Memorial Day Weekend Wonderful Weddings for Ryan and Elena, Warren and Dani, and Chris and Julie

I've mentioned that the Divine sends me only wonderful couples and this Memorial Day Weekend proved that true yet again.  I was so delighted that each couple's wedding could take place in the sunshine just as they planned it.

I have professional photographs for only one of the weddings so far.  As I get more photographs I'll add them to this post.  I find that if I try to get lots of pictures it scatters my energy when I really just want to center and be very present for the bride and groom.  That is my delight.

On Friday evening, I got to marry Ryan and Elena.  They've been together four and a half years and had to spend two years of that commuting between separate cities to be together.  That's a wonderful way to work things out in a relationship and to get really clear about what you both want.  I laud them for making it work for them.  They're a delight and the Carolina Inn Bryan Courtyard was the perfect place for their elegant intimate wedding.  Debbie Wrenn, who works with Angie Wright of Chic Details was a huge help in ensuring that everything ran smoothly. Below is a picture she took with my DROID of the ceremony and of our string musicians from Musica Music, who were excellent.  I look forward to having pictures from Neil Boyd Photography to add to these casual ones.

On Saturday afternoon I got to marry Dani and Warren who flew down from NYC with his friends and children to be with Dani's family for the occasion.  I loved creating their ceremony over email because they were very clear about what they wanted to express about their love for each other.  We created a beautiful ceremony to honor their love.  And it was my first time to officiate a wedding on the new Overlook patio at Duke Gardens.

They had about 30 people in attendance with a neighbor taking all the pictures.  It was a small intimate wedding and the Overlook is perfect for that.  And it was in the shade.

On Saturday evening I was back at The Carolina Inn to marry Julie and Chris.  Their photographer, Shane Snider, of Shane Snider Photography, was very generous in sharing these photographs with me.  Julie and Chris did a sweet thing after their ceremony - they released the rows themselves, greeting each person as they left the ceremony.  Below is the Hill Courtyard.  This setting is best on a quiet evening since the road noise from Columbia Street can be loud.  But it wasn't on this Saturday evening and it was even cool and comfortable.

 I love technology when it can bring grandparents who can't travel to the event!.. This makes a great picture. Julie and Chris live in Ohio and are delightfully laid back.  They were also in the good hands of wedding planner Sally Oakley and her assistant, Suzanne.  And everything went perfectly.

They both had those wonderful grins all the way through the ceremony.  They were soooo happy. They met in 2008 and knew at once they had found a kindred spirit.  They both love each other, their families and their dogs, and delight in the life they've created together.  And I am so happy for them, too.

And it's always good for me to hear from them that all is well.  I got this sweet email from Julie just a couple of days ago:  'We really did appreciate the amazing job that you did and cannot thank you enough!! '

All of these couples will add to the sum of joy in the world and that is a great gift in my life.   I, too, have the happiest of marriages, and I hope by my joy, and my delight for them, I have furthered them in creating theirs.  Blessed Be! 

Grant and Meagan Marry in a Beautiful Ceremony at Haywood Hall

 Grant and Meagan's wedding at Haywood Hall on May 4th was a joy.  I was so glad that everything went perfectly.  Last time I had officiated at Haywood Hall, the noise from a Harley Davidson convention two blocks away was something we all had to block out.  On Megan and Grant's wedding day, only two crows flying by attracted a little notice.  I love it when wildlife adds their blessing to the occasion.  It was a moment of unplanned natural exuberance.

Meagan and Grant both went to UNC and got engaged in New York City when Grant arranged for goth groups of parents to fly up to surprise her.  On their first date they met at the Old Well on UNC campus.  They had lived in the same dorm at UNC but had never met then.

 Meagan and Grant sent me these photographs just days after their wedding.  It was so kind of then to think of me.  Their day was perfect as it should be.

 Thanks so much to their photographer, Libby McGowan for letting me share these pictures with you.  She was a generous and easy going photographer all day adding just the right touch of attention.  I can understand why Meagan and Grant chose her.

 Grant and Meagan are both close to their families and it was indeed a family affair.  Their musicians were Gran'ts cousins and Meagan's bouquet was created by one of these same cousins with a little help from their friends.

