Gorgeous Beach Wedding ~ Wisdom and Birth Style!!!!

This post is totally unrelated to birth, but since this is my blog I wanted to share how Wisdom and Birth celebrates a wedding, beach style!!!!



As many of you may know, my name is Randi and I am the blogger at Wisdom and Birth. I have recently married my dearest friend and partner Chase and wanted to share our incredible union and wedding ideas with you!

Follow along for our wedding story!


 
The Beginning...
Groom's cake - a tribute to the Huskies that brought us together

It all began at a dog park in Tampa, Florida.

I met Chase one week after a 35 hour road-trip across the country (Denver to Tampa) to begin graduate school at USF. I was surprised to see another Husky at the dog park and quickly became friends with his owner ;)
Our first date was soon after ~ we had a few drinks at The Independent as 'friends'... and the rest is history! 









Over looking Lake Dillon, CO
Our Engagement...

I took Chase home to Denver, Colorado in August of 2013 to meet the rest of the family. Chase proposed just outside my favorite mountain town, Breckenridge. We drove the scenic route (gorgeous!) from Colorado Springs to Breck  - Chase had chosen a lovely location overlooking Lake Dillon to propose; he cleverly asked a nearby hiker to capture the moment :)







Our Wedding...

We rented a beach house on Anna Maria Island and made a wedding week celebration out of it. On the first night my three sisters (bridesmaids) arrived. I'll never forget our hour long road-trip to the beach house... not a single topic discussed in the car is appropriate for the internet! ;) We partied hard all night and slept even harder, as evidenced by one bridesmaid waking up cradling the legs of another... then a bottle of Malibu Rum on night 2... :/
Sisters, the beautiful bridesmaids!
On Wednesday the groom's brother joined us. A sweet, well-raised Southern Baptist with only one older brother... well, now he has four sisters! After a few accidental boob shots, some inappropriate jokes, and hours of "fingeling" (you know, the ipad game...!) he was loosened up and ready to join in on the shenanigans :)

After an hour long search for a wallet (under the Frisbee, dammit!), we hopped on the free trolley to explore the island. We made it to the GORGEOUS North Pier and then back into the heart of the island for lunch at Lobstahs; after over-hearing (thanks to loud sisters!) that we were there for our wedding, some fellow diners bought us a celebratory cocktail and the restaurant bought us dessert! Thank you Lobstahs and mystery couple! We ended this wonderful day with drinks (mmm, Hippie Juice), loud-music, and decorating the beach house... and more Fingeling! (it is just a finger game, really!)

Grandma made my orange lily bouquet
Early Thursday, tired and hung-over, the groom had to crawl out of bed to retrieve a groomsmen from the airport. Shortly thereafter, the groom's family arrived at the beach house (mom, dad, and grandma) and they began preparations for Friday's rehearsal dinner.

The ladies got their nails done (read: foot and hand massages). But the guys... well, they dealt with mind-numbing traffic, an incredibly talkative salesman, and hungry women foot-tapping at home waiting for Pub subs - which were made painstakingly slow by an employee in training (we mean very very slow). Needless to say, the groom had his only groom-zilla moment (really not that bad). It all worked out, though, when they brought home Pub subs and pizza!

The bride's mother (with her fiance) and Aunt arrived on Thursday evening ~ most of the party was there! We all celebrated, relaxed, and had a lovely time. Grandma made our bouquets and I'm pretty sure there was more fingeling going on in the kitchen ;)




Rehearsal Day!!!!


Friday morning ushered in a few more arrivals, including the Bride's father, one of her brothers and his lovely girlfriend.

In the afternoon some of the Groom's close friends from the College swim team arrived, along with our final member of the wedding party ~ the last groomsmen was there!

Rehearsal went swimmingly and everyone LOVED the dinner prepared by the Groom's mother and grandmother. The night played on with lively conversations, second story cannonballs, and a floating keg... the party lasted LOOOOOONG into the night and a few people had trouble falling asleep in anticipation of the wedding day on the horizon!






Wedding Day!!!!

We made it!

Groom and his father
Grandma Vee made breakfast for the wedding party and originally I thought that I would "hide-away" all morning... but once I had to sit alone in my bedroom and eat breakfast I decided to throw that tradition out the window and went to join my sisters and friends. After breakfast the ladies headed up to the master suite to get ready and my sister did my hair :)








FIRST LOOK!!!!!!

Truly, this was the only time on the Wedding Day that I was nervous. The parents, wedding party and some guests were downstairs watching with cameras at the ready - so much for a 'private' first-look! *deep breath* and I made my march down the stairs and into the arms of my husband-to-be!

Look at his face :)













On the way to the beach ceremony!
 

Groom, his mother, and the wedding party.



...and down the aisle!





 
The Ceremony

Hand-fasting ceremony 
Sand Pouring.
Our officiant was a close friend who became a notary (possible in Florida). He did an incredible job and it was perfect to have someone close to us perform our ceremony! There were brief vows, ring exchange, sand-pouring, and a hand-fasting.

Bridesmaids wore purple convertible wrap dresses


My bridesmaids held a single stem orange lily with multiple blooms. My bouquet was orange lilies with lavender accents. In the end we had about 40 people at the Wedding (including the wedding party and us), it was wonderful we kept it small! We had the ceremony at 1:30pm and after a reception everyone was able to change and play at the beach!  









You may kiss the Bride!

  
Smooch!
We walked off to "Happy" by Pharell Williams























And we took a few formal pictures

  
 
 








And a couple with family and friends :)
 
Bride's family... aren't they adorable!

Tampa friends!


Groom's father, mother and brother






Father of the Bride





 













Reception

Back at the beach house we had cocktails, gave toasts, catered dinner, delicious desserts, and our first dance!

Decorations

Our cakes were from Let Them Eat Cake in Tampa. We had a small wedding cake, cupcakes for guests and a grooms cake (Husky cake above).  They also give a free anniversary cake, so you don't have to save your cake in the freezer for a stale piece one year later!  

(Right) We hung ornaments on fishing wire from the stairs and wrapped white lights and purple paper around the handrails. (Left) We had a small area for our scrapbook and other mementos of our journey. My mom made a photo slideshow as well!




First dances...




We had our first dance as Husband and Wife to Miguel's Simple Things; Tiny Dancer for the Father of the Bride; and Bon Iver for the Mother of the Groom.

Cake! We agreed no messes :)




Once all the official wedding activities were done, most of the party changed in to something more comfortable for hanging out at the beach...



Where we did the garter toss.



With his teeth!






And there was a brawl for the bouquet...










And we made a pyramid!







We did some celebratory jumping :)

 




And we drew in the sand.






















Did some fist pumping!

 





And walked off into the sunset.






 For a sunset kiss!



  


And we had to get one with the Full Moon!










Cheers to a long and happy marriage together... on to the babies!!!!! ;)
~Mrs. Wisdom and Birth


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