Shannon and Ryan's Dream Wedding at the Cotton Room!

Shannon and Ryan were simply aglow with love that filled the whole room during their wedding ceremony! It was so sweet to be in the presence of their love for each other and their thankfulness for having each other in their lives. Shannon first contacted me via the contact form on my website giving me her wedding date of October 13, 2012 at the Cotton Room. She wrote: "I would love to hear more about your services and pricing.  We would like for our wedding ceremony to be personalized, special and unforgettable :)" Everything she wanted is actually my specialty so we set up a date to meet on February 4th and see if we were a good fit. Of course we were and they booked me on the spot. I emailed my exclusive collection of diverse ceremony material to them and they started putting together what they wanted me to say to them and their guests at their wedding. They also individually answered some questions for me about how they met, fell in love, etc. so that I could write their story for the ceremony. It did not take us long to come up with a beautiful ceremony, including their story, why they love and wanted to marry each other, and very special vows that they kept secret from each other so they could hear them for the first time on their wedding day. 

When Marty and I arrived at the Cotton Room having just come from doing a wedding at the Carolina Inn, the area for the ceremony was ready.

Tia Jones-Nusbaum, their wedding planner/director with Erin McLean Events had placed their beautiful programs on the chairs of the family members being escorted in. I am so grateful to Tia for getting the rehearsal organized and started the day before while I was stuck in traffic trying to get there. When I arrived, it was time to go over the ceremony logistics so the timing could not have been better!

Their wedding programs were beautiful! Ryan's father is a graphic designer and had made them and color coordinated them with the navy theme.

I brought my own sound system for this wedding as the DJ was only doing the reception. You can see me in the distance where I am hiding it behind the billowing curtains.  

Behind the curtains are most of the tables for the reception pushed together to later be spread out into the ceremony area. Tre Bella was the florist for both this wedding and the one I had just come from. 

How perfect to have a cotton boll as part of the decoration since the venue was originally part of the Golden Belt Cotton Company, now renovated into many different spaces. 

 Love these table coverings with all the fluffy petals!  

Arioso Strings provided a guitar duo for the ceremony music. You may recognize Ed, left, with whom I have done so many weddings I can't count them all--but they are on this blog! His fellow guitarist is Chris whom I met for the first time that day. They did a great job with the music--of course! One can always count on Arioso Strings for their professionalism, reliability and superb musicians. 

Nancy Ray and her husband Will with Nancy Ray Photography were capturing the day in photographs and arranged this "blind" meeting of the bride and groom to exchange their gifts to each other. Wish Ryan's head was not blocked by the post but I know he was beaming---is that a pun or what! Lindsey and Daniel with Heart Stone Films were videoing the wedding as well and I can't wait to see that video!

 Tia got us all lined up to enter for the ceremony. 

Ryan's parents, Patricia and Jim, go first followed by Shannon's mother, Susan, and her stepfather, Jason.

Then the 8 groomsmen plus Ryan and I entered, then the 8 bridesmaids. We filled up the entire span of space at the front. Love those pretty windows behind us.

 Shannon was escorted in by her dad, Jeff, as all the guests stood in her honor.

 Here we go! Wish you could see the grin on Ryan's face!  

After the words of welcome, the prayer, and tribute to the parents, I launched into their "story!"

Shannon and Ryan met in May of 2009 at the party of mutual friends to watch a hockey game in the 2009 NHL Playoffs. They were just friends for a while, chatting on the phone, instant messaging and texting, until Shannon went down to Myrtle beach the following July to hang out with Ryan and get to know each other. Their attraction began to grow but the relationship remained a long distance one for about a year until Ryan moved to Raleigh. It did not take long before they became inseparable and eventually decided to marry.

They are both best friends to each other and love making each other happy and laugh a lot. Neither can imagine their lives without each other. They are looking forward to being together for the rest of their lives, creating irreplaceable memories, taking care of their fur babies, and starting their own family some day. 

They read their secret vows to each other from my book, evoking some tears along the way.

  Then they exchanged rings.

I made the pronouncement of marriage and they shared their first kiss as husband and wife!

  Let's go celebrate!!

The guests were invited to another area of the space to enjoy cocktails while the wedding party took photos. 

