April 17, 2010

Bethany Habecker & Luke Edmonson

Saturday, April 17, 2010 @ 7pm

The Sanctuary

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What a fun wedding!!! I have been excited about this wedding since last summer. Luke and his dad, David Edmonson are among the best photographers I know ... they have done lots of weddings at First Baptist and they do lots of photography work for the church's Media Department. They are dear friends of ours here at First Baptist. Bethany's family also has quite a history here, with her dad being a previous staff member. So it was such an honor that Luke and Bethany choose to have their wedding here. April 17th (2004) just so happens to be my wedding anniversary too ... couldn't ask for a better couple to share the date with!

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Bethany hired the girls at DFW Events to plan her wedding. (LOVE DFW EVENTS!) Everything was perfectly planned and organized. We had final walk-thrus and meetings, but nothing could prepare us for the events that took place the week of the wedding. Bethany (the bride) was coming home late from her shift as an ER nurse when she was involved in a serious car accident. Someone ran a red light and hit her! It gave everyone a scare ... Bethany was taken to the ER where she works (ironic!), but thankfully she only had a few scratches and some major soreness. We are so grateful that she was not seriously injured! Then the day of the rehearsal I came down with food poisoning and couldn't make it to lead their rehearsal. Thankfully Karen of DFW Events covered for me. {thanks Karen} At that point I wasn't even sure I'd make it to the wedding! I wasn't 100%, but I made it to the ceremony and I'm so glad I did. I couldn't miss it!

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The ceremony was so perfectly "Bethany and Luke." The programs were unique, the stage decor was handmade (by DFW Events) for them and their personalities came through in every word that was spoken. Bethany's dad officiated, Bethany got choked up every time she spoke (so cute!) and Luke cracked jokes. It was a great representation of them.

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Luke (being a very artistic and creative photographer himself) had planned a photo shoot for all of the guests outside immediately following the ceremony. He even had police officers to block off the street so that the guests could all stand together for the photo. There were also stilt-walkers involved ... artistic photo ... remember! Unfortunately, as soon as the ceremony began, so did the rain! It poured and poured! We came up with a back up plan for the picture and instructed the stilt-walkers to go inside the Criswell Center Lobby. I snuck on stage at the end of the ceremony to tell the minister where to send guests for the photo. It all ended up working out! I hope Luke is pleased with his group photo! I haven't seen it yet, but I was able to snag a picture of myself with one of the stilt-walkers :)

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Loved the wedding, loved the vendors and loved the couple. Could have lived without the car wreck, the food poisoning and the downpour of rain BUT those are the things that will make April 17, 2010 so memorable.

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Wedding Coordinator: DFW Events (Karen Rector)

Wedding Decor: DFW Events (Nelson Robinson)

Photographer: Jerry Ghionis, Friend of the Groom's from Australia

Videographer: First Baptist Dallas and Hakim Sons Films

Florist: Garden Gate Floral (Junior Villanueva)

Transportation: Blue Diamond Limo (Rebecca Harris)

Reception: Dallas Museum of Art

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{check out Hakim Sons video trailer for Bethany & Luke's wedding}

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:: The Sanctuary ::

April 10, 2010

Susan McFaddin & Sam Barrett

Saturday, April 10, 2010 @ 6pm

Heritage Chapel

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Susan and Sam are the most precious couple! They just adore each other. They make each other so happy and it's evident in every single wedding picture (link below). Susan and her mother did an excellent job of planning the ceremony, even down to the staggering of couples on the stage. They worked long and hard on all the details and it absolutely paid off! Susan had the most amazing dress! I loved the petals on the bodice ... wait til you see the pictures!

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The ceremony was God-honoring all around. Early in the ceremony the couples friends read various scriptures. Right before the message Jonah Werner (friend of the couple) sang a beautiful song he wrote; and after the exchanging of rings the entire congregation worshipped together by singing "How Great Is Our God."

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The couple celebrated with friends and family after the ceremony at The W Hotel!

