Festive Carolina Inn Destination Wedding for Marcy and Andrew!

I met Marcy and Andrew for the first time in person at their rehearsal the day before their wedding date of December 29, 2012. Marcy lives in Arlington VA and at the moment, Andrew lives in London. He was born and raised in the United Kingdom and his family moved to the United States when he was a young teenager. Marcy grew up in Ohio. Ironically they both attended the same university in Virginia but not at the same time. They met through a mutual friend and quickly discovered that they were meant to be together. Andrew proposed last Christmas and they began planning this wedding. His family lives in Illinois and hers in Ohio, so why did they choose Chapel Hill for their wedding city? Well, Marcy did some graduate work at UNC some years ago and loved North Carolina but primarily this area was chosen because of our international airport since they had people coming for their wedding from all over the world. They could not have made a better choice!

They found me on the internet and based on my many wedding website reviews and a recommendation from the Carolina Inn, they engaged my services sight unseen. Email and US mail worked just fine! They hired Rebecca Dunn with Events by La Fete to handle the details, Jeff Simpson with Simpsound DJ and Lighting to do the spectacular lighting and DJ the reception, Matt Kanon to provide music for the ceremony, GiGi's Cupcakes, Fresh Affairs Floral Designs and Nathan Clendenin, photographer with Cana Collective. And so the date arrived and we all came together for this super-fantastic wedding.

The Carolina Inn was still in Christmas mode including a whimsical Christmas tree in the lobby. It was a tree full of little elves! 

 This must be the supervising Elf on the column nearby. 

The ceremony was in the Chancellor's Ballroom and the reception in the Hill Ballroom. This matt ready for a future photo of the couple was their guest book for guests to sign as they entered for the ceremony.

Outside the reception room was a seating chart for the guests. Each table was named for a mass transit station found in either London or Washington DC.

In the Hill Ballroom was the tower of cupcakes by GiGi's with a description of the 12 flavors!

 The Bride and Groom were to be seated at Heathrow 1, 2, 3 for the Tube stops!

 London Bridge table!

This photo was taken after Jeff got all the up-lighting in place. It was gorgeous!

Jeff and I look rather blue! 

Outside the Hill Ballroom were a couple of "Turtle Doves" which I am sure were part of the Carolina Inn's Christmas decor. It was quite appropriate for a wedding though and the doves were cooing at each other while we were there! 

Back to the ceremony ballroom--Matt Kanon is all set up for the ceremony and my sound system is in place behind him. Love the bright happy color scheme in this ballroom!

Marcy and her father, David, entered after their large wedding party had made our entrances. She was wearing a very gorgeous lace wedding gown.

Their wedding party and guests assembled here from all over the world! 

The couple honored their parents with a sweet blessing and the mothers were moved to tears.

Marcy's friend, Cynthia, read "I Love You" by Roy Croft.

Andrew's Uncle Barry read "I carry your heart with me," a poem by ee cummings.

Marcy and Andrew made their declarations of intent then I stepped out to speak to the guests and request a community blessing.

They said their vows of marriage to each other then exchanged rings and it was time for the Unity Candle lighting.

While they were lighting the candle, Andrew's sister, Jenny, sang a beautiful song "Asleep at Last." She has such a lovely voice.

Jenny was having a difficult time making it through the song and kept tearing up and sniffling!

Finally she just gave up on finishing the song, threw up her hands and gave the bride and groom a big hug as we all laughed at her antics and applauded her. 

 The pronouncement of marriage...... 

What a wonderful wedding, Marcy and Andrew! I loved working with you to make your ceremony what you had always dreamed of. I know you both will go far in life and create a satisfying and loving marriage. I wish you all the best of everything!

Raleigh Bridal Fair Sponsored by Your Special Day at The Stockroom!

