Congratulations Mrs. Kelly Blackwin!

This past weekend I flew out to Phoenix again and stayed the night with Karin, then we drove to Santa Monica the next day for high school friend Kelly's wedding weekend. We got there about noon and checked into our fantastic hotel, The Ambrose (http://www.ambrosehotel.com). We met up with Kelly and headed to the St. Monica Catholic Church for the wedding rehearsal (where Arnold Schwarzeneger goes to mass). The girls then broke away and got manicures and pedicures before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. Kelly's parents were staying at a friend's house in the Palisades and that was where the rehearsal dinner was. The house was amazing, at the top of the cliff overlooking the water. Good company, good food, and great location!

Saturday we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast with Kelly at The Ambrose, then Karin and I headed to the salon to get our hair done. We came back and all met up in Kelly's room to get ready. Mimosas were flowing again and it was some good girl time. We headed over to the church to get dressed, and Kelly looked absolutely magically stunning!!!

The wedding ceremony was fantastic. The big mystery was what the getaway vehicle would be. Kelly thought it would be a fire truck, as two of her uncles are local firemen. We were all surprised to walk out of the church and see a beautiful 1960s silver Rolls Royce, complete with red carpet and chauffer holding champagne on a silver platter!! We took pictures at the church then headed to the beach. We could only get a few shots, as the wind was blowing about 40mph.

We then headed over to where the reception was going to be at The Le Merigot hotel (http://www.lemerigothotel.com). The reception started off with happy hour complete with wonderful hor d'oeuvres. We then moved inside and hit the seafood buffet, with a Jamaican flair in honor of Romeir. The rest of the evening was dancing, cake, bouquets and garters, and a Jamaican band. It was all wonderful!! Kelly and Romeir are headed to Jamaica for their honeymoon in a few weeks.

Sunday morning, Karin and I went downstairs for breakfast again. The Ambrose has sitting rooms where you eat casually, and we had a celebrity sighting while eating our breakfast.

Turns out the lady sitting across from us was Merry Clayton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Clayton), formerly one of Ray Charles' Raelettes, and also on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, the background singer on Sweet Home Alabama, and she also worked with Elvis and the Rolling Stones! We checked out and headed to the Promenade and had lunch at a great little place called Barney's Beanery (http://www.barneysbeanery.com). We listened to one of the street singers while we ate. Karin then took me to the airport and back home I went. It was a great weekend.

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Romeir Blackwin (http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_main.aspx?legacct=1&coupleid=7152177657960534).


View my photos here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=11jf3gg9.97ub2uyh&x=0&y=xr7y15&localeid=en_US