Since then we have moved back to California - but the best thing I got out of all of our time in Florida was an unforgettable wedding weekend. We invited about 50 of our closest friends and family to join us for a sunset beach wedding on Sanibel Island. Many of our guests arrived on Cinco de Mayo (05/05/05) and we all met up at Jalepeno's in Fort Myers to celebrate.
The following day most of the men were divided between two outings - fishing and golfing. I think the ladies decided to just relax. Later that night we had a "rehearsal dinner" where no one rehearsed anything - but we did eat some good southern BBQ, drink some cold beers and watch a few gators cruise by in the canal.
Saturday was the main event. And it all went really smooth - except for the hairdresser fiasco, which after three beers and a good cry was resolved.
My gift to our guests was a designated driver tour bus which would pick them up from their rental or hotel and drop them off there at the end of the night.
My brother Mark, the Maid of Honor, was charged with hosting the bus which was actually early! So Mark directed the guests to the poolside cabana at Casa Ybel to wait for the wedding to begin.
Bless Pastor Spengler for the quick (20 minute) ceremony - Jeff and I didn't like all that attention.
Afterward we had all the guests gather on the beach for a group picture.
Then everyone went to a poolside cocktail hour while we took more pictures.
Finally we all moved upstairs for dinner and dancing.
That night my Dad drove Jeff and I to our hotel down the street. When we got to the room Jeff realized he had left his overnight bag in the car at Casa Ybel. So I changed into jeans and flip flops and we walked about a mile down the dark and windy beach back to Casa Ybel. The next day we headed off to Miami for a mini-honeymoon. The neat thing was a lot of our guests decided to go extend their trips and travel around the Caribbean. It was a fun and memorable weekend for all.....