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Florist: The Wildflower (Stacey Murdoch)

Photographer: F8Studio (Huy Nguyen)

{Huy's Blog post of their big day}

{link to their slideshow}

Videographer: Capturing Moments (Summer Satterfield)

Reception: The W Hotel Dallas

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:: Heritage Chapel ::

March 20, 2010 Part 2

Allison Robinson & Jason Tomlinson

Saturday, March 20, 2010 @ 5:30pm

Heritage Chapel

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So March 20th was the day of "Allison" brides! Both our brides were named Allison ... thought that was a bit ironic! This Allison and Jason were such a beautiful couple! Really really stunning! They actually live out of state, Maryland and Virgina, so I didn't have much interaction with them in person until the wedding weekend. But they faithfully completed their pre-marital sessions each time they were in town and they were really on top of everything. I knew it would be a great wedding!

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The ceremony was wonderful and personal. The bride's father read scripture and a friend sang a beautiful solo (with basically no mic check). She did great!

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The couple held their reception at the Arts District Banquet Facility!

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MakeUp: Tisha Corcaran of TC MakeUp

Reception: Arts District Banquet Facility

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:: Heritage Chapel ::

March 20, 2010 Part 1

Alison Skinner & Michael Wydner

Saturday, March 20, 2010 @ 2pm

The Sanctuary

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I was so excited for March 20th. It was finally Alison's turn to be the bride! Her sister Suzanne got married here in January {you can read about it HERE} and Alison performed her Maid of Honor duties perfectly. Now it was time for Suzanne to return the favor :)

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The church decor was amazing! Holly Tripp and her team did a great job of organizing the vendors and getting things done perfectly and efficiently!

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The ceremony was gorgeous! The Bride's cousins sang several songs ... they are such talented vocalists! The wedding party entered to "In Christ Alone." Alison's uncle did a very personal "Giving Away of the Bride" before Dr. Jeffress gave the message. We were honored to have the fabulous duo on the piano (T Bob Davis) and organ (Jerry Aultman) again!

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The stunning reception was held at the newly renovated Union Station! I only saw pictures, but it was amazing! A barber shop quartet greeted everyone as they arrived. The bride's family had many other fun things planned for the reception!

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{I LOVE all of her vendors!}

Wedding Planner: Holly Tripp Event Design

Photographers: David & Luke Edmonson

Videographer: Soulbox Productions

Florist: Fete des Fleurs

Plants: Bread'n'Butter

Hair: Sonia Trevino

MakeUp: Lenore Caulton-Downey

Reception: Union Station

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:: The Sanctuary ::

March 13, 2010 Part 3

Marcy Coe & Kenny Infante

Saturday, March 13, 2010 @ 6pm

Heritage Chapel

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Our last wedding of the day was Marcy and Kenny's. I loved the dynamics between these two! Marcy can get stressed out and worried about the details and Kenny calms her down. This was apparent at the rehearsal and we worked through the logistics of a large wedding party, etc. But none of us knew it the worried v. calm dynamics would be tested again on the wedding day!

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Things had gone great all day long! Marcy got ready on time, girls had their pictures made, guys had their pictures made ... THEN ... it was time to start lining up (or at least make sure we had everyone to line up). I made my normal rounds - gave the guys a 15 minute warning, made sure the bestman had the ring (he did) and then went up to the bride's room to give them their warning, made sure the maid of honor had the ring (she did not). Marcy very calmly said "my dad has Kenny's ring." I immediately became a little nervous. Father's of the Bride (FoB) are usually not in a stable frame of mind 15 minute before their daughter's wedding. And I hate to see the sweet FoB's face when he doesn't know what I'm talking about or doesn't have what I'm talking about, which means I'm nervous to ask them questions most of the time. I've seen the blank FoB look a few times. So I carefully pulled Marcy's dad aside and asked him where Kenny's ring was. OH NO ... he gave me the blank face look! He had locked it up in the family safe in his closet at home and completely forgot to bring it. NO PROBLEM! We'll improvise ... use someone else's ring until Kenny gets the real deal. Word got back to Marcy and she would have none of it. She insisted that Kenny use his real wedding ring in the ceremony. That is totally understandable, but now we have just 10 minutes until the wedding. Long story short ... ok, long story even longer ... We consulted Kenny and he quickly tried on the minister, John Cullen's ring and it fit perfectly. He was game to use another ring for the time being. But Marcy just couldn't imagine that! Marcy's uncle went to their home, opened the safe and retrieved the ring. The ceremony started about 30 minutes late (poor guests) but Kenny got to use his real ring. And Kenny was so sweet to Marcy (and her father) about the whole thing! Such a trooper!

