Kat and Austin Marry at Pine Lake Pavilion and We Celebrate The Family They Create With Aidan

 Kat and Austin planned their wedding carefully and well in advance and it was lucky they did so.  They got one of the last coveted opportunities to have their wedding at the gorgeous Pine Lake Pavilion which has since closed its doors.  Austin and Kat were so much fun to work with.  They have much to celebrate and joyfully took the opportunity to do so.  They delight in their love and in their son Aidan and everyone at their wedding did so, too.  I'm so glad the these wonderful images by photographer Lindsey Laughlin and her husband Todd, of Lindsey Laughlin Photography capture the beauty of the day and of them so well..

Who could ask for a lovelier setting.  And thank you to our stellar coordinator Jennifer Ball, of Knot Your Average Events.  As always she is the consummate professional, and fun, too.

At the beginning of the ceremony we had a gentle breeze accompanied by falling leaves that seemed to be the very heavens celebrating with us.  Austin and Kat were high school sweethearts and have grown up much since then.  But still cherish that early time and the ten years since then when they were more than boyfriend and girlfriend but there was no word for their unique connection.  Their friends termed them penguins, who mate for life, and yet haven't gone through the rituals.  The poem, 'I Want To Be Your Personal Penguin' seemed to fit them perfectly and they read it to each other.  We all loved it! 

After we had a ring warming, with each guest holding and blessing their rings on the way to Austin and Kat's hands, adding a silent blessing on their rings, we honored the family they create with Austin, and then had a sand ceremony with sand for Aidan in a plastic container while Kat and Austin had glass containers. (good thinking)  Aidan was intrigued.  I love it when parents know to make their child's experience no-worries.

Then I joyfully pronounced them married and offered a blessing upon their marriage.  

 Their florists were Layli Hibbard and Kristal Cloer of Farm & Filigree.  The rich fall colors were vibrant against the expansive green lawn.  In our blessing we wished for them love - a love that brings out the best in them as they bring out the best in each other.  And we wished for them joy, a joy that makes them laugh out loud. A joy that lights their eyes and fills their souls - a joy that shouts to the world of their happiness with each other.  All this and more we wished for them on all the days of their marriage.  

Austin and Kat are sweet genuine, generous, loving people.  I loved sharing this most important day with them and wish for them many many joyful years of loving each other and Aidan.

Len and Kristy Marry at Pine Lake Pavilion on May 21st

Len and Kristy are such fun people.  It was a treat to marry them.  This is one of the weddings there I thought it would be good for me to have a box to stand on.  Kristy and Len are both tall and make a really handsome couple.  

I felt really short which doesn't usually happen to me.  Luckily I had a microphone and could speak from between them.

It was a fabulous May day.  Just before the real NC summer heat hit.  Kristy and Len have known each other for over 10 years and had lots of years commuting in a long distance relationship.  They love their 2 horses, their 3 dogs and their 10 acres.  And they had a wonderful group of friends and family to celebrate with them.

They also had Jennifer Ball of Pine Lake Pavilion (in the white shirt) to make sure their day went smoothly.  And she is a master at that.  I always love working with her.



 Thanks too to their photographer, 2and3 Photography, Thad and Sarah Lawrence.  All the good pictures on this blogpost are theirs.  Mine are the dark or blurry ones.



And their DJ Allen Smith of SPIN.




They were all a joy to work with.  Also their florist was Flowers by Gary who has impeccable taste and always does stunning work.  Their cake was by Delicious bakery in Greensboro.  You'll see a picture of that, too.

Pine Lake Pavilion is about 5 minutes drive off I-40/I-85 at the Mebane Oaks exit, the same exit as the new Tanger outlet mall.  You feel like you're out in the country and you are but it's accessible, cultivated, quiet, and very beautiful.  And it accommodates a large wedding gathering if you have one.  Besides, the lake is beautiful.

This is my picture looking out  to the ceremony site in the distance from the entrance to the reception tent.  Same day.  Different camera.



The acreage around Pine Lake Pavilion has all sorts of wonderful spots for pictures.  Here are some special ones that Thad and Sarah took of Kristy and Len.

 

Len and Kristy also love country music and I had the joy of having it in the processional with the song, 'One Woman' by the Randy Rogers Band.

In this blog, you get to see how really lovely Pine Lake Pavilion is, and how it's perfect if you want a horse and carriage entrance.  

And exit.

 

It was a perfect day for it. 

Len and Kristy had special words of thanks for their parents, and then their friend Kim offered James Dillet Freeman's 'Blessing for a Marriage.'  They wrote their own vows and sent them to me separately before the ceremony so that I could carry them in for them.  Then in their exchange of rings we noted that the wedding ring is word on the third finger because of an ancient Greek belief that a vein from that finger connected directly to the heart, thus symbolizing the depth and sincerity of love.

 

 At the beginning of the ceremony, Len and Kristy's mothers added a little bit of red and white sand to the bottom of the sand ceremony vase, to symbolize the life and love given to Kristy and Len by their mothers, then Len and Kristy poured their sand, indicating that they are no longer two, but one, never to be separated from one another.

 

 They are joyful playful people and I loved seeing this picture of them receiving all the accolades from their friends.

We ended the blessing upon their marriage with the words, 'Go now in great happiness.'  And I have no doubts that they did.

Here is the reception tent set up for their reception.  Once again it's my picture that is dark.

 

And this is their delightfully playful cake by Delicious Bakery in Greensboro.

 

I wish them a lifetime of happiness.  And I trust they'll have it.