The Fabulous Wedding of Jocelyn and Abe at The Oaks at Salem!

Jocelyn and Abe are such a good match for each other. They knew each other in high school in Bloomsburg PA but never connected. Abe was two years older than Jocelyn and back THEN she thought he was way too cool for her. Just as well, the timing was not right for either of them. Abe moved to Raleigh after school and started a band. Five years later his band was touring with a stop in Bloomsburg to see old friends. Jocelyn had just returned after completing college and was looking for employment. They just happened to both be at the same place at the same time to run into each other and ended up on the dance floor together. Abe remembers accidentally hitting her in the face while "dazzling" her with his dance moves – but, somehow she ended up liking him anyway! They saw each other again the next day and shared their first kiss; but then lost touch when Abe and his band returned to Raleigh. The following Christmas Abe was back in PA visiting family and called Jocelyn. They reconnected and from that day on they have been together although it was a long distance relationship until she decided to take the big step and move to Raleigh, which she did and has never regretted one minute of it!  

They eventually got engaged and set a wedding date of June 8, 2013 at The Oaks at Salem, a relatively new magnificent wedding venue in Apex built and operated by April Maness. They contracted with me to officiate for them and we co-created an amazing ceremony. They also decided it would be a wise move to take my Marriage Optimization class to be sure their marriage was on a firm foundation.  I really enjoyed getting to know these two and that is how I know for sure they are such a great match for each other! 

Sweet little boat for cruising around the lake. Although the lake looked calm and peaceful the day of the wedding and the sun was shining brightly, the few days prior the heavens opened up and flooded North Carolina. Do you remember? The lake overflowed and the walk around the lake to the big tree was just impossible because the ground was so spongy. Thankfully there is a Plan B so the ceremony was on the lovely patio under the tent with the beautiful lake in the background.

First thing I do when I arrive on site an hour ahead of ceremony start time is situate the sound for the ceremony. Here I plugged my mic into the house sound system and did a sound check. It was perfect. Thank you, April, for having the foresight to install a house sound system in the tent. So easy.

The florist was Tre Bella. Can you tell that I had a professional photographer "shadowing me" for this wedding? Amy Edwards with New Image Studios requested to do this since she is just getting into the wedding photography arena. I was most happy for her to provide these beautiful pictures and gave Marty the day off! What a difference professional skills and equipment makes! Thank you, Amy! 

Next thing was to locate my two witnesses and get them to sign the license. Above I am interrupting a photo shoot by their professional photographer, Nicole Faby, who did a fabulous job on this wedding. This was a shot of Jocelyn on the long white couch. Her bridesmaids wore the prettiest softest blush pink.

Jocelyn's sister, Jordan, and Maid of Honor, signs the license for me. I always try to do this before the wedding lest I forget afterwards and hate to interrupt the photographer. It is not legal until I sign it after the ceremony.

Isn't Elin adorable and she is only 4! She did a great job and I can see many more flower girl roles for her in the future!

What a pretty cake! Mitchell's Catering catered the reception and provided this gorgeous cake. Hi Bill, great job!

 They provided flip flops for everyone for dancing! 

Although Abe said he was not nervous, he does look a little bit nervous in this picture. That would be perfectly natural. He is used to being up in front of people though because he performs in his band New Sweat. Perhaps you have heard them.

So, he wanted to look over his vows again before the ceremony.

Aren't Parker and Jeffrey adorable? They had to be steered in the right direction but they made it down the aisle!

 So, Jocelyn's dad, Wayne escorted her in. He was so happy for her and happy himself. In the background is Nicky, Jocelyn's friend who directed for us. She did a great job.

And so we begin the ceremony. It was a lot of fun and there were tears and laughter in all the right places.

Whoa, what a picture! Fantastic, Amy! 

It's all over. Packing up to go. 

What a great wedding for an amazing couple. Love you two! Abe and Jocelyn, I wish you all the best forever and ever!

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Fun Wedding for Alexa and Chris in my Wedding Garden!

When Nicole, owner of Nicole Faby Photography, and I work together at weddings we don't have time to visit and get to know one another although I admire her work. It was such a pleasant surprise when she emailed me one day this month and asked me if I could officiate the wedding of her sister, Alexa, and her fiance, Chris, fairly soon and if I could suggest a venue for a small private wedding. Of course I told her about my wedding garden and she thought that was perfect. We settled on Sunday morning August 26, 2012. She gifted my services to Alexa and Chris and put me in touch with them. I did not meet them until the wedding day but got to know them as we put together a sweet ceremony for them. The big day arrived and Kate, one of our photographers, was the first to arrive, followed shortly by the guests, the groom and his family and then the bride and her entourage, including Nicole, who was not wielding a camera for the occasion and took the day off!

The sand ceremony was set up out in the garden. There was sand for the bride and the groom and for the baby girl they are expecting in October. Hers is the bright pink sand, of course!

Our little flower girl, Sloan, Nicole's youngest child whose first birthday celebration followed the wedding, is held by her Aunt Devon, the wife of Nicole's brother.

Nicole, Sherry, sister of the groom, and Devon are our bridesmaids and all were dressed in coral and cowboy boots!

Katelyn, Nicole's oldest daughter, is also a flower girl and seems a bit overwhelmed by all the activities!

Cameron, nephew of the groom, is the one to carry the sign which said "Here Comes the Bride" before it all got wiped off with the handling!

