My parents took my brother and me to the beach every single summer with only one exception (the year Ivan hit), and that was always the highlight of my summer. It was always a stress-free, worry-free, rush-free week. There was no agenda. We went to the beach to, you know, go to the beach. No fancy water parks, nothing special other than our annual dinner at The Oyster House. Relaxation. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to get married on the beach.
Even before we were engaged, Caleb and I talked about where we would have our wedding. Texas? Louisiana? Mississippi? Caleb insisted that we have it in Mississippi, which I had no objections to. It wasn’t until after our engagement that I remembered my childhood dream of a beach wedding. “That will be way too much trouble,” I thought. But Caleb encouraged me to go for it, so we did! Side note: one of the many reasons I love Caleb is the fact that he encourages me to “go for it” when I’m doubtful. It is because of him that I started my Mary Kay business and began learning to play the ukulele.
My mom and maid of honor, Emily, helped me to think through all of the logistics of this decision. It would have to be late in the evening so the temperature would be lower. We wouldn’t exactly be able to have 200 guests on the beach. Will there be a restroom for guests to use? What about parking? What if it rains? So the planning began. The wedding party had already been decided; other than those special people, we mostly invited only family (grandparents, aunts, uncles). Our guest list stood at about 60 people. The whole idea of a destination wedding sounds like a lot of work, but in some ways, you have to make it simple. Our decorations would be minimal because of the beautiful backdrop created by God, Himself. And I have to brag on the financial side of things. To obtain a permit for 60 guests was free, and the pavilion we rented for the reception was free. Woo hoo!
Because we were only inviting 60 guests, we decided to have a reception in Clinton, to invite all of the other special people in our lives. We couldn’t leave them out of the celebration!
I’m getting ahead of myself. I had decided I wanted to have it on the Mississippi coast because, well, I just wanted to get married in Mississippi. It has become almost a habit of mine to travel to the MS coast (only three hours from Clinton) for a day trip, just to get my feet in the sand. I had gone with my family, with my friend Anna, and with Caleb. There, the water isn’t quite as blue as it is in Alabama. BUT, the crowds are way smaller. I just really really love it there. So one day, we drove down 49 until we hit Gulfport, and started riding Beach Boulevard. In the town immediately west of Gulfport, Long Beach, we saw a beautiful pavilion that looked like a perfect reception venue. There was a parking lot just past it, and then we saw bathrooms! We figured that the pavilion would serve as the backup plan for rain. All of the guests would comfortably fit inside. We kept riding, and less than a mile away stood a beautiful Holiday Inn Express. Perfect for our guests: just across the street from the ocean. Everything fell perfectly into place. That was it! I have fallen more and more in love with Long Beach as I simply HAD to make multiple trips down there to take care of wedding details. ;) It has a beautiful downtown area, DELICIOUS dining, and the crowds are very limited. It’s a homey kind of town, not a touristy one.
I got on the phone and started calling. I called caterer after caterer. Florist after florist. Rental place after rental place. We ended up with some FANTASTIC vendors. I’m going to brag on them a little later. :)
Around Christmastime, when we were planning our honeymoon, Caleb and I started thinking of a sunrise wedding. We liked the idea of leaving for our honeymoon the day of the wedding, and with a late evening wedding, that just wouldn’t have been possible. So we decided on sunrise… Then enjoyed the reactions of our bridesmaids and groomsmen as we broke the news to them. ;) We know they must REALLY love us to have been willing to wake up at such an hour! Liz, my photographer, said that 7:15 a.m. would be the best time for lighting. So it was written, and so it was done.
Yet another reason why our vendors were so incredible. Not one of them flinched at the time change! So let my bragging begin.
The Long Beach Work Center rented the pavilion to us (for FREE). I called them countless times with questions, and they were always willing to help!
Our permit for the wedding was obtained from the Harrison County Sand Beach Authorities ($0.00). I believe for a larger group of people, they would have charged a fee. They said to call a week before the wedding to remind them, and they would have it cleaned up for us. When we arrived in Long Beach on that Thursday, the place was SPOTLESS. I was completely impressed! So, so thankful for them.
Our photographer, a distant relative of mine and a long-time friend of the Baze family, had me sold from the first email she sent me. She promised me quality, professionalism, and she promised that she would capture our personalities. Her confidence drew me in immediately, though her previous work had much to do with the decision! Thank you, Liz, for your incredible work! I’ve seen a few sneak peeks, and I cannot WAIT to see the rest. She didn’t just handle the photography, though. She delivered me from an uncomfortable situation while keeping her cool completely. She is the real deal! So impressed.
I had a couple of other photographers leading up to the wedding, too. My beautiful maid of honor took engagement pictures in Oxford; look how lovely they turned out!
Kris Wikle took pictures for us at our rehearsal dinner, and Shannon took pictures at our reception in Clinton. As if they hadn't done enough for us already! How sweet to have these memories captured.
