Vacations and weddings

We have been away. We took a week off and went to Las Vegas to our timeshare there. This brings up a good point. We have six timeshares. Because of this, we can often purchase extra weeks at a very low price at some really nice resorts. If you are planning a honeymoon and want to save some money, and are one of our couples of course, it might be worth a chance to see if we can do something for you to save you some money and have a really great honeymoon at a great price. We might even be able to get you a few nights free if you are willing to listen to a timeshare presentation, but with the extra weeks, you don't have to do that.

We came back to do the wedding of Jessie and Derek at Anastasia Island State Recreation Area in St. Augustine. It couldn't have been a better day. The sky was blue as could be. The couple marked the aisle with potted bromeliads sunk into the sand and a bamboo framed canopy over the altar area. The bridesmaids wore dark orange knee length dresses and Jessica wore a long formal white gown with flowers in her hair. The men were all dressed in white which looked brilliant against the sand and sky. The bromeliads and the bouquets were in an assortment of brilliant colors. It made a lovely scene. This lovely couple are off to a honeymoon in St. Lucia and I am sure they will have a great time. Derek is in the military so they are making the most of their time together till he gets the dreaded call to serve.

Sergio and JoAnn's garden wedding

Sergio and JoAnn just got married. They had a garden wedding in the courtyard of the Oldest house in St. Augustine. JoAnn wore a strapless beaded gown with a long train and chapel veil. Her daughter, Brianna wore a white dress with a champagne ribbon and bow around her waist. They had a sand ceremony using brown and tan sand and the sand set from our exceptionalweddingsupplies.com. It was engraved with their names and the date. They also had a memorial vase of peach roses for her mother. Her father read the Apache Blessing to them and her sister read a poem. Sergio and Joann had a medallion ceremony where Sergio presented a necklace to JoAnn's daughter, Brianna as a token of his promise to love her as his own and to help JoAnn in raising her. You could see that they had a very special relationship already.

Castle Otttis

Yesterday we contracted with Misty and Robert for their wedding at Castle Otttis in Ponte Vedra Beach. No, that is not a mis-spelling. The three t's represent the trinity. The castle was built after a 13th century castle in Ireland by Rusty and his friends. It is an amazing place. Misty and Robert are coming in from Newport News, Virginia where he is in the military. The wedding is this weekend. The military gives us many short-notice weddings since they don't seem to give their members a lot of notice about when they will be active.

Megan and Damen

The Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine was the site of the Saturday wedding of Damen and Megan. The weather was perfect despite earlier forecasts of rain. Megan wore a beaded gown with a short train and carried purple irises. The bridesmaids wore dark hunter green gowns with bouguets of various colors. The men were dressed in tuxedos. They are such a lovely couple, just perfect together. Megan and Damen had the handfasting ceremony. This is an ancient pagan tradition adopted by Celtic marriages in which thirteen ribbons, each of a different color representing wishes for the couple (for example, green for weath, white for purity, etc) are tied around the couple's hands. The ribbons are removed before the end of the ceremony, but they are reminded that the it is up to them to keep the bonds tied. It is from this tradition that we get the term "tying the knot." In ancient times the couple was thereby joined for a year and a day at which time they would go again before the officiant to either have the marriage made permanent or to dissolve their union. Today we have marriage licenses so they only have until Monday when we file the license. But we know from the way they looked at each other that there is no danger of that happening. We wish them a happy marriage forever.

Friday, April 3 was the wedding of Michelle and Lee at Anastasia Island State Park. Lee had set up a framework draped in fabric on the beach for their evening wedding. His preparation time was cut short by tornado warnings and heavy rain in the morning but at the time of the ceremony, the weather couldn't have been better. Lee is a dentist who has been in practice one year. I am sure he will be able to keep that beautiful smile on his bride's face. The sun was setting over the dunes as they said their vows, casting a warm glow. A small reception on the beach followed the ceremony.