Well everything comes full circle and here we are at the end of the wedding series. We’ll finish it off with a wedding that means the most to me; my own, of course!
We had a small very intimate wedding. The venue is elegant with big white columns that welcome you into the house of the Albemarle Inn, Bed and Breakfast. It is a fine place to stay, enjoy a scrumptious breakfast in the morning, and oh hey get married! We were hitched on the front porch with the vibrant green hues of spring surrounding us.
The garden is my favorite spot on the property, with the flowers all being overlooked by the giant front porch. The Albemarle Inn is quite a sight to drive up to, standing tall and proud, I was really in awe of it the first time I visited. I was with a friend on a work errand to make a delivery to one of the owners, Fabrizio Chiariello He was more than happy to give us a tour of the restored 1909 Greek Revival mansion. I was enchanted by its antique beauty. While walking up to the second story, Fabrizio mentioned people take pictures on the grand circular staircase during their wedding ceremonies. I had a passing thought of “wouldn’t that be nice.” Fate had it that Luciano, my now husband, proposed to me later that February. And, as time would have it, I was on that very staircase having my picture taken on our wedding day later that spring.
The owners, Fabrizio and wife Rosemary of the Albemarle Inn are also the reason we had such an amazing experience. They are thoughtful and caring to the couple’s needs and wishes. They already have priced wedding packages with a variety of options. They provided a pastor, Wyman Tannehill, who was wonderful to us. He even learned a few lines to say during the ceremony in Portuguese, Luciano’s native language and one I’ve been actively butchering in attempts to make conversation.
My parents came down from Pennsylvania for our wedding to join my sister to make up
our entire wedding party. The day before the big day my mom and sister worked on the wedding cake. They gathered flowers from a nearby garden for decoration (they know I’m an organic type of girl and I don’t think it gets any more natural than that), they whipped up the icing after we all had dinner together. Then I stayed out of the kitchen while they made it into the master piece you see here. That was really special to me because I know they put a lot of time and thought into it and it was freaking delicious.
We had music by Hank Bones who strummed beautiful chords during the ceremony on his guitar. Hank is a local who is a resident musician on Thursday’s at the Lobster Trap, where Maggie and I work. I love Thursday’s there because no matter what the night entails, running around busy or slow and steady, everything is done to the melody of Hank strumming classic songs to keep my mood light. And it’s a real treat when he sings along. I knew he would be perfect for this day! So I walked down the aisle as Hank played Cheek to Cheek by Fred Astaire, though Luciano can never remember what our song is. Hopefully this can be a permanent reminder. He also played some Brazilian songs, without evening knowing my husband is a Brasileiro.
It all went by so fast but funny enough I still remember every second of it. Something that made the moment of walking out the front doors to Luciano to become husband and wife even more sweet was an idea I had a couple days before. I had us write letters to each other, opened ended but to say how we were feeling. To read that letter he wrote right before joining hands in marriage made my heart melt. That is a moment I’ll always treasure and something I suggest others try.
We all celebrated after at Brasilia Steak House downtown in honor of Luciano’s heritage and our hungry tummies. We really had the perfect mix of welcoming him into my family since his family is in Brazil. Soon I shall be welcomed into his family, on a beach in Brazil for another wedding celebration, Brazilian style and for that I am counting down the days.
And now ladies and gentlemen…that concludes our wedding series this spring/summer! Want another one next year? Let’s Convince Maggie by telling us in the comments to do it!
