Simple Elegance

Erica and Joseph were married Saturday at the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club. They were married on the lawn overlooking the golf course. Joseph is in the Navy and the couple was disrupted twice this summer when hurricanes approached Key West where they are stationed. They still managed to plan their wedding despite all the upheaval. The only kink was when their chair covers were delivered to the wrong venue. I guess when they changed venues the rental company did not get the message, but they were intercepted on their way back to their headquarters and were re-directed to the correct place in time for the reception. It is a good idea to call all the vendors the week before the wedding to make sure everyone is on the same track. Erica and Joseph had a violinist play their ceremony music. It was a lovely touch.
They had fun during the ceremony as Rev. Ted worked to calm their nerves. Erica's mom was on the verge of tears over her "baby" getting married, but Ireminded her that she might have grandchildren in her future now and that is the best fun ever.

Matanzas Beach Wedding

Friday evening was the wedding of Peter and Tracy at the beach at Matanzas State Park. We played some caribbean steel drum music on our portable Bose system. It made for a very festive atmosphere. The bridesmaids wore pretty flowered sun dresses and the bride wore a traditional wedding gown. Tracy and Peter altered the traditional sand ceremony so that Tracy's three children could participate. Each of the five of them had a different color of sand and the resulting combined container was extraordiary. Tracy's older daughter was a junior bridesmaid and her younger daughter was the flower girl who took her duty very seriously. Her son was the ring bearer, but wisely did not actually carry the rings. Rings have been known to fall between the boards of the walkway or drop into the sand so it is never a good ideal to have the real rings carried by any child. If you are using a ring pillow, use cheap plastic rings to tie onto the pillow and keep the real ones with the best man, maid of honor, or the minister. The child can walk up to the couple and pretend to give them the rings, and everyone accepts this whether they think he has the real rings or not. I am sure Peter, Tracy and their children will have a very happy family life together.

Rehearsals

I would like to say a few words about wedding ceremony rehearsals. We don't do them. There are many reasons for this decision on our part not to do wedding rehearsals.
First, our brides get to read their wedding ceremonies in plenty of time before the wedding so they know what takes place when. During the ceremony they are directed by the words of the ceremony to what comes next. For the most part, they are standing there in front of the Reverend and standing at a forty five degree angle to him so they can see each other and him and their guests can see them. The only time they have to move is to do the unity candle or sand ceremony or a medallion ceremony. Then they just have to move a little bit and they can see where they have to go. Then of course, they kiss at the end, but this comes naturally.
Second, rounding up attendants to run through the processional is like herding greased pigs. Some can't make it because they have to work late, others have prior obligations. You would be amazed. The ones that come are impatient to get it over and get to the partying and are paying no attention. The ones that sort of pay attention forget the next day what was done the night before. I asked a group of groomsmen what they did at the rehearsal last week and they said "got drunk." You get the picture. The ones that didn't come get panicked because they don't know what to do and they think the others do. (They don't either).
Third, if you are having your ceremony at a country club, hotel, banquet hall, then they have paid staff to run though the rehearsal if you insist. Just fill us in quickly when we get there so we know what is going on and everything is fine. If you are having a home, beach or garden wedding, the weather could change everything anyway. We have been doing this for years and we know what we are doing. You have been walking a straight line for years and you know what you are doing. We just need to know which one is the best man, which one is the maid of honor and you can email us any special details like if the parents are entering to music, if the bride is being escorted by her father or whomever, and if you want the men to wait up front or escort the bridesmaids down the aisle. We need to charge for our time and travel and we do not want to cause you any unneeded expense by having a rehearsal that is not needed. If you want to party, that's fine. Use is as an occasion to give your attendants their gifts and to give them a rough idea of the order they will enter and where they will stand. We will be glad to discuss this with you but we don't need to be there.

A beautiful chapel

Sunday, Sept 21st was the wedding of Kenneth and Katherine. They were married at the Preservation Hall in Jacksonville. This is a rather small chapel which is perfect for a church wedding for those with no church affiliation. The chapel seats about eighty which is a nice size for a wedding. They had the reception on the lawn outside the chapel. The day before it rained heavily almost all day, but Kenneth and Katerine had a lovely day for their outdoor reception. Immediately after the ceremony the sky was misting a little bit but it was not enough to dampen the festivities, and the clouds kept it from being oppressively hot. Katherine's white gown had a brilliant light blue sash which beautifully accented her gown. The bridesmaids were in blue and the groomsmen had blue vests and ties. We made up their books of the ceremony with blue sky and white cloud covers. They had light blue and white sand for their sand ceremony. Their ceremony music was a collection of their favorites including "The Way You Look Tonight" for the attendants, "God Bless the Broken Road" for the bride and "At Last" for the recessional. Kenneth and Katherine were delightful to work with and we wish them a long and happy life together.

