We have just arrived back from a whirlwind of a week in Florida celebrating our families, friends and wedding. It was the most perfect wedding I could have imagined thanks to our family and friends, with last minute changes adding to the beauty and perfection of the night. Here's a rundown of the wedding week:
Wedding Week
Location: Santa Rosa Beach, FL
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| The groomsmen in the "dance-off" |
After fitting everything into a trailer and driving nine hours on Sunday, we enjoyed our first beach meal of the week (mine was a cheeseburger - a food craving in Germany). On Monday, after purchasing our marriage license, we had a relaxing day at the beach and pool followed by a late night game night with our older cousins. On Tuesday, we had another beach day and then met with our wedding coordinator to touch up last minute details and later met friends out for some drinks and food- delicious coconut shrimp! On Wednesday night, the serious wedding celebrations started with our separate bachelorette and bachelor parties. I'd call mine a success at least- I was serenaded twice at the piano bar and had the privilege of playing the tambourine on stage with a live band. And Abby joined with the cowbell. It was a perfect night with our friends.
On Thursday, the rehearsal dinner was held at Derek's family's beach house rental. They cooked a low county sea food boil consisting of corn on the cob, potatoes, sausage and shrimp and the house was filled with about 60 people- all family and bridal party. After it monsoon-ed outside and flooded part of the house, we had a "dance off" between the girls and guys outside by the pool. My nerves were getting a little restless by this night, but it was still a wonderful time with family and friends.
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| Rehearsal dinner celebrations |
The Wedding Day!
Location: Cabana Blue, Santa Rosa Beach
And now to my favorite day. Friday morning (June 8) we awoke to a bad weather forecast and a cloudy, murky sky. I had to make the decision by 10:00am about the ceremony location and the rain plan. So, I went with my gut feeling- a feeling I had for quite awhile leading up to this week- and moved the entire ceremony from the beach to our bay-side reception venue, Cabana Blue. Dinner was moved from outside in a beautiful garden to an inside bamboo-inspired room. In my mind, the rain option turned out better than the original option would have been. Everything was perfect.
My photographer, Marissa Davis, arrived to my family's house rental around 11am as all the bridesmaids trickled in from the hair salon. We had brunch, I shared my gifts with the girls- wristlets personalized from Etsy, and then we started getting dressed for the day. Marissa took many shots of us doing makeup, hanging out, etc, and then we headed to the original ceremony site - Grayton Beach State Park- for some group bridal party shots. After our fun shoot at the beach, we headed to Cabana Blue to relax a bit before the wedding. I can't wait to see the photos that Marissa took- I know she did a fabulous job!
When we arrived at the reception site, the decor was perfect. (I had not seen it yet due to my abroad living and the rush of the week) Derek's grandma and aunt had worked tirelessly on the reception decoration for the last six months, and it could not have looked more perfect for me and Derek's tastes.
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| Handmade table runners with shells, candle and vases. I printed the wine labels for the table numbers. |
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| The ceremony was held on the bay - it was windy but beautiful. |
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| The cake was delicious! We had chocolate, yellow and marble mixed with butter cream and cream cheese frostings. Notice the chocolates- we brought about 100 of those from Deutschland! |
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| We say "I Do" |
Around 4:00, guests started arriving and getting seated on the beach and soon after, it was me and my girls turn to make our entrance. It was so moving and wonderful to see all of our family and close friends together to celebrate with Derek and I. I walked down the aisle and then Derek and I said our personally written vows and walked out to "Better Together" by Jack Johnson on the ukulele. We took family photos, my dad said a prayer, and we enjoyed a delicious meal of tropical chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and rolls. After four moving speeches by my sister, Derek's brother and our dads, Derek and I proceeded to cut the cake and shove it into each others' faces. It was memorable, to say the least. Our first dance followed, as we swayed under the hanging lights to "Wanna Make You Love Me." After the father-daughter and mother-son dance, the dance floor opened up and everyone joined in. The bouquet toss, one of my favorite parts of the evening, gave me the opportunity to chuck the bouquet straight at my twin sister and MOH. Much to her surprise, I gave no one else the slightest chance of catching it.
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| Half of the Bridesmaids |
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| Me and the MOH- my twin Abby |
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| Yay! We're married! |
And then we headed back to Germany...and off to honeymoon in the Mediterranean, on the sun-kissed island of Sicily!
My sister took photos throughout the night. I have too many to include in this blog, but here are a few of my favorites! Also, I'll share a link to the professional photos when I receive them.
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