My sweet cousin's boyfriend, Christopher, videoed the wedding for us. I haven't seen the wedding footage yet, but I have seen other work of his, and he is obviously born to be behind the camera. What a special gift to be able to capture memories in such an artistic and beautiful way!
I immediately thought of my lovely sister-in-law to make our wedding cake. I have seen her whip out several delicious and beautiful cakes. When I asked her if transporting a cake from San Antonio to Long Beach would be a problem, she already had it all figured out! It was tasted heavenly, and looked STUNNING! I told her a few ideas I had, and she took it from there. My mother-in-law already decided she needs to make another one for us to enjoy. :) We settled on an un-iced cake, to fit the morning time better. Between the layers of cake lay butter cream and blackberry deliciousness. OH so yummy.
Michael Fox, our preacher at our church in Louisiana, was the clear choice for our officiant. We had him picked out before we were engaged. ;) He has supported us and loved us through our college years. He has helped us work through hardships, and he is just plain cool! Oh, he also let me live with him and his wife for a month. He’s got quite the Southern hospitality, though he’s from California. :) It is evident how sincerely and deeply empathetic he is towards others. Just beautiful.
Our great friends, the Wikles that I talked about in my last post, played a huge role in our wedding. I asked Shannon to direct and coordinate for me, and she did an incredible job! I knew she was great, but I found out just a few days ago exactly HOW great she was. She handled some sticky situations by her sharp decision-making with ease. She was there to unlock the pavilion, help decorate, set up, meet all of the vendors, and tell the grandparents/parents/wedding party when to walk. She helped clean up afterwards. She was a lifesaver. My advice for brides- if you aren't hiring a wedding planner, have someone direct/coordinate. It is SO important. Find someone like Shannon who is a go-getter, who will get things done, who will make tough calls when they need to be made, yet who will have a sense of calm that will keep away stress and panic.
My very lovely, fashion-forward bridesmaid, Anna, was the makeup artist of the day. We woke up at 3:30 a.m. to begin getting ready, and Anna had us looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for this early morning event. She did a GREAT job! She is good at so many different things, it’s amazing. Anna is one of those people that after spending time with her, you can’t help but have a gigantic smile on your face. She is so joyful!
Mrs. Darlene has been doing my hair since I was about five years old when my brother and I were homecoming court attendants. She was more than excited to be there for me on my big day! She woke up even before me to turn on curling irons and to prepare for the day. I stopped by The Cutting Edge every single day the week before the wedding to see her. Her planning and experience put my mind at ease leading up to the wedding, and the morning of. She had us looking beautiful! Even the beach breeze didn't affect her handiwork. :)
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We have enough musical genes in our family not to hire anyone for wedding music. (I did not get the music genes, unfortunately.) My cousin, and Josie’s boyfriend Josh, played acoustic guitar for us. This was far from his first time performing; he has worked as a pianist, and played at Christy’s wedding. He sounded fantastic, just as I expected. :) And as for vocals, my twin and his girlfriend, Katie, sang very beautifully during the ceremony. They each have experience as well, and it showed! I can’t wait to go back and watch the video so I can hear them all again. My musically gifted uncle also led a song for everyone to sing. Everyone thoroughly impressed me!
After making a few calls, we settled on The Village Florist of Gulfport. Tanya Jones, the wedding flower consultant there, was a joy to work with. I called her and emailed her at least five different times because I had changed my mind about what kind of flowers I wanted. She was so patient with me, and heeded each request. This was the part that really impressed me—after the sunrise decision, she offered to meet us at the pavilion to deliver the flowers at 6:30 in the morning. She was SO great! And the flowers looked amazing.
Last, but certainly not least, is our caterer. From the moment I talked to him on the phone, I knew that we would be taken care of. I hadn't tasted his food, but he exuded knowledge, experience, and confidence. He had wonderful ideas for our reception, and he put those ideas into action. I knew he had been in the business for decades, and it was quite evident. He also did not seem to have a worry in the world when we dropped the 7:15 a.m. bomb on him. After we mentioned a breakfast reception to him, he suggested a grits bar, with lots of toppings. On one of our visits to Long Beach, we stopped by his restaurant and got the royal treatment. We each ordered meals, and then he brought us samples of nearly all of his dishes. At Darwell’s, I ate some of the best food I've ever tasted. Because of the deliciousness, we decided to have our rehearsal dinner at his restaurant. Everything was executed so smoothly, and the food was just as delectable as I expected it to be. He is a pro. When catering our reception, he went above and beyond the food we had agreed upon, adding muffins to the menu. PLEASE go see him if you ever pass through Long Beach!
I want to end by saying a humongous "thank you" to everyone who helped me plan, especially my dear mother, and my maid of honor, Emily. All of my sweet bridesmaids helped so much, as well. I couldn't have done it without y'all!
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