Attending friends’ weddings is characteristic to being in your twenties. Last weekend, I went to the first of three scheduled for this year. I’m so happy I was able to celebrate Nate and Kenzie's beautiful love with everyone that weekend! To make the occasion extra-special, they decided on a destination wedding in Destin, Florida. We were needing some beach time in our lives, so we woke up extra early to make it down to celebrate with everyone.
We got to our villa at Tops’l Beach and Tennis Resort that morning, dropped our stuff and headed straight for the beach. We were even too eager to put on sunscreen (definitely came back and bit me!). We spent the afternoon catching up with friends, playing sand volleyball, taking beach selfies, sipping on daiquiris, and playing whiffle ball. It was great to hang out with the wedding party, relax and swim in the ocean (I had missed it so much!).
We headed back to the villa to get ready for dinner, and the rehearsal. It was fun to have an extra night with everyone, celebrating the anticipation of the next day with our friends. The rehearsal dinner was a blast, with a low country boil, corn hole games, glowsticks and a bonfire. We hit the beach for a few more drinks before calling it a night. It definitely felt like we were on vacation.
The morning of the wedding came pretty quickly! After the months of anticipation, engagement parties, and exciting planning, it was finally here! I couldn't imagine what Nate and Kenize must have been feeling. It's one of the most exciting days of their lives! If theres one thing I know, it’s that Nate, Kenzie and both of their families know how to throw a good party. If the rehearsal didn’t already nail it on the head, the wedding sure did. The ceremony was pushed up by a half hour because the forecast looked pretty ugly. We got lucky that the wind carried a huge storm past the beach right before Kenzie started to walk down the sandy aisle. The ceremony felt very special and personal, and I was so happy for them (I might have cried more than once). I loved the bridesmaid dresses, and definitely was admiring Vinnie in his groomsman tux! Check out the photos below!
Then it was time for the most anticipated party of the past year, the reception! I had some of the best hors d’oeuvres I’ve ever had (stuffed mushrooms, crab cakes, and caprese salad, mmmm!). Weddings are so fun for me because I love seeing all of the decorations and small details. I loved the cute beach koozies that were the party favors! As the crowd mingled, we sipped on wine and waited for the wedding party to arrive. They made an awesome entrance, and the crowd was going crazy. My favorite part of the night was their first dance! They danced to a beautiful version of an EDM song that I'm a big fan of called Cinema, remixed by Skrillex. Give it a listen on Spotify below. As you can tell from the photo gallery above, it proved to be an awesome night full of crazy dancing, toasts, good stories and plenty of new ones.
All around, we were sad to head home on Sunday because the weekend really flew by! At least the drive was a quick five hours, compared to the ten hour trip to Cleveland the weekend before. Now that my sunburn is healed and almost done peeling, I'm starting to figure out when my next beach trip will be! It's about to be summer time, and I can't wait for all of the sunny days I have in front of me.