Wedding Clipart: All Around Raleigh DJ

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Back in July of 2013 I met with Chelsea and Josh to plan their wedding ceremony which took place on April 5, 2014 at The Cotton Room in Durham. This is a fabulous place for weddings and I love going there. It is a re-styled historic site of a former cotton warehouse. When Marty (my assistant and now not-so-amateur photographer for this blog!) and I arrive at a wedding, the first thing I do is get my sound set up and do a sound check and that is what is happening in the photo below.

Eric Hodgdens, All Around Raleigh DJ, was their DJ and I love working with him. He does many at The Cotton Room too. So, here his set up is behind the flowing drapes and he stuck his head through the drapes to ask me a question!

Here's a better photo of Eric!

Isn't this a sweet little arbor? They had strung all these hearts on it and with the floating candles it was a simple but elegant "altar" and easily removed when they turned the room for the reception.

Cinda's Creative Cakes made this amazing cake which had the words of the popular ee cumming poem "i carry your heart" written around it. The copper trees on top reflect some of the words. When Josh proposed, he gave Chelsea a notebook inscribed with this favorite poem of hers and added the words "Marry Me?" So it was very appropriate to include as part of their wedding decor. Looks like there is an antique sword in the back but I did not ask what that meant!

Their color scheme was this rich magenta and the pretty floral arrangements and the bouquets by Tre Bella Flowers reflect it beautifully.

For their "guest book," they had their guests fill our some cards that rated how much they were enjoying the wedding, how far they traveled to be there, what they really looked forward to at the wedding and their advice for a long and happy marriage. It was very cleverly done and I can tell they put a lot of thought into it and surely will get a lot of good advice.

Behind the scenes...once the ceremony is over, the drapes are tied back, tables pulled out and spaced around the huge room to make a dance floor and the chairs put around the tables.

Yummy! The Cotton Room is owned by one of the area's finest caterers, Triangle Catering, and of course they provide the delicious food.

The Bride and Groom's table is ready!

Our Bridesmaids and "Man of Honor" were ready too. Molly, our 17 month old flower girl, is holding on to her mother, Caroline. Those are wonderful dresses!

Zack is a childhood friend of Chelsea's and she just could not get married without including him in her bridal party. He was eating it up too--getting to wear makeup and heels, straighten Chelsea's dress and hold her flowers. What fun!

The line-up!

After we were all in place before the bride entered, it was time for sweet little Molly to walk down the aisle. Amalia, Wedding Director with The Cotton Room, and Molly's father (did not get his name) are prepping Molly on her duties!

And there she goes as she sees her mom at the front of the aisle urging her on! Daddy had to hold the basket though!

Yay, she made it then got swooped up and carried back out.

Her job is over and she can relax and so can her dad!

Chelsea's dad, Eric, proudly escorted our beautiful bride down the aisle while Josh wiped tears off his cheeks.

He transfers Chelsea's hand into Josh's then carefully takes his seat without stepping on her train!

And so we began.....

Yes, there was definitely some humor in this ceremony! I think here that after welcoming everyone and thanking them for coming we were remembering the couple's two corgis, Cloe and Ohlie, who had to stay home and bark at intruders and unfortunately could not be with us!

A sweet tribute to their parents!

Chelsea and Josh met in 2011 when Chelsea moved to Josh's hometown of Syracuse NY to attend grad school. Josh had not had a date in 3 years and was incredibly nervous for their first date. The restaurant they went to was so loud they couldn't talk so the first date was not the best. However, Josh persevered, asked Chelsea on a second date and brought one of his best men, Dustin, along with him for fortification and it worked! They had a fabulous time and a few weeks later they officially became a couple.

Josh proposed on January 11, 2013 after having secretly asked Chelsea's parents for their blessings to marry their daughter. He did the asking one evening when they were all in Target, Chelsea's favorite store, while she had gone to another part of the store.

After the proposal they began planning the wedding knowing they would be moving to NC the following summer. It all worked out quite smoothly and here they stand before their family and friends, getting married! Bridget McEnaney and her second shooter were their photographers although you will see some shots of the guests holding up their cell phones!

Vows and rings.....

The moment the marriage is legal!

