Weddingbee Blog

I have to start off by saying that Mr. Dolphin and I seriously have the most thoughtful and sweet family and friends. So many people contributed to our special day. Our wedding would not have turned out as perfect as it did without the help of our family and friends, most notably, our parents: Dolphin Dad, Dolphin Momma, Mr. D’s Dad, Mr. D’s Mom and Western Cowboy. They all contributed their time, effort, love and finances to making sure our wedding went off without a hitch. They are the most selfless people I know, and I’m so thankful for being blessed with such amazing parents and in-laws.

Dolphin Dad and Mr. D’s Dad looking swanky at our wedding.

photo by Dolphin Dad’s best friend, Sam of Sam Dobrow Photography

And with that being said, we received a pretty amazing wedding gift from Mr. D’s dad when we returned home to Gainesville.

For days/weeks/years Mr. Dolphin and I have wanted to have a nice front planter, complete with plants (we used to have just dirt), pavers, and pretty-ness, outside the front of our condo. We have envied our neighbors who always have nicely trimmed and manicured plants.

Here’s what our front porch planter used to look like, pre-wedding gift from Mr. D’s Dad:

Yeah… we have dirt… that’s it. A paver or two, a gardenia bush on the fritz, and… dirt.

This was taken one weekend when Mr. Dolphin and I were ’trying’ to make it look nicer. We bought a gardenia bush and some roses… but still couldn’t mask the ugly dirt, icky wood border (which we swore to tackle later this summer), and all around ugly-ness. That would be our neighbor’s (in the building next to us) cute little dog, coming over to say hello to Dolphin Kitty.

And here is our competition… our next door neighbor:

Our next door neighbor has owned her condo for 10 years, so she has had plenty of time to beautify and maintain her planter. Okay, so we have A LOT of competition. You like those nice orange flowers on her doorstep? Yeah… they are faux flowers that look awesome all the time. I am too chicken to put faux flowers on our porch. One day I may give in.

But, when we got home from our honeymoon, we were greeted by a wonderful wedding gift by Mr. D’s Dad that put us many BIG steps in the direction of having a beautiful front entryway:

Apparently, Mr. D’s Dad drove to Gainesville the Sunday before we returned from our honeymoon and did all of this for us. He put a ton of work into this, and we are ever so grateful. We were in COMPLETE shock when we pulled up, we had no idea. We just got out of our truck and just stared blankly at our front entryway. We had no idea who had done it and just couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Mr. D’s Dad did what we had been wanting to do for months/years but didn’t have the finances/time/energy to do. Now I just have to nurse our roses (in pots on our front doorstep) back to health/life and we will have a beautiful front entryway.

This is by far the most unique wedding gift I have ever seen/received, and one of the best, for us. We couldn’t be happier. I get to see Mr. D’s dad’s Wedding gift every time I pull up to our little condo. I love it. Plus, he has provided the stepping stone for us to add more character and beauty to our front entryway (which I’m excited to start this summer!). Mr. D’s Dad has even said he would give us a plumeria plant to grow. A little taste/smell of Maui? I like that! He didn’t just stop at our front entryway, he even added some much needed love to our back porch:

Mr. D’s Dad made us a wind chime, with a custom cut ’K’ for our names, and planted some pretty flowers for us to enjoy while hanging out on our porch. Can you say awesome?!

This summer we are thinking of adding a nice big bougainvillea to our front entry planter (since I killed our baby bougainvillea), and some beautiful angel palms to our back porch area (great shade and wonderful to look at). I’m seriously excited about the transformation of our cute little condo landscaping.

What is the most unique/unexpected gift you have ever received?