The Surprise Wedding of Tamra and Charlie!

Charlie and Tamra originally planned to get married on Easter Sunday with just family present and booked me to officiate. We met in early January and discussed what they wanted in the ceremony. They definitely wanted to include Charlie's kids in the ceremony and recognize Tamra's parents. A few weeks later on January 23rd My husband Dave and I were at the airport waiting to catch a flight to Atlanta, then on to Puerto Rico for a getaway vacation while the wedding season was slow. At the same gate, Tamra and I spotted each other! She and Charlie were on their way to Beaver Creek for a skiiing trip. And, not only that, our seats were side by side! Imagine that. We had chosen our seats way before we ever met each other. We got to know each other better and I watched Charlie finish two crossword puzzles furiously and perfectly with an ink pen! The synchronicity of the Universe boggles my mind!

Not too long after returning from their trip, they contacted me to see if they could change their wedding date to April 20, 2013. They had decided they wanted a more festive wedding with more family and friends present. They had already planned a cocktail party for that evening at Chapel Hill Country Club to announce their marriage. The plans changed so that instead of announcing their marriage, the actual wedding ceremony would take place at the party with all their friends and family in attendance. I am always up to do a surprise wedding because they are so much fun so I was on board. And, we pulled it off beautifully!  Marty and I arrived about 8:30 and Jennifer Viscosi with Jennifer V Event Planning met us and got my microphone hooked into the Band's system.

Fresh Affairs had decorated the fireplace with pretty candles and flowers earlier in the day. Mark Holland with Moonstruck Video was already filming. Jeni Dwyer, photographer, was there too.

At about 9:00, the band "took a break" for Charlie to make some announcements. Charlie thanked everyone for coming and for supporting his F.I.N.N. Foundation which he founded to help fill the gap between medical needs and medical resources for those in need of facial reconstructive surgery and other plastic facial services. He is truly a very generous person and Tamra was right there by his side supporting his passion for helping people.

Finally they got to the announcement about their big surprise and I walked into the room on that cue.

 And so we began the nuptials! 

Charlie's kids, Garrett, Caitlin and Liam watch the ceremony and we recognized them during the ceremony.

 A funny story about Charlie's proposal here! 

 The legal moment--the pronouncement of marriage! 

Yay! 

 It's done, it's finally done! 

 I am so happy to have been a part of these two remarkable people's lives!

 Cupcakes and cake by Mindi Berke.  

 The band E3 with Sam Hill Entertainment provided the music. 

Tamra and Charlie, I am so happy you found me and gave me the honor of tying the knot for you. It was so much fun working with you. I love your spontaneity and your generosity! All the best!

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Surprise Wedding for Amy and Jerry!

Amy and Jerry wanted a small intimate ceremony surrounded by their closest family members. They had both been married before and had no interest in going through extended wedding planning and all that entails, much less all the fanfare and hoopla.  So, they invited their guests to their "engagement party" at Rey's Restaurant on October 27, 2012. Little did their guests know they were actually coming to their wedding! They hired Michelle Gunton to photograph the event and she called me on the 18th to see if I was available to officiate for them. Fortunately I was and so Amy and Jerry and I connected and started on the ceremony. Thanks, Michelle! After officiating a wedding at Caffe Luna at 6:30, Marty and I rushed to Rey's where Michelle and Jerry met us while Amy was changing into her wedding dress.

After meeting the couple for the first time, I collected the marriage license and the rings, and pinned the boutonniere on Jerry.

The next step was for me to enter the private dining room and surprise the guests with the announcement that they were actually guests at Amy and Jerry's wedding that evening. They were all surprised and grinning widely. We all gathered down in front of the fireplace; the bride and groom entered and the ceremony began.

I don't know how Marty got this picture with "special effects," and she probably could never duplicate it, but I love the expression on Amy's face and the blurriness of the colors.

Amy works for an oil company and Jerry owns an oil transport company. They met when Amy walked into his office in Michigan to learn about DEF (diesel exhaust fluid). Jerry was smitten but Amy was headquartered in North Carolina.

It was several months before Jerry could get to NC for their first date but when he did, they both knew they were meant to be together. From that point on they became almost inseparable despite constant traveling on the job for Amy, starting new divisions and weathering storms in the corporate office!

What a kiss! Jerry was just about to dip her! 

Look at this cake by Sweet Memories Bakery! Although it serves as their wedding cake, it could not look like a wedding cake or it would have given away their surprise. There is even a little German Shepherd like their own Inga!

Marty and I don't usually get to see the cake cutting and the bride and groom feeding each other! It had been a long day so after I got the marriage license signed, Marty and I said our good-byes.

Amy and Jerry, this is THE one! I know you are so happy and will have a wonderful and enduring marriage! I wish you all the best ever!

Bill Surprises Diana with a Wedding At Regency Park!

Bill sent me an email on 12/21 wanting to know if I could officiate his wedding to Diana on 12/30/11. I wrote back and said that I was available but then did not hear from him for a day or two. Because he has a Yahoo email address and my responses run into problems getting through Yahoo's spam filter, I gave him a call. Turned out he was planning to surprise his bride by staging a wedding at the place where, as he put it, their hearts first joined. I knew then and there that Bill was a pretty romantic guy! The place was the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park in Cary. Since I love being a part of creative weddings I was happy to participate in pulling off this surprise wedding. He told me that they were going to get their license a few says before and for all she knew the plan was to go to the courthouse that Friday morning to get married there. He asked me for suggestions about flowers and I told him he would need a boutonniere and to get Diana a wrist corsage since she can't hold a bouquet and hold hands at the same time. I also suggested a ring of rose petals to form a "unity circle" they could stand in and he loved that idea. So, I wrote a lovely ceremony for them and emailed it to Bill for his review and edits. He sent payment to me and for the two witnesses I was providing via PayPal and made all the arrangements with North Raleigh Florists close to me for me to pick up the flowers and bring with me. The plan was for me and the two witnesses, my husband Dave and my "roadie" Marty, to be there by 9:45 AM out of sight behind the bandshell. It was a chilly morning but as long as we stood in a patch of sunshine, we were fine.

Just on cue, about 10:00 Bill and Diana showed up and as they were standing in the bandshell looking out at the amphitheater, I walked out and introduced myself and asked Diana if she would like to get married here.

 She was absolutely flabbergasted and moved to tears. 

So I pinned on Bill's boutonniere, got the wrist corsage on Diana and made a circle of rose petals for them to stand in. Bill gave Dave his camera to take photos with while Marty used mine for the blog. Diana took off her coat and unveiled a beautiful dress for the wedding. She said she did not feel cold at all!

Bill and Diana, as a symbol of your unity and intent to be eternal partners, you stand in a sacred circle of rose petals. The circle is the oldest sacred symbol, one with no beginning, and no end.  There is a quotation that goes like this: “Our family is a circle of love and strength. With every birth and every union, the circlegrows. Every joy shared adds more love. Every obstacle faced together makes the circle stronger.”

For thousands of years men and women have exchanged rings as tokens of their wedding vows. These rings are your gifts to each other to remind you always, and those that gaze upon their beauty, that you have pledged your love and commitment in marriage to each other. And when you have been together for a long, long time, you will look at these rings, and you will feel the indentation they have made on your fingers, and you will know that these rings contain all the memories of what your lives and your relationship have been. May they always serve to remind you of how great your love is for one another.

Bill and Diana, by the power vested in me, in the presence of these witnesses, I now pronounce that you are husband and wife.

 Diana, you may kiss your husband! Bill, you may kiss your wife!

Bill and Diana, I wish you many years of wedded bliss!