Shelly and Jeff Get Married at the Cardinal Club!

August 31, 2013 was the lovely wedding day of Shelly and Jeff at the Cardinal Club in the Wells Fargo building that used to be Wachovia. They held the ceremony on the 28th floor in the area in front of floor to ceiling windows overlooking downtown Raleigh at the foot of the beautiful spiral staircase that leads up to the mezzanine level. Quite elegant and unique. When Dave and I arrived we greeted Jeff who was ready to get the show on the road and met his son Matthew and set up my sound system. Yikes, my battery was running low and the back up battery also proved to be low. Thankfully I carry back ups for my back up! So we were fine and now I have a new pack of batteries ready for the next wedding!

Then it was upstairs to find the lovely cake by Cinda's Creative Cakes. Gorgeous as usual!

The English Garden provided the very colorful floral arrangements. Purple was the predominant color scheme.

When it was time to start, my dear friend and colleague, Ross Merle our DJ, directed the processional. Ross is like that, ready to jump in and do whatever is needed. We did not have a rehearsal and I knew I could count on him to help with the ceremony. He is a wonderful DJ too--his main job at weddings--but I can always count on him to do whatever needs doing! His lovely wife, Alice, played the piano for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Sorry Dave did not get a picture of her. Dave is not as "well trained" as my usual assistant, Marty, who was on vacation!! But I am so grateful he would come with me and take pictures for this blog. Matthew and I entered first followed by Jeff who escorted in his mother, Marcella. Waiting in the wings is Shelly's mother, Barbara, escorted in by her son, Chip.

We are waiting for the bridesmaids and the bride here. There was a long pause and I never did find out why.

Ross is giving some kind of instruction here to Caitlin, Jeff's daughter, and Kim, Shelly's friend and Maid of Honor.

They each entered and it was time for the bride and her dad, Bill. 

Shelly is just beaming! 

We began with a warm welcome to everyone, paid tribute to their parents, remembered those who were with us in spirit, and then recognized Jeff's children, Matthew and Caitlin, who stood up with their father. Shelly and Jeff's kids made sweet vows to each other and I think a few tears slipped out at that point.  

Shelly and Jeff discovered each other on line 4 years ago when for her birthday Shelly thought she would try something new to mark the milestone. She joined eHarmony. Shelly, being a woman of confidence and unwillingness to settle for less than she wanted, specifically stated that the man of her dreams would have to learn to love her dogs. Jeff, having been on the site for a while and had not found the woman of his dreams, spotted Shelly's profile among his "matches" and thought that since she was pretty, sounded intelligent and sincere he would check her out--dogs or no dogs! Jeff was Shelly's third date through the matching service and the only one to make it to a second date which was very memorable--rollerblading at Lake Pine in Apex followed by dinner at Jeff's house. It is a funny story and a bit long to tell here (the room was filled with laughter as I told it during the ceremony!) but I will just say that Shelly was new to rollerblading and had not mastered the ability to stop. Despite making a plan just in case she needed to stop, somehow Shelly got ahead of Jeff and he watched in helpless terror as she crashed at Dead Man's Curve and thankfully only ended up with a few bruises and a black eye giving him the opportunity to display his home nursing skills as well as his cooking skills. Needless to say, they bonded and have been together ever since, traveling the world together, buying a house together, and Jeff admitted that he really has come to love Shelly's two dogs, Simon and Sally.

They made their promises to each other by reading them from my book. 

Then they exchanged their rings. 

At last, the pronouncement of marriage! 

Jeff really laid that kiss on Shelly! 

Enjoying the first moments of wedding bliss and taking in the cheers of their friends and family! 

Ahhh.....I can see the happiness on their faces and the relaxation pour over them now that the deed is done and it was time to party!

Shelly and Jeff, you are both resilient and resourceful and I know you are going to enjoy wedded bliss and easily overcome any obstacles that life throws your way. As I said at the ceremony "We pray your love increases and overflows beyond anything you can yet imagine!"

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Courtney and Nik's Wedding at The Matthews House!

Courtney and Nik met and fell in love on line in a live chat room back in April of 2008. They started talking right away and Nik told me that her smile and giggles just threw him for a loop. I said, how could you know about her smile and giggles in a chat room? He whispered--webcam! Ohhh. Nik was in Kentucky at the time and Courtney in North Carolina. This communication continued continuously until the day Nik left for basic training and they lost touch. They reconnected again on line and decided to give it a try as a couple although they had never met in person. They did not meet face to face until July of 2009 and they both knew they were right for each other. He of course had to return to his military service and went to Iraq but they never lost touch again and eventually Nik asked her parents for her hand in marriage in April of 2010. Courtney and her parents came to see me on October 18, 2010 to officiate the wedding and of course I was tickled to be able to be a part of this wonderful dream come true. 

When Marty and I arrived at the stately Matthews House on the wedding day of March 12, 2011, Ross Merle of Just Music DJ was all set up and his wife, Alice, was at her keyboard. What a great deal you get with these two wonderful people and wedding vendors. Alice provides beautiful music for the ceremony then Ross rocks the reception.

 

Ross is also a ham in front of the camera! I love working with Ross. I know that when he is involved in one of the weddings that he will make sure that every vendor has whatever they need and that the couple is taken care of royally. If something needs to be done, he will handle it. With Ross, there is nothing that is not part of his personal job description!! Marty and I look forward to every wedding where Ross is the DJ. 

The cake was ready too. Simply Cakes was the baker. The Matthews House provides their own in house catering which is so convenient for couples.

It is time to begin, guys, so follow me! Nik had 7 groomsmen. He was so excited for this day to finally be here. 

Here come the bridesmaids, all 6 of them, in their pretty watermelon color dresses. 

Kinzie was the sweetest flower girl and she was a pro. She walked down the aisle slowly, smiling and tossed the petals then stood quietly in front of the bridesmaids until she tired of that then sat on the front row with Courtney's grandmother, Barbara.

Don proudly escorted his beautiful daughter in for this very special day. Don was involved with all the wedding planning and made sure everything got handled. Thanks, Don. Courtney's mother, Evelyn, was also a prime player in organizing and making this wedding day the best that could possibly be for their daughter. 

And they stepped into the ballroom where all the guests were standing in honor of the bride. Courtney's dress was so beautiful.

It's a done deal now! The new Mr. and Mrs. step into their new lives together! Susie McPherson of The Matthews House was our wedding coordinator. She was the first to greet the newlyweds!

 

You might wonder what they are all looking at! Those are all the guests, squeezed together like sardines, looking up at Michael, our photographer, who is on the balcony over the front door taking the group shot of everyone. I know it will turn out great! Michael and Marcy of Michael's Memories were our wedding photographers.  I always enjoy working with them!

Courtney and Nik, congratulations on your marriage, your wedding and your love!