Meg and Nick Wed at Fearrington's Crabapple Garden!

Weddings at Fearrington are first class and always elegant. Gilda McDaniel and her staff really know how to do a wedding right. I always enjoy working with them and being the officiant at these lovely weddings. Nick and Meg's wedding was no exception. We met in August of 2012 and began planning their ceremony for October 5, 2013 at Fearrington. 

 The beautiful Crabapple Garden is always a pretty spot with some shade too.

Fearrington's florist, Mary Stevens, always adds just the right touch of floral arrangements. These pretties were hung on the aisle chairs.

Over in the Garden Terrace the tables were all set for the reception. DJ Randy Bennett with Joe Bunn DJ Company was setting up during the ceremony.

The pastry chef at Fearrington bakes the most elegant cakes. Nothing is prettier than a simple cake bedecked with flowers.

The couple got two step ladders between which they strung wire and hung the table assignments and lots of favorite photos.

Their guest book was a map of North Carolina which the guests signed.

It is almost time to start. The guests are getting seated. Gilda is ready and Chris, with Arioso Strings, is playing prelude music.

I took my place at the top of the steps and Nick escorted his mother in then joined me.

 Meg's mother was escorted in by her son and her grandson! 

 Here comes our beautiful bride escorted in by her father! 

Meg and Nick met back in May of 2008 when they were least expecting to. They were both living in the DC area. Meg put an ad in Craig's List looking for a running partner and while he was perusing Craig's list looking for someone to cook with, Nick ran across Meg's ad. They emailed, found out they had mutual friends in the DC area, and decided to meet. They liked being with each other so much they started dating and soon became a couple. Two years later they moved to North Carolina and got engaged three years later. 

Nick's sister, Lindsay, read "The Key to Love" by Robert M. Millay.

After telling their story and revealing to each other what they loved most and what they are looking forward to in marriage, they made their vows to each other and exchanged rings.

I had to put this photo in. Doesn't Nick look like the cat that ate the canary? At this point we are at the closing blessing where I ask them to look around and feel the love of their families and friends surrounding them.

Krystal Kast, their photographer, is getting some of those wonderful pastoral shots that Fearrington weddings are famous for. 

Nick and Meg, thank you for choosing me to be your wedding officiant. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you and then officiating your beautiful sweet wedding. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. And thank you for this review on Weddingwire.com: We loved working with Kayelily. She is easy to work with, responsive, helpful, and professional. She helped us craft a very special ceremony that made our guests (and the bride and groom), both laugh and cry. It was perfect, and we were so lucky to have her be a part of it!

***********************************************

To contact me:

mailto:kayelily@aweddingminister.com

919-345-4608

My Website

Pinterest

Facebook

Or leave a comment below!

************************************************

Wonderful Interfaith Wedding for Jessica and Michael at Fearrington!

Back in June of 2011, Jessica and Mike contacted me to officiate their wedding at Fearrington Village on May 26, 2012. They liked that they could construct their own ceremony and that I was experienced in performing the Jewish wedding customs they wanted to incorporate into their ceremony. I also collected information about their relationship so that I could put together the story of how they met and fell in love and what they loved so much about each other. Jessica and Mike were delightful to work with and we had fun bringing their expectations of their ceremony into reality. When the big day arrived on this Memorial Day weekend, everything was coming together beautifully.

 

Jessica and Mike created beautiful wedding programs and since they are both "birders," they incorporated birds into their color scheme of teal and yellow.

The Barn was all decked out and ready for the reception while the band got set up to play.

We saw the wedding cake making its way to the Barn for decorating. Fearrington Village bakes their own cakes and does all the floral decorations for the ceremony and the reception.

Here is the cake with the finishing touches of sunflowers and a pair of nesting birds, of course!

The Groom's Cake is representative of the "Oreo" cows that are the trademark for Fearrington Village. 

On the chairs lining the aisle were hung jars of bright spring flowers. 

