A Lovely Garden Wedding for Roberta and Christian at the Raulston Arboretum White Garden!

A week ago Jennifer Kidd and I attended Roberta and Christian's wedding at the White Garden of the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh--the first of 5 weddings that weekend for me. The date was October 4, 2013. Jennifer was their photographer and I officiated. Here we are clowning around. We discovered last year that we are both Georgia gals. 

When it was time to begin, the guests took their seats and the bride and groom with his two adorable little girls, Mary and Allison, processed in together.

The girls are ages 6 and 4 and really did not grasp the idea of processing in and would prefer to just go pour the sand right away!

Part of the ceremony was the children's blessing. Roberta said some very sweet words to both of her step-daughters to be and they sat quietly and seemed to be taking her words in.

Then she presented them each with a necklace and put them on them. That got their attention too! That is Christian's father, Bob, grinning at his granddaughters.

Since it was an intimate group of mainly relatives and a few close friends, we decided not to tell their story because everyone knew it, but we did include in the ceremony what they love about each other and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

I did not get a photo of the girls pouring their sand in but they did a great job! Roberta and Bob poured the remaining half of their sand on top of Mary and Allison's sand. 

After the wedding, the newlyweds and their guests headed over to Bloomsbury Bistro for the reception. I know they had fun and ate well. 

Roberta and Christian, I wish you many, many years of happiness!

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Natasha and Shawn's Beautiful Wedding at JC Raulston Arboretum!

Natasha and Shawn's wedding day was Sunday October 7, 2012 at the JC Raulston Arboretum White Garden in Raleigh. Their rehearsal was the Sunday before. The minister they had arranged to officiate for them was a "no show" and unable to be reached. Panic! Their proactive wedding planner, DeVonda Manning with Simply Lavish Weddings & Events, called me the next day to see if I could step in and officiate for this couple. I had a wedding at 2:00 that day at Duke Gardens and this one was at 4:00. It was tight and I would have to forego my policy of arriving on the wedding site one hour prior to ceremony start time, but I agreed to do it. I did not meet the couple or DeVonda or anyone else in the wedding until the wedding day. I wrote a ceremony and emailed it to the couple for them to review and make any changes to and they loved every word. I added some personal touches from what DeVonda had told me about Natasha and Shawn. About mid-week, the weather forecast for Sunday was looking pretty doubtful for an outdoor wedding and DeVonda and I wondered if the wedding should be re-located to the Royal Banquet Hall where the reception was to be. Natasha held out for her dream of an outdoor wedding and as it turned out, the rain miraculously held back. DeVonda was really on the ball and did a wonderful job organizing and "rescuing" this wedding! Thanks for making me part of this wonderful wedding, DeVonda!

The pretty bridesmaids and their parasols (instead of bouquets) are all ready to go. The wedding colors are described as "Sangria and Oasis blue with Hot Pink" which is a lovely combination. 

Marty and I arrived on the scene about 3:15, earlier than expected, and we set up my sound system, checked with the harpist, Carlota Reyes, and flautist, Alma Coefman, who were set up inside the gazebo, and checked on the sand ceremony set-up. The bride's limo arrived a bit late so the wedding ended up not being rushed at all. 

The guys are all lined up. First in was Mother of the Groom, Diane, followed by Father of the Groom, David.

Then it was time for the Mother of the Bride, Mary, to be escorted in by a groomsman.

 We are next! 

We had two little boys, Chase and Cody, next. Chase held the rings and Cody was the bell toller! DeVonda helped get them down the aisle.

 Now for Little Miss Iyanna, our flower girl. 

Here comes the bride--with her father, Ernest--as DeVonda straightens the train.  We had a full house and still no rain! Just amazing! Our photographer, Robert Christopher Watson was there taking photos for David's Bridal.  

Shawn and Natasha have known each other practically all their lives. In fact, Natasha's mother was one of Shawn's elementary school teachers. He always had his eye on Natasha but things just did not work out back then. However, he did not give up and years later they finally connected and his dreams came true! A sweet story for both!

After the vows and rings, they stepped up to pour their sand together symbolizing their unity.

Look at that smile on Natasha's pretty face! Shawn is ready to head over to the reception to celebrate!

 

Natasha and Shawn, I am honored to have officiated your wedding. Do you know that one of your guests, a minister himself, came up to me after the wedding and told me that was the most beautiful wedding ceremony he had ever heard? He asked me if there was any way he could get the script so I simply took the ceremony pages out of my book and gave them to him. He handed them to his wife who tucked them in her purse! So happy he loved it so much and so honored that he wanted the words. Hope he uses it in his own wedding ceremonies! I wish you two all the very best! 

Ellen and Gerardo Renew their Vows at Raulston Arboretum!

Ellen and Gerardo were married in a civil ceremony last December with no fanfare. But, they also wanted to make their vows to each other in the presence of their families. So, they arranged a "wedding" for Sunday June 6, 2010 in Raleigh which was technically a renewal of vows.  During this year of 2010, they plan to share their joy with their families who are scattered across the Americas by going to where they are. Gerardo is from Venezuela and Ellen is from Boston.They like to say they met in the middle between Boston and Caracas. They scouted out shady places in the lovely J.C. Raulston Arboretum and located a wonderful spot under a canopy of two huge oak trees, one a Japanese Blue Oak with larger leaves and the other an Urbane Oak with smaller leaves. The ground was a thick carpet of oak leaves. A cathedral in the trees.

Ellen's sister, Anne, was her Matron of Honor, and Gerardo's eldest son, Luis, was his best man.

Their families gathered around us for this special occasion.Ellen and Gerardo had written special words thanking each one of them for being there.

Anne presented a reading with some humor.

Luis, on the right, with his wife, Megan, in the middle, were joined by Emma, from Ellen's side of the family, to sing a song for the couple.

They wrote their own vows to each other and read them from my book.

The rings..........

The kiss...........

The happy couple........

Ellen's older brother, Kevin, surprised us with two songs, one in memory of their father taught to him by his father, and the other for the couple. They are an Irish family and he sang with the Irish accent. He was really good! We all enjoyed this treat.

Out in the sun, everyone gathered for a group photo which I took with Gerardo's camera. This one Marty took with mine. They were off to Chef Mario's for a private luncheon with Ellen and Gerardo, then to their home for more visiting. It was a wonderful day they planned. 

Ellen and Gerardo, I am so happy for you that you found each other! You were meant to be together. May all your dreams come true, and if they don't may new dreams arise............