Wedding Day

May 20th was the big day.  Our day started out at the pool.  It was so hot.  I think that I reapplied 70 SPF every hour and still burned.  We spent more time in the pool and less time laying out. 

When it got unbearable, we went down to the ocean.  This is the only spot on the beach that was seaweed free  - so we claimed it as our own. 

The boys reading.  They spent much of their day reading.  Zac read an action/fantasy book that had a cover that looked like a romance novel.  Lauren's dad actually asked me if he was reading a romance novel, to which I said, "of course."  Michael brought one of his devotional books.  I listened to my audiobook. 

While we were lounging, the wedding party was getting ready.  Lauren invited us up to the room to get ready, with the girls.  M.J. and I went up for a few minutes to see how everything was going and swipe some food.  They were unsurprisingly very busy, so we went back down to the pool to cook our internal organs a bit longer. 

Here is the finished result! Everyone looked beautiful. 

At around 5:00 we taxied over to Zachery Bryan State Park - the wedding site.   After the taxi pulled off we realized that some of Lauren's wedding stuff was still in the back - so Zac ran down the taxi. 

The wedding site was beautiful.  We thought that we would roast in the sun - but the breeze kept it nice and cool. 

While waiting, we took advantage of the scenic backdrop. 

We did shots with and without the glasses.  The glass makes everything better!

Then it was time for  professional pictures to start. 

After pictures we settled in for the ceremony.

Zac having a terrible time. 

Lisa and Dee-Dee.

Gina told us to take pictures during the ceremony.  This was right before the ceremony started.  You can see that we are all in our "Key West Fest" glasses.  Eddie made to the wedding.  He rode his bike from Sparta and got in late the night before. 

The wedding party walked to "Africa" by ToTo. It was awesome!  Everyone next to me was softly humming.  Definitely one of my all time favorites. 

Dad performed the ceremony.  He did a great job.  He worked so hard on his speech and I was really proud of him.  

Lauren walked to "Blessed Assurance." 

The ceremony was beautiful and Lauren looked so pretty!  She appeared so calm and happy all day.

Not to make it all about me, but M.J. and I did make the ceremony speech.  Wh-What!

Changing back into his Crocs after the ceremony. This is comparable to us girls changing out of our heels except Dad was already in flats.  He hates flip flops. Everyone in the wedding party wore Kinos.  

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Everyone was so much more relaxed after the ceremony. 

Michael and Eddie grabbing the flowers for the reception.  At one point during the ceremony, the wind almost swept this cabana into the ocean.  At the last second, the best man reached over and held it still. I was a little nervous that if the cabana went sailing into the water, it would've taken dad with it. 

We rode the "Conch Train" over to the Audubon House for the reception. 

Michael and Zac took the van over - so they beat us there by a few minutes. 

Our guest book entry.  I probably should've thought that one through a little bit better.

One of my favorite pictures of Michael.

The reception was great! It was outdoors in and different gardens on the property.  The food was fantastic! My favorites were the "hotpot" and the fontaines. 

Holding down the "kid's table."  By the time we were ready to eat, all of the tables were full, so we found a small table tucked away and  set it up with the rest of the grown up tables.

Jilted!

This was our "bit" all week.  In no way did we feel "jilted" - we just had fun playing on the stigma of the wicked stepsisters. 

I had so much fun with Emily! It isn't often that we get to hang out so much. 

It was also great to have Elaine with us.  She is so much fun. 

The cake sat unattended for way to long to avoid shenanigans. 

The night ended with dancing.  This was my favorite part! Even Dad was in on it.  We got down - no really we did!  Zac and I tore it up! 

Conch Republic!

This depicts me keeping the beat to Sweet Home Alabama with a conch shell and piece of greenery. 

Our "air band's" take on Bob Seger.   

I can't say for sure what is going on here. 

On the way home we stopped to climb the famous tree.  I expected police to jump out of the bushes and cite us at any minute.

I think that I can safely say that this was the best wedding I have ever attended! Thank you Lauren and Ryan for the invite and for having your wedding in the Keys!