Christee and Jim Tie the Knot at Crenshaw Hall!

A year ago Christee and Jim contacted me about doing their wedding on May 4, 2012 at the beautiful Crenshaw Hall in Wake Forest where I have been doing weddings since 2004 and watched the beautiful restoration of this old plantation estate. It is truly lovely and a wonderful spot for a wedding.

For at least 3 years, the roads around this lovely venue have been under construction as part of the Wakefield development involving Falls of Neuse Road and re-routing of Highway 98 but at last it is now quite easy to get to from Capital Blvd/Rt. 1 and soon you will be able to travel up Falls of Neuse directly.

This is the side entrance that opens out onto the wedding terrace from which the bride enters. The decorative trim is beautiful.

This beautiful stage has been built and now the green vines are gracing it with this lush foliage.

The first wedding I did here in 2004, the interior of the house had been stripped down to bare walls. Now it is elegantly appointed and quite comfortable.

In the foyer stood this beautiful cake by Rachel Smith of Tartlette Treats. You can see our groom, Jim, in the background looking this way. I am behind him with his mother, Angela, having her sign the marriage license.  We Cook For You was catering the reception and Julie Liles provided the beautiful flowers.

Jim waited a long time to find the woman of his dreams. Actually Christee found him as the story goes.  They have known each other more than 10 years so it was about time to get married!

John Bennett, owner of Crenshaw Hall, graciously escorts the couple's mothers, Angela and Georgine, into the ceremony.

Then he came and joined me and Jim before we were cued to walk in.

We pass by Christee's dad, Jerry, who will escort the bride in from the steps to the altar.

John tapped on the door with his cane, the signal for Christee and her brother to come down the steps.

Christie Fernandez, the events manager for Crenshaw Hall, directed the wedding party. She was good and I enjoyed working with her a lot! You could tell she knew what she was doing.

Our fabulous photographer, Michelle Gunton, gets a good shot as the bride and her father float down the aisle. Michelle is a really good wedding photographer--one of my favorites.

There were big ole tears rolling down Jerry's face as he answered my question: "Who brings Christee to be married to Jim?"

I have to admit that I felt like a stand up comedian in many parts of this ceremony because Christee and Jim have a wonderful sense of humor and put in lots of quips. The guests really loved laughing a lot too.

 There were wonderful and touching tributes to their parents. 

I am telling their funny story here! 

The temperature was in the mid nineties during the ceremony and not a whiff of a breeze. Although Christee had him put anti-perspirant on his head, we used up at least two hankies mopping his head and face!

 

 

I try to remember to step aside during the kiss so the photographer can get a good shot without my head in it.

Hugs all around! The parents were raving about the ceremony, how much fun and that it fit Christee and Jim perfectly. (Mission accomplished!)

Jim and Christee, you are a very special and lucky couple to have each other. I love how well-matched you are and your wedding planning skills were amazing. A beautiful day for you both. I wish you all the happiness, contentment and fun in the world! 

Time for some Professional Wedding Photos!

Sarah Barnett of Carolina Mediastar Photography sent me a bunch of wonderful photos of a couple of weddings she and Terri Lillich, the head photographer with Carolina Mediastar, had done together this spring with me. So, I picked out a few to show you what real professional photos look like in contrast to the ones you usually see on my blog done with my little Olympus Stylus 7010.

The first wedding was that of Dawn and Bob on April 30, 2010 at Sisters' Garden in Raleigh. Here they are. This was such a wonderful wedding and one of the prettiest.........

Hanging out with the guys before our cue to enter. They were so much fun. Terri was handling this wedding solo so he took all these photos.

Bob is sooooo tall!

Dawn has been married before. She managed to snag Bob who thought he was a confirmed bachelor for life! They are so happy together!

The next wedding was Angela and Corey's wedding on May 14, 2010 at historic Crenshaw Hall. Terri and Sarah were both on duty for this large wedding. 

Hanging out with the guys again before getting our cue to enter. We were ready to go. 

Great shot by Terri.

Love this shot! Love the way they "photoshopped" the wrinkles off my neck!

Angela and Corey Celebrate their Wonderful Wedding At Crenshaw Hall!

