Real Weddings – Marianna and Brian
Marianna and Brian
January 30
“From a fairy-tale meeting to a fairy-tale wedding”
Marianna Elizabeth Pfefferle and Lieutenant Brian Alf Carlson met at the National Debutante Cotillion and Thanksgiving Ball on the evening of Thanksgiving in 2006. At the time, Brian was attending the United States Military Academy at West Point and Marianna was attending the University of NC at Wilmington. The two hit it off and spent the evening dancing in the ballroom.
Brian proposed to Marianna at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on June 13th, 2008, just two weeks after being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. In January 2009 he deployed to South Korea for a full year, returning to North Carolina five days before the wedding.
The wedding ceremony took place at Marianna’s lifelong parish, North Raleigh Methodist Church. The couple included the ritual of the saber arch – a traditional military salute to the newly wed couple, which also welcomes the bride to the army.
Marianna’s family have been long-time members of the Capital City Club and she knew immediately that this was where she wanted to have her reception. As the day neared, the club assured her they would remain open despite calls for snow. And snow it did – but instead of being a downer, the six inches of frosting outside only added to the festive winter wedding celebration. Brian and Marianna are both swing dancers (Brian formerly professionally!), so they hired East Coast Entertainment to provide a big swing band, kicking off the night with “It Had to be You” for their first dance.
The Club’s reception hall was decorated with white and blue floral arrangements created by Ninth Street Flowers. The couple’s favorite bakery, Edible Art, provided the cake. It sat in a window overlooking downtown Raleigh, and the cutting was done with a saber. Another standout vendor was photographer Brian Mullins, who kept the couple cheery while he made magical shots for them in the scenic snowy background. Marianna described Mullins as, “the most personable photographer I have ever met. He wowed me with his photos… and was willing to brave the elements during our shoots.”
Brian will be deploying near the end of March, so please keep him and his fellow soldiers in thoughts and prayers.
Reception:
Capital City Club
Photographer:
Brian Mullins
Bridal & Bridesmaids:
Enchanting Moments
Florist:
Ninth Street Flowers
Cake:
Edible Art
Ceremony Musicians:
Candace Baily (organist) and Peggy Hayes, Soo Keith & Lou Pedro
Reception Musicians:
East Coast Entertainment
Transportation:
White Horse and Absolute Elegance Limousine Service
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