Alyson and Tom's Wonderful Wedding at Hudson Manor!

Alyson and Tom's wedding was Sunday August 3, 2014 in Louisburg NC at the lovely Hudson Manor and Estate. It is a long drive but with the road improvements that continue to be made, it is getting closer and closer. I've been doing weddings there since it opened about 10 years ago. The owner, Melissa Cogliatti, has really developed the property into a dream wedding venue.

The interior of the reception hall is ready for the reception. This building was not even there 10 years ago. Melissa has her own catering and bar staff and the food is wonderful.  Fallon's provided the florals.

Now there are three spots on the estate where the ceremony can be. The original outdoor Ceremony Garden in good weather, the Lake View Terrace which adjoins the reception hall and is covered, and the Chapel. Our wedding today was held on the Lake View Terrace because of the potential for rain.

This is the view of the terrace from the steps of the reception hall looking toward the lake and the chapel. 

This is the view of the reception hall from the terrace. It is large and well covered. When we have weddings here, the processional is from the reception hall so the wedding party does not get drenched.

 This pretty cake with the special characters on top was baked by Delicious Bakery.

 Their photographer, Chris Florio, provided the couple with the "unplugged" message!

The bride and her parents and bridesmaids are on their way from the Manor House where they get dressed and hang out until it is time to start.

 The footwear for the day is sneakers! (I did not get the memo!)

 

Following me are the groom carrying Tommy, their son, and his brother, Ken, carrying his son. They gave the kids to their grandparents to hold for the ceremony. They were very well behaved for 1-year olds!

 The wedding party and parents are in place and it is time for the bride! 

Reed brought in his beautiful daughter, Alyson, circled round and I stepped into to place to ask: "Who has the privilege of presenting this young woman, Alyson, to be married to this young man, Tom?" Of course he answered: "Her mother and I do."

 A kiss for dad and then we begin.

 The really fun part was telling their story. Not everyone had heard it. 

 Hearing for the first time what the other told me they loved in their partner. 

 The vows to each other. 

Behind the groomsmen is Taylor Pittman, our DJ for the day. Always love working with Taylor. The sound was perfect!

 The rings go on.....

In the closing blessing I ask the couple to look around at their loved ones who have come to honor them on their wedding day.

It was quite humid and Tom had a lot of perspiration that was just about ready to run down his face and so I mopped his face to get him ready for the kiss!

 And there it is.....the KISS! 

Alyson and Tom, congratulations on your marriage and I know your future together will be filled with happiness, Tommy, and more!

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Beautiful Christmas-time Wedding for Kate and Will Gray!

Like many good love stories, Kate and Will Gray's began their freshman year in college at Furman University. During freshman orientation activities in which the freshman boys paraded through the girls' dorm, they definitely noticed each other. Will Gray was quite taken with Kate and that evening found him under her balcony serenading her at midnight in the moonlight--another Furman custom. Apparently the feeling was mutual! After spending many hours together attending classical music concerts, watching favorite shows in the dorm basement, and many hours of guitar hero and legend of Zelda, long after they were inseparable friends, they realized they were in love. After college their careers took them 300 hundred miles apart--Will Gray in Atlanta and Kate in Raleigh. With marriage and Will Gray's landing a job in NC, they are overjoyed to be married at last and make themselves truly inseparable.

They met with me on June 2, 2011 to plan their ceremony on December 17, 2011 at the beautiful Jones Chapel on Meredith College campus--a very fitting venue for these college sweethearts. They put together a composite draft of their ceremony from the material I sent them, wrote their own story and worked with me individually to craft the paragraphs to each other detailing the reasons they wanted to marry. So sweet! And then, the big day was here!

Kate and Will Gray included a lot of their college friends in the ceremony. Will Gray himself is a "tubist" and they had their friend Paul play the euphonium for the prelude.

All the while, the bridesmaids and parents were getting lined up in the foyer. Leroy, another college friend, was in charge of cuing the wedding party in. He had never done this before but with my training at the rehearsal, he did a fine job! That is Kate's father, Allan, holding Sarah's bouquet. She is Kate's sister and was helping the bride in the room behind him. Fallon's Flowers did the floral arrangements and bouquets.

We are all assembled on the altar as the bride and her father enter. 

 

Sarah stepped down to take the bouquet as Dad transferred Kate's hand into Will's hand before they ascended the steps.

 I welcomed everyone and told them how special they were to the couple.

We were graced by Blake, another Furman friend, who sang two pieces: "In the Bleak Midwinter" and after the prayer, "Simple Song." His bass voice is amazing! No wonder they wanted him to sing at their wedding!