They chose to share a letter from John Steinbeck with their guests and words from A. A. Milne, two of my favorite authors.  I thank them for bringing these rich words of love to my attention and possibly to other couples.

They chose classic vows of promise and commitment to offer each other which seemed to suit them so well.  We ended their ceremony with this benediction:  'My God bless you and keep you.  Congratulations?  Go in peace.'  And they did, to the music of Handel's Hornpipe on the violin, played by their now joined family.

I was delighted to receive this note from Meagan and Grant with the above pictures:  

'Hi Reverend Robin, 

Grant and I cannot even begin to thank you for the truly beautiful ceremony last Saturday night. Everything went just wonderfully - from the vows to the readings that truly had special meaning to us to those crows who were up above us 'cawing' - it was all just so much more special than I ever could have imagined. ..... I can't even tell you how many of our own friends and family have raved to us about how wonderful they thought you were.'

Their joy is contagious.  It was a delight to share.  I wish them many many years of joy and love.

A Christmas Wedding in Duke Chapel for David and Rachel

I loved marrying David and Rachel.  And I apologize for being so late in posting their wedding on my blog.  It was a beautiful December at noon in Duke Chapel resplendent in all the decorations for Christmas.  Everyone but Rachel's family had come from out of town and Rachel and David were showing them the best of the area.  Their reception would be at The Carolina Inn.  

They wanted a focus on what marriage means to them and how they intend to use the power of their marriage in their lives to serve others.  Rachel was just beginning her residency in medical school so they are putting the strength and love of who they are together to work in their lives already.

Thanks to photographer Theo Milo of Theo Milo Photography for these wonderful pictures.  Lyn Graves of Fresh Affairs created her bouquet, and Dr. Monica Rossman, was the organist for Duke Chapel that day.  Blanche Williams of Duke Chapel is always a superb director for the event.

David and Rachel created a ceremony from both their backgrounds rich with Christmas hymns with words they crafted from examples I sent them.  They declared for them that 'Marriage is a vote of confidence, a commitment between two people that can only be fulfilled through their own loyalty and diligence.'  I so respect their intentional commitment!

Even their wedding program added a unique and thoughtful touch of elegance.

It's a custom to sign the ledger with your name, adding your marriage to all those who have been married in the chapel throughout the years.  

 Duke Chapel provides so many opportunities for great photographs!

 I thank the Divine for bringing this lovely couple into my life.  Theirs is a marriage that will strengthen their lives so that they will continue to be able to touch others in love and kindness. 
I wish them many many blessings!  

Chris and Katie, Nathan and Tiffany, Matt and Erica, and Scott and Meredith Light Up This April

This has been a busy spring and I haven't had the time to write a blog about the wonderful couples I  married in April.  I love writing a blog about each couple if I can.  A blog about a ceremony brings back the joy I've felt with a couple as they begin their marriage with the love and support of their families and friends.  I'm very happily married and I love helping launch their marriage in a way that celebrates their love.

However the other side of our journey of life has required attention from me this spring.  My 91 year old mother-in-law has entered hospice.  I am reminded how time passes oh so quickly.

A quote  by Andre Maurois speaks to this:  'A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short.'    I wish each of these beautiful couples below many long and rich conversations.

In early April I got to marry Katie and Chris at the NC Botanical Gardens.  We are lucky that the rain had stopped the day before and the day was cool.  They had their reception inside at the large banquet room but in a private corner of the gardens they held there ceremony for about 100 people.  Chris graduated this May so there were many joys to celebrate.  They wrote their own vows  and had a unity candle to honor their joining.  It was a sweet and loving ceremony.

 I officiated Nathan and Tiffany's ceremony at The Cotton Room in downtown Durham.  I've done many ceremonies there and Michelle Aldred and her staff at Triangle Catering are always great.  May 2012 was their 6 years anniversary.  Nathan proposed at the Old Well all decked out with lights with a 100 yard extension cord and a generator that a friend had provided.  He pretended it was a photo shoot so it was a surprise to Tiffany.  They are a fun loving couple who are grounded and solid in their love.  I wish them much joy.

