Mothers know best, you know!
Their wedding day arrived and after getting my sound system all set up and doing a sound check, I helped pin on the boutonnieres. This is Sean who was in charge of bringing Rocco in for the wedding and taking him out if necessary, which did happen, but then he was able to bring him back in for the sand pouring ceremony.
Would you believe that a good friend of the couple's made this lovely cake for them? How wonderful and I bet it was delicious. I love their happy colors! Cynthia did all the flowers herself.
Their wonderful musicians were also friends. They are Lori Gartland, guitarist and vocalist, and Nancy Plante, violinist. Right before the processional began, Lori sang "What a Wonderful World" at the couple's request. She was terrific. They are musicians from Kings Kompany who provide a variety of music-related services including singing telegrams!Go check out their website to see all that they offer.
Amy, Chad's sister-in-law, served as our honorary wedding director. She got tapped because she is organized, responsible, reliable and has a bit of drill sergeant in her! A wedding director is necessary for any wedding in which there is more than one attendant each because I am not able to be in two places at one time to direct the wedding on the wedding day. I recommend that if at all possible, couples hire a professional wedding consultant to do this even if it is only for "day of" coordinator. If the wedding director is a friend or relative, I will train him/her what do to at the rehearsal. The wedding goes ever so much more smoothly this way and in general just looks like we had a plan! Great job, Amy! You were clearly the woman for this job!
After the parents were escorted in, the groom and groomsmen and I entered from the front and took our places and then it was time for the bridal party to enter.
First in was our Maid of Honor but I did not get a good photo of her. Then Sean entered carrying Rocco, our "ring bearer" in his little tux! He was so cute! At 11 months of age, though, he did not have a clue what was happening!
Then Hailey, our flower girl, entered. She knew exactly what to do and sprinkled those petals like a pro!
And here comes our beautiful bride and her proud father, Jerry. Cynthia looked like a princess bride from a fairytale with her full and fluffy dress and tiara. It was so pretty.
I asked her father: "Jerry, as Cynthia's father, do you and her mother, Marjorie, bless and support Cynthia as she comes to join in marriage with Chad?" Of course he said "We do." Then he placed her hand in Chad's, she gave Dad a little kiss, the guests were seated and the ceremony began. (Our photographer was also a friend of the couple. His name is Hans Rohm with SecondGlance Productions.)
Cynthia and Chad were so in the moment and happily enjoying their ceremony. I find that my couples are much more relaxed because we have created their ceremony together and they know what I will be saying and that there will be no embarrassing sermons coming from me!
Here I am talking to Rocco and telling him how important he is in this marriage we are celebrating and how much his parents love him. You can't tell in the photo but at this point he was getting a little fussy and Sean had to go get his bottle which was stashed nearby. With babies in the ceremony we have to go with the flow and not get rattled or upset. He was just being a normal 11-month-old and everything was cool.
I may be telling their story here, about how Diane set them up to hang out together one evening when Cynthia was visiting her in Maryland. "Chad, being the decent normal boy from southern Maryland that he is, took her out for crabs! It was a nice dinner of breaking the ice and after that they eventually went for a long walk in the historic district of Alexandria and counted how many people were holding hands—except them. And with this adventure together, their love was born and as they say, the rest of the story is history!"
After the family unity sand ceremony, it was time for the big pronouncement of marriage!
Followed by the KISS! At the rehearsal I make sure the couple get some practice and if they are too shy, I assign them kissing for homework the night before the rehearsal! I also relate to them that their kiss should be long enough for their photographer to get a good picture. Cynthia and Chad did well. It was obvious they had been practicing and I didn't have to make them do it over!
And, the ceremony is over and they are officially a married couple. Time for photos and then to celebrate!
Look at this beautiful dress again! I just loved it and it was perfect for Cynthia. She just floated in it!
One more photo with me and then Marty and I hit the road for the next wedding. Cynthia and Chad, you are both awesome individuals and an awesome couple and parents. Rocco is a fortunate little boy! I wish you a lifetime of happiness together!
