Our Beach Wedding

Living on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, I chose to have an intimate beach wedding with no stress. Of course I had my list of things that I wanted but the most important thing on my list was fun.

Although we live in Pensacola, I love Mexico Beach and it holds some sentimental memories for me so that is where I wanted to be married. It is about 3 hrs from P'cola so no biggie. Tom got us rooms at the El Governor on the beach and we had a few friends come over with us. By over, I mean geographical speaking. We went West down the panhandle of Florida to the forgotten coast.

Now let's talk about the other things I had on my wedding wish list.

 First of all, "The Dress".

 I wanted a long blue sundress that was flattering. Something that I could wear anytime during the summer. I did not want a dress that would just hang in my closet...gotta get some use out of whatever I purchase. I found one on Ebay for less than $40.00. Very comfortable also. I had previously purchased a beautiful cross necklace at the Women's Conference in Pensacola and a friend from Church made me some earrings to match. I was thrilled. 

Now being the Southern Gal that I am I wanted to be able to feel the sand between my toes as we said our "I DO's" so although I always "NEED" a new pair of shoes, it was not necessary to purchase a new pair. That was another important thing on my wedding list...barefoot on the beach.

Now to address the flowers. I chose Hydrangeas, for several reasons. I love the blooms and foliage. You can dry them and they keep a long time, They come in Blue. Blue flowers are associated with comfort, peace, serenity, devotion, hope and stability. We went to Home Depot and purchased a couple of Endless Summer Hydrangea bushes that were full of blooms. I planted the bushes in my garden to remember our wedding for years to come and I cut the flowers off the bushes and had enough for bouquet, cake top, table arrangement and my hair.

Next, the Cake. I wanted a very simple cake but it had to taste good! My wonderful neighbor baked the best cake ever. Mint Chocolate with Irish Cream filling...OMG!  We froze the top layer as tradition requires until our first anniversary but I doubt if it will make it that long with my sweet tooth.

I wanted the surf and the birds as my music and we chose a 9:30 AM time because it was not only cooler but that allowed more time for the "fun" after the wedding. The birds and surf were perfect pitch and did not disappoint me one bit. One of our special friends married us and I picked up shells on the beach to remember the spot where we were blessed. 

Next Adventure: Wedding Cruise. 

My husband tells everyone that he took me on a cruise for our honeymoon. It impresses them until they see the pictures. We went kayaking near Apalachicola. We love the outdoors and our wonderful friends made some lunch after the ceremony and off we all went on a 3 hour tour. It was beautiful and we made many memories on that trip which is another story in itself. I am still laughing when I think of that kayaking trip.

My final wish was to have dinner on the beach at sunset. We stopped by a local business that did catering and ordered dinner. We returned from our kayaking adventure just in time to enjoy the beautiful sunset, wonderful dinner and delicious cake! What a wonderful day. Well see for yourself...

Off to find the perfect spot

Found it!

Can you hear the surf and birds singing?

Great friends and beautiful beach

 Awww...

The sun was warm and so was the gentle surf

Girlfriends are the best!

Off for the 3 hour tour

Love the sign and bottles

No snakes or gators this trip

but...do you hear those banjos and are those buzzards circling?

Beautiful dinner setting

That was the best tasting cake ever

  Perfect ending to a perfect day! Hope you enjoyed the adventure. We sure did.