 I married Matt and Erica at the Bryan Courtyard of the Carolina Inn.  A favorite place for me.  And now that they have finished their remodeling, they have much easier parking and the courtyard is still the same lovely classic wedding site it always has been.    They met in Seville, Spain during their Junior year abroad for UNC and began dating the fall of their senior year.  They've known each other for eleven years and had a long distance relationship for 4 of those years.  They're delighted to now be in one place together.  We offered an Irish Wedding Blessing in honor of Matt's heritage and welcomed Erica's family who came from Peru to share this day with them.  They are both generous spirited people who have large loving families.  I was so glad to be with them to celebrate their love.

 I had the joy of marrying Scott and Meredith at The Sutherland in an elegant ceremony in mid April.  Thank you to Ashlee, owner of The Sutherland, for her wonderful coordination of the event. Their ceremony music was provided by Save the Date musicians with a saxophone and guitar duet.  It was very unique.  Scott's 90 year old mother was there.  Both sets of their parents were still married so we honored that between the two couples they had more than 70 years of wisdom about love and marriage that still inspires Meredith and Scott.  In our prayer of blessing for their marriage I said, 'May the love that warms our hearts today and the love that flows between Scott and Meredith always be strong.  God grant them the inner gifts of trust, compassion. forgiveness, and truth that they may live and grow together in love and peace.  Amen.'

Some couples I marry request that I don't blog about them.  So I will just wish them many many blessings.  For some couples I never get pictures.  I send love to Elizabeth and Bruce, Alex and Kim, Tom and Carol, Christina and Eric, and Jean and Santiago, who I also wed this month, one couple in the backyard of their new home, one in the pergola at Duke Gardens, one in the Stone Chapel in Wake Forest, one at Spruce Pine Lodge, and one in my living room.

May they all find happiness in their love for each other.  May their love bring out the best in them as they bring our the best in each other.  May they have love that lasts a lifetime!

Russ and Shelby Marry at Cobblestone Hall

I just have a couple preview pictures from Shelby and Russ and I wanted to share them.  What a dear couple, openhearted, funny, warm, generous of spirit.  It was a delight to officiate their wedding.

Thank you to Elizabeth Palmer of Elizabeth Palmer Photography for these two pictures.  I'm sure there will be more later.  And thanks to Kaitlin Briggs, the Special Events Manager at the Cobblestone Hall.  She always does a wonderful job.    Randy Bennett, always a wonderful DJ did the ceremony music and ensured that lots of dancing and fun was had by all.

Russ and Shelby wrote their own vows to each other and it was the heart and soul of the ceremony.  I was so glad that I could help create the moment that they could say these words of love to each other witnessed and appreciated by their loving bunch of family and friends.   They just got back from their honeymoon in Cancun and sent me these pictures.  I can't wait to see more.  I wish them all the happiness in the world.

Jonathan and Olivia Marry on a Gorgeous Day in Her Grandparents Back Yard

Thank you to John Elkins of John Elkins Photography in Hillsborough for the wonderful pictures.  I've worked with John several times and he is always so easy to work with and so prompt in getting the pictures back to the couple and to family and guests.  It makes it more fun not to have to wait too long.

And this couple was a treat to marry.  They found me because they like the spiritual ceremony that I have on my web site and we took it from there.  They wanted a memorable ceremony that honored her grandparents who had raised her and his parents.  His father was his best man.  They wanted it to be fun and they wanted those who love them to be proud of them.

They describe themselves as down home North Carolina people who wanted something simple, sweet and real.  They indeed are just a loving couple who had been together four years and now were ready to deepen their love in marriage.  Olivia says that she thanks God everyday for her life and the love she's found with Jonathan.  She's very bubbly and talkative and Jonathan is very quiet yet attentive to everything said.  They are growing their love intentionally and together.  I loved being a part of their wedding.

 Carmen, their Flower Girl, is in the tutu.  What a great outfit.  If only I were young enough to wear one of those.  I love the royal blue for this exceptional Spring day.  It was so vibrant.
Dylan, aged 3, was their Ring Bearer and also did a stellar job.  You can see him in the last picture with everyone in the wedding party.

