We have returned from our wonderful & beautiful wedding in Pensacola, Florida. We had a great time with our families. We stayed at the Portofino Island Resort, which is a great facility and in an amazing location with incredible views. The rooms were 3 bedroom condos; our families were able to stay together in a couple rooms which made for great socializing. In Casey's family’s room, we were lucky to have the dining room table long enough to accommodate all of us for meals. Portofino sits on an island that is no wider than a 1/4 mile. It's a truly wonderful place. After arriving on Tuesday, we all went out to eat at Flounder's. It was your typical tourist trap restaurant, but the food was amazing, especially the coconut shrimp!
On Wednesday, we ran around getting our marriage license, running errands, meeting with the event coordinator, etc. Everyone piled into our cars & Casey's brother Clint took us to Joe Patti's, a fresh fish market in Pensacola. What an awesome place, the boats pull right up to the market and unload their catch directly into the market. We loaded up on sea food and headed back to the Portofino and Clint prepared a fish feast for everyone. He made everything from shrimp, to snapper, to grouper, and more. It was an amazing meal.
On Thanksgiving, we again gathered around the large table to come together & give thanks, the Codd's & Dalrymple's, for our Thanksgiving meal. It was a real delight to have everyone together; all 13 of us, around one table. Our nephew, Molly's son Carson, was the entertainer of the trip. Carson is always busy checking things out, conversing with everyone, putting on shows, and just such a delight to have around. That night, Casey's sister Grace presented Heather with a very special present (practical joke). It was a veil deemed the "Festi-veil". It combined a veil for our wedding and a replica of a turkey to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was one of the most hideous things a bride could ever see, but everyone had a huge laugh about it. Later that night we headed down to the restaurant at the resort to watch the Broncos game. Ken & Ann both arrived that night adding to the enjoyment of having great friends around as well.
Friday Heather's Matron of Honor, Megan & her husband Matt flew in. We grabbed a quick lunch at "Surf Burger", which was your quintessential beach burger place. Finally it was time for the rehearsal on the beach. Everything went very well. Later that evening everyone met at Jackson's Steak House for a lovely dinner. Jackson's had excellent food & amazing service.
Saturday was the day of the wedding. At 3pm on the 28th of November, 2009 our wedding on the beach began. The weather turned out to be great; not much wind and the temperature was warmer than it had been the previous days. The sun setting between the clouds on the brilliant blue water that was crashing into the soft bleach white sand was incredibly romantic and made for a memorable ceremony. Afterword we had dinner with everyone at the Terracotta restaurant at the resort. Heather's friend Laura had surprised us by making a video montage using pictures that our mothers had gathered for her & sending to Florida with Coleen. It was a touching and endearing moment to sit and watch. That night we made our way to our honeymoon cottage, the "Green Gecko", down the coast in Santa Rosa Beach.
We spent the next couple days relaxing and exploring the Florida coast from Panama City Beach to Destin. One of our favorite spots was a tiny little place called Seaside. This town was all cottages and local merchants. There was nothing commercial in the village at all. It was quaint and beautiful, the type of place you seek out while driving a coastal highway. We ate at the Great Southern Cafe, which had the most amazing food, to include incredible Fried Green Tomatoes. It started to rain one afternoon so we saw a movie, Disney's "A Christmas Carol" in 3-D. We had never seen a 3-D movie, so that was a fun new experience for us as well. All too soon we had to head back to Colorado, the whole way back we just shook our heads asking, "Where did all the time go?"
It was a great trip, one that we will remember for the rest of our lives. When we get our professional photos back we will post them for you to enjoy. We are so excited to see them because the scenery was incredible for all the pictures.... CAN'T WAIT!!!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment