Stephanie and Dan's Awesome Rustic Casual Wedding at The Sutherland!

Stephanie's parents contacted me in February of 2010 to book me for Stephanie and Dan's wedding on May 7, 2011 at The Sutherland. I married their daughter, Brittany, in 2009 at the Preston-Woodall House and they wanted to make sure they got me for Stephanie's wedding. I was delighted!

When Marty and I arrived for the big day, this cute little sign greeted us. There was great attention to detail at this lovingly and carefully planned wedding. Their theme was Rustic Casual and their color scheme was pink and orange so I made a new prayer stole to wear to match their colors.

 

The wedding box contains  a bottle of wine and unread handwritten love letters Dan and Stephanie wrote to each other and sealed--to be opened on their first anniversary to remind them of this wonderful day and how much they love each other.

The Cupcake Shoppe provided these tasty looking cupcakes and a small cake for the bride and groom to cut for the customary cake-feeding of each other at the reception.

 

Sweet little nest of Mr. and Mrs. eggs with sprigs of fragrant honeysuckle.

Burlap bags of coffee were favors for the guests to take home with them.

 

 Bride and Groom's colorful table with another nest of Mr. and Mrs. eggs! 

Rocky Top Catering catered the event and the menu is just right for this playful wedding theme.

Inside the house on the dining room table, the beautiful bouquets await the bridesmaids and the bride. The Purple Poppy  in Wake Forest provided all the beautiful florals.

A favorite DJ of mine is Jeff Simpson with Simpsound DJ and Lighting Services. He was also the DJ at Brittany and Will's wedding and Stephanie's mother, Lisa, persisted until she got him booked for this wedding. May is prom time and DJs are in big demand! This was his first wedding at The Sutherland and he was duly impressed with the beauty of the estate. At the rehearsal on Friday before this wedding, The Sutherland was setting up for a prom for Home Schools for the second year in a row. A gorgeous setting for an elegant prom.

Guests milled around on the Bride's Patio before being seated for the ceremony.

Jennifer Jones (and assistant Donna) was our wedding director from The Sutherland. She and Jeff are going over the cues. I don't know what the deal with their hands is!

Stephanie's dress was gorgeous and perfect for her. It was slightly off white which complemented her skin color and so light and fluffy!

 

The flower girls, Savanna and Ava, managed to stay up on the altar with us the entire ceremony. Ava, the younger one, had a good time playing with her hair from time to time and Savannah would remind her to pay attention! Our Matron of Honor is Stephanie's sister, Brittany, and one of the groomsmen is her husband, Will. They are expecting their first child in August. Also expecting is their older sister, Jennifer, (not in the wedding party but sitting in the front row) and she is expecting in August also, as well as another of our bridesmaids. We decided that we will have a group baby blessing ceremony for them all, including Ava and Savannah, later this year! That will be so much fun!

We had a very special parents' blessing for their parents. Mark and Lisa, Stephanie's parents, and Mike and Heidi, Dan's parents have been married 29 years! Congratulations and thank you for providing such wonderful models of marriage for your children!

 

After telling the guests how Stephanie and Dan met and the story of their courtship, it was time to exchange their vows and rings. Then they locked the wedding box with the wine and their love letters.

 

 The crowning moment of the wedding! A good kiss, Dan!

Nicole Faby is our photographer. We have done several weddings together. She is expecting a baby too! I have seen some photos that Nicole has done of babies that rival the famous baby portraits of Anne Geddes!

Stephanie and Dan, I know that your love and dedication to each other will ensure a wonderful marriage! Congratulations! I look forward to seeing you and your family again later on this year at the baby blessing ceremony as we welcome your new nieces and/or nephews!

Lindsey and Andrew's Fabulous Wedding at Highgrove Estate!

Lindsey and Andrew chose Highgrove Estate for their wedding on July 10, 2010. Highgrove is such a wonderful setting for a wedding and they do their own catering. I have been doing weddings here since they opened about 10 years ago and they continue to embellish the venue! The current plans are to make this huge tent into a permanent building with glass on three sides and a brick wall with a fireplace on the back wall with the lovely draped ceiling. Construction will take place during the winter months when there are no outdoor weddings planned. I can't wait to see it!

The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery in Raleigh made this great cupcake wedding cake! These are getting more and more popular and you can choose such a variety of flavors. Fresh Affairs did the beautiful floral arrangements and bouquets.

Lenny Fritts of Touch of Class DJ was our terrific DJ. I love working with Lenny! He always arrives early and is eager to help any other vendor with whatever needs to be done to make the wedding go smoothly. Thanks, Lenny. He was going to have the couple and all their attendants do a "tunnel of love" at the reception where the couple must walk through the overhead joined hands of the attendants to enter the reception. Sounds great. Best man and brother of the groom had a special video "best man speech" all planned too!

Greg Lehr was our photographer. He is from Bloomsburg PA and is a friend of the bride's family. He did this wonderful portrait of Lindsey and Andrew which was displayed on an easel near the guest book.

 Here is Andrew's mother, Linda, being escorted in by her young grandsons. Father of the groom, Shaw, is following behind.

Lindsey's mother, Patti, is escorted in by her two sons, Josh and Jarrett.

It's time for the groomsmen to enter. That is Angela with Highgrove to the left cuing the wedding party in. Highgrove furnishes the bride and groom with a wedding director as part of the wedding package. It is such a pleasure to work with Angela. She really knows what she is doing with many years of experience. (I don't know what that reflection in the photo is!)

Finally our beautiful bride. Her dress is simply stunning! She is such a beautiful young woman and proudly escorted in by her dad, Todd.

Down the steps to the portico overlooking the lake for the ceremony. All the guests are standing to honor Lindsey's entrance.

And the ceremony begins. We had been worried about rain at the rehearsal on Friday but the sun was shining brightly, and right in my eyes! Look at the size of this wedding party! There were 9 attendants on each side.

You can barely see the lake in the background because of the reflection of the foliage. It is such a pretty spot to get married.

Heather, sister-in-law of Andrew, presented the Irish Blessing.

Then Lindsey's friend, Monica, presented "The Meaning" by Kellie Spehn.

Then it was time for the vows that each of them had prepared for each other and read them from my book. Here Lindsey is saying her vows to Andrew. There were a few pretty funny lines in there too about Detroit and Michigan which is where Andrew grew up.

 Andrew is saying his vows to Lindsey. He promised to "help you find your debit card and car keys everyday for the rest of my life" among other promises!

Now for the rings. Lindsey had to use a little force to get Andrew's ring on!

The pronouncement of marriage. Then I told Lindsey she could kiss the groom!

And she did and he did! Everyone cheered!

And they kissed again at the top of the steps!

I know they are really saying "let's get out of this sun and into the air conditioning!" It was quite hot being in the direct sun.

Getting cooled off! Lindsey wrote me the day after the wedding: "We had such an amazing time at the wedding, and have received compliment after compliment of how everyone enjoyed our entire ceremony. They said it was a true representation of who Drew and I are. Thank you so much for all you did to help us prepare for the big day. We couldn't have asked for a better ceremony. Our Wedding Day was definitely one to remember!! " She also told me that they had 20 pizzas delivered at 10:15, one for each table. Lindsey and Drew, you are one fabulous couple! I know you will be so happy together and have many fun adventures. I wish you all the best in the world. Do keep in touch!