What a Great Wedding for Amy and Amorn at Caffe Luna!

Amy and Amorn were the only Thai-Americans in their freshman class at UNC. They were bound to run into each other eventually but who knew it would lead to forever together? They actually met at a party of their mutual friend, Sungwook, who was one of our groomsmen, of course! Amy was from High Point and Amorn hailed from Chicago. 

 

This is a photo displayed on a large screen television which operated like a digital picture frame with a continuous slideshow of their adventures together. After graduating, starting their careers and becoming world-wide travelers together, eight years had elapsed since they met so they decided it was time to get married. They wanted a fun and laid-back wedding setting where all their friends and family could gather and have a great time. We are all thankful to them that they chose a nice air-conditioned place like Caffe Luna on this very hot Saturday morning, June 5, 2010. 

 

Fresh Affairs did the beautiful florals. They provided all the unique centerpieces for their tables, the large spray of flowers at the altar, the boutonnieres and Amy's gorgeous bouquet of lilies.

Greg Ramsey with Joe Bunn DJ Company was there when Marty and I arrived at 10:40, hectically setting up all his DJ equipment in a very small space provided him. He provided the music for both the ceremony and the reception and had to be a Houdini! I also plugged my microphone into his system so everyone could hear this wonderful ceremony. Greg got it all done in plenty of time and was ready to go when it was time to start the ceremony.

LeeMarie, a friend of the bride's served as wedding director and she did a great job!

Sugarland Cakes was on hand to deliver their pretty wedding cake too. It was a flurry of activity.

I gave Greg the signal, cued LeeMarie and Amorn and I walked in from the front of the restaurant and took our places and waited for the parents who were being escorted in by the groomsmen.

The guy in the lower left is our photographer, Frank Jin. He is from Winston-Salem.  He is motioning to the first couple coming in.

First in is Amorn's mother, Metta, escorted in by Isra, brother of the groom. They are followed by Amorn's father, Lerwut.

Then Andrew, brother of the bride, escorts in his mother, Nuttiya, and then takes his place with Amorn and Isra.

 Olivia and Matt enter and take their places. The wedding colors were Carolina Blue and Red. The red is symbolic of happiness and good luck in Asian weddings. It was really a nice combination. I knew about the Carolina Blue but had I known the bridesmaids were all wearing red shoes, I would have too!

Sungwook escorts in Rose, sister of the groom. Remember, Sungwook was the one who hosted the party where the couple met. He was a very important person!

Katie with the pretty legs and Adam enter and take their places.

The Best Man, Ian, and the Maid of Honor, Cristina, come in right before the bride.

Radiant and glowing, Amy, enters escorted by her father, Narong. She is so beautiful!

All the guests are turned toward her to see her walk down the aisle. What a pretty dress and train.

And so the ceremony commences.

This shot captured a moment in time when I reached up to adjust my theater microphone. Look at those beautiful flowers behind us. Makes a wonderful backdrop for this ceremony. Th fragrance was quite pleasant too.

I may be telling the couple's "story" here. They put in quite a bit of humor and everyone loved it. They paid tribute not only to their parents but also their siblings. It was a lot of fun. 

Amorn's brother, Isra, delivered a very special reading the couple chose: an excerpt from "Teachings on Love" by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk and spiritual teacher. Isra teaches school and so he was the perfect person to present this wonderful reading of wise and thoughtful words. Thank you, Isra! 

 Amorn is reading his vows from my book here. He did get a bit choked up but made a wonderful recovery! One of the lines of his vows was "I vow to never take you for granted and to always be there for you, even during the final seconds of the UNC-Duke basketball game!"  One of the lines from Amy's vows was "I vow to make you smile with my loud infectious laugh and care for you when you're sick, after all, I am a nurse!"

Putting the ring on Amy's finger he started saying the vows to me. As I warned him at the rehearsal if he did that, I would cut my eyes over to Amy and he was supposed to get it that he needed to direct the words to Amy! He did!

Amy is struggling to get Amorn's ring on his finger. It was quite tight and he finally had to help her push it past his knuckle. It sure won't come off easily!

They take a deep breath and I make the pronouncement of marriage! 

Although this is a blurry photo, I had to include it here! Remember, none of these photos were taken by a professional photographer or a professional grade camera, just my little Olympus Stylus 7010 wielded by my "roadie, " Marty. And, she does a good job. If it weren't for Marty loving to come to weddings with me, this blog would not have all the pictures to illustrate each wedding. Thank you, Marty!

The wedding party and parents gathered outside the restaurant to snap a few photos. The heat was intense! Amy and Amorn, you are an amazing couple and I know you will go far in life and around the world many times. My best wishes and congratulations to you both!