Friday, May 25, 2012

Ashleigh and Scott Get Married in a Beautiful Wedding Ceremony at Highgrove!

Ashleigh and Scott are so perfectly matched! A line in the ceremony: "Who would have guessed that two people with Canadian backgrounds, one a bartender and the other a barfly, would find each other in Wake Forest NC and decide to spend their lives together? Well the love story we all celebrate today did indeed begin just this way! Back in September of 2008, Ashleigh was bar-tending at the Carolina Ale House in Wake Forest and got to know one of the regulars who distinguished himself by leaving gracious and generous tips." Ashleigh really liked that Scott was taller than she was so she decided to "give it a shot" when he asked her out! As you can see in the wedding photos here, they are both really tall and once again, I was dwarfed!
When Marty and I arrived for the wedding on 5/18/2012 at Highgrove Estate, Elizabeth Myers with Sweet Life Studios was busy taking shots of the bride with her parents out front.
Ashleigh's bridesmaids in beautiful purple were ready for their photographs. Dee and Kristin with Makeup for Your Day did their hair and makeup. The girls were beautiful and picture-perfect!
Meanwhile, in the back of the house, Frank Myers was getting shots of the groom and his groomsmen.
Frank, you got the memo about purple! Once again, it was great working this wedding with you and Elizabeth! You are both such talented photographers. 
The couple had wishing stones on which the guests wrote their wishes for the couple and signed. These will be displayed in their home as a reminder of all those who were at their wedding.
The Garden Ballroom was all decked out with pretty centerpieces by Fresh Affairs and up-lighting by Island Sound.
 
 Beautiful cake by Lori with Simply Cakes
 
 The gorgeous "Newlywed Table!" 
 Scott and Ashleigh had lots of photographs scattered around. Such a nice touch.
Jason, with Island Sound DJ and Videography, was our great DJ and provided both the ceremony and reception music. I know he kept that dance floor filled all night for this fun crowd! Thanks for plugging my microphone into your system for the ceremony, Jason.
 For all the wedding envelopes.......
 Table seating chart with photo--great idea! 
And so we begin......Ashleigh's pretty mother, Connie, was escorted by her nephew following the seating of the grandparents.
 My turn...I love that I found purple shoes that match my purple dress for weddings!
Scott has the honor of escorting in his beautiful mother, Jan.
 Then the rest of the bridal party comes in as couples. 
Patrick, father of the bride, was so thrilled to walk Ashleigh down the aisle. I enjoyed chatting with him after the wedding. Anne Eberle with Highgrove directed the wedding and makes sure the bride's train is flowing. Anne and I work together very often and I appreciate being a preferred vendor there. I will see her again this next weekend making three weekends in a row at Highgrove! Such a pleasure doing weddings there. It is the perfect setting for a wedding and the staff really knows how to run weddings without any glitches. Highgrove also does the catering and the food is delicious!
Such a pretty backdrop for wedding photos with Lake Laurel in the background. With all the rain we have had, the foliage is a lush green. At this point in the ceremony we have welcomed everyone, honored the parents and then I told their story and added what they loved about each other and what they are looking forward to in marriage. There was a lot of humor because Ashleigh and Scott are such fun people, gave me lots of great material to work with, and I truly enjoyed every minute co-creating their very special, unique, and romantic ceremony with them.
"Scott, take this ring and with it my promise of faith and patience, friendship and love for the rest of my life."
 Making sure that ring is securely on Scott's finger!!
"Scott and Ashleigh, in the serenity of nature surrounding us, in the spirit of joyful commitment, you have declared your love and devotion to each other. I now pronounce you husband and wife!"
Ahhhh....the kiss! (Scott is being careful not to dislodge the veil, just as I warned him about at the rehearsal!)
They are married! 
 
Ashleigh and Scott, it was such a pleasure and an honor to work with you to create your dream wedding ceremony and officially hitch you two together in marriage. You are such a great couple and I know you are going to be so happy as husband and wife! I wish you all the best in life!