August 22, 2009 Part 2

Bernice Koshy & Stevens Samuel

Saturday, August 22, 2009 @ 4pm

Sanctuary

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I'm so excited for Bernice & Stevens! They came to us because they needed a place to get married. Not only did they find that, they also found a church home! Bernice & Stevens attended The Nearly Wed Seminar and through that ministry Stevens accepted Christ and they both joined the church! So much to celebrate!

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Their wedding was full of meaning and family! The bridesmaids dresses {and the dress of all the female guests} were beautiful. Different family members and friends were asked to participate in the ceremony. Stevens cousins read scripture, Bernice's grandfathers prayed, and a family friend closed the ceremony in prayer. I am excited to see the plans the Lord has for Bernice & Stevens!

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Photographer: James Edward Photography

Florist: In Bloom Florist

Reception: Omni Hotel at Park West

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:: The Sanctuary (wasn't as pink in person as it looks in my pictures) ::

:: accidently used flash, but this shows you that is wasn't as pink as the first two pictures make it look ::

July 24, 2009

Linda Jordan & Dan Arnold

Friday, July 24, 2009 @ 4pm

Slaughter Chapel

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What a sweet and delightful wedding! Dan is the father of one of our wedding hostesses, Amber Arnold Volbeda. When Amber shared her father's engagement with me I was thrilled! Linda and Dan met through a family friend and both attend church here. I wasn't immediately familiar with the name "Linda Jordan" but then Amber said she is THE HAT LADY. I then knew exactly who she was. Linda owns and wears the most magnificent hats you've ever seen! She was on a mission to find the perfect wedding hat ... and that she did!

Linda & Dan had an intimate ceremony officiated by our former pastor Mac Brunson. After the ceremony the couple celebrated with family and friends at Maggiano's.

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Amber, It was fun to share this special day with you and your family!

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Florist: Kathy Hollingsworth

Violinist: Jeff Turner

Photographer: Larry Fleming Photography

{All photos courtesy of Larry Fleming Photography}

:: Colonel C.C. Slaughter Memorial Chapel ::

May 16, 2009 Part 1

Holli Petersen & James Park
Saturday, May 16, 2009 @ 3pm
Heritage Chapel/The Adolphus Hotel
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What a sweet couple! I came to adore Holli and James {and Holli's mom} over the past 6 months. I got to spend time with Holli and her mom during her bridal portrait shoot. It was such a fun afternoon with some creative poses by Huy {their amazing photographer}. You can see some of her bridal pictures here.
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The ceremony was lovely. Not only did it look gorgeous, the content of the ceremony was Christ-centered and worshipful. James' family flew in from California; and the couple incorporated many of his families cultural traditions into the ceremony. They presented flowers to the family towards the end of the ceremony. Holli's mom and brother built two beautiful kneelers that Holli and James can keep forever. Such as special gift! The reception was held at The Adolphus Hotel.
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I just loved the over sized floral arrangements on the stage ... they looked so good! Great job Junior!
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They had lots of out-of-town guests staying at the Adolphus Hotel so Holli and James provided a shuttle to get their guests back and forth from the church to the hotel. It worked out so well. The shuttle ran a couple of times on Friday for the rehearsal and then started running at 1:45 on Saturday (for the 3pm wedding). The timing was perfect all weekend. I would highly recommend renting a bus/shuttle to transport guests if you have lots of people in town without a car! And the Adolphus is just around the corner from us, so it's really convenient!
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Photographer: Huy Nguyen of F8 Studio
Florist: The Garden Gate (Junior) 214 -220-1272
Strings: Serenata Strings
Reception: The Adolphus Hotel
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:: Heritage Chapel ::

:: handmade kneelers ::

:: engagement picture canvas by Huy ::

April 4, 2009

Michelle Bailey & Cody Fisher

Saturday, April 4, 2009 @ 3pm

Heritage Chapel/The Atrium

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Where to begin???? I met Michelle and Cody in September 2008. I fell in love with them the minute I met them. They have a true heart for the Lord and the world. In fact, they met while serving others through BUY SHOES, SAVE LIVES. Cody {and one of his groomsmen} founded the organization, which is now called Preemptive Love Coalition . Check out their website and learn more about this amazing undertaking! Michelle and Cody are such selfless people, which made helping them have a wonderful wedding even that much more enjoyable.

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The ceremony was beautiful. A lady named Mira Im sang two solos {one in Korean and one in English}. Her voice was stunning! She is a very talented musician; and it was very fitting that she open the wedding ceremony with song. The fathers prayed before the wedding party entered. I just love when family is so intertwined into the ceremony! Michelle's home church minister, Rev. Gerald Ware officiated and did a beautiful job of sharing Michelle and Cody's story. Once the guests were dismissed from the ceremony, they were asked to wait in the lobby for a large group picture. There were over 200 guests standing around Michelle and Cody as the photographer snapped the picture from above the crowd. I can't wait to see this shot! So neat!