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Once the ceremony did start it was beautiful! I loved the flow of her ceremony. Marcy's friend read scripture at the beginning, her sister read scripture at the end and a friend sang "Love Never Fails" during the Unity Candle.

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The reception was held at the Trammel Crow Center.

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Photographer: Photographic Memories (Michael McKibben)

Florist: Skai Floral

Reception: Trammel Crow Center

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:: Heritage Chapel ::

:: This was also time change weekend, so you'll notice the stained glass windows do not have any light coming through and it's only 6pm. From this weekend on until November's time change the windows will be full of light until about 7:30-8pm ::

:: just a cool shot of the shadows in the hallway to the bridal suite ::

March 13, 2010 Part 2

Callie Scurlock & Noah Mitchell

Saturday, March 13, 2010 @ 3pm

The Sanctuary/Coleman Hall

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Callie and Noah are the nicest people you'll ever meet! It was such an honor to help them plan their wedding. Noah is a teacher here at FBA and when he decided to get married, spring break weekend seemed like the ideal time. It meant we were going to have 3 weddings and 2 receptions in one day ... but with help from some FBA ladies and Susan Money, we were able to pull it off :)

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The ceremony was beautiful. Callie requested purple up-lights in the Sanctuary to match her wedding colors. I think it added great color to the stage!

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The reception was held in Coleman Hall. It may have been our last reception in that space. With the new renovations of our church campus only months away, we may have to re-purpose Coleman Hall. But we will always remember the wonderful wedding reception memories that were created there.

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Photographer: Pam & Rob Merryman

Videographer: Thomas Merryman

Cakes: Cakes by Deelesa

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:: The Sanctuary ::

:: Coleman Hall ::

What is happening to me???

Here are all the weddings that I need to blog! Embarrassing, I know!

I have never been this far behind on the blog ... EVER! I am sorry to the 15 brides that are waiting to read their post. I'm sure you've written me off by now! But I really do promise that I will blog about your wedding (very soon). Keep checking in, please!

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Not that I'm making excuses, well ok, maybe I am, but this being pregnant and losing brain cells thing is absolutely true! Yes, for those of you that do not know, I am expecting in July, July 17th to be exact ... 8 weeks and 1 day away to be even more exact! We are anxiously anticipating the arrival of Maren Harper Mazzola! I am basically in survival mode! So much too do, so little time (at work and at home)!

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Remember the loss of brain cells thing I mentioned earlier ... well, I am no where near as efficient as I was, thus my blogging time is now consumed with regular day to day duties that I just can't get done as fast as I used to. I promise I will catch up before maternity leave (July-August), just in time to fall behind again for 6 weeks (but I'll have great help on the wedding front while I'm gone).

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Don't even think it is only the blog that is suffering! There hasn't been a trip to the grocery store in about two months where I didn't have to go through the line twice. I simply cannot remember EVERYTHING at one time. I seriously thought I was the queen of organization before pregnancy ... and even through the first 6 months. BUT recently that has all changed! This baby girl is going to be one smart cookie ... she is definitely soaking up {more than her fair share} of my brain cells. But she is so worth it! It may take me a little longer, but I will eventually get it all done!

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So just hang in there with me as I try to:

- survive

- do my job to the best of my ability

- prepare to be a mommy for the first time

- prepare for maternity leave

- prepare for a new lifestyle/routine when I return

- finish nesting

- and do some much needed blogging over the couple of weeks

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Looking forward to a great Summer/Fall of wonderful brides , exciting changes to our church campus and a brand new addition to our family!