Katie and Greg Have a Wonderful Wet Wedding at The Sutherland!

Katie and Greg's wedding was Saturday June 12, 2010 at The Sutherland in Wake Forest. It was a beautiful day but quite hot with temps in the nineties. The wedding was to be outdoors in the lovely Walled Garden. As Marty and I were driving north on Hwy 1 to Wake Forest, we noticed the wind kicking up and some gray clouds moving in. When we got to The Sutherland the wind was blowing over the umbrellas and the plant stand with the ferns.

Here is what the garden looked like about 45 minutes before the wedding was to start at 6:00. The lovely parasols were there to shade folks from the intense sun but could not be opened because the wind would blow them over. You can see the darker clouds coming in. 

One of my favorite DJs, Lenny Fritts, was waiting for us to plug in my microphone and do a sound check. He takes such good care of all that for me. Anyway, here we are talking about something but notice how the sun is still out but the wind is whipping around my hair and prayer stole.

And then, about 10 minutes before 6:00 the rain started coming down and Ashlee of The Sutherland wisely moved all the guests to the porch to wait it out and stay dry.

Lenny was a trooper though and stayed out in the rain, his equipment protected with plastic Marty retrieved from my car and the canvas umbrella he had rigged to keep his equipment shaded. His back was not protected though. You can see his jacket is getting really wet by clicking on this photo to make it full size. He was playing music with rain in the theme!

Ashlee was watching the weather report and saw that a break was coming up in the storm cells and so when the rain slowed to a sprinkle, she started having the ushers re-seat the guests after her staff had dried off the seats. You can see how overcast it was and the mist formed by the rain mixing with the hot temperature of the ground.  Greg and Mike, his best man, and I were hold up in the Settler's House, a quaint cabin near the garden that is one of the original structures on this plantation.

Allison Satterfield of Sandfoot Photography was on the job despite the rain.

After the seating of the grandparents and the groom's parents and mother of the bride, Greg and the groomsmen and I took our places up front. Then it was time for the pretty bridesmaids. First was Amy. Normally you don't see a bridesmaid carrying an umbrella down the aisle! But, Ashlee was so prepared. She handed each bridesmaid and the best man one of these large pretty white umbrellas to have handy should the rain pick up.

Then there is Shante carrying her umbrella followed by Sandra, our maid of honor, who is also Greg's twin sister.

One of the very nicest things about The Sutherland's Walled Garden is that the green grass is really green turf. So, no matter how wet it gets, there is no mud and our shoes do not sink into and get stuck in the ground. It is so wonderful and no need for any kind of walkway.

And it is time for the bride! A little cloud appears to be sitting right there on the terrace as she and her father, David, entered. It did not look so misty to the eye but this is what my camera saw and recorded.

See how quickly that cloud lifted as they walked out of the mist into the garden. Katie's dress was gorgeous and I love her color choices of light yellow and sky blue.

I think the large parasols really add a unique touch to this setting and Katie and Greg and their guests will never forget this really different look for their wedding day.

So here we are. It is still sprinkling a little but not so much that we needed those white umbrellas. My pages were getting a little spattered but the ink of the words did not run. The couple are looking at their parents as I read the tribute they wrote to them. So sweet. Notice the wonderful gray suits the guys wore which went so well with the yellow and blue. Not such a stark contrast that black tuxes would have been. (The Wedding Guys said that the hot color trend in 2011 will be charcoal gray for the men and teal for the bridesmaids and blush for the bride.)

Katie's father, David, presented a reading called "The Master Speed" by Robert Frost. Good job!

Then Stephanie, family friend, presented Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare. She has a British accent and so it was quite nice to hear her speak Shakespeare's words.

Greg and Katie have known each other eight years. They were in high school together and both were "band geeks" which they loved about each other. Both are very smart and stood out from the crowd to each other. When Greg went away to college, they realized then how strong their love for each other was and decided to spend their lives together. Wisely they waited until they both graduated from college and had jobs. 

Katie and Greg chose to have the Wooden Wedding Box ritual in their wedding. Instead of placing a bottle of wine and wine glasses in the box, they chose to place mementos of their life together including a wedding program from this day in the box along with the love letters they wrote to each other. You can see the box to the left in the photo where they have just locked it during the ceremony. They ordered it specially made for this day.

 The pronouncement of marriage............

And then Greg planted a big kiss on Katie! They must have been practicing!

The white parasols add so much to this wedding! So different and so pretty! It had completely stopped raining about half way through the ceremony and the guests had put their umbrellas down.

