Brandy's Circus

Wednesday, June 28, 2006





















THE BIG DAY!

HAIR!!!

Hair and nails were done in our room at the Tradewinds. Belinda had her hairdresser Melinda come to St. Pete to make us look glamorous! Gina had her nail tech Julie come, too. I'm not a nail person but I enjoyed watching Julie work. She also helped with doing the younger girls' hair. We had fun being all together before the wedding. We ordered room service (which was delicious!) and entertained as people came and went from our room. The younger girls were very patient during the hour it took to do each of their hair. I was really impressed by the 3 of them. It was a long afternoon in that room, but we made it fun. The best part was being able to spend so much time with the Bride before the festivities started. As far as I was concerned, the festivities started as soon as we woke up!





The view of the beach from our room at the Tradewinds was equisite! I could've just lived there forever! The breeze from the ocean coming in made me want to sleep on the balcony. But the beds were too comfy to give up. If you're looking for a piece of Paradise, the Tradewinds has it!









After the rehearsal on the beach, we went to Bermuda's in the Tradewinds for a delicious and fun rehearsal dinner. I got to sit next to Mike and Sandie and we got all caught up on news since their wedding. They told me they had a very nice honeymoon on the cruise and everyone on the ship treated them like royalty! Mrs. R surprised both Belinda and Gina with plates that she made. She makes these beautiful glass plates with dried flowers pressed in. The one she made for Belinda was made from a piece of paper that we had signed at Belinda's Bridal Shower that was held at Mrs. R's house. It was absolutely beautiful! The dinner was a success and it was nice to spend time with the family before the big day tomorrow!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006
















FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2006: IT'S THE BIG WEEKEND!!! Belinda and Allen's Wedding Weekend is finally here! After all this wait, Friday came in a snap. I got to the Tradewinds at St. Pete Beach in time to check into the room (Gina had just gotten there when I called her from the road to see how things were going. Luckily for me, traffic wasn't bad) and relax a bit before the rehearsal started. We had to be on the beach by 6:30pm. We certainly didn't want to be late. The weather was nice without being too hot. The breeze off the water definitely helped. I must admit that the rehearsal was fun. You wouldn't think so, but the men in both our families entertained us as only men can. Luckily for us all, the Pastor had a good sense of humor! I must confess, though, that the sight of Uncle Jonny walking Belinda towards Allen was pretty emotional! Belinda's the first grandchild on the Finch side so this wedding was a pretty big deal to me. Also because she's my Belinda! I couldn't be any happier for her. She was absolutely glowing during the rehearsal. Rehearsal? No, she glowed all weekend!

















The morning after the Bachelorette Party, Belinda had planned a Bridal Luncheon for the Bride's Maids and other close family members, hosted by Allen's Aunt Julie. Of course, she told us later, had she known about the Bachelorette Party the night before, she wouldn't have made the Luncheon plans that day. But hindsight, they say, is 20/20. We girls were suffering, much to the amusement of the other Grown Ups. Here we were in a classy restaurant with a tempting brunch selection and we girls ordered cheeseburgers! I cheated and got the Eggs Benedict, which were nice and sinful enough to calm my queasy stomach! The server even surprised us with chocolate covered strawberries for desert. That's my kind of brunch! When we first got there, we Bride's Maids had a bag hanging on the back of our chairs with a gift inside. Belinda made a toast and then we were able to open our bags. To our delight, inside was a handcrafted quilt made with love by Belinda and Aunt Janice. Each one was different; each one was BEAUTIFUL! They also each had a personalized inscription from Belinda sewn in. Aunt Janice even surprised Belinda with her own that Aunt Janice had made for her. In addition to the quilt (besides the fact that Belinda also made the bags herself, sewing on the beads and hand-stamping the flip flops on) was a tealight holder with flip flops on it (the theme of Belinda and Allen's Beach Wedding) and a flip flop magnet that Julie had made with Belinda and Allen's names and the wedding date on them. The last little piece was a flip flop toe-ring that Belinda had given us to wear for the ceremony. It was a Beautiful Morning to top off a Wild and Crazy Night!