Last October, Angela and Corey and I met to discuss their wedding ceremony ideas. Their wedding date was May 14, 2010 at Crenshaw Hall. Go to their website and read the fascinating history of this old plantation. I did a wedding there many years ago, 2004, I believe. I married Ann-Marie and Sean on the front steps which look a lot different today. The old historic mansion has gradually undergone several phases of restoration and renovation. Today it is absolutely a showplace! Before we get to Angela and Corey's wedding, I will take you on a tour.

This is the front of the house which has had many different styles in the past.

This is what it looked like in 2004. The steps were gray concrete and did not wrap around.

What a huge tent for the reception! The vendors were busy getting set up before the wedding ceremony.

Corey and Angela's color scheme was the striking apple red, black and white.

This is the side of the house as viewed from the reception tent. There are beautifully decorated rooms and a very spacious and superbly appointed Ladies Room!

This is the dining room where guests will be able to help themselves to goodies at the cocktail hour after the ceremony before the reception. Also it is a chance to cool off after the ceremony before going back outside again. The temperature was in the high 80s having cooled down a bit from 92 degrees earlier in the afternoon.

This is the view of the other side of the house where the ceremony garden and pavilion are located. The bride will enter from the porch straight ahead. What a grand entrance for her wedding!

This is the view from the porch. See the nice pavilion stage for the wedding. Walking up the aisle are Bruce and Tiana Davis who are the Event Directors for Crenshaw Hall. They are making sure everything is ready for the ceremony.

And now the ceremony begins. First in was Corey's grandmother, then his parents and stepparents, then mother of the bride. Corey, his best man Andrew, and I entered followed by the groomsman, bridesmaid and matron of honor. Above is the flower girl, Angela's daughter, Abby, escorted by our ring bearer, Jeffrey, Corey's nephew--also known as Deuce!

Angela and her father start down the aisle. What a gorgeous lace wedding gown. Angela looked stunning!

Father of the bride, James, transferred Angela's hand into Corey's, and we stepped up onto the platform and the ceremony began with a warm welcome to everyone. I told Abby how important she was to her mother and Corey and he read some very sweet words to her from my book and gave her a pretty ring.

Jennifer, Matron of Honor, and sister of the bride listens intently as I gave the wedding address which contained a bit of humor that Angela and Corey sprinkled in.

  After the vows, ring exchange and family unity sand ceremony, I made the pronouncement of marriage followed by the kiss.

The photographer had them kiss again in the aisle. A friend of Angela's is holding her train because it was snagging on the brick walk but she was trying to get out of the picture too!

Married at last!! They disappeared inside the house for some private time together while the rest of the wedding party and parents and grandmother recessed out. The staff had Mojitos and lemonade ready to quench our thirst. Then the rows of guests were released and they were sent inside the house for refreshments and to cool down. Meanwhile, the bride and groom joined us on the front steps for photos.

Wanted you to see this beautiful wedding gown again!

Everybody's quite happy and ready to celebrate! Angela and Corey, congratulations and best wishes forever!

 Our Vendors who made this wedding possible:

The first thing the couple did was hire Premiere Catering and Gail Stephenson who is the event planner for Premiere Catering. She sent the couple to me. Gail and I have worked so many weddings together and think the same way about weddings. She is so organized and on the ball. She also made their beautiful wedding programs. It was a pleasure to work with Gail again! I also thank Kristin, her intern, for helping out with the wedding.

Gail helped Angela and Corey find Crenshaw Hall and they were so happy with this lovely venue. Thanks also to Bruce and Tiana Davis.

This stunning cake is by Simply Cakes. Angela ordered the stainless steel "W" cake topper. It was amazing that this cake was standing up to the heat of the day in that tent, but it did.


Mitch, the DJ for the reception, was all set up too. He is with Joe Bunn DJ Company.

Our photographer is the famous and talented Terri Lillich with Carolina Mediastar. Worked with Terri a couple of weeks ago. He is so funny and gets wonderful shots. He was assisted by Sarah. They make a good team.

Pamela Hung, OnLoKtion Makeup Artistry, was on hand for make-up for the ladies. 

Florian, a string duo, were on hand to provide the ceremony music.