 Olivia and Jonathan chose the poem 'Love' by Roy Croft to be read at their ceremony.  One line I especially love is the line 'you are helping me to make out of the works of my everyday not a reproach, but a song.'  For some couples this poem holds special meaning, the couples who are intentional in their commitment to grow their love through all that life brings their way.  Jonathan and Olivia are that kind of couple.  I admire that in them.

Olivia and Jonathan chose the vows, 'I take you to be my wife/husband, to love and to cherish, to honor and to comfort you, to stand by you in sorrow and in joy, to be both your lover and your closest friend.' Then they completed a sand ceremony honoring that their lives are now inextricably joined.

 After ending the ceremony with the Lord's Prayer, I invited them to share their first kiss as husband and wife.

Then joyfully presented them to their family and friends for the first time as a married couple.

 I loved the way they kept their ceremony simple and low key, yet also elegant and uniquely them.  Brandon, Olivia's brother was their DJ, and as I left the food was coming out from the kitchen and the barbecue so that everyone could dig in.

I loved marrying these two and wish them all the happiness in the world.

Fay and John Marry Next To The Pond That They Love

 Thank you to Chelsey Morrison of Gather Together Events and wedding planning for bringing Fay and John into my life.  It was a joy to marry them.  And to work with Chelsey again.  She's really really good at what she does!  And it's always with a smile.  

When I first met with John and Fay last January  they were just beginning to bring their vision for their September wedding into focus.  All they knew was that they wanted to marry at the pond on John's uncle's property where they spent so much time fishing and getting to know each other so well.  I pictured a truly rustic setting when they described it.  I was amazed when I saw the actual pond at their rehearsal.  It's gorgeous.  Here's another view of the pond and the ceremony.  Luckily I has a microphone so the guests didn't miss a word of the ceremony.

As a part of the ceremony we asked John's and Fay's parents to stand and affirm their continued love and support for John and Fay's marriage.  They heartily responded 'Yes!'.  This moment is John and Fay looking back at their parents as we thanked them for their love and guidance for John and Fay all their lives.  

 I was go grateful for that mantle.  No one fell into the water.  I consider that a coup in itself.
The dock was just the right size for everyone.  A special Thank You to Katherine Miles Jones of Katherine Miles Jones Photography, our intrepid photographer, for her amazing photography.  It wasn't an easy wedding to photograph at all!

John and Fay were so cute from the very beginning, beaming their joy and, yes, there were a few tears, too.  I regress to show you Fay walking down the aisle and John watching Fay walk down the aisle.

Our lovely flower girls, Emaline and Isla, made everyone smile, too.

The only beings missing were John and Fays two dogs, Tyson and Annie.  In the opening of their ceremony we described marriage as a time to 'exercise their love, to stretch it large enough to embrace the unforeseen realities of the future; to love not only when it comes easily, but also when it seems difficult.'

 I never mind when we take the small moments necessary for 'train management,' or other necessities.  I think it's important for the couple, and their guests, to be comfortable so that they can be fully present with each other and with this important moment of sharing their love with each other.

Thanks to Tre Bella Florist for the all the elegant bouquets. As well as being lovely, they managed well in the heat!

 Photographers tell me to remind the couple not to kiss too fast.  After all it is a very important kiss to document.  And so many couples are shy hesitant to kiss in public.  This was not a worry for Fay and John.  And John had to also concentrate on not putting his hand on Fay's back so he wouldn't jerk her head back by her veil.  They managed nicely and thoroughly enjoyed the moment.

 On this day they only had eyes for each other.  And that's as it should be.  And they started out as friends who became best friends.  That's as it should be, too.  

 I wish them all the joy in the world!

John and Fay's wedding was featured online at the blog Southern Weddings.   There are lots more pictures of the ceremony and reception.  It's a great write up.  Here is the url. http://iloveswmag.com/2013/01/14/north-carolina-wedding-fay-jon/

I also want to note Thrills from The Grill who provided their catering and cake, and Cameron Atworth of Moon Water Music who was a wonderful musician for the ceremony and helped manage the sound amplificaition I needed and couldn't manage on that small crowded dock. 

It was a day to remember for everyone there.  We all loved seeing Fay and John so happy.