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The reception was fun! Michelle, being a Baylor grad, loves Dr. Pepper floats. So we can some good ol' Blue Bell mixed with Dr. Pepper! YUMMY! Some of Michelle's family made Korean dishes to be served at the reception. And another friend {actually, maybe Michelle's mom} made tons of delicious desserts to serve instead of a groom's cake. Michelle and Cody left the reception and took fun couple pictures around downtown. Over all it was a great day!

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Photographer: Abigail Criner

Florist: Cebolla Fine Flowers (did a great job on the ceremony arrangements!)

Videographer: Roman Video Productions

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Keep up with Michelle & Cody Fisher and PLC on their blog .

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December 6, 2008

Amy Young & Bob Randall

Saturday, December 6, 2008 @ 5pm

Heritage Chapel

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Amy and Bob are one of our two December weddings this year. We have not allowed December weddings in a very long time, but decided there was no harm in letting a member get married in Heritage Chapel on the first weekend of December... so that is how they got the coveted date! I am not quite sure if we will offer December weddings in Heritage next year or not ... we will take it one year at a time and luckily for Amy and Bob it worked out this year.

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Bob's family grew up at First Baptist; and both of his siblings have been married here. It was so fun to see his brother and sister (and her adorable 4 kids) participate in Bob's wedding. It was truly a family affair. Bob's father did the first half of the ceremony and Amy's father did the last half. 2 Minister fathers made for a special ceremony. Bob sang a song to Amy and then led the congregation in worship. The flowergirls (there were 4 of them) were precious, but the ring bearers cracked me up. They wanted to carry the real rings (YIKES) and Amy wanted them to too. SOOOOO at the last possible moment, we passed the rings off to the ringbearers and they did great. The boys loved the ring boxes so much and couldn't stop talking about how they were going to take the little boxes home and put things in them ... wonder if Amy and Bob surrendered the beautiful little boxes. I just thought it was so cute how excited the ringbearers were about those boxes, the soon to be empty/ring-less boxes. Easily thrilled! The reception was at the Arboretum.

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Vendors were all family friends.

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November 22, 2008

Kristin Woodard & Taylor Dodgen

Saturday, November 22, 2008 @ 2pm

Heritage Chapel/The Atrium

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Where to begin????? Kristin and Taylor are such an amazing couple. They are so energetic about life and about each other. Their story began long ago ... high school (maybe even before). They are "theater" people. They did many plays together and from what I've heard, have been married many times before (on stage, of course). They are finally married (in real life). Kristin is a theater teacher, thus she had great ideas for how she wanted the wedding party to stand on stage.

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The ceremony was beautiful. Kristin and her bridesmaids made the bouquets (each girls' is unique). And a family friend a.k.a "the florist" helped decorate. The theme was kind of vintage and kind of modern. Kristin and Taylor wanted the ceremony and reception to be personal and "them." I think it most definitely was. Taylor is quite the musician, and played the piano prelude music as guests entered. He even played for the Family Processional. They wrote their own vows ... so eloquently written! And had their brothers participate in a special prayer time during the ceremony. {one of Kristin's brothers is serving in the military as was not present, but was thought of often and represented in pictures by a sailor hat, not shown below} They had a dessert reception at the church and then had a dancing reception for friends later that night at another location. Such a fun, creative and vibrant couple.

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Florist: Patsy Kirklin {family friend}

Photographer: Andrew Shepherd

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:: program designed by Kristin ::

::overall of the ceremony...notice how we staggered the wedding party::

:: cover of program ::

:: The Atrium ::

:: the most guest tables we can do (14). people always want lots of guest tables, but notice how much space they take up!!! 14 worked well for this size group. they had 300ish guests ::

:: close up picture of bridal portrait ::

:: wedding dress Kristin wore in a high school play when she {fake} married Taylor ::

:: soundtrack of Kristin & Taylor's Love Story, given to each guest as a favor ::

October 18, 19 and 25, 2008

Sorry! I fell behind on the blog (story of my life). I really am trying to be better about it. Here are the past two weekends worth of weddings...ENJOY!

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Junko Yamada & Shigeharu Shimada

Saturday, October 25 @ 10am

Heritage Chapel

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This was such a neat ceremony to participate in. Junko and Shigeharu are part of First Baptist's Japanese Chapel, led by Futoshi Shingaki. Futoshi told me from the beginning that most of the ceremony would be in Japanese; and it turned out that all of it was! But they had a translator too. So everything was spoken in Japanese and then repeated in English. It was so fascinating. Junko's parents did not make the trip from Japan but sent a letter to be read during the ceremony. Shigeharu's family did fly in from Japan. The ceremony itself was very traditional. The reception was held at a Japanese Restaurant.

