Our Latest Wedding News
We're Back! - Posted: 26 Oct, 2006
Well, we did it! And we are back home safe and sound. Everything was perfect. Our photographer, Courtney Platt, was a joy to work with and took superb photographs. The Inn owners, Marleine and Alain, were welcoming, attentive, and fine witnesses. We also wound up with a bit of a "wedding party," so to speak: all the guests of the inn came out to the beach to watch our wedding! We were happy to share our day with them, including Susan and Donnie, a couple on their 10th wedding anniversary trip.
In addition to the photos here, there are a few taken by Alain on the Turtle Nest Inn website: http://turtlenestinn.com/inns-travel-G1006.htm
Feel free to save and print any of the photos here, but we will be sending out a CD of our wedding album to our families as well as some select prints. We purchased the rights to our "negatives" (i.e. the digital image files), so we can share them all with you and you may have printed any that you desire. I hope to have these items in the mail by Monday at the latest.
We will be updating more in the next few days with descriptions of our activities and a few more photos.
Intermission - Posted: 11 Sep, 2006
These few weeks leading up to our wedding have been a mixed bag. We have been facing huge decisions about job offers and continued schooling and new housing arrangements. We’ve also been anticipating the realization of our wedding plans. In all honesty, I’ve struggled with our decisions regarding our wedding; I’ve tried to conform our ideals and personalities to traditional wedding concepts to no avail. We have made a choice, an imperfect one, but I believe we will have no regrets.
We have been so fortunate to have very supportive and caring families, and we want them to know how grateful we are for every single thing they have done, are doing, and will do for us. We don’t have enough time to spend with them nor do we say ‘thanks’ nearly enough. We thank you for supporting our decision to marry at this time; we thank you for supporting our relationship; we thank you for your advice; we thank you for soft beds and good food during our visits. There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child; I don’t see it that way, not with the families that we have.
We won’t have too much more to update this website with until we return from our “weddingmoon.” Jared found fantastic clothes while we were in Atlanta Labor Day weekend (thanks, Dad!); we may take a few photos of that. Picking up my dress had to be delayed for one week due to the Gator football game that was in town this past weekend (think LA traffic), but I don’t expect any big changes there. I cemented my choice of bouquet, nixed the cake and champagne to accommodate the extra cost of the flowers, and confirmed our limo and dinner reservations. A big plus of a small wedding is small planning!
I admit that I have some fears about marriage. They do not outweigh my conviction that I have found the best match in the whole world for myself. No matter where life takes us or how it all ends, this can never be a mistake. I’m not marrying him because I have to or need to. I’m marrying him because WANT to, and I got lucky and talked him into wanting to marry me too. Jared is my best friend: he makes me feel safe and beautiful and calm. He has never let me down; he has never left my side when I needed him. I love this man.
Dress Fitting - Posted: 19 Aug, 2006
My first fitting was today. And it was great because it's something that is going to cost a lot less than we expected - finally! A few pictures have been posted of me in my dress during the fitting.
Jared has also tentatively selected a shirt. He still has to find pants and a new belt however. He also wants to keep an eye out for any other shirts that he likes better. He plans to make his final selections Labor Day weekend, when he wants to go shopping at Lenox Mall in Atlanta while we visit for Dad's retirement.
Flower Choice - Posted: 15 Aug, 2006
Pictures of my bouquet have been added to the site. They are under "Photo Albums" --> "Photos of the Bride."
The photos are what I sent to the florist. She will work from them to recreate it for me.
I have my first alterations appointment this Saturday and will take pictures of me in the dress at that time. I'm not even taking it out of the dress bag unless I have to - I don't want to risk causing imperfections.
Progress Report - Posted: 12 Aug, 2006
My dress has arrived. The next step is having the alterations done. My dress has a train and it must be removed or bustled, and the measurements also must be adjusted for my body.
I've chosen my bouqet; I've sent pictures to the island florist so they can determine what they need to recreate it. Celebrations Ltd will be doing the flowers; they are featured on The Travel Channel's show Weddings Away.
We've also bought our plane tickets. We depart 10/18 at 12:40 pm and arrive on Grand Cayman at 1:05. We leave Grand Cayman at 2:10 pm on 10/25 and arrive in Miami at 4:40. The Cayman Islands are in our time zone, but they do not observe Daylight Savings Time changes.
We are very grateful to Jared's brother Richard for letting us stay with him the night before our flight and for taking us to the Miami airport. Thanks, Richard!
We have to start looking hard for Jared's wedding attire - otherwise he's going to wind up getting married in his swim trunks!
We appreciate everyone's guestbook comments and well-wishes - keep 'em coming!
Rings, Dress & Photos! - Posted: 29 Jul, 2006
We picked up Jared's ring on Friday, July 21. The ring fits him well, but it appears to squeeze his finger a little. It just looks that way - it fits fine. He's still deciding if it would be a good idea to go up 1/4 size; it might make the ring too loose, though.
We picked my ring up last night, July 28. It's absolutely perfect! I couldn't love it more. Within 2 minutes of looking at it and trying it on, I knew it was the one. The cut of the diamond is a Zales exclusive called "octallion", which is eight-sided. It is very sparkly! Pictures of both rings have been added to our galleries.
Also, today we found my DRESS!! I'm so relieved to have found it! It's absolutely perfect, just like my ring. I had the same feeling within 2 minutes of being in that dress: THIS IS THE ONE. I got a little teary-eyed and everything. We found it here in Gainesville at Jay's Bridal (http://www.jaysbridal.com/). Pictures of it are also in my gallery, but as with most things, the pictures don't do it justice. And I'm not at all ashamed to say it looks far better on me than the model!
Finally, we have also chosen our photographer: Courtney Platt. You can see some of his work on his website: http://www.courtneyplatt.com/ (highlight, copy and then paste in your address bar, then click go - or type in browser). We are planning for now on retaining him for two hours of photography.
That's all the news for now - wasn't that enough?! Next up are Jared's clothing, flowers, and cake decisions. (We are going to have a small cake after all.)
Lodging - Posted: 18 Jul, 2006
We have chosen to stay at the Turtle Nest Inn. http://www.turtlenestinn.com/ We are paying a special, unpublished rate thanks to a referral from the Cayman Activity Guide Forums. We will be in an oceanview/oceanfront room for the whole 7 nights! The very nice owners have also been assisting us with our little ceremony and have offered to act as witnesses.
Grand Cayman marriage laws do not require a waiting period or blood test, which makes the Caymans a very popular marriage location, especially among cruise passengers. A marriage license can be obtained as soon as feet hit the sand. Two witnesses are required, however, along with a fee.
Rings! - Posted: 15 Jul, 2006
We purchased our rings on Friday, July 14, 2006 at Zales. My ring is a solitaire set in platinum; Jared's is a simple, polished white gold band. They are currently being sized.
