The day Aaron and I arrived in Destin was gorgeous. We had no problems traveling and were happy to get there before everyone else to get the lay of the land, so to speak. We looked around the “shack” (the smallest of the 3 houses we rented)
and absolutely fell in LOVE. My favorite part was the master bathroom. The shower circled behind the huge tub and had openings on each side.
I called it a walk-through shower.
Aaron’s favorite was the kitchen
After we unloaded, we went down the street to the boardwalk and out onto the beach. One of the memories that comes back to me over and over was the way Aaron reached for my hand and we walked onto the sand holding hands. We slept great that night. Looking forward to the week we had been planning for over a year.
Amy, Travis, Connor, and baby (we now know it was Madison :-D) drove from the airport and met us at the house.
We all went to Wal-Mart and got some lunch. Then the houses were finally ready.
The gorgeous stairway.
The one in the middle was the one we stayed in.
This was the "Tyler" house directly across the street.
We were so happy!! The houses were perfect and exactly what we hoped they would be. The views, the rooms for everyone, the elevators…everything. Aaron picked Terry, Charlie, Josh, Mel, Carly, and Jenny up from the airport, and then Travis went and picked up Sue, Gene, Courtney, and Tierney. My family drove in right on schedule: Mom, Dad, Laura, Lyndsey, Matt, Trisha, Aunt Jane, and Brian. We spent the rest of Saturday getting settled in and visiting and checking out the houses.
On Sunday, Mom, Jane, and I made plans for the reception. People played on the beach and in the pools. Aaron went and picked up Bernice, Carl, and Lou. Gena and Jayden arrived completing the guest list. Everyone seemed to be thrilled with everything, and things were running smoothly, just as planned.
Monday, Aaron and I went to get the license. There was a couple there that was getting married. The man was in a military outfit and the girl in a cute white dress. The guy was kinda cocky and said at one point he had “done his homework” about the details (something about witnesses) and was prepared. They were called up just as we were being helped by another clerk. The lady helping the couple started her spiel and the man stopped her asking if “we’re gonna do it right here?” He asked if there was a room or something. The lady told him sorry no and started again. Aaron later said, "guess he wasn’t as knowledgeable as he thought he was." I thought of how blessed I am. How pleased and fortunate to have my family, a ceremony, Aaron’s WHOLE family, flowers, a dress, just the whole nine yards just as I wanted. After we got the license, we stopped at the cake lady’s place to pick up the birthday cakes for Carly and Jenny.
Finally, our last stop was the Barefoot Weddings office to meet Karen, our planner/officiate. She was so nice. We went over the details of the ceremony: when I wanted each song, the vows, shell girls, clothes, walking out, timing, etc. I asked her about weather, and she assured me that if there were any storms, they usually come and go quickly and they would keep an eye on it. She told me not to worry and to enjoy my vacation. We had the girls’ party that evening. They were really surprised and happy, I think.
Tues, Aaron and I finally got to relax and spent time on the beach, at the pool, and just being with the families.
It was great. Perfect. I. Love. The. Beach. Tues evening everyone went to Fudpucker’s for supper. It was a mad house and loud and crowded as usual. They gave Aaron blackened fish instead of blackened chicken. We said later he should have pretended to pass out on the floor and got PAID. Instead, we got his meal free.
That evening the Tyler crew gave Aaron and I a cake cutter and engraved champagne glasses. It was so sweet.
It started thundering and lightening a little that evening, and I started getting worried. When we got back to the “Miller” house, everyone was watching the weather which called for an 80% chance of storms the next day. My wedding day!! I sorta freaked out. After all, the entire planning period the only variable that could not be controlled was the weather. Which was exactly why it was the ONLY thing I worried about. Aaron was so wonderful. He came up to “our” room and held me and talked soothingly to me and said everything would be ok. He said we could move it earlier or later, or do it a different day, or whatever I wanted, just as long as we were married.
In the guestbook (Amy got us), I wrote down little notes that I wanted to remember while I was writing this. I have this written “Tues night Jamie had meltdown, worried about weather. Aaron was perfect partner. Comforted, held me while I cried, assured me it would all be ok.” This is why I married him. He’s my rock.
Wed was the BIG DAY. The flowers were delivered at 2:00 and the cake at 2:15. They were both perfect. So delighted with them!!
So, around 2 it started getting really dark outside and there was even some lightening. It started raining around 2:30. Not just a little. Sheets. Pouring rain. I talked to Karen who said it should blow over. We carried on with the plans. Gena started my hair around 3:30. I asked for regular updates on the rain. No signs of it stopping. The barefoot people got there around 4:30 and I talked to Karen. Again. We decided to wait for it to slacken up some. We would start as soon as it was barely sprinkling. The next few hours were stressful to say the least. But good too. My hair and make-up were done and Mom, Jane, Laura, Trisha, Gena, and Lyndsey helped me get my dress on and laced up. Matthew kept coming in with questions from Aaron. It was so funny and typical of a man. We had already talked about all of it earlier. What’s the ring-bearer supposed to do, stuff about their clothes, etc.
The photographer came and started taking pictures of me and my mom and dad. He also was downstairs taking some of Aaron and Matt. It was still raining.
I only teared up 2 times. The first was when the photographer was arranging me with my mom and dad. It was that thought: here’s a moment I’ve been planning/thinking about my whole life. It’s here. The second was when I looked over the balcony and saw Aaron. His back was to me and he was in his suit talking to one of the family members.
It stopped raining just as we started the ceremony (only a 45 min delay). Not another drop fell. During the ceremony, Aaron and I were looking at each other thinking “Huuurrryyy Karen, before it starts again.” Aaron looked at me and said “we’re doing it.” Charlie ran the video camera for us.
The sunset after the ceremony was breath-taking. Everyone looks at the pictures and asks if the background is a screen. I just smile and say no, remembering the stress and the dark clouds and the pouring rain.
After the ceremony and picture-taking, we went to the “Tyler house” for a reception of sorts. We ate and ate and ate. Mom and Jane did so amazing. They got us flowers that matched my colors (yellow, pink, orange, and red roses). Candles everywhere. There was fruit (with chocolate for dipping) and veggies and chicken strips and BBQ weenies and little sandwiches. Then we had cake with the champagne Charlie and Terry got it for us. Everyone talked about how perfect everything was and how pretty the decorations were.
That night Aaron and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Thursday and Friday we just lounged on the beach. Saturday, we had to leave paradise and go back to the real world. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It was perfect. A time that I’ll never, ever forget.
1 comment:
what beautiful pictures, jamie! you looked so pretty. and all tan. i miss being tan. (sigh...) and the house is fantastic. that shower would have been my favorite too.
what a wonderful wedding story.
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