Jenni and Dan Warm Up A Cold October Day to Marry at the Rigmor House in Chapel Hill

Jenni and Dan had a gorgeous but cold and windy day to marry at the Rigmor House in Chapel Hill.  Gratefully they were oblivious to the weather.  It was cute to see.


Thanks to 2 & 3 Photography for these fabulous pictures.  You'd never guess that the weather was iffy.  I've worked with them before and they're a joy to work with.


Dan and Jenni have the wonderful story that they met for coffee on a stormy day and then spent 2 hours walking together in the rain because they didn't want to stop the conversation.  I understand that.  I remember meeting Ruben twelve years ago and thinking that this is a man that I could have wonderful conversations with for the rest of my life.  


Dan and Jenni love each other because they can be completely honest together, and there is no drama because they each have their own selves, too, that inform and enrich their relationship.  Their families flow well, too, which is important since they're both close with their families.


With their friends' and families' help, they did the decorations for their wedding so it truly felt like a family affair, close and loving.

I love the Rigmor House.  It has a lodge feeling and yet adapts to the decorations brought to it.  You and your family can stay there and the kitchen is so well equipped.  It's homey in a large way with great decks.  We used the decks that day since they were warmer than outside.  

Thanks to Natasha Wayne of Natasha F. Wayne Events for her fabulous coordination, even jumping in to make a boutanniere when we were one short.  Dan and Jenni picked up flower from Whole Foods and Trader Joes and made their own bouquets,  Jenni and her friend Stephanie made the cake and cupcakes, Organic Bakies made the cookies and brownies, and Jenni's dad made all the food.  Like I said, it was a family affair.

This was the first time I'd see the tree of life where your guests put their thumbprint on the tree and write their names. I like this much better than a guest book.   It creates a lovely keepsake and you actually can mount and appreciate.  Here it is in the Rigmor Lobby area waiting for guests as they arrive.

Thank you Rigmor for the great woods for the after pictures, too.  From what I remember, Jenni's mom knit her shawl on the drive down the East Coast to the ceremony.  Good planning!

They are fun loving people and everyone joined in the fun to make their day spectacular.  And it was just that.  I wish them lots and lots of love!

What a great picture!  What a great day!  What a great couple!

Will and Shannon Wed at the Wilson Rose Garden

I only officiate one or two weddings a year outside the NC Triangle and when I do, it's because I really like the couple.  Shannon and Will are a delightful couple.  And so is their daughter Lily.  It was a pleasure to marry them at the beautiful Wilson, NC Rose Garden.


The Rose Garden was surprisingly lovely.  It's not large and is just off a road with small industrial road, but as you turn into the parking lot, the neighborhood fades away and you're left with a wonderful impression.

Will and Shannon and April met with me in February for their October wedding already knowing they wanted me as their officiant because Shannon and I had talked on the phone.  I was glad.  They're generous spirited people wanting especially to honor their grandparents who had passed on and were sorely missed, and to honor Will's father who also has passed on.   This is a couple who are close to their families and I could see that love and dedication at the wedding.  However I really credit Shannon's friend and Maid of Honor, Apryl, for helping her hold it together during these especially emotional moments of their ceremony.  Thank you Apryl!

On this  pretty late October Day they still had roses in bloom!  Thank you to Michele Denotter Photography for these wonderful pictures.  I loved the way the garden had many different lovely aspects, a close parking lot, and close rest rooms.  These small necessities sometimes make a big difference.

We lined up on the edge of the park away from the guests' gazes to enter.  They chose 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' as their processional sung by a wonderful Hawaiian singer who has since passed away.  I've not heard a lovelier rendition.

Will and Shannon wanted a spiritual wedding ceremony that honored their love for each other.  We read that wonderful selection from the Velveteen Rabbit that still touches me no matter how often I hear it.  Especially now that I'm getting older and am still very much in love.

In the very first picture I posted on this blog, Shannon and Will are taking part in the Celtic Handfasting Ceremony.  This is the ancient ceremony where the expressions 'tying the knot' and 'giving one's hand in marriage' come from.  They created their own handfasting cord and bound themselves each to the other in love and in commitment to live and grow that love.  I can understand why this ritual still exists.  It holds a lot of power.  Lots of couples then have the cord as a token of that binding made in love.

A special moment in the ceremony was when Lily came forward and we honored that family that they create together.

We blessed their marriage with the prayer, 'God bless them with the inner gifts of trust, compassion, forgiveness and truth that they may live and grow together in love and peace.'

They're delightful people.  I wish them many many years of love!

