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

Elizabeth and James

Meet James and Elizabeth. They were married this past Saturday on the beach in Hollywood Florida.

What a really super group of people. The really amazing thing about doing weddings is that in most cases I only meet them at the wedding. And of course I meet their guests at the wedding as well. Many times there are no guest or only a couple and in other cases, as this wedding turned out to be there are quite a few guests.

As you can see by the picture on the left we had a nice gathering, on the beach, with the surf and the sand and a single palm tree. What you can't see is an arch which the group is surrounding in the picture.

It was a very windy day and I was worried that the arch would blow over (they are inclined to do that) but the guys that set it up piled enough sand around the base to hold it in place.

James was the nervous groom type, told me in advance he didn't want to say much so I did most of the talking and only gave him a small part. He seemed happy with the way it turned out.

Elizabeth looked lovely in her white gown and seemed much more at ease then her groom.

When I arrived at their hotel about 30 minutes before the appointed time James met me looking far too casual for a groom...told me he wouldn't be getting married in his t-shirt and shorts. True to his word, somehow within a short time, after supervising some of the setup he disappeared and came back looking like a groom...and nervous.

The day was looking very much like rain. I was keeping my fingers crossed and asking "are they almost ready, we don't want to get rained on?" As is usually my luck the rain held off and if not for a high rise apartment which was blocking the sun we would have had a beautifully sunny evening. I lightened the photos a little, it wasn't quite that sunny. But we made it. got them married and I was off with my grandson Nate (who was visiting from Palm Bay) for dinner on the Broadwalk.

Elizabeth and James were both lovely people as were their guests. So many times I leave these weddings thinking how nice it would be to get to know the people better. But that's not the way things work out so I just enjoy meeting very nice people in passing and move on to the next.

I am finding that if I make certain to take a couple of quick shorts with my Iphone and then blog about each wedding I am creating a memory of the people I meet. It's a cool thing to do.

Actually with this Blogspot the opportunity exists to have your blog made into a book so perhaps Iwill just create volumes. I wish I had done this years ago.

Oh well better late than never.

Congratulations Elizabeth and James and say hi to all your lovely guests.

A Very nice experience

Erin and Sinan were married yesterday evening on the beach in Hollywood Fl. What a sweet couple they are. They were accompanied by Sinan's brother who was doing a great job taking pictures.

Erin had contacted me just a week or so ago, sort of last minute but I'm fine with last minute weddings as long as I have a few hours to put a ceremony together for them.

They were driving over from the west coast of Florida to be married and Erin sent me a little bit of background on the two of them which includes Irish Catholic, a hippy parent and a young man from another country.

I always enjoy watching the expressions on the couples faces during the ceremony, especially the vows and the moment when I say "I now pronounce you as husband and wife".

Sinan's remark was "Am I really married now".

I truly enjoyed meeting this couple and his Sinan's brother. To complete the evening, They had walked quite some way up the beach from their hotel to the location we had decided on for the ceremony. It had turned out to be much farther than they had anticipated and so after the ceremony I ask if they would like a ride back to the hotel. They said they would but when we got in my car it failed to start. Never happened before. The guys said they would push the car to get it started, thank goodness for a standard transmission, and it worked quite well.

I drove them back to their hotel, we said goodbye and we parted ways.

The sad part of my life as a wedding officiant is that I only get to spend a very short time with the couples for whom I perform wedding ceremonies. It is amazing that you can feel so close to someone with whom you spend only a very short time. But I do.

And so until the next wedding that I will blog about I will say bye and have a great day. If you or someone you know is planning a beach wedding in the Fort Lauderdale area and I can be of service please visit my website thesimplewedding.com

Pictures from Eric and Tessa's Beach Wedding

Here are some pictures of the last wedding which I performed on the beach in Pompano. This is Eric and his new bride Tessa. The day was overcast and windy but nice non the less.

It was very nice to meet two new cousins (Eric and his brother Brad) even very distant cousins.

Tessa was an adorable bride and I wish the two of them a lifetime filled with love and happiness.


First Kiss as husband and wife

Just before their wedding.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Found a Cousin at a Wedding

Being a wedding officiant is always fun but it is even more so when the unexpected happens.

I received a call on Saturday from a young man looking for someone to do a ceremony. Very last minute. Wanted to get married the next day.

I had the time available so I said yes we could schedule his ceremony. Ask his name and when he gave it to me I had to ask where he was from. His last name was the same as my maiden name and it isn't very common. Since his family had originally been in WV I knew the chances were very good that we were related.

Did his wedding yesterday and during conversation with Eric and his brother Brad we confirmed our connection. How nice. Cousins very greatly removed but still cousins.

So their wedding, on the beach in Pompano was nice, very very windy but thankfully we missed the rain. If the wedding had been today we would have been in trouble. I think there was a tornado touch down here in Broward county in Oakland Park just a couple hours ago.

Eric and Tessa's guests included Eric's brother Brad and his mother.

I intend to post some pictures of the wedding but today the server for uploading seems to be having some problems. I will try it again later or tomorrow and write a little more when I can have photos for you.

Wedding on the River in Fort Lauderdale

Today was a beautiful day in Fort Lauderdale, and a beautiful day for a wedding in the park, on the river in Fort Lauderdale.

Catherine and John are from Memphis Tenn and they will be going on a honeymoon cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.

They had a small gathering of friends and family most of whom I think came down from Tenn and Ga. I only spent a short time with the bride and groom and their guests but I got a lot of very good vibes. What a nice group they were.

Both Catherine and John had written their own vows and they did such a great job I could have just limited myself to the" do you take this man/woman". Seriously I have done many weddings where the bride and groom wrote their vows, and most of the time they are really nice. These were right up there with the best. I enjoyed preforming their wedding ceremony and I wish them a life filled with wonderful things and blessed with love. They are a wonderful couple and Catherine was just a beautiful bride.

The location of this wedding was in one of the gazebos in Linear Park, just west of the railroad tracks on Riverwalk. It is very popular spot for weddings and there were one or possibly two other weddings going on in the other locations there along the river.

Also located in the area is the old New River Inn and the King Kromarti (Sp) house, both historic structures. There is also a very nice restaurant (I'm sorry I've forgotten the name) that is situated in the old Bryant homes also on the river.

If you're looking for a nice place to hold an outdoor wedding take a look at this area. It truly is beautiful. For information you can call the Parks and Recreation dept of the City of Fort Lauderdale.

If you're looking for information about having a wedding in Fort Lauderdale or if you need an officiant for your wedding please contact me . Visit my website www.thesimplewedding.com

I can provide an officiant for ceremonies in Spanish as well.

Let me know what your favorite wedding spot is. Have a great day....Donna