Florida at Last!!!

Weeks ago, I promised you pictures from the Florida wedding. I've been a bit slow in following up on that promise, but today's the day! And I can just feel the excitement building in you! :)

But first, an introduction!  A little over 10 years ago, when I first met Malcolm, I also met his parents and sisters. Both his sisters became good friends as my relationship with Malcolm grew. About a year after meeting, we were married. Malcolm's sister,Rachelle, was one of my bridesmaids, and his other sister, Justine, was our flower girl.

Move forward in time 10 years, almost to the day. Our wedding was in July, and this past July, Justine and her boyfriend,  Rob became engaged! Justine was very excited and immediately started putting her dream wedding together. Within days of her engagement, she was asking Malcolm and I to be in her wedding. We were honored.

I have always appreciated the relationship Malcolm has with his sisters. He has an unusually close bond with them both, which I think is so wonderful.  And when he and Justine are together, there is never a dull moment. They are two peas in a pod.

by the way, make sure you ooo and awww over how good he looks in teal and khakis! He was adament that he only wears jeans and dark earth tone shirts. He was rather horrified at having to wear teal, especially after we showed him what color it was.

Being in the wedding, was an honor, but Justine also asked me to take some pictures, and I was both honored and overwhelmed. I've played with photography, but only for fun. This would be my first experience taking important pictures for a purpose. Fortunately, she also had a professional photographer and several other family members that took lots of pictures, and that took the pressure off.

I was nervous at first, but it quickly became fun, especially since I didn't have to worry about her not having any good pictures if I messed up. So I played with the camera while the "real" photographer was working.

And took a few shots at the reception.

And then after the reception, Justine and Rob wanted to go back to a place on the beach they had found a few days prior to the wedding. It wasn't the sight of the ceremony, but they wanted some pictures made there, with the lighthouse and the rock jetty. They are both very photogenic and had an eye for location! It was just me and Malcolm and the bride and groom. It was fun just being the four of us, and relaxing after a busy day.

We took over 100 pictures, but I won't subject you to all of them! I just pulled out a handful of my favorites.

I'm not bragging on myself, because I know there is tons of room for improvement, but I was pretty pleased with how the pictures came out. And it was a lot of fun taking them. I'm still not sure I'd want to be solely responsible for capturing an important event like a wedding ceremony or such, but I sometimes play with the idea of pursuing this photography thing further. It might be a nice little hobby business to consider for the future.

Fun in the Sun and Sand

Last Saturday morning, after a brief visit with my parent's in Tennessee, and getting the girls settled in with them, Malcolm and I hit the road in a rental car, heading south to Florida. We quickly re-discovered that it was fun to be traveling like "normal" people again! 

We passed through Atlanta, choosing to go through the heart of the city instead of taking the by-pass. We seem to make better time that way. I always enjoy craning my neck to see the tops of the sky scrapers. I also enjoy getting back out of the Atlanta.

It took a little over 8 hours to get to our destination. We drove the entire length of Georgia on I-75, and then in north Florida, we jumped on I-10...

...to Jacksonville, where we turned south on I-95. A couple hours later, we were in New Smyrna Beach, FL and turning into the driveway of Malcolm's aunt and uncle's house, where we discovered a number of family members had gathered to visit and catch up. It was a warm, cozy scene.

 We had arrived just in time to share a dinner of pizza and lots of laughs and hugs. There was also some time to relax and start right in on Florida vacationing. Shortly after arriving we'd migrated to the dock where Malcolm partook in some nightime fishing...

...and I enjoyed the novelty of being comfortable in February without a jacket. The scenery wasn't half bad either.

After a night of restful sleep, we woke up early to get busy helping with anything that needed doing to prepare for the main event of the weekend. There were lots of last minute tasks, but we made sure to get in some fun too. I spent a little time in the morning sitting on the dock some more. I could have stayed there all day long!

It was so quiet and peaceful, and at the same time there was lots to look at, and activity everywhere. Malcolm's aunt and uncle live on a....I don't know what it's called....it's like a river that comes off the ocean into the land and then back out to the ocean. It's really pretty with the scenery of the ocean, but not the waves and crowds. You can see the lighthouse right from their back yard (as you noticed above) and there is lots of wildlife to enjoy. There were dophins playing off and on throughout the day, lots of pelicans and other water birds,...

...and the biggest surprise of the day was when a manatee surfaced for air right beneath our dangling feet as we sat on the dock. I was so surprised that I fumbled the camera and only caught the tail.

Like I said, I could have sat there all day. 

But there were projects and errands to attend to.

When the day was done and tasks complete, we all loaded up in the cars and headed to Orlando to meet Malcolm's sister, her fiance, and his parents for dinner. They took us to Midievil Times, which was a dinner theatre. It was really neat! Good food and great entertainment. We dined while watching knights joust, and nobility parade.

After that, we had about an hour long car ride back to our family's home. It was an hour of laughter and hilarity, with Malcolm at the wheel and his cousin's husband egging him on to spin the wheels and other silliness. It was so much fun to laugh so much! It was a blast to spend time with a couple our own age, and we had so many things in common. We hate that they live 2000 miles away!

Once home, we visited a bit more, and then it was off to bed. We all needed lots of rest for the day to come. 

The next day was a long day of Fun in the Sun and Sand!

The wedding was beautiful and I had my first experience taking important portraits. I was very intimidated but SO pleased with how they turned out. However, Justine and Rob are still vacationing and the bride should get to share her photos first. So after she gets home and posts pictures, I'll will share mine with you! Get ready for bridal overload, because there are so many I love!