Sealing the deal!

The new Mr. and Mrs.!

Out they go into their new marriage!

The heels were shed the minute the girls got behind the drapes to wait for photos!

But not Zack! He loved wearing those heels!

Josh and Chelsea, congratulations--not only on your marriage but for planning a mighty fine wedding! Your attention to detail was amazing and it was perfect! I wish the best of everything always!

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

It was such a delight to work with Victor and Rachael. We hit it off right away when they came to meet with me last May. They are mature and knew what they wanted--and laid back and easy going! At the rehearsal, one of their groomsmen told me they are the last of "their crowd" to marry and so everyone was pumped for this wedding. We had a good time constructing their story and ceremony and were really looking forward to this fabulous wedding day of November 2, 2013 at The Cotton Room in Durham--a really wonderful wedding venue.

Their wedding planner/director was Amanda Scott with A Swanky Affair. Amanda and I have known each other for years but had not done a wedding together since she started her own wedding planning business. It was a pleasure to work with her on Victor and Rachael's wedding and every detail was handled with finesse and ease! Thanks, Amanda! let's do lots more!

These pretty tables were hidden behind the flowing draping for the ceremony then the drapes were pulled and the reception set up while the guests enjoyed cocktails after the ceremony.

Triangle Catering caters all the weddings at The Cotton Room.

Eric Hodgden was our very fine DJ. We actually had just done a wedding together the weekend before at Caffe Luna. Love working with Eric. The sound was perfect!

This pretty cake was in place. It was baked by Cinda's Creative Cakes as was the groom's cake below.

Victor attended the University of Alabama and is a huge fan (now Rachael is too!) and so of course the groom's cake had to reflect his loyalty!

Tre Bella was the florist. This is the bride's bouquet!

For the guest book, the couple asked them to sign the matt around photographs.

One of the tables flanking us for the ceremony. Simple elegance with their chosen color of purple.

So, this is how the ceremony set up looks on the side of the room with tall windows pouring in the daylight and the expansive length of the hardwood floors. This building has been re-purposed from being a cotton manufacturing plant and warehouse.

Here is the view from the back of the room.

Amanda has gotten us all lined up for the processional. It was a long processional.

A quick shot of Amanda holding Rachael's train waiting for the time for her father to escort her in!

And there they go!

And so we began!

There was a warm welcome, an opening prayer, remembrance of those who have passed on and a sweet tribute to their parents.

Then we had fun with their story! Here is a brief excerpt: "They met for the first time at Coquette’s, a French restaurant in North Hills, in February of 2012. They had so much fun talking and getting to know each other at dinner that they ended up spending most of the weekend hanging out together. They were both very comfortable and relaxed and the conversation flowed so naturally. Rachael was intrigued by Victor’s calm, easy going presence. Victor loved Rachael’s smile and laughter.
For their second date, they decided to go hear one of Victor’s favorite bands, “Alabama Shakes.” Although Rachael was not a big fan of concerts, she wanted to go just to be with Victor. They met at a local shopping center to carpool to the concert. Rachael is directionally challenged and assumed Victor was good at directions because he was so confident about it. On the way to the concert he asked her to look at the map on his phone and see if they were going in the right direction. He had no clue then that maps are useless to Rachael. He wanted her to look and see if they were headed for the red dot on the map. She was taken aback because she thought he knew how to get there. His style was simply to drive in the direction of the red dot on the map instead of following street by street directions. Thankfully they didn’t really get lost at all, just one wrong turn. Since then, Victor has been in charge of getting them where they want to go."

They exchanged their vows and sealed them with their rings.

We closed with a blessing then I made the pronouncement of marriage!

Great kiss!

They were so thrilled to finally be husband and wife! (In the aisle is Randall Hill their photographer. He is based in Myrtle Beach so I had not met him before. I liked him a lot. He was at the rehearsal and asked me then if I had any restrictions about photography during the ceremony. I told him that I only ask that photographers not get behind me during the ceremony and distract the couple and the guests. He said he would never even consider doing that!)

Rachael and Victor, congratulations! You are a great couple, very well matched and it was wonderful to get to know you and have the honor of joining you in marriage!