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.

Jeremy and Amina @ The Cotton Club

 Amina and Jeremy planned their wedding with lots of love and lots of flair.  They drew upon their love of New Orleans and their time spent there to make a festival for the eyes and the ears that celebrated their love.  It was a joy to be a part of.


And The Cotton Room was the perfect blank slate for them to make festive.  First, thanks to Iris and Light Photography for the wonderful photos that included me in them.  The rest, of lesser quality, I took with my DROID because I just wanted you to see the imaginative touches they added.  The Cotton Room is so versatile, I just love to show off the possibilities.  Sorry these pictures are so dark!









Here is Iris and Light taking a picture after the wedding in that wonderful Cotton Room light.  





At each place setting there was a bottle of Cajun Hot Sauce!







Thanks, too to DJ Steven Feinberg who is always a joy to work with, 

Tre Bella Florist who did all of the flowers for Jeremy and Amina's wedding, and Whole Foods who baked their cake.  It was a wonderful event in honor of a truly delightful couple.


Before the wedding, they asked guests to write a wish, hope or blessing onto a colored strip of paper and add it onto the big glorious paper chain they would then have for the reception.

They also had this poem with their pictures.  




When I met with Jeremy and Amina we hit it off immediately because we both loved Berkeley, CA where Amina did her undergrad work and loved New Orleans where Jeremy is from.  They met in New Orleans at Tulane in 2009 at Art for Art's Sake and told me it felt like fate since they felt an immediate attraction.  They told me that they were both fine with being on their own and that they felt that, with this awareness, they enhance and enrich each others lives.


I loved their sense of ease with each other and their support of each other.  They also told me that they prioritize their relationship and always feel that they are there for each other.  It showed on their wedding day.  This was their second wedding day since they were married in a Moslem ceremony in April.


They definitely wanted a spiritual ceremony and to honor their grandmothers in the ceremony.
They drew upon all their cultural influences but the start.





Their ceremony music was eclectic and fun.  Parents were seated to Bach's 'Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring.'  I entered, followed by the groom's attendants and Jeremy and his parents to Otis Redding's 'Amen'  (I LOVED IT!).  Amina's attendants and flower girls (see their great picture below) entered to 'The Way I Am' by Ingrid Michelson, and Amina entered to 'Chapel of Love' by The Dixie Cups.  Everyone was having fun before they even got down the aisle.





We drew upon the wisdom of Kahlil Gibran on marriage from 'The Prophet' and they participated in the Hand Ceremony.  


It was only fitting that they should recess to 'Viva La Vida' by Cold Play.  I have a feeling that their life will be just as festive as their wedding.  This is a couple who know how to have fun.  I wish them all the happiness in the world.

The Rigmor House, The Highgrove Estate, The Matthews House, and The Rand-Bryan House

Sometimes I get photos of venues that I'm unable to use because I don't get pictures from couples of their wedding. I thought you might like a closer look at four of them - all lovely - all in the Raleigh Durham triangle. I have other blog posts on some of them with more pictures.

The first is the Rigmor House (in the picture above) just off of I-54 going west out of Chapel Hill. I've done several ceremonies here but this is the first time I got pictures. It's a great location for an intimate lodge wedding. It's off the road, quiet, with a large center room and rooms to stay upstairs. It has a big well stocked kitchen, a large veranda and a large lot. While the lot isn't all that scenic it is spacious and easy to use with room for a tent and lots of different possibilities. It also has great parking and a fabulous kitchen. They turn the place over to you and you either cater in or do it yourself.

Their website is a really good one, too. At Christi and William's wedding below, they did the decorations themselves with the help of family and friends and did a fabulous job. Both grad students at UNC, their families all came up from Mississippi and pitched right in. They've been together 7 years so everyone worked well together to make the place literally sparkle.

The main room at the Rigmor is two stories high and is in wood paneling. The upstairs rooms rim this two story room. There's an inset in the front wall, behind this wall in the entry foyer and the front porch. This inset is a great place for a buffet. Christi and Williams' guests faced this wall. They had a slide show of pictures of them before the ceremony, then this decoration, with the unity candle for the ceremony.

They used silver metallic wide ribbon for the table decorations. Here is the head table set up right after the seating was removed after the ceremony as they're setting up long tables for the reception dinner.

Here's the well stocked kitchen they relied on.