Matt and Billie @ The Fearrington Inn This Summer

 Billie and Matt were both from out of town, choosing The Fearrington Inn, and me, on short notice because they each had just a short leave before shipping out to Afghanistan.  They are both helicopter pilots in the army who love their work and love each other.  I'm so glad that our fabulous photographer, K C Ramsay of Craige & van Roden Photography in Raleigh got these radiant shots of their wedding day.

Arioso Strings provided the music and were also very generous in playing outside in the very damp weather.  I love working with good professionals like Mary Page Block of Arioso Strings and her staff and Gilda.  You can trust their experience and it shows.

It was a rainy day and we waited for the rain to clear and it did!  Whew!  Thanks to Gilda McDaniel at The Fearrington Inn who always always does a fabulous job coordinating a wedding.  She made sure that her staff wiped off all the chairs and covered all the puddles so Billie and Matt could have the wedding they really wanted outside.

Billie and I worked long distance to create a ceremony that honored her Wiccan beliefs and Matt's Catholic faith and we created a ceremony that they both loved.

One element we incorporated was the Celtic Handfasting ceremony where I bind their hands in marriage, asking them vows they make to each other.  With each vow made another knot is tied in the cord.  This is where the sayings 'tying the knot' and 'giving ones hand in marriage' come from.  Billie made the cord they used by braiding three different color ribbons and adding small charms into the weave.  It  was beautiful.

After this ceremony, honoring that they can't be bound together physically at all times, they exchange rings as symbols of the vows and the binding they have made.

They are both laid back easy going people who simply wanted to celebrate their love for each other.  And that we did!

Billie sent me this note later:  'Thank you so much for doing such an amazing job officiating our ceremony. I can't even imagine a more perfect wedding! The amount of time, attention, and care you put into our ceremony made it an event our family and friends will remember forever... I am so thankful to have found you and that you were able to help us on such short notice.'

I heard from KC yesterday that the disc that KC had given them of pictures was damaged in the move.  Matt contacted KC to see what she could do and sent them another disc.  She also passed on their news.  

Matt is in Bagram and Billie is at a smaller bases named Sharona.  They only get to see each other about once a month but Matt is going to where Billie is for Thanksgiving and she is coming his way for Christmas.  I send love to them both and prayers to keep them safe from harm.

They were one of those blessings in my life that don't stay for long but you remember them, and feel blessed, after they pass.

Julia and Mike Light Up The Berry Hill Estate in South Boston, VA

I sure had fun marrying Julia and Mike.  And here's the wonderful Berryhill Estate where they were married.  This shot that captures the magnificence of this renovated plantation that is now a classy conference center.

From beginning to end it was a classic wedding ceremony, in all senses of the word.  It was spacious and gracious.  Thanks for Mike and Julia and their families for creating this feeling of generosity and grace.

 

Thanks to Hooman Vasic of Vesic Photography for the wonderful professional photographs.  There are a couple photographs from guests that are woven in here, too.   You can definitely see the quality difference. 


You can tell Hooman Vasic knows this wonderful venue, The Berryhill Estate, well, taking such wonderful pictures of the wedding of this wonderful couple.  Mike, from Boston, and Julia from Virginia come from very different backgrounds and traditions.  In this ceremony we honored both.


The only place I ever travel to in Virginia is The Berryhill Estate, and that's because it's a really wonderful venue and Rhonda Van der Schlag, their coordinator is excellent.  It's an hour and 20 minutes from my home so is just about the limit to which I'll travel.  


And I'm glad I did.  Mike and Julia were a treat to get to know and a joy to marry.

This is the courtyard at the back of the estate with a long view of the ceremony site as Mike and Julia, now married!, recess.

Their classic look and all the friends who contributed created a beautiful wedding.  And I have no doubt that everyone lost that formality and partied well after the pictures were done.

Here is a photograph of their reception room.  I officiated a wedding in this room in January 2011 in front of the fireplace.  It's a warm sumptuous room.

And joyfully the day was a lovely one so that the cocktail hour could be held outside.  And you can see the clouds made themselves known but only to create beautiful lighting.  This amazing little building is where Mike and his attendants got ready for the ceremony.

I asked Hooman for a couple of the photographs of them that he would like to highlight.  He sent me these absolutely beautiful ones.  Thanks, Hooman!

I wish them both well on this amazing adventure of life.  They're well supported by loving family and friends, as well as an abiding love.  

Grisha and Abby at Top of the Hill Back Bar

Grisha is really Greg, but Grisha is such a wonderful nickname and this is what Abby calls Greg so it kind of sticks.  They met in a camp for learning Russian language and this is the name Greg was given in camp.  Theirs was a delightful wedding in the area called the Back Bar at the Top of The Hill restaurant in Chapel Hill.  I love it when couples tell me what they want so that they are celebrating who they are and so they and their love shines through.  I had no worries about Greg and Abby - they had their own ideas.  Yay!

