Well here we are.  Dolphins, Iguanas and Manolos, oh my! My final wedding of 2012, and are you in for a stunner- Kyle and Molly’s breezy tropical Florida Keys wedding at the beautiful Hawks Cay Resort.  I have to say, you don’t really have to twist my arm to get me to Florida in the end of October when the bone-chilling Fall rain begins in Seattle.  Throw in a gorgeous bride and groom and I’m in heaven.  Yes, there was a hurricane working its way up the coast at the time, but we were very fortunate to only have a good dose of wind and a few showers.

Before I get to the photos, I’d really like to share with you Molly’s story on how these two crazy kids got together in the first place and how we all came to be overlooking the water and a beautiful white gazebo on October 29th-  “We actually had a pretty bumpy start to our relationship.  Believe it or not Kyle stood me up 3 times when we were to go on our first date!  I officially wrote him off, but then about a month later he contacted me wanting to try the first date thing again, and, with a little push from my mom, I gave him a fourth(!) chance.  We hit it off right away and found out fast we had a passion for a lot of the same things (indulging on food & wine, sports, travel, dogs, etc).  Then the anti-relationship gods would strike again and I had to go work in Portland for the summer, needless to say that was not an active step for our relationship (it’s hard to do long distance when you just started dating!).  I returned to Seattle in November and with my tail between my legs, asked Kyle to give us another chance…and the rest is history!  The very thought of proposing came to Kyle when he was hunting in South Africa at the end of March 2011.  After being gone for over two weeks and not being able to contact me, he could not bear it and right then realized he wanted to marry me.  We are very blessed to be able to go to South Africa in 2014 and I get to finally see the place where Kyle new I was the one for him.   In some weird way, South Africa will probably always be a special place for us.  The ‘plan’ was to propose to me on a weekend trip to Suncadia Resort, but that would mean Kyle would have to hold onto the ring for 3 weeks, which is basically impossible for Kyle to do. Instead, I came home from the gym on a Wednesday night, not in the best of moods, stressed from work, etc ., started crying and told Kyle ‘You might as well just break-up with me now, because you’re going to break-up with me anyway, because you are going to get sick of me being in a bad mood’ -you know, I went all ‘psycho girl’ on him ;).   Kyle gave me a big hug, sat me down and said he had to go get something. When he came back, he got down on his knee, pulled out the amazing ring and said ‘I will never leave you’.  What girl could say no to that, so sweet!  Lastly, we chose the Florida Keys for our wedding location as Kyle had always wanted a destination wedding and Florida is home for me, so it was a no-brainer.”

A great big thanks to Molly and Kyle for including us in their amazingly beautiful day.  Molly, you planned such a fantastic event with so many gorgeous details; all from nearly 3500 miles away!  Not many brides could do that and you did it to perfection.  From the welcome goodie bags that included sunblock, maps, and homemade cookies to your make up artist from Beauty Boutique who kindly applied mascara for me when I left my room without any (eek!), every detail was thought of and was greatly appreciated.

Much love to you both, I’m already looking forward to another wine tasting soon. xoxo, amy

Here’s what Kyle had to say about his beautiful Molly-  “What I love about my bride…she is the most passionate and driven person I have ever met.  When she wants something, she gets it, and when something is difficult, or she faces adversity, she conquers it.  A wedding was never something that Molly dreamed about, she would have been perfectly happy going to city hall.  But she knew that her family and more importantly I, wanted a day to remember and something that would be the perfect kick-start to a life together.  What she created was nothing short of miraculous, and as the planning stages sprinted forward and the chaos that every bride and groom faces rose, she was nothing short of perfect.  When I first saw Molly walking down the aisle with her father, I knew this was the best decision I had ever made….I just wished all of lives journeys and obstacles were this easy…”

And this is what Molly had to say when I asked her what she loved most about her groom:  “He is the most caring, thoughtful and kindest person I have ever known.  I fell in love with him for the qualities, abilities, and outlook on life he has.  He has taught me how to forgive and forget, how to not worry about things I cannot control, how to truly appreciate life and most importantly how to love.  He has the biggest heart and I am so blessed that he has decided to share it with me. He is definitely an optimist; his glass is always half full.  I, at times, can be a pessimist, and my glass is half empty, but I know it is those two halves that make us so whole.  He has made me feel so complete, it is a feeling I had not known existed and I am lucky to have found it.  I love that man!!”

Florida Keys Wedding, Hawks Cay Resort