weddings: island or royal?

You tell me which would you prefer:  an island wedding or a royal wedding?

On Thursday, April 21, 2010 amidst the massive crowds from Semana Santa on West Bay Beach a small group of family and friends gathered at Henry Morgan Resort to witness the wedding of Patricia and Ron LaBarre.

We were honoured when they asked Bob to officiate the wedding and asked me to photograph it.  For those of you who don't know Patricia and Ron were the ones who the Lord put in our path as neighbors when we first moved here to Roatan.  They were more then helpful!!  They went with us to markets, translated for us, showed us the best place to get shrimp, the best place to buy fish, we spent many a day exploring the island with them.   They were invaluable to us and made our transition here so smooth!

So for us to be able to help with their wedding was such a blessing!   We gathered on the sandy beach around 5:00 pm as the sun was just sitting low in the sky, and waited with anticipation for Patricia to make her way down the bougainvillea lined isle towards the floral covered canopy where Ron, her love, was waiting for her.   She made her way to the refrains of the "Firecracker" by Josh Turner which was Ron's choice since she is indeed:  a beautiful red haired firecracker

The guests, all dressed in white, turned and watched her slowly make her way to the front on the arm of her brother in law, Carlos.   If I could use one word to describe the wedding it would be JOYFILLED!   It was simple elegance and in my opinion one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever witnessed.

Does it compare with the royal wedding which millions and millions are watching today??   It didn't have the pomp, the press, the elegance,or the fancy hats. It didn't have a homily from the archbishop of England (which by the way, is worth reading)

But it did have this:

a simple elegance borne out of true love

which is a gift from God above in these trying times

it had the support of friends and family

it had many warm embraces and congratulations,

the sound of the sea: the greatest symphony

the onlookers of semana santa holidayers

it had the best coconut shrimp

it had cool evening breezes

and the subtle palette of His hand in the night sky

so to Ron and Patti

many blessings to you both

if i had to pick:

i would pick an island wedding anyday!