Here is the rest of the weekend in Key West for Colleen's wedding. Enjoy!
Sunday Morning
I woke up on Sunday and was planning on going snorkeling, but Colleen called early and said that Thomas wanted to rest and that the weather wasn't ideal for submerging ones self underwater with a snorkel. Instead, i relaxed until everybody else woke up. After we were up, we decided to go to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, which has a beach that Bri and Deanna have apparently been to. We headed out in two separate cars and arrived at the beach. It was cloudy, with a hint of a storm out over the Atlantic, it was super windy and the water was seemingly about 40 degrees. I turned on jerk mode, because we weren't going to swim, and the weather was horrible, so I didn't want to stay. We ended up staying until the Disney Magic cruise ship passed by and docked. I was able to get some pretty good pictures, despite the bad weather, so all wasn't lost. As we were about to leave, Ted decided to go see the fort. I wanted to go, I got mad and Ted said I should start walking, which I actually did. After 20 minutes, they were done at the fort, and we returned to the "hotel".
Sunday Afternoon/Night
I was really upset at this point because I wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch with Jen. Instead, we went back to the hotel and got ready, because Ted, BAHP and I had to be back at Colleen's hotel for the rehearsal at 3pm. The rehearsal went well, but when we were done, we had over an hour to kill before the rehearsal dinner, which was at 5:30pm. I was hungry and figured I wouldn't eat enough at dinner, so I sat at the Sunset Pier bar outside of the Ocean Key and had two grilled cheese. They were amazing. The rehearsal dinner was very nice, complete with a slideshow of Colleen and Thomas' life, well, not all of it, because that would've been forever. My chicken was blackened, spicy as can be, but very, very good. I had lots of soda, which I enjoy, but my stomach deals with it. Colleen presented gifts to those in the wedding party, and others. I got a drawer caddy engraved with my name, a keychain with my initials, and a golf club luggage tag, all three wonderful gifts. After we left the rehearsal, Jen and I were still somewhat hungry, so we stopped at Hard Rock Cafe and got take-out.
It was a good way to end the night.
Monday-Wedding Day Afternoon
We woke up, and the ladies headed to the Ocean Key for the pre-wedding breakfast, hosted by Colleen and Thomas. Our breakfast was 90 minutes later, but it was worth the wait, because the food was good. I had eggs, some bagels and ice-cold orange juice. After breakfast, we had about two hours before Ted, BAHP and I had to be back at the hotel, dressed for pictures. We went back to the "hotel" and relaxed and got ready. I looked sharp in my tuxedo, and while we headed out, Jen, Bri and Deanna spent the next couple hours by the pool. And now a word of advice for everyone: Never wear a tuxedo in April in Key West at 2pm outside for almost three hours. The actual pictures probably turned out great, but we were all sweating to near death out there. It didn't help that the bride came downstairs about 30 minutes late. Our hotness was aided by Uncle Joe's boyfriend Scott, who came through with bottles of water for everyone. We moved from outside the Pier House for the pictures, got in a limo and drove 500 feet to outside the Westin for the remainder of the pictures. I cannot put into words how sweaty I was. After Colleen finally realized there were enough pictures taken, I walked back to the Ocean Key, where I met BAHP and Ted in Thomas' brothers room. I only had about 30 minutes before I had to be ready for the wedding, so I tore out of my tux, threw on my bathing suit and headed down to the pool. I spent a half-hour cooling off before coming upstairs, getting dressed again, and heading downstairs to begin seating guests.
Monday- The Wedding of Colleen and Thomas
I began seating guests, with my partner-in-crime, Colleen's nephew Daniel, and we were ready to begin. I walked BAHP down the aisle, then went back and walked down the Maid of Honor, Jenn Bai Rossi. Colleen and Uncle Joe made their way down the aisle, and she looked beautiful. The officiant conducted the ceremony in a voice usually reserved for movie trailers, but it was very cool to listen to. The ceremony went smooth, aside from the noise of a helicopter overhead for about 30-40 seconds. The cocktail hour was good, and we just kind of relaxed on the pier and had drinks. After being introduced, Colleen and Thomas had their first dance, and then it was time to eat. There were different "stations", including pasta, lobster, sushi, raw tuna and a salad area. My main focus though, was the kids station. I had some awesome meatballs, chicken fingers and curly fries, and after I started the trend, many other adults partook in the kids area as well. The band, six people from Cape Coral, was awesome, playing a string of 80s dance hits, which kept Scott on the dance floor all night long. I danced a little, said some funny things for the videographer in special messages, and took some nice pictures of the hoopla throughout the night. We finally returned, very tired, to the "hotel" at around 11pm. Bri and Deanna had left about an hour earlier, because they drove to Ft. Lauderdale so they could make it back to Gainesville early on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday- The Drive Home
We packed up the car and were on the road, after a brief detour to the tuxedo place and Ocean Key hotel, at around 9am. BAHP drove the first portion of the trip, and I was in the back row of the van with Ginger, while Ted and Jen sat in the two captain's chairs in front of me. For about the first couple hours, I kept myself occupied, and kept everyone entertained by doing my best Christopher Walken impression. BAHP, Ted and Jen were laughing hysterically. We stopped at Publix in Miami to get subs for lunch, and BAHP continued driving until we stopped for gas in Naples. I slept a portion of the drive from Naples to Tampa, and we finally pulled into Eniswood a little after 5pm. It was a long, long drive, but a fun one.
Though somewhat stressful and somewhat sweaty, the entire weekend was a huge success and a great time. Congrats again to Colleen and Thomas!
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