Here we are behind the scenes with the bridesmaids bustling the bride's train up out of the way so she could dance to her heart's content with her new husband! 

Ryan and Shannon, what a fabulous wedding! You two are such a wonderful couple and I know your marriage is going to be filled with bliss. I loved working with you to create your dream wedding that was "personalized, special and unforgettable :)" 

Danielle and David's Fabulous Wedding at The Carolina Club!

Last May I met Danielle and David while they were in town. They live in DC but were planning their wedding on August 4, 2012 at the Carolina Club in Chapel Hill, since David went to UNC. I was taken with this delightful couple right away and we seemed to have the same ideas about the ceremony. They were excited about writing it themselves with my guidance and loved the sample ceremony I read to them to give them an idea of how unique and personal their wedding ceremony could be. So we got started on their ceremony right away.

When Marty and I arrived for the wedding, the reception room was all set up and looked gorgeous.  

Turns out that their florist, Bea Miller with Floral Dimensions, is a very good friend of David's mother, Vera. She did a beautiful job and it was good to work with her again.

They had a candy bar and a table for the guests to write notes to them and put in their guest book.

This gorgeous wedding cake was baked by the chef at the Carolina Club and matches their multi-colored theme.

Separated from the reception area by expandable walls (later folded up so the reception could expand into this area) was the area for the ceremony. 

Florian Music, a popular string ensemble, headed by Sherry Lattin on the left, provided the beautiful music for the ceremony.

Meanwhile our beautiful bride was hidden away in the conference room down the hall with her beautiful ladies enjoying a champagne toast and having pictures taken by Garry and Emily with Big Star Studios.

The staff of the Carolina Club,Tristen, center, our sound guy and Liz, right, Private Events Coordinator, coordinated and directed the festivities.  Thanks for all your guidance and help!

We delayed the start of the ceremony a few minutes as an unannounced last minute activity in the stadium next door to the Carolina Club made parking a challenge for our guests.  So, rather than starting and having the guests trickle in during the ceremony, we decided to delay about 10 minutes.

The guys are hanging out in the hall as the guests are being seated. David assembled his good friends of many years to stand up with him. His father, John-Henry, was telling me how they had all met and stuck together although their careers took them in many different directions. That is David's brother on the left manning his two cell phone cameras.

After the seating of the parents, David and I entered from the side followed by the handsome groomsmen. Then the bridesmaids walked down the aisle and took their places up front.

"Please stand in honor of our beautiful bride" Danielle's father, Terry, proudly escorted her in as Steve Stowe, our DJ for the reception, watches from the hall! Steve was so helpful getting my microphone plugged into the house system before the ceremony. The sound was absolutely perfect! Danielle's parents are both full Lumbee Indian and of course, so is Danielle.

I learned on Facebook a day after the wedding that Terry had instigated a special father-daughter dance for the reception for which he and Danielle practiced for a week so I copied that photo for the blog! Sorry I missed that!

 

Heart Stone Films videoed the wedding and I can't wait to see the video, especially the Father-Daughter  dance! 

Danielle and David included a sweet tribute to their parents and a reading by Danielle's cousin, Chasity. Then I shared their story with their guests. It included a lot of laughs. They met two years ago and no one was surprised that they met in a gym because they are both dedicated to being fit and healthy. They love working out together and participate in runs. In addition, they are both career-oriented and like to work hard. Danielle moved to DC when David's work took him there. She is following her dream and is in law school and he is a real estate developer. They are very well matched and so happy to finally officially be a family.   

After exchanging their vows and rings, I invited their mothers to come forward and pour wine into two separate wine glasses that represented the bride and the groom. Then the couple poured half of their individual wine into a larger wine glass indicating their coming together in marriage. They did not pour all the wine together symbolic of continuing to be individuals and still connected to their respective families. During the Wine Unity Ceremony, the string trio softly played Ave Maria.

Then it was time for the big pronouncement of marriage, the moment they officially become husband and wife.

 Sealed with a kiss....

 

Danielle and David, it was my pleasure and my honor to join you together in marriage. It was fun working with both of you to create your special ceremony. I know you both will go far in your careers and together in marriage. I wish you all the best life has to offer!