Luke is our ring bearer. He is Nicole's son and is pictured here with Lisa, his grandmother, Nicole's mother.

Sloan really preferred to crawl in but as Katelyn tried to explain to her, it does not work in a long dress!

 Here comes our bride escorted in by her father, Mike! 

 We get settled in for the ceremony. 

 Chris is tall as a tree! 

We also included a blessing for the unborn baby during the wedding ceremony.

"With this ring, I thee wed!"

 All her "sisters" congratulate the bride! 

 Alexa's family.....

Chris' family drove up from South Carolina for the wedding. Chris was so glad his grandfather, Clyde, was present. 

Alexa and Chris, may you have all the best always! I will be watching Facebook for the big birth announcement and photos of your little girl in October!

I had a fun time chatting with Clyde, Chris' grandfather. He is a poet and a singer and should be published! I think he had a real good time at this wedding and was glad he made the trip.

Our photographers: Kate with CravenCreativePhoto and Chas with Chas Birdwell Photography. They were great and spent a lot of time after the wedding getting all kinds of great shots!

Gorgeous Wedding for Sarah and Ben at The Hall and Gardens at Landmark!

I did not meet Sarah and Ben in person until their rehearsal the day before their wedding on April 28, 2012, but we met virtually on Skype the October before. They live in Texas, met in Wilmington, Delaware, but are from North Carolina originally. They chose the elegant gardens at The Hall and Gardens at Landmark for their venue. I have not done a wedding here in a couple of years and I was so delighted to see that the landscaping had fully matured and the garden is one of the prettiest gardens in the Triangle. It rivals Duke Gardens as you can see in the many photos below which give you a tour.

The Hall and Gardens at Landmark is located in Johnston County right off the intersection of I-40 and Hwy 42. The address is Garner but the location seems much closer to Clayton. This magnificent fountain is seen on the right as you turn into the property. 

This is the "hall"--an impressive building. The street front office suites are occupied by businesses but the upstairs and rear of this large stately building is the very elegantly appointed reception area and bride and groom dressing rooms. Jennifer with Make-up For Your Day was on hand to make sure the bride and her ladies were coifed and made up to perfection for this beautiful wedding.

This pretty wedding cake was provided by Sweet Memories Bakery. 

The reception hall is in the process of being set up by the caterer, CateringWorks, who also did the floral arrangements and bouquets and boutonnieres.

Back outside we see the north end of the garden flanked by this building which houses a storage room for the audio equipment (there are speakers all over the garden to give us surround-sound) and the well-appointed "necessary" rooms. When the garden was first built, the guests faced this building because the foliage on the south end had not matured enough to block out the view of the street and traffic. But it has now so the guests get to watch the wedding with a beautiful garden with gazebo, stone bridge and ponds full of lily pads in the background.

Before the guests arrived, CateringWorks spread beautiful rows of flower petals on each side of the aisle.

 

 

 

Our photographer, Nicole Faby, gets some shots of the groom and groomsmen. She is good! Bradley Pearce was videoing the wedding. I know everyone got really good images because the weather was on the chilly side with overcast skies--no shadows, no squinting and rich saturated colors. Marty got so many good shots I had a hard time choosing which photos to put in and have ended up with more than I usually have.

 

The groomsmen, Michael and Jon, and I are hanging out with Kathy Moore, director of Landmark, right before the guests are ready to be escorted in. I have not worked with Kathy before although I had met her at wedding networking events. She is a pro and had everything well-planned and under control. The wedding went without a hitch! Thanks, Kathy, and I look forward to working with you again soon!

Ben is hanging out with Taylor, our DJ, with Taylor Pittman of TaylorMadeDJServices. We have worked together before and his experience and fun personality make working with him such a pleasure.

 Kathy brings the grandparents and parents over from the reception hall to the garden to be escorted in.

 Ben's stepmother, Anne, is escorted in by Michael, best man, followed by father of the groom, Kim.

 Ben escorts his mother, Jeanna, in. 

 Jon, groomsman, escorts in Eula, mother of the bride. 

Our bridesmaids, Sarah and Jessica, in beautiful violet dresses wait for the groom, groomsmen and I to enter by another gate.

 

 Proud father of the bride, Cecil, promised to keep Sarah from galloping down the aisle--and he did!

 

 Sarah's dress is simply gorgeous. It fits her perfectly--beautiful, down to earth and fun!

 

I am speaking to their parents here. They were moved by the touching words Sarah and Ben had chosen for me to say to them. The story of how our couple met and fell in love came next and everyone got a good chuckle as well as feeling the sweetness of Sarah and Ben's love for each other.

 

 We had a sudden gust of wind and at one point Sarah's veil covered Ben's head too!

"I give you this ring to wear with love and joy. As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my husband this day and forevermore."

"Sarah and Ben, by the power vested in me, in the presence of these witnesses and in the presence of God, I now pronounce you husband wife!"

 

This gorgeous wedding will be recorded by Michelle McMurray, the Wedding Story Writer who documents the story of the wedding day for the couple. A very unique service and special way to preserve all the memories of a day that sometimes is just a blur! Thanks, Michelle!  

Congratulations, Sarah and Ben! It was a pleasure working with you and getting to know you since we met via Skype last October. I can feel your love for each other and I know you will have a wonderful marriage. I wish you all the best!