On Sunday January 23rd, the Raleigh Bridal Fair was held at a new venue in downtown Raleigh called The Stockroom. Shawn Schindler of Your Special Day invited me to come and I was so glad to finally see The Stockroom for myself. It is a wonderful space for ceremonies and receptions in a restored historic building at 230 Fayetteville Street. It has that popular urban industrial feel to it and is a nice open space that can be fashioned into many configurations. It was fun to visit with other vendors I knew and meet new ones.  I invited my friend Diane McDaniels to come with me. Diane is the Event Coordinator for Unity at Long View Center, an elegant church setting wedding venue in downtown Raleigh that has recently reopened. They are hosting an open house for wedding vendors on February 17th. 

After greeting Sarah Morris, the events coordinator for both The Stockroom and All Saint's Chapel, at the door, the first vendor was Priscilla of Boston displaying their gorgeous wedding gowns. Here are two of my favorites: 

This beautiful wedding gown is so soft and flowing and looks a bit retro with the gathered skirt and sash which can be many different colors, depending on what the bride wants.

This dress is covered with beading and is most elegant. Although it looks like it might be heavy, I was told that it was not. It is so pretty. 

Randy Pulley was the DJ for the event. Randy and I worked together at Highgrove this past summer.  I like him a lot and he was most helpful plugging my microphone into his system for the wedding. Good to see you again, Randy! 

Simpsound was also there although this is not Jeff Simpson, the owner. Simpsound is a DJ and Lighting service for weddings and other events. Believe me, he is great in both areas!  I have done many weddings and admire Jeff's abilities in both music and spectacular lighting. I remember one (it is on this blog) where the bride and groom's theme was 1001 Arabian Nights. With uplighting behind the sheer drapes, it really did look like the interior of a large tent.

This is a display for Alter Ego, a salon for hair and make-up. Dana Hunter, owner /stylist was there along with Belle Trachtenberg, make-up artist, and Alecks Blades, stylist and make-up artist.

Quintessentials was displaying their beautiful table setting. They have a retail store in North Hills that I love to peruse. 

 

Shawn Schindler, a wedding planner who owns Your Special Day, was our hostess. I have worked several weddings through the years with Shawn and she is really good at what she does. She had a wonderful display of her company complete with the video display which it seemed everyone at the show had. That is the state of the art these days.

I also met Shawn's daughter who has joined her mother and was on hand to learn the business.

This beautiful arrangement was by Greg Warren Flowers. It was spectacular! I don't believe I have met Greg before. He was fun to talk to and told me that I was "famous" and known by everyone in the wedding business in our area! What a compliment. Thanks, Greg!

Diane from Long View Center is speaking with Danny who is with Barbour & Hinton who provide music for wedding ceremonies and receptions. 

Ladyfingers Caterers were providing all the guests with delicious food! I had a heart of romaine inner leaf with a dollop of bleu cheese sprinkled with candied pecans. It was soooo good! Tudi Marin is their event coordinator. They are located on Whitaker Mill Road in Raleigh and cater for all occasions.

Amy Ruchte, the owner of Emory Lane Photography, actually organized this bridal show. I met her for the first time there. She had some great photos. The one in the upper right was from a wedding that was shot in Switzerland.

Ashley Cakes provided cupcakes for everyone. You can see that people were picking them off the tiered display and enjoying them.

Ashley does such beautiful cakes. Here are three she had on display. I am sorry that I did not think to get her to get into the picture!

Lindsay and Lisa from The Paper Company showed us their invitations and other paper treats. They are in Holly Springs and have quite a wonderful design talent for brides to have their own unique invitations, save the date cards, place tags, and wedding programs.

Yours truly posing in front of Greg Warren's pretty floral display. You can see The Stockroom from the other end of the room here looking toward the entrance.

 

Our final stop as we circled around the room was Red Light Chocolates. That was a popular booth as everyone loves chocolate!  Red Light Chocolates is a family owned business specializing in handmade artisan chocolates. They use only fresh, natural ingredients and no preservatives. They can provide their goodies for wedding favors, bridal party gifts, wine and chocolate parties, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and engagement parties.