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!

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Wedding Bells Ring for Amanda and TJ at Brier Creek!

Amanda and TJ are both quiet private people but they still wanted their wedding ceremony to reflect their love and respect for each other. They met in college over 6 years ago and have worked hard and supported each other in achieving their dream careers. Amanda always knew she wanted to be a veterinarian and TJ thought he wanted to be an architect. In the intervening years, TJ changed directions and now works as an actuary because he is really smart with numbers whereas Amanda loves animals and is so grateful to TJ for taking her and all her pets (including the bird) into their relationship as a package deal!

The wedding day of May 27, 2012, Memorial Day weekend, arrived and the weather was so perfect for their garden wedding! The Ballroom at Brier Creek Country Club was all set up and ready for the guests. Shelly Keeter was on hand to make sure all the details were taken care of.

 Their pretty colors were purple and orange with some pink--stunning. 

Cydney and her staff of The English Garden did the gorgeous florals and the sprays of bright flowers at the pergola as well as the bouquets and boutonnieres.

 Ashley Cakes provided this wonderful wedding cake!

Mary Greiner with Save The Date Music provided the string quartet and they played so beautifully. I have done weddings with all the musicians here except the person on the left who has recently joined the ranks.

We are ready to begin and TJ and the groomsmen are standing with me ready to walk in. (This was the last photo taken with my Nikon camera. At this point the battery was exhausted although I had just charged it the night before. I did not have a spare battery with me and so my iPhone 4 was pressed into service for the rest of the photos and for the next wedding right after this one because I did not have time to go home and get the other camera battery!)

Our three pretty bridesmaids dressed in purple are ready too. Images by Denise had done the hair and make-up for the bride and bridesmaids. 

Amanda and her father, Marcel, begin the long walk to the altar. Mimi, Amanda's friend, served as our wedding director and she has just straightened Amanda's train here. 

The light was so golden! 

The ceremony began with a warm welcome, then an opening prayer. We remembered those who had passed on but were with us in spirit.

I asked the parents for their blessings for the couple. Then it was time for the story of how they met and fell in love, what they love about each other and why they wanted to marry. Before the exchange of vows we had the blessing of the hands ceremony.

Nick Pironio with Krystal Kast Photography was busy getting some great photos of the wedding.

 

They exchanged vows and rings before the closing blessing and the pronouncement below. (Can't do zoom shots with the iPhone!)

The kiss sealed the vows. I made them kiss twice so we could get a good shot of that important moment!

It is done! They are married! Amanda and TJ, congratulations on your beautiful wedding and your marriage. You know better than anyone how well matched you are and I know you are so happy. I wish  you all the best!

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!