SUMMARY!

I was so excited to go to Denise's wedding. I was excited for a million reasons - I couldn't wait to wear my dress (LOVE it), I couldn't wait to see my family (not the crazy ones, which are not many .. but every family has them), and I was hoping to meet some family from Trinidad that I've never met before.

DRESS TIME www.ideeli.com

I've heard a lot of good things about this guy that is altering my dress. Its a size 6, and I'm happy to say I've been working out a lot (hope you can tell!!) so it needed it to be taken in (Seriously! I have girl muscles!). It also needed to be shortened (big shocker there!).

I won't say exactly where this alteration guy works, but I will say that he has been fabulous with altering suit jackets, jeans and anything else I needed altered to fit me. But, this is the first time I've had a deadline. And by deadline, this guy had 3 weeks. And it took him 4. Literally - picked it up the last possible day. And, the bustle in the back fell out like a million times. Needless to say, I will be taking my dress alterations elsewhere. If you need dress alterations, I recommend avoiding Lancaster Ave!!!

THE DRIVE

We left super early. We were worried about beach traffic issues, and thank goodness - there was not any traffic! Greg wanted to listen to the baseball game on the radio but it was rained out - SO, he had to settle for listening to my dance music allll the way down. Thank goodness for Sirius BPM DancE!

THE ARRIVAL www.mallardislandyachtclub.com/

We get there, and I know no one! I thought for sure someone would be there I knew. We wandered around for awhile and finally ran into the parents of the bride (my Great Aunt & Uncle). They looked nervous, excited and anxious all at the same time.

THE CEREMONY

We finally run into my mom and her sisters, and we sit down inside the most amazingly beautiful ceremony. The ceremony was literally on a house-thing that had a roof and was opened on all the sides. It extended out into the lake and was completely surrounded by water.

We took lots of pictures! Denise's dress was gorgeous. She looked amazing! The bridal party wore blue, perfect color for the "beach" setting.

COCKTAIL HOUR

The food was SO good. I think I could have skipped dinner and just eaten everything else. Think coconut shrimp, amazing scallops wrapped in bacon, sweet potato fries with dipping sauce, every piece of fruit known to man, some pastas, mini bite burgers, tons of cheese and meat combos, this bruschetta type stuff, and this list could definitely go on!

The scallops were so good that by the end everyone started watching for them. It was a race to see who could tackle the waiter with the scallops!

DINNER

There was a sit down dinner on the 2nd floor. I could barely eat dinner. I tried, but I only took a few bites and everyone taste-tested my food and helped me finish the rest. I had sea bass and it was cooked perfectly and the flavor was amazing. There was a side of risotto. I ate the risotto - there is no sharing this!!

The tables had pretty blue boxes with way-too-yummy chocolate. I don't even like chocolate that much!

DANCE TIME

I danced a tiny bit, but not that much. The dance floor was so pretty. You could see over the balcony to the water. I spent most of the night chatting with family. I did get to meet one of my Mommom's brother's children Judy (not even sure what she is to me!!). They live in Wyoming. You know that they live in the middle of nowhere when RHI doesn't even have an office in their entire state!!!

Judy and Richard are super cultured and have live all over the world. Nigeria, Europe, Canada.. I can't even remember all the places she said. Her husband travels a lot for his job. Its was really nice to connect with them. We are going out to see them sometime in 2012!! One more state off the bucket list.

OVERALL

We had a great time. The food and the bar was amazing.. and so was everything else. Love the beach wedding idea. I'm a food snob and I give their food 5 YUMMY STARS!

We didn't spend a lot of time in Manahawkin besides at the Mallard Island Yacht Club and a short stint at a gas station... but I would definitely recommend checking out the club. If you're looking for an amazing setting for a beach wedding - look no further!!!