Even though I was quite confident that our dance party could have continued well into the night, our evening did have to come to a close. Thankfully, we had a few plans to end the night with some sparkle…
We purchased extra long sparklers before the wedding to stage for our exit. If you are planning a sparkler exit for your getaway—DEFINITELY get these; the regular sized short sparklers that you use on the 4th of July will not last long enough for a grand exit and you will be left with smoky photos! Carlouel was nice enough to provide matches to light and buckets to dispose of our sparklers. After the DJ played the final song, he asked our guests to move towards the exit and line up outside for the sparkler excitement! Under the direction of our DOC, they formed a walkway for Mr. Buttons and I to walk through!
Here we come!
I’m sure you might be wondering what was waiting for us at the end of that sparkling walkway…it was our getaway car!
Setting up a getaway vehicle for our exit was a bit of a process. Mr. Buttons and I were staying at a hotel on the beach located only about a mile down the road from Carlouel. Realistically, it would have been extremely expensive to rent a car or hire a limo…to take us one mile down the road. We thought through a few different options: perhaps we could find someone with a really cool car that they would be willing to lend to us? No dice. One day, the manager at Carlouel mentioned that there was a man who owned a couple of old fashioned NYC cabs that run up and down Clearwater beach. Perfect! I scoured the Internet looking for his information, but came up empty handed; he wasn’t listed, as far as I could tell. The old fashioned cabs were a mystery to me…until the afternoon of my bachelorette party.
MOH L, BM K, and I were driving back to the beach house from the grocery store when…lo and behold…driving down the street in front of the beach house was my mystery man! The brakes on my car screeched as I put my car in park and literally jumped out and threw myself in front of the taxi cab, waving my arms like a mad lady. I procured his business card with contact information, and we scheduled him to arrive right before the end of our reception. This worked out fabulously for us, as we only had to pay for the ride duration, rather than paying for hours tat were unnecessary!
As fate would have it, the first cab’s battery died in front of Carlouel, so the second car in the fleet had to make an appearance to jump it! No matter—that meant we were able to get some fun photos!
Well, it was about time to hit the road…
We were off…as husband and wife…after a wonderful wedding day! And to top it all off, as soon as we got a few blocks down the road, Mr. Buttons and I heard the *pop* of a champagne cork. Our driver had purchased a bottle of champagne for us, and promptly handed back two bubbly glasses to enjoy! One final, private toast…to celebrate the two of us!
*photos courtesy of Pilster Photography*
Previously…
- The girls got ready, then the guys got ready.
- I became a bride, but our first look wasn’t what I’d hoped.
- We took some photos alone and then with our bridal party.
- Everyone hopped on the trolley and then we took a few family portraits before my cake arrived.
- I gathered myself before the ceremony, our bridal party made their way down the aisle, and I followed afterward.
- Our ceremony began with some readings and ended with a handfasting ceremony.
- My ‘maids helped me adjust my bustle and we entered the cocktail hour.
- We had fun in the photo booth then took some photos on the water.
- We made our grand entrance, shared our first dance, and then danced with our parents.
- Toasts were made, food was eaten, and a sunset was enjoyed.
- I shared all the little details and then the dance party got started!
- We had a few “typical traditions,” then a surprise spotlight dance!
- The dance party continued, and Grandpa Buttons showed off his moves.
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