Katie and Jack - Smathers Beach Wedding and a Key West Sunset Cruise Reception
- Mark
- Jun 2
- 5 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Katie and Jack's love story started before they recognized what would come to be. They first met in high school, but not until the final semester before graduation since their school was so large. Upon graduation, they went in separate directions, but stayed in contact. In 2019, fate brought them both to Denver and they decided to start dating. Katie said they've "been in love ever since." Fast forward about four years to Tuesday, April 11, 2019. Katie and Jack were was enjoying a rooftop dinner he had prepared. The air was fresh with spring and songs from their favorite playlist were in the background. Wind of Change - their song -started to play. Jack, to her genuine surprise, proposed and she said "yes."
Deciding to Have a Key West Wedding
As they discussed where they would have their wedding, international tropical destination wedding locations came to mind. They thought about Mexico and the Caribbean. Both of those locations are beautiful, but can often be expensive for family and friends to attend and require more logistical planning. They started exploring destination wedding options in Key West. It's easy to get to with an airport right on the island. It has the look and feel of a Caribbean island with the clear water, palm trees and tropical vibe. There are plenty of hotels, rental properties and wedding vendors. And, finally, they found Sunset Watersports which could host both the beach wedding they wanted and the reception on Party Cat, their sunset dinner cruise boat.
The Wedding at Smathers Beach
The day of the wedding was sunny and breezy. It was just the type of day you would want for a Florida Keys destination wedding. Their ceremony was held on the soft white sand at Smathers Beach. The wedding arch was adorned with brightly colored pink, purple, orange and white flowers which looked beautiful against the bright blue sky. Beyond the arch, the Atlantic Ocean with its Caribbean-looking water in shades of light blue and turquoise stretched to the horizon. The breeze created small ripples in the shallow water just off the beach and white capped waves further out from shore. Guests congregated nearby until it was time to start and then took their seats. Jack, in a light blue suit, was standing with the officiant, Carl Ferrette, at the arch. Four young children Katie once nannied for were dressed all in white and made their way down the center aisle as flower and ring bearers. The Bridal Chorus began to play, the guests stood and Katie, escorted by her uncle Allen, walked towards her place next Jack. Katie was wearing a chic sleeveless Casablanca Willa dress with a halter neck. The sleek ribbon tails coming from high on the back of her neck sailed slightly in the breeze. After a kiss from uncle Allen and a handshake between the Allen and the groom, Katie and Jack were standing before their guests, ready to recite their vows to each other.
After vows were said, rings exchanged and a proclamation of the couple being husband and wife, the newlyweds began their recessional. Half of the way down the aisle, they stopped, turned to each other and Jack dipped Katie with a celebratory kiss. Congratulations, hugs and smiles ensued. Since their reception was being held during a private Sunset Watersports sunset dinner cruise, there was limited time left on the beach and it was used for family photos followed by couple photos using the beach walkways, palm trees and rock jetty. The final photos for this part of their day were taken with them getting onto the Conch Tour Train and being driven away to the Historic Seaport for their reception.
A Sunset Dinner Cruise Wedding Reception
While the bride, groom and their guests were checking in at Sunset Watersports, I made my way onto the boat to get photos of their reception set up. The dining room was decorated with white table cloths, green foliage vines on the tables, oyster shells with hand painted names for seating guides and bamboo chairs. Everything came together nicely to continue the tropical vibe of this wedding.
A steel drummer DJ was entertaining guests as they arrived on board Party Cat and made their way to the upper deck. Cold cocktails were being served. There was conversation and laughter until the moment Katie and Jack arrived. To the warm welcome of their guests, the DJ announced Mr. and Mrs. Gripenstraw had arrived! The festivities on the two level dinner boat continued. Steel drums were in sync with the music being played by DJ El Capitan for a cocktail party until dinner was ready to be served. Once everyone was in the air conditioned dining room, enjoyable formalities began. Speeches that brought out the emotion of the bride and groom ended in toasts to the newlyweds and everyone enjoyed dinner.
At sunset, Katie and Jack stepped away from their guests to get sunset photos. With the timing of dinner that evening, they had the entire upper deck to themselves for beautiful portraits together. The evening was nearly cloudless and the sun was creating a bright orange sky at the horizon that faded into lighter hues more distant from the sun. The deep blue ocean was reflecting the color of the sky on the small waves that passed by Party Cat. Katie's dress flew in the natural breeze that was further enhanced by the motion of Party Cat as it plied the waters of the Key West harbor. During those moments, it was just the two of them surrounded by the natural beauty that has drawn visitors to Key West for decades.
After the sunset photos were complete, the couple's evening included their first dance with a fantastic finale dip and kiss, a dance between Katie and her uncle and another dance with Jack and his mother. Key Lime pie from Blue Heaven was cut by Katie and Jack and served to guests. The dancing and fun continued until the private charter came to an end.
Their wedding and sunset cruise were behind them, but Katie and Jack have their entire lives together in front of them. We wish them the very best in the years to come and hope to see them back in Key West again celebrating their anniversaries or even visiting for no other reason than to enjoy the tropical paradise of Key West and the Florida Keys.
~ Mark and the entire team at Mark Funkhouser Photography
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