The Chuppah was set up and softly blowing in the breeze. A table with the Memory Wine Box with love letters, the wine for the Wine Ceremony, and the glass for breaking were all assembled on the table in the rear of the Chuppah. I bet Jessica and Mike chose the Dovecote Garden for their ceremony because of the pretty birdhouse in that corner. Perfect for them and such a nice touch!

Gilda McDaniels is the event manager at Fearrington. She is so good at making the wedding details come to life. We have worked together many times in the past 12 years and it is always a pleasure to let her take over running the show! Here she is going over the cues for the processional music with our two musicians (guitar and flute) from Save the Date Music before the wedding guests arrive. 

Here comes our gorgeous bride and beaming father, David.

 And so we begin......

 

 Quite a large wedding party!   

For the parents' blessing, the parents and stepparents stood to hear the wonderful words the couple had chosen to pay tribute to them and thank them for their love and support.

Jessica and Mike chose two readings for their ceremony. The first was a sweet poem by Rumi which I had the honor of presenting. Then Noah, Mike's friend, shared the words of a poem (author unknown) about two trees growing so close together they look like one tree. Very fitting for a wedding and one of my favorites.

The Wine ceremony is a Jewish wedding custom in which each drinks from the "cup of life" symbolizing the taking in entirety the bitterness and the sweetness of life together.

The day was not boiling hot but it was humid and Mike kept that hankie I gave him busy wiping the perspiration from his face!

This is the moment I shared their story which generated lots of laughs, always so much fun and so unexpected at wedding ceremonies.

Krystal Kast, our photographer, got good shots of the exchanging of vows and rings.

Mike stomped that glass to smithereens! A sign of good luck as we all shouted "Mahzel Tov!"

 Time to kiss the bride!

 

 

 

Notice that Mike has a pin on his right lapel. It was his grandfather's pin for being in an honorary society and on this wedding day, it was presented to Mike with great honor and he was so proud to be wearing it. Notice also the little teal colored bird nestled into the flowers of Jessica's bouquet. Another sweet and memorable touch.

Jessica, that is a stunning dress and so perfect for you! Mike and Jessica, congratulations to you both for a fantastic wedding and a great start to your marriage. My best wishes to you both! 

Julie and Richard Had Two Weddings!

Julie and Richard met with me last April to plan their wedding ceremony for November 25, 2011at  Fearrington Country Inn. We worked hard to create a very memorable and meaningful ceremony for them. It was the second marriage for both of them and it was very important that this ceremony be very personal and dear to their hearts. Their story is very special and they felt like they have been handed a miracle in finding each other. Julie was quite happy to expound on the details of their meeting the first time and the subsequent events. Richard, on the other hand, travels a lot and had sent me a very brief summary of his side of the story. I told Julie I needed more material to work with and so she got on his case to call me which he did and as a result I took reams of notes and gathered fantastic material to work with in fashioning that section of the ceremony. We finalized the ceremony script by early October and were all set for their wedding the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Later on in October, Julie called me and said that she and Richard really really wanted to get married on the magical date of 11/11/11 at 11:00 AM because of its significance and emailed me an article on it. The article: 

The number 11 is thought of as a "master" number in numerology because it is a double digit of the same number. When this occurs - the vibrational frequency of the prime number doubles in power.  The very basic & primary understanding of the number One is that of new beginnings & purity. When we see this digit doubled as with the number 11, these attributes double in strength.  The power of the number is further intensified this year because on November 11, 2011 (11.11.11) the number resonates three times.  The year 2011 is significant because the sum of 2011 is 4 (2+0+1+1=4).  In numerology the number 4 represents form, foundation, and structure.  It is spirit manifest into matter, or those things that bring everything "down to earth." 2011 is a turning point year where the divine creative spirit, represented by 11.11.11 sets the foundation for what is to transpire in 2012.