Two in one day

Last Saturday, the 13th, was a very busy day. We had two weddings, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Orange Park was the setting for the 3 PM wedding of Audrey and Brandon. Audrey chose a black and white theme. Her white dress had a black sash to accent it and her bridesmaids and groom and groomsmen all wore black. Her cake was black and white as were the table settings. The wedding was held at the Oakleaf Plantation clubhouse. It was a beautiful venue with an elegant double staircase and gardens for a backdrop. She had a memorial candle for her father before the start of the ceremony and was given away by her uncle who said it was he and his brother (Audrey's father) who were giving her away.

5:30 in the evening Tina and Richard were married at the Ginn Ocean Hammock resort in Palm Coast. They had the ceremony on the lawn in front of the resort with Tina descending the grand staircase to greet her groom. There was a view of the ocean from the lawn and it was an elegant event. Her reception was outdoors and featured a cake by one of our favorite bakers, Publix supermarket, who made her a cake decorated with icing calla lillies with a topper to match. I am always amazed at the work they do.

Destination Weddings

This past Monday, Maleeka and Terrance came down from Illinois to be married on one of our fabulous beaches. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We had the unusual pleasure of being with them while they applied for their license, and then we took them to the beach in front of our timeshare at the Royal Floridian Resort. There is no waiting time for out-of-state residents so if your are being married on a weekday, you can get the license in the morning and be married before the ink dries on it. Since we own several time shares we can often be of help in getting you accomodations at a very reasonable rate. Be sure to ask us if you are coming down to fabulous central florida for your wedding.

Gator's fans wedding

Last evening was a very unusual, fun, but very elegant wedding. Emily and Matthew both attended the University of Florida and are ardent Gators fans. The wedding colors were orange and blue, the colors of the Gators team. After the vows, the best man, Jeff, attached a ball and chain to Matthew's ankle to the delight of Emily. Even their cake topper had a bride holding a key to the ball and chain on the groom's ankle. Also on the cake table were a pair of toy alligators dressed as a bride and groom. As the couple had their first kiss as husband and wife, all the guests donned plastic blue and orange sunglasses with big noses attached which caused Rev. Ted to almost break down laughting as he wasn't expecting to look up to see that spectacle. The wedding and reception were held at the Ginn Hammock Dunes Resort which did a beautiful job in decorating the ballroom in blue and orange. John Edwards, a country song writer and singer came in from Nashville to do a few songs just for the newlyweds. And of course the Gators fight song was played along with many country favorites during the reception. To top off the celebration, Emily just got word that she has passed the bar exam and is now an attorney. Best wishes to them both.

The end of August

Brandon and Stacy were married at the Palatka Ravine Gardens in Palatka on Saturday, August 23rd. We had never been there before and it is a really beautiful place and a great backdrop for a wedding. I am sure their pictures, taken by our good friend and photographer Bill Vodek, were spectacular. Even if you are not getting married, I recommend a trip to the gardens. It is as beautiful as anything we saw on our vacation to Tahiti, Bora Bora and Hawaii. After a few days celebrating our Granddaughter Kaylie's ninth birthday in Coconut Creek, we came back to work with a wedding Thursday at Washington Oaks. It seems to be a very popular place this summer. Mike and Brandy were married at the Gazebo with just a few friends and relatives present. A wedding does not have to be big to be special. All three weddings this week were intimate events with just a few guests. Saturday Sean and Christina were married on the beach at Jacksonville Beach. There was a huge storm cloud approaching as the ceremony neared its end, but we heard from our other photographer, John Hyder, that he had plenty of time to finish up the beach pictures before it started to rain. Sean and Christina came down from Georgia to our beautiful beach for their wedding. Sunday was another Washington Oaks wedding. Brian and Stephanie were wed in the morning with just the immediate family present and also had their wedding in the Gazebo. They were amused by the story of the time I was taking some pictures of a wedding in the Gazebo and fell into the pond next to it. I am glad that at that time I did not know about the snakes in it. They don't bother anyone who stays on the path, but to swim with them is something else.