And here is the main room looking toward the back wall while folks are setting up tables for the reception. At this time William and Christi were having pictures taken.

You can see the trellis that Christi and William entered under as they walked down the aisle.
Since their wedding was only two weeks ago I hope to get more pictures to show you of this great couple and their charming hands on wedding. And I'm glad to finally have some pictures of Rigmor House to share with you.

The Highgrove Estate in Fuquay Varina is also a great venue. Their staff is fabulous is helping everything run smoothly. Justin and Kerry married on a busy Saturday in June and I needed to leave right after the wedding. This front porch is a favorite location for pictures.


This is the long hallway where the wedding party gathers before they process straight out to stand on the brick patio facing the lake. The couple and their attendants can dress in the house, but receptions are held in a tent behind the house. As you look out this door the tent is to the right. The website for The Highgrove has great photos of the tent for several different weddings.

This is the room where you can get dressed. Gotta love that mirror. It's a huge room with a private bath of course and it is roomy enough for lots of attendants.

The final picture is the lower patio which is the ceremony site. The upper patio to the left of the outside door is where guests go for the cocktail hour. My only concern ever with this great location is that at 5:30 on a hot summer NC evening the sun is shining directly on the ceremony site. It hits the couple full force. They're facing away from the sun but it's still pretty hot. At The Highgrove Estate we make an effort to keep everyone in the cool of the hallway as long as possible. Yet the site is so lovely that it's a great venue. And many days it's just perfect. And the tent is air conditioned.


The Matthews House in Cary is an elegant house in which to stay and/ or have cocktails, a walled lawn with a trellis that's great for an outdoor ceremony and a side building connected to the house via a covered patio. Both the patio and the side building can be used to suit your needs.


The above pictures is from Ryan and Jenna's wedding in May of 2010.
On October 1st I married Jim and Debbie here. I'd never officiated a wedding in the reception room before so I wanted to show you those possibilities. I got a couple of fun pictures that might help. BTW - the web site for The Matthews House is really spectacular.

In the picture below you see at the right where Brian McGuire set up the DJ equipment for both the ceremony and the reception. He is a consummate professional and lots of fun. It was a delight to work with him again.

Here are the place settings for the reception in keeping with her colors of Hydrangea blue and silver gray. The Matthews House also did the catering.


This is Debbie and Jim's cake made by Miel Bon Bons in Chapel Hill. Their desserts are delicious as well as gorgeous.

This is the where Debbie dressed with Graham Terhune the photographer taking pictures of Debbie dressing. A fun part of being a female wedding minister was getting to visit Debbie while pre-wedding pictures were being taken.

I never got a pictures of Jim and Debbie together after the ceremony. It must have been a busy day. I loved this couple. They exemplify all that falling in love a little later in life can bring. The amazing joy of finding someone just right for you and the playfulness that brings out in you.

Below is a picture from Tim and Kristina's wedding in 2009 at The Matthews House. Another wonderful picture. This one by Diane McKinney Photography.



The Rand-Bryan House is another versatile and lovely venue. Set off the road in Garner it's a restored house with a wonderful openness. Every wedding I do here carries the unique stamp of the couple since the white on white decor and the amazing large picture window. Martha Liles and her husband are gracious hosts, very knowledgeable and very helpful.

They have a big front porch with rocking chairs that's perfect for the cocktail hour. And I've done beautiful weddings on their side lawn, but my favorite room is the one in the picture below which is stunning.

Here it is decorated for Lauren's and Brian's November wedding on a gorgeous day. You can see the lush green side lawn outside the window better from the picture below.


The next picture is taken from that window looking back into the main room. This room would be transformed for reception seating after the ceremony. At the back right is the entrance to the kitchen and there is a door to the back yard from the back right, too.

The large double doors go into a square room that is off the front hall which is a great room for displaying the cake or for smaller weddings for serving hors d'oeuvres.



This couple used only two of these wonderfully creative decorations in the front of their ceremony. It was plenty and lovely.

This couple got their delicious food catered by Whole Foods in Raleigh and served by The Happiest Hostess. They found that this was a much less expensive way to have excellent food catered for their size reception.

These weddings all went smoothly and elegantly - in large part because these venues are so suited to the needs of a wedding and are so well cared for and loved by their staffs. It's a treat to be the minister at a wedding at any of these locations. And I hope you enjoy these pictures.