After the ceremony I saw two Blake's, deduced that he had a twin but then found out that Blake and his brother and sister are triplets.

Love "red" weddings, especially at Christmas time. So vibrant and festive. The matron of honor, Sarah, is on the far right and next to her are Kelley and Bethany, also sisters of the bride.

Will Gray's best man was his father, Bill. Behind Bill are David and Phillip, brothers of the bride.

After the prayer, the story and wedding address, they exchanged vows then rings.

 

 

 

Their photographer, Denise Meyers with 1 Impression 2 Remember, and her second shooter, Peter Newby, got the wedding party and parents to assemble in the balcony after the guests departed for the reception at Crabtree Marriott. 

 

Kate and Will Gray, such a pleasure working with you! I know you will be very happy! You have had very good role models in your parents and know how to make marriage a glorious path through life. Many blessings to you!

April and Dave's Fun Wedding at The State Club!

Some wise match-making friends of April and Dave decided that they should meet each other and persisted until they got them together. Neither April nor Dave was looking for a relationship, both having endured too many relationships that did not pan out. But then on the other hand, they felt they had nothing to lose either! April was known to be very picky and was finally convinced to meet Dave on the basis that "for goodness sake, you don't have to marry the guy!" Once they met each other, the bonding went very quickly and April added Dave to her season tickets for the Canes as they both shared a love for hockey and football, although April is a Giants fan and Dave a Jets. But they have worked out their differences, most of the time anyway. And after a while, they decided that they wanted to make their relationship a committed one by getting married. April's good friend, Andrea, whom I had also married to her husband, John, a few years ago and also performed a baby blessing ceremony for them and their daughter, Rhyan, told her she had to "get Kayelily" to officiate! April also remembered that she used to work with my daughter, also named Andrea, at Michael Dean's a few years back. So we met in February and started planning this wedding at The State Club for Sunday November 6, 2011. (I learned that you don't have to have attended or graduated from NCSU to use this fabulous facility. You do have to join the club but the fee is quite reasonable and certainly budget friendly for weddings.)

It was simply a gorgeous day for a wedding!  I had just flown back into town from having attended my 50th high school reunion the Friday and Saturday before. Dave and April were so thoughtful in letting me work with them on the previous Thursday on how to have a rehearsal which they did successfully on Saturday night while I was in Georgia having a good time with my former classmates. I thank you, April and Dave, for being so understanding! The outdoor area of The State Club was bathed in sunlight which highlighted the beautiful fall colors of the trees in the background. Since the last wedding I had done there, another bride had put up a pretty pergola on the lawn and donated it to the club. It fit in perfectly and they put a swag of beige tulle on the front of it to fit into their brown and pumpkin color theme.

Inside the reception area was this adorable cake with two pups on it. After all, Dave and April are dog people just like me! The cake is by Piece-a-Cake and follows the same color scheme.

The reception area was all set up. The florist was Fallon's and they put up the pretty orange paper lanterns on the tables and down the aisle and made the pretty bouquets of the ladies as well as the centerpieces. The State Club catered the food.

John Hensley with Anything Music was our DJ for the ceremony and the reception. Good to work with John again! Beth Tilley Green was our photographer and she brought along a second shooter too.

The processional began with the entrance of me and the groomsmen including Dave's son, Hunter,  followed by April's stepmother, Michelle, Dave and his mother, Judy, and then the mother of the bride, Robbie, and April's stepfather, Eric. Then the junior bridesmaids, one of whom is Dave's daughter, Annalisa. Next our two little flower girls made their entrance.

 

April was stunning in her beautiful dress and pretty flowers in her hair. I saw a tear slip out of Dave's eye as he watched her coming down the aisle.

 

 

April got really tickled during the prayer and could hardly stifle her laughter. I asked her later what was so funny and she said she did not know. The whole ceremony was so much fun and there was lots of laughter throughout.

We wrote a very special section to honor and include Dave's children, Hunter and Annalisa. April made vows to them and they made vows to her then there were hugs all around.

 

 

 

 April and Dave read their vows to each other and then exchanged rings.

 

 

 

And off they ride into the sunset--well, almost! 

What a great wedding, April and Dave! And as I write this, I hope you are honeymooning in a sunny spot! So happy to have had the honor of officiating for you. I wish you prosperity, happiness and enduring love!

Sitting out and waiting for their turn to be in photos are Andrea, my former bride and the Matron of Honor for April, and Best Man, Ron. I spotted Andrea's husband, John, inside and spoke with him for a minute. It was really great to see them again. Andrea and John, you two are looking great and very happy!