Last weekend we went on a road trip to Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Florida to see our close friends, Huy and Heather, get married. They chose a destination wedding at the spot of our road trip vacation last summer, so we were very excited to get to go back. Let's just say the day had been a long time coming!After much hemming and hawing we finally decided just to caravan with Huy and Heather, and some other friends from Waco, to drive through the night on Wednesday. We picked Chris up after work, got dinner at Freebirds and hit the road. All in all, it wasn't a horrible drive. We were able to stop pretty often for quick breaks and we still made good time. We ate an early breakfast at about 4 am at a Waffle House in Mobile, Alabama and then arrived in Destin about 6:30 am. This gave Huy and Heather plenty of time to get to the courthouse for their marriage license but the rest of us killed time on the beach.
We ate lunch at one of our favorite places, The Back Porch.
Then we finally were able to check in to the Palms hotel and get some rest. Here's the view from our room.
I think Chris and I went about 31 hours without any real sleep. I only got a short nap in the afternoon and then we lounged at the pool for a while.
That evening we went down to the Destin boardwalk with Waco friends Scott, Matt, and Samantha, and Heather's work friends Molly and Jason. We stopped at a little daquiri bar and hard drinks and pizza. And we happened to be there just in time for a great fireworks show! Then to bed for a full 10 hours sleep.
On Friday we spent more time at the pool in the morning.
Then we got ready for the rehearsal at the beach. It was pretty quick so we were able to spend some time afterwards playing beach volleyball and swimming in the ocean. The water was clear and the sand was great as always.
After the rehearsal we headed back to the hotel where Huy and Heather invited everyone up to their room for pizza, wings, and crab claws. Then we called taxis and went out for the night to the Destin boardwalk. We stopped at the daquiri bar again and then headed to Club Aqua for some dancing. Chris even danced a little!
Saturday morning, I went with Heather and the rest of the bridal party to get our nails done.
Then Chris and I went out to grab a quick lunch at AJ's, a well-known restaurant by the harbor.
It was pretty good but I had a horrible headache by that time so I took a quick nap in the afternoon. By mid-afternoon Huy and Heather had split up to start getting ready and finish decorating and setting up. And I noticed the more I hung around, the more things I kept getting put in charge of! I didn't mind at all, it was just funny that by the end I was doing wedding music, name tags, guest book, bubbles, bells, etc.
We took our time getting dressed and putting on makeup, then finally headed down for pictures. I'm not really sure what the issue was with the photographer... I think he didn't allow enough time for the girls, and didn't account for the sun setting behind the other hotels on the beach. But they were trying to time the ceremony with the sunset so everyone was seated down on the beach and the groomsmen were all lined up... but the photographer just kept clicking away despite me telling him 4 times that Huy was ready to get started and we needed to go NOW. Chris finally came up from the beach but by that time it seemed he was done. Heather definitely got stressed by the whole thing, but it all turned out perfect in the end.
The ceremony was short and sweet and the sunset was perfect. Heather was beautiful and Huy had the biggest smile on his face. And it was pretty cool that Mark, a college friend from Waco, was able to officiate. I think the best part was when they kissed all the people on the balconies of the hotel that had been watching, cheered!
The reception was a lot of fun, and very intimate. Even at our wedding, which was only about 75 people, I felt more obligated to make rounds than I think Huy and Heather did. So I hope they felt like they got to spend quality time with everyone there.
I think the drive home was pretty brutal for Chris, but then he didn't really make me drive. I would have been willing if he'd asked but I was perfectly willing to sit and ride too. With a short detour in Mobile (every time!) we made it back in about 12 hours.
