Families and Such (Lots of And Such)

For those of you wondering...will we ever get to see the wedding?? Yes, indeed you will. Someday. (Still waiting on some pictures to complete it.) Meanwhile, hope you're enjoying the behind the scenes footage.

 

We decided to take a little tour around the grounds and on the way, I felt compelled to check the mail. Looks like Ryan was expecting something exciting!!

 Hand in hand with my love.

 We liked this tree. So we had our picture taken in front of it. Sorry I have no more exciting explanation than that.

 This is where we stayed for the week and where our wedding was held. I have to say - Ryan did an amazing job when he picked this one out. We came here sight unseen and we really enjoyed it. Almost all the rooms are ground level and are big. We had a full kitchen and a table and a couch and a king size bed. There are a couple of pools, easy beach access, free movies and coffee in the office, and it's in walking distance of a lot of restaurants and shops! (So if you're needing a place to stay on Siesta Key, we loved it at Tropical Beach Resorts!) The price was so great that most of our guests stayed here too! They all loved it as much as we did!

 Okay back to the wedding. :) Our paparazzi following. (I loved it!!)

 This is the guy that gave us our free breakfast burritos the day of the wedding. We thought he was the best food cart we'd ever eaten from!!! He was really friendly, made AWESOME breakfast burritos and we also had bagels and hot dogs from him too. We stopped by in our wedding gear to have our picture taken with him. If you ever stay at Tropical Beach Resorts, visit him!! He's great!

 Ryan was so good - carried my train (or tail, as he called it) for me all day long.

 We were pleasantly surprised at how many of our family members traveled from Indiana to be part of our wedding day! This is Ryan's grandma, Blanche and her husband, Bob. They have been so sweet to me, welcoming me right into the family. They really seemed to enjoy their time in Florida and the wedding itself! (His grandma told me it was the most beautiful wedding she'd ever seen.)

 Ryan's dad, Gary, and his step-mom, Lynn. I've really enjoyed getting to know them. We didn't know if they'd be able to come, but they did, and we appreciated that so much!

 Ryan's mom, Juanita, his step-dad, Allen, and his sister, Bre were also there. So appreciated all Ryan's mom's hard work to take pictures the weekend of the wedding (and all our engagement pictures too)! Ryan also has a brother and another sister...I was so sad they couldn't be there too, but I was really glad Bre was able to join us!

 And the Freelan mafia! This picture just continually cracks me up. It was so bright outside and because there were so many of us, we had to stand outside the gazebo. I suggested we keep our sunglasses on and my mom was the only one who didn't have any. So Sara loaned Mom her glasses and once she had them on, I heard Sara yell out, "HEY MARILYN!! Ever worn Victoria's Secret before??? You're wearing it now!!!" I thought Mom would rip the glasses right off and throw them in the palm trees but she was a good sport and kept them on. Hee hee hee.

 (From the left - Mom and Dad, then Cassie's boyfriend, CJ, and Cassie, Jeff and Lori, and Julie. Julie is married too, but her husband wasn't able to join us for the wedding.)

Dad talking to Ryan before the ceremony. I so appreciated him taking time to give good wishes to Ryan. Not sure what all they talked about - but this was a special moment for me to watch. And yes, Dad is wearing a baseball cap that says "How Old I Art." We are still giggling about that.

 We didn't have boutonnieres for the family members but I made one for Jeff. When Jeff found out Dad was going to walk me down the aisle, he said he'd rather have Dad wear it. I failed at putting it on Dad, so Ryan took over. No bleeding!!!

 It was SO hot out there that I was sweating pretty badly. I kept yelling for my iced tea! (Not bridezilla yelling. Just yelling because no one was really paying attention.)

 Walking away for more pictures in a different location. Ryan and I exchanged lots of laughs that day.

 Telling stories to Ryan, Adam and Sara. No idea what I was saying, but this is such typical Bekah.

Wedding week(s) continues next week here at Bekah's Bits!