Greensboro Wedding

Cody and I got married just over one month ago here in Greensboro. Aside from being unbelievably happy just to getting married, one of the aspects of our wedding that made us the happiest was the support we received from our community, to which we are still very new.

 Having only lived in Greensboro for one year, Cody and I were humbled at our friends' eagerness to celebrate our wedding in very personal and meaningful ways. Everyone who went out of their way to make our wedding day special shared his or her time, talent, and expertise in a way that shattered any expectations Cody and I had for our big day.

Music has forever been a central part of Cody and my life together, so having beautiful wedding music was of utmost importance to us. Dr. Karen Dresser, teacher at the American Hebrew Academy and Temple Emanuel, graced Cody, myself, and our guests with her beautiful singing and chanting. Stephanie Greco and Ryan Silvestri, two friends who are also violinists, played lyrical klezmer arrangements of wedding songs during the processional. They also played a rousing version of "Havah Negilah," as our family and friends lifted Cody and me on chairs in traditional Jewish wedding style.

We were also fortunate to enjoy Karen's incredible talents as a visual artist. Using our favorite colors, Karen created the most beautiful huppah (Jewish wedding canopy) and ketubah (Jewish marriage certificate) I have ever seen.

Huppah beautifully made by Karen Dresser, photo by Amy Terrell

Flowers by Mary Ann Brown, Photo by Amy Terrell

Making our wedding as eco-friendly as possible was also important to Cody and me, especially when it came to flowers. The mother of one of my preschool students told me that her mother grows and arranges flowers and offered her services to us, we knew that we had found the perfect wedding decor. Using freshly picked peonies and greens and purchased irises, we had fresh spring bouquets and arrangements for the wedding ceremony and reception dinner.

Finally, many others contributed to the success and uniqueness of our wedding day. Parents of my preschool students made monogram wedding cake cookies and an enormous braided challah (Jewish egg bread). A friend of Cody's mom handmade our place cards and personalized our guest book and a local baker, Phone Winstead, owner of My Two Sweetie Pies, made our beautiful wedding cake.

Cake by Phone Winstead (My Two Sweetie Pies), photo by Amy Terrell

Photo by Amy Terrell

Cookies baked by Tracy Lurey, Photo by Amy Terrell

Challah baked by Martin Yaravitz, Photo by Amy Terrell

In the end, we felt honored to have such wonderful friends who were so eager to share their unique talents with us on our wedding day. Thank you to everyone!