Liz and Jeff Marry at Bass Lake Park!

Liz and Jeff set their wedding date for December 29, 2013 at 1:00 PM hoping the weather would be nice and we could have the ceremony outside on the deck at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs. But, it turned out to be a cold rainy day that gradually cleared up and the sun came out later in the afternoon.  

No matter the weather, it was warm and cozy inside with a view of the lake through the windows. Really impressive was the mantle that Liz rented and not only that, it was delivered! (Addendum: Here is the wonderful website for Farm and Filigree Vintage Rentals where Liz got this lovely mantle. I went to their website and it is amazing what props they can furnish for weddings! Go take a look!) She decorated it with floating candles, lanterns, photographs of loved ones and a wide ribbon of burlap pulled it all together. It definitely warmed up the reception area and, set on an angle in the corner,ly mantle. I went to their website and it is amazing what props they can furnish for weddings! Go take a look! 

Sweet Cheeks baked this sweet little cake adorned with flowers and a veil! There were about 40 guests and so the size was perfect. Liz and Jeff's moms catered the food. Flowers on Broad provided the beautiful flowers.

 A saying that is so true! 

Jeff told me that Liz was going to put some floating candles around the legs of the mantle until he reminded her that I was going to be standing pretty close with my back to it. Thanks, Jeff, although that would have been a pretty touch.

 The time drew near to start and the guests took their seats. 

The rest of us were standing around waiting to get started. On the left is Mark Jacoby, photographer. Mark and I have known each other for many years through weddings. He is also Jeff's stepfather so he was doing the honors capturing this sweet wedding in pictures for Liz and Jeff.

 And so it was time to get started, a little late, but that was okay. 

Jeff's beautiful daughters, Amber and Madison, in their pretty blush pink dresses and cowboy boots followed.

Our beautiful bride was escorted in by her sons, Sam and Jacob, who got a case of the "shys" as you can see in some of the following photos!

 The back of Liz's dress is so beautiful! 

 And so we began......

 Mom turned around and gave the boys a "look!" 

Then it was time for the children's blessing. Jeff had some sweet words for Sam and Jacob and funny thing, after that they seemed to calm down and we did not hear another peep from them!

 And Liz had some sweet words for Amber and Madison as well. 

Then I got to tell their story which is a good one. It began "Like many modern and savvy couples these days, Jeff and Liz met on e-Harmony around Thanksgiving of 2012." 

Eventually they met in person and some time later met each other's children. The big test! My favorite line from the story was about this first time meet-up with the kids: "Jeff had gotten Liz's boys some small toys to break the ice and Jacob, the youngest, sat right up in Jeff's lap, carried on a conversation with him then asked Liz if Jeff could be his step-daddy. Liz replied 'Eat another fry!'" 

 They wrote their vows to each other and read them from my book where they are printed facing them in large bold font.

 Then the rings.....

 The pronouncement......

 Yep, the KISS! 

Whoopee, married at last! Such a happy couple to finally tie the knot and officially all become one big family!

 Jeff and his beautiful daughters!

Jeff and his new sons, Jacob and Sam! They are three happy boys!

Liz and Jeff, thank you for giving me the honor of joining you in marriage. I know you are so happy and looking forward to a wonderful life together and co-parenting your lucky children. I wish you all the happiness in the world!

***********************************************

To contact me:

mailto:kayelily@aweddingminister.com

919-345-4608

My Website

Pinterest

Facebook

Or leave a comment below!

************************************************

Pretty Blue Wedding for Sara and Brian at Bass Lake Park!

Sara and Brian originally met back in 2002 and exchanged pleasantries from time to time but it was not until 2008 when a mutual friend (Scott, one of our groomsmen) saw the potential match for these two and tried to get them together. After several months of putting it off, Scott, Brian and Sara finally met for drinks in  January 2009. As Scott suspected, they hit it off immediately and had a great time together. Brian invited her to his birthday party which was a week later and made sure that Scott got her there. After a couple of drinks at his party, Brian mustered the courage to ask her out and they finally had their first official date the following weekend. It was much better than either of them could have ever hoped for. They knew then that they wanted to spend a lot of time with each other. And so the story goes........fast forward to their wedding on September 24, 2011 at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs. Despite the rainy week before, they had incredibly great weather. We were so surprised to see the sun come out.

They had decorated the deck over Bass Lake with pretty blue and white paper lanterns and flower arrangements.

The chairs flanking the aisle were decorated with huge blue hydrangea blossoms.

The pedestal arrangements flanked the altar area and ferns hung from the beams of the portico. Palms lined the rail behind the altar. All the flowers were done by Patricia Wood, a friend of theirs. They were beautiful.

The wedding cake and the groom's cake were baked by Stephanie English, owner of Piece-A-Cake bakery. The Q Shack was catering. Yummm...I love their barbecue and collards! Our photographer is a friend of the couple's--Dawn with Photo Designs by Dawn from Roxboro.

A good friend of Brian's for many years is Steve Stowe, DJ, with whom I do a lot of weddings. He is with Joe Bunn DJ Company and the Lincoln Agency but he was doing this wedding as a friend and they gave him free reign on the music and he loved it.  Steve rocks!

 

After the wedding party had entered, it was time for our Bride and her father, David.  They are waiting for their cue to enter from Sara's Aunt Betty on the left who was our honorary wedding director. 

It had gotten rather hot with the sun out and Brian was dripping with sweat--little drops running down his face, so I decided to mop his face off. He was most appreciative and the guests and Sara loved it. I had to mop his face again before the kiss! 

Brian's adorable 9 year old son, Corey, thought it was really funny, too!

Sara and Brian wrote their own vows combined with the exchange of rings and read them to each other from my book where the words are printed facing them. Here Brian reads his vows to Sara before placing the ring on her finger. We had to be super careful not to drop the rings because to do so would risk the ring slipping between the cracks of the decking and falling into the lake!

Sara made sure Brian's ring was all the way on with a good shove! 

Congratulations, Sara and Brian! I loved your wedding and how you made it so much fun for you and your guests to celebrate your marriage. What a great time! I wish you much happiness and great joy! Corey too! He is a lucky little boy!