They had grown their love long distance that first year.  Now 3 years later they were marrying in a ceremony that honored some Jewish customs that were dear to them.  The colorful huppah they're standing under was pieced by Grisha's mother.  Abby's father offered the blessing of the wine, and immediately after the breaking of the glass, everyone began dancing the Hora.  It was great fun.

Grisha and Abby invited guests for drinks then when the moment was ripe, we all walked into the big reception room, Greg and Abby greeting guests then.  It was a great size for their around 70 guests.  I tucked in some pictures of the Back Bar to show you how well it served for their wedding and how creative their decorations were.  This first picture is the front of the room.  We gathered here in front of the huppah.

This is looking back toward the back of the room.  The back right is the entrance into the room.

Carolyn Scott of Carolyn Scott Photography took these wonderful photographs.  I love working with her.  She's fun as well as professional.  I think that's how she can get such amazing shots.  Thank you Thank you Thank you, Carolyn.  I don't know that people realize how important it is that the photographer be someone the couple can relax with.  They spend most of the hour before the wedding with them and then need to be in a good mood and not stressed.  Not easy.  Crissy Brady, of Not Your Grandmother's Wedding, was our coordinator extraordinaire.  Thank you, Crissy!

Thanks, Carolyn of taking a fun picture of me as I wait for Abby, Grisha, and guests to gather. 

Greg and Abby created just the ceremony they wanted.  One touch they chose was to combine the section of the vows and rings into one section where at the completion of their vows they slipped the ring onto the other's finger.  With the pronouncement, the kiss, the breaking of the glass and turning around to guests they were married, and the Klezmer band started the music to dance.  Later pie was served baked by the Top of The Hill.  I can attest to their desserts.  They are wonderfully decadent.  

Greg and Abby's wedding feels like a small town wedding to me.  My husband, Ruben, was Abby's Middle School Science teacher, and some of this other former students are employees at Top of The Hill.  For me it had the feeling of coming home.  How much more must it have felt that way for them.  It was a gathering of close friends and family who love and support them, and celebrate their love. It doesn't get any better than that! 

I wish them every blessing and Mazel Tov!

Allie and Erik at Elodie Farms

Erik and Allie chose well when they chose each other, and when they chose Elodie Farms.  One thing in choosing each other - they both are in the field of healthcare and understand each other's work stresses.  If we had a medical emergency at their wedding we wouldn't have had to worry.  Luckily we didn't.  And in choosing Elodie Farms, they chose a comfortable, beautiful location with lots of personality and sweetness.

Patricia Suzanne, of Patricia Suzanne Photography, captured both the sweet spirit of Allie and Erik and of their wedding.  Thank you, Patricia!

I know it was a little hard for Patricia to get pictures on the porch since we weren't in the sunlight and she had to shoot upward.  Thanks to her for these great shots despite the difficulties.

They raise goats at Elodie Farms, and classic frame house fits right in,  Here's a picture before the wedding of Allie centered against the upstairs front hall window.

Allie and Erik wanted a friendly warm and intimate ceremony with their 50 family and close friends.  They told me that they were delighted that they could rent Elodie Farms for the whole weekend with a lighted tent for $1800.  And that they were going to have Foster's Market cater the hors d'oeuvres.  Most of the couples I marry are on a budget so I always want to pass on good ideas and information when I hear it.


This shot of Allie and her attendants shows the beautiful soft colors she chose for her day.

It was a beautiful October day.  Allie and Erik chose classic music that a friend managed from their IPOD. They really worked to minimize stresses to their day and weekend.  Here is Allie entering on the arm of her father.

One lovely touch they had was the Unity Candle Ceremony that was perfect on this breezy day under hurricane glass.   And it was nice that Patricia had such a great shot of this since it was on the side of the porch.

Although you can't see her gorgeous bouquet, Ninth Street Flowers did all their flowers, and Simply Cakes, their wedding cake.  The reception was held in the tent behind the house to the right.  You can just see it in the picture of the house.

I wish Allie and Erik all the happiness in the world.  I got to know them a little and in that time came to respect their intention and commitment to growing their love.  In their ceremony we had the following... 'You are entering a sacred covenant as life partners.  As in tending the flowers in a garden, the quality of your marriage will reflect the effort you put into nurturing this relationship. You have the opportunity to go forward from this day to create a faithful, kind and tender relationship.  We bless you this day.  It is up to you to keep the blessings flowing each and every day of your lives together.'

I have no doubt they will nurture their garden and their relationship well.