Christy & Joe

Sheraton Bay Point Beach Wedding

Panama City Beach, Florida

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Oh my shizzel. Christy and Joe tied the knot under the twin palms at their Sheraton Bay Point beach wedding in Panama City Beach. Their wedding rocked my world.

I’m so glad my photog friend Irwin Funes drove down from Alabama to join me for the day. This was one of those weddings where all the stars aligned and it was a perfect tear-filled day from start to finish. It began with Christy and Joe getting ready in adjoining rooms. Naturally, the girl’s room was bigger, so we took advantage of the space by filling every corner with beautiful flowers, makeup, dresses, and giggling women. I have no idea what the guys were doing. That was Irwin’s domain.

I had already spent some time with Christy and Joe at their engagement session so I thought I knew what to expect, but I was clueless. First off, Christy is a crier. I think she gets it from her mom. Now, before you form an opinion on this, I will tell you, I am also a crier. Frankly, I’m a big fat cry baby. So when these two love birds exchanged letters, through the open doorway of their adjoining rooms, I nearly dropped my camera when mascara streaked tears of joy started running down Christy’s cheeks. Good grief, she’s a pretty crier. Why can’t I look like that when I cry? She cried again at the ceremony and it made me so happy, I started crying too. I started laughing though when both Christy and Joe made matching expressing of open-eyed delight at their respective wedding gift. Joe got a gun – which I very reluctantly touched after he assured me it wasn’t loaded. Christy got a bracelet. I have no fear of bracelets, so that was cool.

Next on the list of awesomeness, was the Hayley Paige dress. This was by far the best wedding dress of 2014. It had a flowing layered skirt, shoulders embroidered with sparkly bits and a stunning cut out in the back. I took approximately 137 photos of just the dress. I’m only half kidding here. Then there were the flowers. Christy has been friends with her florist, Amanda, for years so it was only natural that she brings her down from Alabama to pretty up the wedding. When I walked into that reception, I thought I had died and gone to flower heaven. (Five hundred more photos)

As you know, I am a bit of a cake lover but when I saw Joe’s groom cake, I didn’t even know it was a cake. Honestly, it’s not a cake, it’s fricken work of art! Well done Fatty Patty, well done. Christy documented every angle of Joe’s favorite possession in life – his Yeti cooler – and had it recreated in the form of a cake. It was an exact replica complete with a freshly caught fish cooling on ice. (Two hundred more photos)

After the wedding, we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset which thrilled all of us. So Christy, Joe, Irwin and I walked the mile back to the pavilion taking at least four hundred more pictures. But one of the things I loved most about this wedding was I got to work with one of my favorite wedding planners, Clay Keels. I never worry about anything when he’s in charge. And this was no exception. Every inch of that space was total perfection. Every moment of the day was stress-free. And everybody in attendance was on the dance floor. The party even lasted long after Christy and Joe made their way through a fiery exit. Their family and friends had all come down from Alabama and beyond to celebrate so that’s exactly what they did. It was such a fun destination wedding, it should be an annual event. And if we do it again, I’ll bring the tissues.