them to celebrate their love.

 In their vows they chose the words:  'I want to live with you, just as you are.  You are my beloved and my best friend.  I choose you above all others as my partner, to share my life.  I promise to stand with you in times of joy, turmoil and grief.  I promise to be completely present with you.  I promise to speak and to listen, to inspire and to respond, to honor and tenderly care for you, to cherish and encourage you, through all the changes of our lives.'

Now whenever I hear the news in Durham and it refers to work, I think of them and send my hopes that they have many many happy years of loving together.

Nick and Nicky Marry at The JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh on May 22

Sometimes weddings are so busy that I can only get a few moments for pictures.  These are all mine,except for the ones with me in it.  Those are from photographer, Visions in Bloom Photography.  They're not local but came down from Pennsylvania for Nick and Nicky's wedding because they're family friends.  Thank you for these wonderful shots!

Nick and Nicky were a delight to work with.  They had a definite vision for their wedding, and they were busy people, with Nick finishing up a PhD program just before the wedding happened.  And the JC Raulston Arboretum was a versatile, and lovely venue for them.

With their names so similar, I immediately felt a kinship with them,  Ruben and my names equally similar and distracting to people we meet.  They chose wonderful and unique music for their ceremony:  'Gymnopedie' for the seating of the parents, 'Dawn, Stars, and Butterflies, for the processional and 'Humming Chorus' for the bridal processional.  It set the mood for everyone knowing that this would be a unique wedding of two individuals.

Here is our photographer taking photos after the wedding just away from the ceremony site in the shade and with a leafy backdrop.

This is who she was photographing,  Nicky's mother and her attendants.

 Notice, too, Nicky's flowers.  I don't know that I've ever seen a more striking bridal bouquet before. They were designed for her by the The Blossom Shop.

Keith Ward, our DJ operated an IPOD for the ceremony which was great because everything had to be brought in to this garden site.  I've often done ceremonies at the gazebo before, and had done smaller ceremonies in this location but never seating for 80 plus people.  It worked well however.  Yay!  He was also the DJ for their reception at The Red Room just down the street.

Here is the ceremony site as if you're standing where they were married.

Here is the ceremony site facing the arch they were married in front of.





 They have a move across country waiting for them now.  I wish them all the best in their new life and new adventures.

Victorial and Angelo at the JC Raulston Arboretum this Spring

The first time I met Victorial and Angelo was right before their ceremony. Sometime life works that way and I have to thank Life and The Divine for bringing such wonderful people to me.

Victorial and Angelo had a very small wedding - small in numbers of guests but not small in spirit. Victorial's two sisters were there with their partners, and Angelo's mother was there, and delightfully Victorial and Angelo's two children. They also had Raleigh photographer Tina Loebach who took these wonderful pictures and many many more all over the arboretum.

You can see their beautiful daughter. Their son is an infant in a stroller who was remarkably calm despite the heat of the day. They had wanted a lovely setting that was inexpensive and I was able to suggest the JC Raulston Arboretum which they loved. I'd only had phone conversations with Victorial to plan the ceremony so was surprised by the graceful and beautiful woman I encountered in the parking lot, her dress swirling around her in the spring breeze. Gathering everyone up there, we then made our way to the gazebo. Which if you haven't seen it, is in a small clearing perfect for a small wedding. This was a Friday morning, which was probably why we could find it free on such a great day.

I felt especially fond of Victorial and Angelo because Angelo and his mother communicate in Spanish, and she communicates in Spanish to the children, too. My Sweetheart Ruben was born in Cuba and came to the US when Castro finally and completely closed the border. He and his mother still prefer to speak Spanish to each other. My daughter is bilinqual in Spanish, too. It's such a wonderful gift to give your children, if you can. (Unfortunately, my Spanish stays at a rusty beginner level.)

Victorial and Angelo chose a classic ceremony which fit their style and their busy lives raising two beautiful children.

I wish them all the best and I know their memories and their pictures from this simple yet wonderfully sweet wedding will stay with them forever.

Harry and Alex at J. C. Raulston Arboretum

In planning a wedding we can all too easily forget how it's possible to have a small wedding with all of the special ingredients of a larger one. At 10am on Wednesday morning, October 7th, Harry and Alex were married at the White Garden trellis in the J. C. Raulston Arboretum, in the company of just a few close family and friends. I know. I was there and got to perform the ceremony.

Harry and Alex are full time students at North Carolina State. Harry had recently gotten out of the military and wanted to make sure, on their limited budget, that they had a traditional wedding.

Close friends and family are what made that happen. And of course, Mara Kurtz, our wonderful photographer who is also an NC State student and a photographer for the university newspaper.

Alex's uncle walked her into the ceremony, and Harry's sister Anita was her Maid of Honor, who also drove Alex to the ceremony. Two friends of Harry's were in attendance and we began.


It was a sweet way to start the day. They kept the tradition of throwing the bouquet and of Harry taking off the garter from Alex's leg..... to the delight of all.

The festivities were short for some of us because most of us had commmittments right after the ceremony..... after all, it was still a school day. But for Alex and Harry, it was a life changing day.


They will have a wedding day to remember. And we are all glad.