WEDDING PLANS: The Oaks at Salem

Showing posts with label The Oaks at Salem. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Jocelyn and Abe's Wedding Video Just Arrived!

Abram and Jocelyn Kline's Wedding from Focus Media on Vimeo.

Jocelyn and Abe were married June 8, 2013 at The Oaks at Salem. The post of their wedding can be seen here. This video was made by New Image Studio.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Tracy and Anthony's Beautiful Wedding at The Oaks at Salem!

Another gorgeous wedding at The Oaks at Salem despite being forced under the tent! The wedding date was November 1, 2013 and Tracy and Anthony planned to have their ceremony across the lake under the sprawling tree but the weather simply was not cooperative and the rains came. The "plan b" worked just fine though!

When we arrived for the wedding, the photographer, Amy Turner--Your Still Life Photography, had gathered the bridal party on the steps for pre-ceremony photos. Don't you just love the navy dresses and the cowboy boots?

This gorgeous cake was baked by Heather Singleton of Party Delights Bakery.

Katie Featherstone was glad to be dry under the tent and she tuned up her beautiful harp.

Most guests sat at the tables during the ceremony. For family, there were two rows of chairs up front for the ceremony.

Birdcage rack held the place cards and table assignments.

Some children of guests were drafted into handing out their beautiful wedding programs to guests as they arrived.

After the parents were escorted in and seated, Anthony and I took our walk down the aisle. Beth Early with Irregardless Cafe who catered the food was our wedding director and kept us all in line! Note Anthony's blue sneakers and those of his groomsmen!

Bridesmaids were next.

Charlotte--flower girl, Anthony's little niece, was led in by her grandfather, Mike. She was precious!

Our beaming bride and her very proud daddy!

There is that magnificent tree wearing its fall colors in the background. So glad it was in the wedding photos.

You can see the rain streaming behind us. We were literally surrounded by nature. Our sound man, DJ Laurence with Anything Music, had to turn up my volume due to the sound of rain on the tent roof but everyone could hear me just fine.

Tracy and Anthony are such a fun couple and I really loved their story. So did their guests.

The story of Anthony's proposal in Breckinridge Colorado went over very well and generated a lot of laughs!

Vows and rings.....

When each mother was escorted in, she poured some sand into the center container which represented merging of the couple's heritages. Then after the vows and rings, Anthony and Tracy poured more sand to represent the merging of their lives in marriage.

Charlotte was a blur as she followed the bride and groom out!

Beth Early was so happy the wedding went so well and the ceremony was done! Thanks, Beth!

These are all Tracy's family! When the couple first started dating, Tracy invited Anthony to go with her to her sister's wedding where he would meet all at once over 35 members of her family. He obviously passed the test and decided to stick around!

Anthony and Tracy--a grand wedding despite the adverse weather. Congratulations on your marriage and I wish you tons of love, peace and happiness all the days of your lives!

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Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Fabulous Wedding of Jocelyn and Abe at The Oaks at Salem!

Jocelyn and Abe are such a good match for each other. They knew each other in high school in Bloomsburg PA but never connected. Abe was two years older than Jocelyn and back THEN she thought he was way too cool for her. Just as well, the timing was not right for either of them. Abe moved to Raleigh after school and started a band. Five years later his band was touring with a stop in Bloomsburg to see old friends. Jocelyn had just returned after completing college and was looking for employment. They just happened to both be at the same place at the same time to run into each other and ended up on the dance floor together. Abe remembers accidentally hitting her in the face while "dazzling" her with his dance moves – but, somehow she ended up liking him anyway! They saw each other again the next day and shared their first kiss; but then lost touch when Abe and his band returned to Raleigh. The following Christmas Abe was back in PA visiting family and called Jocelyn. They reconnected and from that day on they have been together although it was a long distance relationship until she decided to take the big step and move to Raleigh, which she did and has never regretted one minute of it!

They eventually got engaged and set a wedding date of June 8, 2013 at The Oaks at Salem, a relatively new magnificent wedding venue in Apex built and operated by April Maness. They contracted with me to officiate for them and we co-created an amazing ceremony. They also decided it would be a wise move to take my Marriage Optimization class to be sure their marriage was on a firm foundation. I really enjoyed getting to know these two and that is how I know for sure they are such a great match for each other!

Sweet little boat for cruising around the lake. Although the lake looked calm and peaceful the day of the wedding and the sun was shining brightly, the few days prior the heavens opened up and flooded North Carolina. Do you remember? The lake overflowed and the walk around the lake to the big tree was just impossible because the ground was so spongy. Thankfully there is a Plan B so the ceremony was on the lovely patio under the tent with the beautiful lake in the background.

First thing I do when I arrive on site an hour ahead of ceremony start time is situate the sound for the ceremony. Here I plugged my mic into the house sound system and did a sound check. It was perfect. Thank you, April, for having the foresight to install a house sound system in the tent. So easy.

The florist was Tre Bella. Can you tell that I had a professional photographer "shadowing me" for this wedding? Amy Edwards with New Image Studios requested to do this since she is just getting into the wedding photography arena. I was most happy for her to provide these beautiful pictures and gave Marty the day off! What a difference professional skills and equipment makes! Thank you, Amy!

Next thing was to locate my two witnesses and get them to sign the license. Above I am interrupting a photo shoot by their professional photographer, Nicole Faby, who did a fabulous job on this wedding. This was a shot of Jocelyn on the long white couch. Her bridesmaids wore the prettiest softest blush pink.

Jocelyn's sister, Jordan, and Maid of Honor, signs the license for me. I always try to do this before the wedding lest I forget afterwards and hate to interrupt the photographer. It is not legal until I sign it after the ceremony.

Isn't Elin adorable and she is only 4! She did a great job and I can see many more flower girl roles for her in the future!

What a pretty cake! Mitchell's Catering catered the reception and provided this gorgeous cake. Hi Bill, great job!

They provided flip flops for everyone for dancing!

Although Abe said he was not nervous, he does look a little bit nervous in this picture. That would be perfectly natural. He is used to being up in front of people though because he performs in his band New Sweat. Perhaps you have heard them.

So, he wanted to look over his vows again before the ceremony.

Aren't Parker and Jeffrey adorable? They had to be steered in the right direction but they made it down the aisle!

So, Jocelyn's dad, Wayne escorted her in. He was so happy for her and happy himself. In the background is Nicky, Jocelyn's friend who directed for us. She did a great job.