Hi Donna,

thank you for performing such a nice ceremony. It was a perfect day!!
This was the note I received from Mary when I wrote to say her photos were on the way.

I always enjoy the weddings I do and some are a little more memorable than others, for different reasons. Mary and Chris picked a hotel on the beach in Miami for their wedding. They had only three guests and the day was very cloudy and rainy. As Sarah (my photographer) and I rode down to Miami from Fort Lauderdale we were wondering if we would find enough of a dry period to perform the wedding which was planned on the beach.
We arrived in a drizzle and found our couple and their guests waiting for us just outside the hotel. We walked to the beach and the sun came out beautifully, just like it had been scheduled to do so. While I pronounced them husband and wife the sun was shining and the day was beautiful.We had about 30 to 45 minutes of that beautiful sunshine.
The company was great, we laughed and joked about the dark clouds which were forming all around us and just as Sarah finished taking pictures the big drops began to fall and we had to dash back to the shelter of the hotel.
It was a fun wedding and we all enjoyed it.
Sarah and I headed back to Fort Lauderdale in a downpour but just for the time we needed we had sunshine on the beach as Mary and Chris became Mr and Mrs. Congratulations to the newlyweds

The weekend of weddings

Mother's Day weekend was a weekend of weddings for me. My weekend started on Friday evening, on the beach with Danielle and Jason. Jason had just returned from over seas with his National Guard unit. After the wedding I drove them down to the Hollywood Broadwalk where they were going to have their wedding dinner at one of the many restaurants which sit right on the walkway with the ocean just steps away.
It is a beautiful place to "people watch" anytime and it can be a very romantic location for newlyweds.
As with all my brides and grooms I enjoyed getting to meet them and to spend a little part of their special day.

My second weekend wedding was that of Anna and Paul. They choose Fern Forest in Coconut Creek for both their wedding ceremony and for their reception. If you live in the Fort Lauderdale area and you would like a "Nature" type wedding Fern Forest might be for you. They have a beautiful covered over, open space for the ceremony which feels like you are above the forest and then the reception was held in a enclosed room one level up. The room is really nice and big with a wonderful kitchen and of course they have the tables, chairs and a portable dance floor.
My grandsons, Spencer and Chase set the room up and then broke it down after the reception. If you need a good set up crew give me a call.
Anna and Paul had a beautiful wedding ceremony including a reading by a best friend and a solo by another.
The food for the reception was provided by a lady who does Cuban food. Great.(see my website http://www.thesimplewedding.com for information for contacting the service providers I meet and recommend.

Sunday morning I started off with a beach wedding on Fort Lauderdale beach. It was already hot by 10:00AM when we met by the Yankee Clipper hotel on A1A. The beach crowd wasn't too bad at that hour but it was filling up fast.
This couple, Corina and Chris came from Texas to be married. Their guests included the grooms mother and I believe the bride's sister and her son. They were really a nice group and as in almost every wedding there was an abundance of love filling the air. Corina told me before the wedding that they would only be doing the bride's ring because they had not been able to find a ring large enough for the groom. When I talked to Corina after they had returned home to Texas she said they were still looking for that large ring.She told me the size and I didn't even know rings came in a size so large.

Onward to number four on my mother's day weekend.This one was so cute. Sharla and Dante had decided to surprise their families with a mother's day wedding. I arrived prior to the family members and when they arrived, after the family hugs and kisses I was introduced as "Donna marrieds people". The look I received was "well that's nice". It went right over everyone's head for awhile until Dante said something like "Sharla and I are getting married today, Donna is here to marry us". The looks of pleasure and surprise were priceless. This lovely couple had already started their family. They were already the parents of a beautiful little baby boy named Dante, for his father.
This wedding took place in a beautiful condo apartment overlooking the intra coastal waterway at Sunrise Blvd. Great view of the water and also Birch State Park just across the street.

And so to number five. Back to the beach, this time just on the south side of the Yankee Clipper. Actually we walked through the Marriott hotel (which sits on the beach back from A1A) to their beach for the wedding. It is a nice location and the pool area of the Marriott is a great place for pictures with waterfalls and different levels around the pool.
Donna and Tom came down from Chicago for their beach wedding. They were going to Turks and Cacos(s) Islands for their honeymoon.
They had an interesting story to share about how they met. Donna had recently moved to Chicago when she went out one night and got lost. She stopped to ask for help with directions. Tom gave her directions and the rest is now history. It seems like the night out for Tom was unusual so perhaps this was fate. You know if it's meant to be it will be. How do you feel about that?

My granddaughter Sarah, who works as my photographer (she didn't take the pictures in this article, I took them with my Iphone.) did the photography for Anna and Paul and then for Donna and Tom.

The pictures at the top of this post are from left to right:Sharla and Dante, Corina and Chris (and me), Jason and Danielle and Donna and Tom. I didn't get a picture of Anna and Paul but I did take a picture of the setup of their reception room at Fern Forest. Sarah has promised some pictures so as soon as I get them I will post them.

Please send interesting stories about your wedding or a wedding you have attended.

Remember if you are planning a wedding in south Florida and you need an officiant, a photographer or a good setup crew give me a call 954-254-6216 or email me mckei@earthlink.net

Wedding on the Gold course

Well I sort of goofed...I didn't get a picture of the bride and groom. Brian and Tatiana's wedding was a very nice affair at the Hillcrest Country Club in Hollywood Fl. As you can see from the picture which I took while I was waiting for everyone to get it all together, it was a beautiful location.
While I waited I watched the golfers driving by in their golf carts or playing from the two greens which were close by.
Here in the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood area we have many communities with Country Clubs. In some of them you must be members, or know someone who is in order to use their facilities but in others they will rent out the facilities to anyone. Their prices are cheaper, in many cases, than the local venues which specialize in weddings and receptions. You might want to check some of these places out.
Many of them have beautiful outside areas where you can have your ceremony and they usually have very nice rooms for reception.
You will then choose your DJ, Officiant and Photographer and you're ready to go.
Do you have ideas for wedding locations or special little hints to make the day even more special? If you do please share them with us.
Thanks for reading "Florida Weddings by Donna"

Name Change

As you can see my blog has a new name.
Little run in with someone who seems to think I am a threat to her business name. Even thought we do different things but Oh well. Life is too short to lose a lot of sleep over things.
I have done several weddings which I have not written about and I will be getting up to date again soon. Hope you will comment with stories of your weddings.
I will be doing three weddings this weekend. A park wedding, a beach wedding and a rooftop wedding. I should have pictures, if I don't forget to take them.
Take care....Donna