So Cheryl and David weren’t technically married on 09.14.08.  They actually renewed their wedding vows today, 36 years after they originally exchanged rings in Hawaii.  It was a touching ceremony (that I actually got to perform!) to reaffirm their love for each other.

Cheryl is the best wedding officiant in town, so it was interesting to see her on the other side of the ceremony!  She surprised David with a performance by Prince Pele’s Polynesian Revue, beginning with the Hawaiian Wedding Song.  The show ended with Cheryl, her sister, and I getting a hula lesson!

I feeling truly honored to take part in this special day!

Last weekend was my sister-in-laws wedding, and it was a beautiful, fun and exciting day.

I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid and also coordinating the Bachelorette party.

I wanted to do something fun but also a bit different to the traditional Bachelorette parties that l had attended in the past. I decided to do some online research to get some fun party ideas. After some intensive research, l decided to order a Tarot Card Reader / Belly Dancer to attend the party. I was a little skeptical of how this would work out, not knowing how entertaining a Tarot Card Reader/ Belly Dancer would be. The company found at this web site: http://www.aleena.com/magi/ was very professional and leading up to the bachelorette party promptly returned any of my phone calls or emails.

On the night of the Bachelorette Party, I decorated the house with some fun items from Party City! Melanie, the Tarot Card Reader/ Belly Dancer arrived right on time. She immediately made everyone in the room feel comfortable and got straight down to business. We all got to have individual readings, which l must say were incredibly accurate. Everyone in the room was buzzing with excitement about their readings. Once the readings were complete, Melanie then gave all of the girls a lesson in Belly Dancing, which was quite a work out!

Melanie stayed for a little over two hours, and l feel like it was money well spent. She fit in with the group of girls splendidly! Everyone who attended the party had so much fun, especially the bride to be!!

I’ve been a little behind in posting photos from our spring and summer weddings! Here is a slideshow with photos from Kimberly and Victor’s gorgeous wedding.

Ceremony Venue: Bethel Baptist Institutional Church
Reception Venue: Omni Hotel Jacksonville
Floral and Lighting: Wilson’s Ltd.
Seating Group Rental, Movie Premier Lights and Red Carpet: PRI Productions
DJ: McGee Entertainment
Cocktail Hour Music: Biva Jazz
Linens: Connie Duglin
Photography: Kris Graham Photography
Videography: Turner Classic Weddings

Super wonderful photographer Agnes Lopez just sent Danielle and I the link to her blog post with some of Kristen and Matt’s wedding photos. Love them!

Video by Chris Kennelly of Kennetic Productions - it may take a minute to load, so please be patient!

5:00 am

Here I am, in my car heading to the wedding of Michael and Brittany! I’m sure the Channel 4 crew is already hard at work at Le Jardin on Park.

6:00 am

I’m at Le Jardin on Park, axiously awaiting the arrival of the bride and bridesmaids. They have been at Casey Powell’s studio having their hair done, and Kimtasha Armstrong has been doing their makeup. Very exciting!  The caterer, Katerlady, has arrived with her team to begin setting up the buffet and preparing the food, which smells absolutely delicious!

6:30 am

The bride and two bridesmaids have arrived, looking gorgeous.  The cake is here too, a beautiful creation by Classic Cakes.  John is busy putting the fresh flowers in between the layers while everyone from the tv station talks about how yummy it looks!  The groom is outside with his groomsmen, and some of the guests are even starting to arrive.

7:00 am

One hour til showtime!  The adorable flower girls, Eva and Lana, just arrived with their mom and baby brother.  Casey Black, one of The Morning Show anchors, has arrrived to begin interviewing the bride and groom before the ceremony, and the team from Alfred Angelo has begun getting the bridesmaids into their dresses.  Brittany is next!

7:30 am

In just a half-hour we will go live on Channel 4.  The bride and groom are both cool as a cucumber, but Brittany’s mom is a little nervous about tripping as she walks down the aisle.  DJ Brian DeFoe has his equipment in place, and is ready to play the music for the beginning of the ceremony.  The guests are all seated, the flower girls got some practice walking down the aisle, and so far everything is going exactly as planned.

7:55 am

It’s almost here!  The bridal party is lined up, waiting for their cue to walk down the aisle.  We’re axiously watching the producer from Channel 4 for the signal!

9:00 am

The televised portion of Brittany and Michael’s wedding is over, so everyone can relax and have fun!  The live events went very smoothly - from the ceremony to the toasts to the cake cutting to the first dance.  Now Brittany is dancing with her dad, and Michael will dance with his mom before heading inside to enjoy the yummy brunch buffet.

9:45 am

Just as I predicted - the food is fabulous!  Videographer Jenny Turner and I got to sit down for a minute to eat and catch up, which is always a treat. We’re not done yet though, after brunch it’s back to the alter for formal photos.

10:00 am

Brittany and Michael finally got to have their unity sand ceremony - because of the limited TV schedule, we had to cut it from the actual ceremony, but Jenny and photographer Michael Myatt both captured the moment for the couple.

11:00 am

It’s time for our bride and groom to say goodbye to their friends and family.  After leaving Le Jarding through a shower of bubbles, the Rolls Royce supplied by Majestice Limo will take their to their honeymoon suite at the Seawalk Hotel in Jacksonville Beach.  I’m going home to take a nap!  :)

Be sure to visit The Morning Show page on News4Jax.com for more highlights from Brittany and Michael’s wedding!  http://www.news4jax.com/morningshow/index.html

This week is very exciting as we begin the final preparations for Brittany and Michael’s wedding, live on Channel 4’s Morning Show!

We have not only a rehearsal, but two rehearsals scheduled for Thursday.  It will take quite a bit of coordination to have not only the wedding videographer and photographer but also four cameras from the station and the audio crew as well!  Thursday morning the entire crew will be on-site to walk through all the festivities with the bridal party, and then we’ll get started at 5:00 am with preparations on Friday.

Be sure to tune in Friday morning at 8:00 am to see the beautiful wedding ceremony, the cake cutting, and the first dance!