Driving from Wilmington NC to Daytona Beach FL was an adventure in itself, so I knew this wedding would be an interesting one.

Somewhere in northern SC one of my tires pretty much exploded, so I ended up buying a long overdue AAA membership and waiting two hours for this really sweet and really ancient guy to pull up and change my tire for me. Which, had I realized there IS a jack in my car, I might have been able to handle on my own. Anyway! Two tires and a new alignment job later, I was four hours behind schedule and back on the road.

I got through SC and GA without any issues, but as soon as I could see the Florida border, dark storm clouds filled the sky. The minute I crossed in FL it started pouring. Of course! I’d almost forgotten about Florida weather!

The room that Melissa and Stuart booked for me had a big balcony and an ocean view, which was SO NICE!!! I live so close to the ocean but I only ever see it at weddings.

On the wedding day, I found the beach house where Melissa was getting ready, and when I walked in I noticed that everyone was glued to the weather channel. Uh-oh. I looked outside. How did I miss the spooky black storm clouds that were gathering off to the west? The wedding was to be ON THE BEACH! Eeeek!

Melissa was totally cool about the whole thing. She got dressed, perfected her hair and makeup, and said “well, we’ll either be married outside or inside… but we’ll still be married, right?” Maybe she didn’t actually say that… maybe I said that. Someone did.

I went to Ponce Inlet where the ceremony was to take place and found Stuart. Well, I actually went on a completely unnecessary nature hike to where I *thought* the ceremony was happening, and then trudged through, I dunno, forty eight miles of beach to find Stuart. Who was only about 20 yards from where I parked. There are five people who will think that’s funny.

At this point there are dark clouds to the west, AND dark clouds over the ocean to the east. I had cleverly nabbed some (scented) trash bags from the beach house to protect my gear, so I felt confident that we could do this thing outside even if it started to sprinkle. This story is getting long; I’ll wrap it up.

They decided at the last minute to get married on the beach after all, and it was short and sweet and FUNNY. They wrote their own vows. I don’t remember them word for word, but I do remember they told eachother things like “you are my Monday Night Football” and “you are my Hardee’s Number 5″ or something to that effect. You know, their favorite things in the world. It was SO. STINKING. CUTE. I love the unique vows.

The sky opened up a few minutes after the ceremony, but in typical southern fashion the storm only lasted about ten minutes, so we were still able to do pictures on the beach. Melissa’s gown was a little drenched at the bottom, but she was a *cool* bride so it didn’t bother her. The reception was fabulous, with great food and a lot of dancing and showboating, and enough kids to make me miss my little girl painfully.

Laura and Kevin, my October 18 2003 couple, were guests at the wedding and I had a chance to talk with them and see how they were doing. They are just as cute today as they were on their wedding day!!! They were married at Debordieu Plantation in South Carolina, and I think theirs may be the most dramatic album I’ve ever designed.

ANYWAY! That’s it! That’s the rambling story of Melissa and Stuart’s wedding from my perspective. Everything worked out amazingly; there was even a fertility rabbit that crept up to the reception site to bestow his (her?) wishes on the newlyweds. I’m assuming it was a luck thing – I’m a wedding photographer, I have to be mushy. Here are some of my personal favorites from the wedding.