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Photographer: Hajime Yamanaka

Videographer: Shigeki Tsutsumi

Florist: Special Occasions by V 972-296-5587

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Shawn Baker & David Maddox
Sunday, October 19, 2008 @ 3pm
Sanctuary
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Shawn and David have been members at First Baptist Dallas for such a long time. Their families have great legacies here. Shawn and David were in the singles group together for a while, though they did not initial date each other. But eventually the Lord brought them together and there is no denying that they are PERFECT for each other. Neither one of them takes life too seriously. Infact...Steve Harding (officiated) said it was the first wedding that he had done where the bride waved to the groom as she was coming down the aisle. {how cute is that?}
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You did read the day/date correctly...the wedding took place on Sunday afternoon! This is a very rare thing (I don't look for it to happen often), but they had an overwhelmingly (is that a word?) turnout! Because we do have morning and evening services on Sunday, we could not clear the stage like we usually do for a wedding. But it all worked out. The ceremony was so sweet and personal because Steve Hardin knew the couple so well. David's sister sang and they played a cute slideshow. They celebrated with a reception at The Old Red Courthouse.
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Photographer: Kendra Luteijn
Florist: Tom Thumb
Reception: Old Red Courthouse
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Samantha Chancellor & Jason Folks

Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 7pm

Heritage Chapel

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Samantha and Jason are such a sweet couple! They did something during their ceremony that I had not seen before...Cord of Three Strands. It really is neat. They had 3 cords (one representing Christ, one respresenting Samanatha and one for Jason). After the exchanging of vows and rings, Jason held all three cords and Samantha braided them together. It symbolizes Christ being intertwined into their marriage. It is an alternative to the Unity Candle or Sand Ceremony. {I love seeing new things!}

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Unfortunately, I was working the 5:30 wedding and wasn't able to get any pictures from this one. But here are a few of their vendors:

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Photographer: Nate Rehlander nrphoto@sbcglobal.net

Florist: Flowers by Joy

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Heather Klein & Robert Fuentes

(aka Drs. Robert & Heather Fuentes)

Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 5:30pm

Sanctuary
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I have known Heather and her family since I was in preschool. It was so much fun to help them plan this wedding! Heather's sister and I are lifelong best friends and college roommates. The wedding was absolutely beautiful. So much work, time and effort went into EVERY SINGLE detail of the wedding. Here's a little background about the couple (taken from their program)...

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{Heather and Robert both attended Texas A&M University, both were Biomedical Science majors, had many of the same classes, had many mutual friends, and both attended The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Despite many opportunities, Heather and Robert did not meet until they were set up on a blind date just before Robert graduated from UT Dental School in 2006. Heather is the oldest of 3 girls. Robert is the younest of 3 boys.}

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The ceremony was lined with family sentiment ... Heather's father walked her down the aisle, while her Uncle precided over the "Presentation of the Bride." Then Heather's father officiated the rest of the ceremony. It was funny, emotional and serious all at the same time. Her dad did great! Then in closing, the bride's sisters planned a surprise...a gospel choir came out singing "Joyful, Joyful We Adore The." It was amazing!

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Photographer: Gary Donihoo of F8 Studio

Videographer: Blake Bollinger

Florist: Fete des Fleurs

Reception: The Adolphus Hotel

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September 26-27, 2008

Gelareh (Angela) Farnia & Shane Trickey

Friday, Sept. 26 @ 7pm

Heritage Chapel

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Angela and Shane had a beautiful wedding! Angela's mother spent a lot of time and energy researching wedding ideas for her daughter. She spent many Saturdays this summer stopping by to see how the chapel was set for other weddings. She was so sweet and thoughtful; and her efforts paid off. The entire atmosphere of the chapel was perfect for their wedding. Such a great family (on both sides).

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Photorapher: Jospeh Mark Photography and his blog

Videographer: Cake Video (Ricky Gode)

Reception: City Place

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Sarah Buckner & Ross Trull
Saturday, Sept. 27 @ 2pm
Heritage Chapel/Coleman Hall
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Another blast from the past...I have known Sarah and Ross since elementary school (maybe even before). I never would have put the two of them together...but God did (awww). Sarah grew up at FBA (First Baptist Academy) and Ross attended FBC (First Baptist Church). It wasn't until college that they actually started dating. They are such a perfect match.
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Their ceremony was very special. Sarah's father officiated, so her grandfather walked her down the aisle. Ross' dad lead the congregational hymn, then Ross' cousin sang "The Prayer." I love when the family is so involved in the ceremony! They had two receptions, which seems to be a new trend. The first one was in Coleman Hall (here at the church) where the guests had cake and punch. Then later that evening the couple had a dinner/dancing reception for family and wedding party at Lakewood Country Club. Great idea! oh, and the flowers were amazing...and huge!
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I'm so excited that Sarah and Ross are finally married. I can't wait to see what's in store for them!
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Photographer: Bukki Erwin 254-796-4590 (he still shoots with film...pretty cool)
Florist: Mockingbird Lane Florist
Videographer: John Rutledge (family friend)
Reception #2: Lakewood Country Club
Bride's Cake: Dot Lawson 972-239-3887 (yummy cake!)
Groom's Cake: Angela Martin (wonderful chocolate cake!)
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