Saturday was Bobby & Ian’s day. We awoke to pouring rain, which tapered off by 10 and held off until the evening. They had the most gorgeous and happy ceremony at the Hemingway House about 10:30 in the morning. Lots of pictures are on James’s Flickr account, and available here. The ceremony was relatively short but very sweet, followed by champagne toasts and then lots of pictures. Then, we headed to Square One Restaurant for the reception. This is Bobby & Ian’s reception we’re talking about here, so of course it was open bar. James and I and some of the other friends arrived a bit early so that photos of the happy couple could be taken with family and then just them. We were a bit thirsty since it was humid out, so we had some water. A bit later, Bobby’s brother, Tim, arrived and he ordered a mojito. Then it was all over. Many drinks were consumed, a festive time was had, and a scrumptious lunch was served. The boys cut their cake while the guests blew bubbles. It was a great time!
In the middle of all of this, Ian’s parents were trying to work with me so that they could slip into Bobby & Ian’s room to leave something for them. Colluding with Brian, we invented the need for Brian to take photos of them in their wedding clothes at the Southernmost Point. James & I headed back to the house with Gary and Jonas, while Brian took the boys for photos and the Rileys went to get their gift. Evidently this gift required a bit of work, and it took them a while. The Rileys finally arrived at the house and, as I was walking them inside I noticed two familiar boys (with their shirts off no less) ambling gently down William St towards our house. I whispered to the Rileys, “Don’t look now, but there are two boys you know walking up behind you”. Ian’s mom kind of screamed playfully and then we all ran inside and I bolted the door while Rileys scrambled up the stairs, laughing all the way. The boys turned up (having put their shirts back on, being in mixed company and all) and wondered what was going on. They didn’t seem to think anything was up, so I played like I was giving a tour of the house. I think they knew something was up though.
Now it was time for relaxing. We all spent a lot of time in the pool and then took some naps. We discovered the local television station for NOAA Weather Radar and tried to second-guess the forecast of more rain. That evening, we wandered down to the Riley’s house for dinner and festivities to honor the recently betrothed. It was a blast! After stopping for some champagne, we grabbed some of the tremendous amounts of food to eat and had more than a few beverages. As it turns out, it was Pride weekend in Key West and this was the day of the Pride parade! We like to think that Key West was having a parade for Bobby & Ian.
Anyway, this houseful of happy drunks ran out to Duval St, and it was starting to rain again, to wait for the parade. As is typical, the parade started late. But, it started on the other end and we got impatient and ran towards it. We finally found it, and had a blast. The highlight was Ian and his mom screaming at the top of their lungs as the floats passed. Pictures tell the story best.
We stumbled back to the Riley’s house and started drinking again (some had taken travelers for the parade). Then the events began. The first event was a competition between Jonas and Ian’s mom to see who could twirl plastic Mardi-Gras beads around their neck the longest. Jonas won, but it was really close. Then, people began ending up in the pool. Pretty soon, a bunch of people already in the pool for screaming for me to jump in.
I didn’t disappoint them! Fortunately, I remembered to take my wallet out first. Chicken fights followed. First, Jonas and I vanquished Bobby and his brother-in-law Dan, then we took on Dan and Ian’s mother. They won, but it required considerable help from people pulling Jonas off and supporting Ian’s mother! Afterwards, there was a Conga Line. Shortly after, they ran out of all other alcoholic beverages other than Arbor Mist. This is the time James and I determined it was late and we’d had a long day and we decided to have a quiet walk down Simonton back towards our abode.
All in all, it was a wonderful day and a great way to celebrate Bobby & Ian!