They were thinking of going to the courthouse and getting secretly married on 11/11/11and wanted to check with me to see if that would be okay--would it affect my doing their "public" wedding later. I told them it would not affect it; that their 11/25/11 ceremony would technically be a renewal of vows ceremony and the ceremony on 11/11/11 would be their legal ceremony and real anniversary date. Then I invited them to come to my wedding garden, weather permitting, on 11/11/11 and I would be happy to marry them instead of having a standard quickie civil ceremony at the courthouse. They loved it! So I wrote a much simpler and shorter ceremony for them but used the same vows and ring words from the ceremony we had already created but added some universal spiritual elements such as having them join left hands and right hands together to form the symbol of infinity "blessing their marriage in the eternal ebb and flow of the Universe" which fit in quite nicely with the significance of 11/11/11. I put a lightbulb in a napkin for Richard to break (they are both Jewish). On that chilly crisp fall magical morning, Julie and Richard, two witnesses--my husband Dave and my "roadie" Marty and I gathered in my wedding garden which was beautifully strewn with an abundance of fallen leaves.  Here are the photos of that day: 

 

 

 

I timed it so that I pronounced them married at 11 minutes and 11 seconds after 11:00 AM!

 

 

 And then it was official, Julie and Richard were wife and husband, at last! And so happy!

 Fast forward to 11/25/11 at Fearrington Inn in the Crabapple Garden.

11/25/11 was actually a warmer, nicer day weather-wise than 11/11/11 and Richard had let the cat out of the bag that they were already legally married so it was no longer a secret! 

This is the Garden Room. We had our rehearsal here the day before because it was cold and rainy outside. This room is so cozy and inviting with a crackling fire in the fireplace. We gathered here before the ceremony and it is where the guests congregated for cocktails after the ceremony.

The sand ceremony was set to go. Richard has three children and Julie two and they wanted to include them in the ceremony as well as their parents.

Everything is ready so I am taking a load off my feet before it is time for the guests to be seated. You can see what a beautiful, sunny, glorious day it is.

 

Craig and Ed with Arioso Strings arrived and got set up and went over the cues with Gilda McDaniels, the event manager for Fearrington. You will see Ed and Craig in many weddings on this blog. I love working with them and all the musicians with Arioso Strings.

The groom and his best man and son and I waited to the side of the garden until it was our turn to walk in.

Julie was escorted in by her father, Sandy. She is so beautiful and her dress is perfect for her.

Julie's sister, Nancy, was her Matron of Honor. Richard's Best Man was his good friend, Daryl. David, Richard's son, served as the groomsman and his daughter, Andrea, was his grooms-woman. David's other daughter, Michelle, was a bridesmaid, along with Julie's daughter, Hope. Unfortunately Julie's son, Alex, was not able to be with us on this day.

Julie's parents, Rhoda and Sandy, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year and Richard's parents, Marsha and Irving, their 53rd anniversary this year. Julie and Richard wanted to honor them on their special day so we surprised them with a tribute. (Poor Julie, the sun is right in her eyes when she looks at Richard!)

 

We included the Jewish wedding custom of the cup of wine ceremony where they each drank from the cup as I said: "L'Chaim, may your cup of life runneth over!"

 Pretty girls! 

Telling their wonderful story! 

 

 

They made their vows to each other again and then exchanged their rings which had been passed among their guests to be infused with their blessings for the couple.

Then it was time for the family unity sand ceremony. They included their parents who poured in sand representing Julie and Richard's heritages and serving as a strong foundation upon which Julie and Richard will build their marriage.

Then Julie and Richard separately poured in half of their sand making two more layers.

I called their children to come forth and each pour a layer of different color sand representing them. Hope poured in sand representing her brother, Alex.

Then Julie and Richard blended the rest of their sand together as they poured it into the container.

I placed the glass for Richard to break at his feet and made the pronouncement of marriage (again)!

When he broke the glass we all shouted "Mahzel Tov" which means congratulations and good luck and they kissed!

Awww... such a sweet kiss and such a wonderful couple!

 And away they go! 

Cheryl Kast, our wedding director with Fearrington, is such a delight to work with. I discovered that her lilting English accent is actually a South African accent where she grew up. Thanks, Cheryl, for another beautifully orchestrated wedding!

 The finished vase of pretty layers of symbolic sand. 

Julie and Richard, you are such a delightful couple and it was my pleasure to do two ceremonies for you. Thanks for being who you are and for your love which just radiates between you and all around you!