More on Susan & Rodney's wedding at Camp Sertoma

And... on May 16th, just 6 weeks after her sister's wedding Susan married Rodney.

Sertoma, located near Hanging Rock State Park, is a 4H Educational Center owned by NC State University. In the early 1900s it was a very popular mineral spring resort. Most of the buildings have been destroyed but a 3 story hotel provides lodging for various events. This was perfect for a 'weekend' wedding since everyone could stay on site. The guys were on the 2nd floor and the girls were on the 3rd. The kitchen and administrative offices occupy the main floor.

Susan wanted an outdoor wedding and Sertoma was a perfect choice. If, and that’s a BIG if, the weather turned bad the ceremony could be moved inside the chapel. Again, it’s always best to have a rain site!

Susan and Rodney wanted their wedding to be a reflection of their personalities even down to the color selection. She chose pink, Rodney chose green. And we’re talking bright pink and bright green. I wasn’t too sure about their choices until I saw everything together.

Susan and Rodney spent a lot of time, looking through my resources and narrowing down their selections. Guests love visual effects and you can add several but you need to be careful not to include too many. I ask couples to select the things they want and then I put everything together into a complete ceremony. Once the draft is ready, they have the opportunity to make any changes. I may have given them too many choices but this was premarital counseling, 'mom' style!
Susan began her wedding preparation on Thursday by having all of the women (even Brenna and Aubrey, ‘the cutest flower girls ever’) gather around for Mehendi, a short-term henna tattoo, which is a Indian wedding tradition. Each woman was asked to draw a design on Susan’s feet. Some were elaborate and took quite a while. I’m not an artist so my contribution was ‘God Bless You’ written in Hebrew. There are still traces of the henna and she’ll probably be a little sad when it’s completely gone.

The Ceremony - Susan has always loved Cinderella so she walked down the aisle (barefoot) as ‘So This is Love’ played. As she approached, Rodney met her, bowed, took her hand and escorted her the rest of the way down the aisle. This was very emotional for me and I cried during the rehearsal. I kept saying I was the mom at the rehearsal, I would be the minister at the wedding…(I didn’t cry at the wedding but Mary Ann kept looking at me, just to make sure)

Susan and Rodney used Blessing Stones which they hand selected. These stones are a visual reminder of everyone who was present at their wedding. They also used a rose quartz stone for their oathing stone. This was a nice touch in the ceremony and I’m so glad I got to see everything up close! They also did a little ‘bunny’ touch on their noses, a private gesture that has meaning to them.

For a unity ceremony they drank from a Native American wedding vase, made by a Cherokee elder, Amanda Swimmer. The vase has two spouts. The vase can be filled with water however they chose to use red and white wine to symbolize their individual personalities. The bride drinks from one side of the vase and the groom drinks from the other. Then the couple drinks together. (requires coordination).

Their ceremony concluded with two Jewish traditions, breaking the glass and Yechud. Even these things were tailored to their personalities. For the breaking of the glass Susan placed her foot on top of Rodney’s and they broke the glass together. After they were pronounced married, they retreated for Yechud, a time of seclusion, to privately share the importance of the moment. Champagne was waiting for them and they had their first toast as husband and wife.

And…. one of the biggest surprises for the guests, as Susan and Rodney exited they stopped midway down the aisle, so Rodney could ‘dip’ her and they shared their ‘2nd kiss’ as husband and wife. The guests loved this and cheered with excitement.

Several guests told me that it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever seen. I think many people expect a wedding ceremony to be the way it was 30 years ago. This is probably the case in more traditional churches where the same ceremony is used for every couple.

So, why am I’m telling you about my daughter’s weddings? No, it’s not to brag or share personal information. I just want you to know there are sooooo many things that can be included in your wedding ceremony. Don’t settle for a standard, ‘one size fits all’ ceremony if that’s not what you want. The type of ceremony is just one of the many things to consider when selecting an officiate for your wedding.