Gina&Mark080808
08-18-2008, 10:32 PM
Our wedding was a destination wedding to South Padre Island, Texas - about 7 hours from home. Hurricane Dolly hit them head on about 3 weeks before our wedding. We left a couple of days before the wedding so we would have time to meet with the pastor and the wedding planner before the wedding day. We arrived Wednesday evening and were upgraded from a 2 bedroom condo to a huge 4 bedroom house. The rental company had a lot of empty properties because of cancellations from the hurricane. It was the perfect house for a reception. Even though we had already planned a reception at a local restaurant, we both liked the idea of having everyone at the house instead. We started calling some local restaurants to see if we could get a caterer so quickly. In calling around that night, we found out that the restaurant we had planned for the reception was closed because of hurricane damage until November! So now we didn't have a choice, we had to put together a reception quickly! We visited a few locations on the island and found a seafood restaurant who said they could put something together for us by Friday. We made plans to come back Thursday night to try the food to make sure we liked it.
Thursday we met with the pastor then with the wedding planner. Everything was lining up perfectly. Our planner was awesome! Thursday afternoon all of the girls headed to the salon for mani/pedis. It was my first time and I loved it! Thursday night we met some of my family who had already arrived and had dinner at the restaurant who would cater the reception. The food was yummy seafood. Very islandy!
Friday morning was very calm. My hairdresser and family friend arrived and started working on hair. Mark and I and a couple of the kids headed to the beach since we had not had a chance to go yet. We came home and showered. I was ready to think about how to do my hair with the veil and tiara. I didn't want anything really different from how I usually look. I went to the closet to see how it would all work together with my dress. At that point I realized that I didn't bring it. This was about three hours before I was to marry my love! I just started laughing because I knew this would be a moment no one would forget! When I told Mark I didn't have it, he jumped into action and said let's go find one! I found a dress at a local tourist trap and made it back to the house just in time to get makeup and hair done. At first I was bothered that the dress was kinda plain and not fancy, but once I put my makeup and hair together, I really liked the look. The new dress fit the beach theme much better than my original one that was left behind.
We arrived probably 10 minutes after the wedding was set to begin, but that's okay on the island because everyone is on "ISLAND TIME." LOL I love that place... it's so laid back and easygoing. You can't help but relax!
My planner had everything set up beautifully. She had 2 photographers in place and a lady to tell everyone when to walk. The DJ was already set up and had gone through my friend Kelly's song with her already.
The ceremony was beautiful and perfect. We started with an apology to each other and asking forgiveness- the pastor said we might as well get the first one out of the way so it would be easy next time. LOL We did the kids vows and gave each of them a necklace to remember their commitment to the family. After that, the younger kids played in the sand the whole time. They were just precious.
After our ring exchange and vows, we did the sand ceremony and my OW friend Kelly (Kfancii) sang our song beautifully! It was special and wonderful.
We took tons of pictures after the wedding, ending with a group photo of everyone jumping. It was a great time. I'll post photos later. That was so fun!
We spent another several days on the island with lots of time at the beach. It was the best time ever!
My advice to brides to be is to remember - it's not about the ceremony or the dress or any of the other details. It's about marrying the man of your dreams. I was the happiest woman in the world!
Thursday we met with the pastor then with the wedding planner. Everything was lining up perfectly. Our planner was awesome! Thursday afternoon all of the girls headed to the salon for mani/pedis. It was my first time and I loved it! Thursday night we met some of my family who had already arrived and had dinner at the restaurant who would cater the reception. The food was yummy seafood. Very islandy!
Friday morning was very calm. My hairdresser and family friend arrived and started working on hair. Mark and I and a couple of the kids headed to the beach since we had not had a chance to go yet. We came home and showered. I was ready to think about how to do my hair with the veil and tiara. I didn't want anything really different from how I usually look. I went to the closet to see how it would all work together with my dress. At that point I realized that I didn't bring it. This was about three hours before I was to marry my love! I just started laughing because I knew this would be a moment no one would forget! When I told Mark I didn't have it, he jumped into action and said let's go find one! I found a dress at a local tourist trap and made it back to the house just in time to get makeup and hair done. At first I was bothered that the dress was kinda plain and not fancy, but once I put my makeup and hair together, I really liked the look. The new dress fit the beach theme much better than my original one that was left behind.
We arrived probably 10 minutes after the wedding was set to begin, but that's okay on the island because everyone is on "ISLAND TIME." LOL I love that place... it's so laid back and easygoing. You can't help but relax!
My planner had everything set up beautifully. She had 2 photographers in place and a lady to tell everyone when to walk. The DJ was already set up and had gone through my friend Kelly's song with her already.
The ceremony was beautiful and perfect. We started with an apology to each other and asking forgiveness- the pastor said we might as well get the first one out of the way so it would be easy next time. LOL We did the kids vows and gave each of them a necklace to remember their commitment to the family. After that, the younger kids played in the sand the whole time. They were just precious.
After our ring exchange and vows, we did the sand ceremony and my OW friend Kelly (Kfancii) sang our song beautifully! It was special and wonderful.
We took tons of pictures after the wedding, ending with a group photo of everyone jumping. It was a great time. I'll post photos later. That was so fun!
We spent another several days on the island with lots of time at the beach. It was the best time ever!
My advice to brides to be is to remember - it's not about the ceremony or the dress or any of the other details. It's about marrying the man of your dreams. I was the happiest woman in the world!