Last August I met Sarah and John. They contacted me because I am a preferred officiant at their venue,
The Oaks at Salem. Also turns out that John works at a state agency that I worked at for 15 years before retiring in 2008 and doing weddings full-time. Their DJ, Bill Smith, also works at the agency. So, really the whole team felt like family and John and Sarah and I had fun putting together their wonderful romantic ceremony. The wedding day was June 21, 2014--hot but not raining. Thankfully they both agreed that their ceremony should take place under the tent with the cooling fans, out of the heat, especially for their grandmothers, parents and guests, and ME! Thank you, Sarah and John!
Sarah is a Pinterest gal (and so am I)! So it was fun to see what they had created for their wedding. One thing is this sweet little table made of wood logs. I don't know if they personally made it or found it somewhere. It is perfect to hold flowers and other favors.
They had many framed sayings that they loved scattered about and the window pane table assignments. The bird cage is a sweet touch and birds occur throughout their theme.
The wedding colors were aqua and dusty pink. So pretty together. Their florist was Julie at
The Blossom Shop who carried through an eclectic assortment of containers, flowers and candles for centerpieces.
Inside the folks from
Edible Art were putting out the cupcakes on an original design for a cupcake stand with wooden rounds cleverly attached. You can see them more clearly in the photo below.
A sweet dish and more sayings.......
Pretty cake stand and wedding cake cutter and server!
The finished table.......
Remember the bird theme? Sweet cake for the bride and groom by
Edible Art as well.
Guests were asked to sign the frame........
Bridesmaids and MaryAnn, Mother of the Bride, ready to line up to process in. The bride is hidden away although Sarah and John did do a First Look earlier in the day.
Bill Smith, our trusty DJ with
The Magic of Music. I had the honor of officiating at his wedding to his lovely wife Sandra in 2008 before I started this blog. It is always a pleasure to work with Bill. In fact, we will be working together again in September at the wedding of another DJ pal, Brian McGuire!
Joslin is the event manager for
The Oaks and overall "go to person" for the wedding day. She does a wonderful job holding it all together and making sure things go smoothy behind the scenes. She has been on board at The Oaks just over a year now and you would think she has been doing this for years. Thanks, Joslin!
First to process in were grandparents, then parents, then the groomsmen and me and the bridesmaids. There were lots of children of relatives that were included too. Here are Dylan carrying the rings and Lily.
Then Jacob and Olivia carrying a sign saying "Here comes the Bride!"
Lastly Makayla entered and sprinkled the petals.
Time for our gorgeous bride!
Mike kissed his daughter's hand then placed it into John's hand. She gave Daddy a farewell kiss and everyone was seated.
We began with a warm welcome and prayer, then remembered those who were no longer with us.
Positioned at the end of the row of bridesmaids was our translator. John's parents are deaf and so are most of their friends who were there. They could watch the bride and groom and see the sign language at the same time.
Then we honored the parents......
The story came next and theirs is a good one.
Everyone enjoyed hearing how they met and fell in love and got to this day.
A view of the entire ceremony. The guests were seated in rows of chairs a step down from the tables and chairs. You can see our photographer, Cristobal Perez with
Azul Photography, getting his amazing photos. He is so talented. I can't wait to see his pictures! Scott Logan, a videographer from Maine (Sarah's home state) came down just to video this wedding.
After the story they said their vows as they exchanged their rings.
For our closing blessing, Wendy, John's sister, read the poignant words of Natalie White.
The declaration of marriage!
Nice kiss!
Hooray!
Marty snapped this photo from the deck above while waiting for all the guests to assemble for a group shot below. I believe with this photo, Marty could turn pro! Don't John and Sarah look like royalty waving to their subjects!!
The wedding gang!
Ahhhh! Another great wedding! Thank you Sarah and John for allowing me to be a special part of your day. Your hard work and attention to detail really culminated in a fabulous wedding day! I wish you the best of the best!
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919-345-4608
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