I am so happy for Katie and Greg! They had a wonderful wedding despite the weather; in fact, the weather made their wedding distinctly different from the norm. Katie and Greg, I wish you a lifetime of joy and happiness! And have a fantastic time on your honeymoon abroad.

I wanted to show you the tent that had been set up for the reception. It was much larger than this picture makes it look. The background is all natural wooded area. If the rain had not stopped when it did, we would have had the ceremony here.

Look at this amazing cake! Their colors of light yellow and blue with the doves on top. The cake was made by Laurae Porter but I could not find a website for her to link to.

As I mentioned before, Allison with Sandfoot Photography was covering the wedding. What fun it is to work with Allison. She is so easy going.

Catering the wedding was Caffe Luna. Always great food. My thanks to Lenny Fritts for all his help with this wedding. He is a fantastic DJ too.

Salon 123 did Katie's beautiful hairdo. It was truly beautiful and the damp weather did not faze it.

Thanks again to Ashlee Adams, one of the owners of The Sutherland. She is always prepared for whatever needs to be handled. It is always a pleasure to do weddings with her.

Olga and William's Fabulous Weddng at The Umstead!

William and Olga planned such a beautiful and elegant wedding on Tuesday June 1, 2010 at the prestigious hotel and spa, The Umstead. Olga is from Russia and had a definite vision for her wedding day and she brought it to fruition. William wanted Olga to have whatever she wanted. These two are so in love it shows all the time! From what William told me, he was smitten with Olga and her incredible beauty from the moment he laid eyes on her. He pursued her and now they are married! Here is the story of their wonderful wedding!

This is the incredible altar that was constructed by Fresh Affairs and draped with the fluffy flowers and hanging leis of small orchids. It was simply breathtaking!

So, here is how it looked before the guests arrived. See the fountain in the lake showing through? The forecast was for rain but it was holding off for us.

The lighting was perfect for photography and this is Kevin Milz, our photographer, on the left, speaking to his assistant using the tripod. Kevin was just featured in the Southern Bride & Groom June Newsletter. He does a lot of weddings at The Umstead and it is always good to work with him again.

Our musicians, provided by Arioso Strings, are all set up and ready to go with a large market parasol behind them in case they need to duck under it for cover. No need, though. It stayed dry.

The reception room was all ready to go. Fresh Affairs continued the beautiful fluffy flowers here too. I wish I had asked what they were but they were really busy getting ready when Marty and I arrived so I did not want to interrupt.

Here is the gorgeous wedding cake by Sweet Memories, of course. The DJ for the reception was Randy Bennett with Joe Bunn DJ Company.

The Umstead staff is so professional and so efficient. Our wedding director and person in charge is Ami Wheeler, above, talking to Gary, the sound man. We work together all the time and so setting up has gotten into a familiar routine.

The guests have arrived and are seated. The musicians are playing and when Ami cues them to start the processional music, we will start up the stepping stones. Leading the procession are Olga's parents, Michael and Victoria. Michael will be coming back to escort in the bride. William and I are next, then the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

The best man is William's brother, Russell. He is escorting in Elena, the maid of honor.

All four of these lovely girls are William's daughters. Starting down the aisle with Keith is Kristen, followed by Emerson and Tony who is Olga's brother.

The flower girls are Katlyn and Camryn. They seemed to be as smitten with Olga as their father!

Here comes the bride! Her gown and bouquet of white orchids were exquisite! She was beaming!

William and Olga really loved the Wooden Wedding Box ceremony and wanted to include it so we did. They had ordered a beautiful wooden box engraved with their names and date on it. Here is a link to the site that sells them. These are the words "William and Olga, I have asked you as a couple, to find a strong wooden box that will hold two bottles of wine and two wine glasses. In addition, I have asked each of you to write a letter to one another, expressing your thoughts about all the qualities that you love in one another. A lovingly hand written letter is one of the most romantic and sentimental gestures possible, and this very personal form of communication will preserve all the thoughts and emotions that you are experiencing during a very exciting time in your relationship. I requested that under no condition were you to read each other’s letter, and that you were to seal them in individual envelopes and put them in the box with the wine and glasses. On your first wedding anniversary, I invite you to open the box, pour each other a glass of wine and read the other’s letter to you so you can remember how madly in love you are with each other; and pass this custom along in your family as an example of true eternal love! I now ask that you take a key, and lock the box."

Exchanging rings here. The pronouncement of marriage is coming up!

Need I say more?

 After the guests left the garden for the reception, we posed for some photos. We are so happy the rain held off and Olga and William are so delighted to finally be married. I wish you both a very happy and satisfying marriage and all the happiness in the world!