Wedding Arbor 2 - Finished

I am so happy,

and a little emotional, as

this time comes to a close.

I feel  almost as if I have just given birth.

So much time and energy spent not only in the building

but also in the collecting of the pieces

 that have gone into this beautiful Arbor.

Oh how I love nature's many gifts.

As I take my final walk around this sculpture.

 I am reminded of my many walks along the sandy shores.

 Each walk would give me an opportunity to stop and

 pick up one of nature's discarded

jewels.

It has been such a joy to touch each piece

and place it in just the right spot.

I wanted this arbor to give one

 the feeling of walking into nature.

Branches weave in and out of each other

just as if they were still alive. 

A horseshoe crab lights upon the top of a stump.

This little crab hides among the branches.

Several sea shells get caught 

up in branches as if they were

 put there by the

wind and tide.

Now nature's gifts to me have been

 tied together with love and time.

 So I give this gift to future Brides and Grooms.

May your lives be ever entwined

and long lived in happiness together.

Wedding Arbor - Moving Day

Moving Day

we've finally gotten far enough along on the 

Wedding Arbor

that it can be moved up the hill.

I am so blessed to have a husband that

puts up with all my artistic craziness

and then he figures out how to move

huge objects like this one for me.

So with the help of Billy Ashmore and his

very helpful and strong crew Jay directed

the Arbor up the hill.

They used the Egyptian method by placing four large 

PVC pipes underneath the Arbor 

while pushing the Arbor up the hill.

As the Arbor rolled over each pipe

the pipe in the back would be

moved forward and placed in front of the Arbor.

Once the Arbor was at the top of the hill

the guys used the pipes to turn the Arbor.

then they carefully removed the pipes.

Thank you, Thank you to my

four hero's.

You're the best!

Jay is happy he has

 his driveway back.

Now I can finish the back of the Arbor

 and put on the finishing touches.

Driftwood Wedding Arbor - The Assembly

The first phase of this arbor

started back in September.

My son Jeremy built the arbor frame.

He built it so that it could be broken down

and transported.

My husband Jay and Jeremy loaded the
Arbor pieces onto a trailer
and Jay drove it down to the marina.
There our friend Billy
loaded the arbor pieces onto his work boat
 and brought them over to Useppa Island.

Once the Arbor was on Useppa Jay and I
then loaded the
pieces onto a trailer and brought them
 to Floridian Cottage.
Jay then assembled the Arbor frame.

Once the arbor frame was up I strained it.
While it was drying I placed all of my driftwood on
 the deck for easy access.

Each piece of driftwood was then carefully selected
and placed on the arbor

with bronze coated ceramic wood screws.

I stopped counting the number of screws I was using at 500.

Three weekends into this project
I was getting low on driftwood.
Suzy and Vic showed up one day with a
nice donation to the Driftwood Arbor project.

Week six

The Arbor is now ready to move.

Tomorrow is moving day.
Then the finishing touches.

The Wedding - Something for the Bride

I will finish the Wedding blogging

with our bride.

Beautiful, graceful and elegant
on the outside yes, but most importantly
Felicia's is even more beautiful on the inside.
She is kind, loving and has a giving heart.
She is a wonderful addition to our family and
 we are honored to call her our daugter.

Our beautiful bride needs jewelry.

The jewelry needs to be beautiful, classic
and subtle. We don't want to take our eyes off
of our bride.

Keeping all those things in mind,
I choose ecru oval freshwater pearls
and a sterling silver clasp.
All these came together to make
 a double strand vintage inspired bracelet.

For the earrings I used the same fresh water pearls
and sterling silver wire to make these lovely
delicate dangle earrings.

So that is the end of blogging about the wedding but only the beginning of
a long and happy life together.
Felicia and Jeremy, Thank you and may God bless you and your marriage.
(Wedding photos by Craig Ligibel)

The Wedding - Flowers for the Tables

In keeping with the Old Florida

 and driftwood theme.

Our bride requested that driftwood be used in her

center pieces.

My daughter Rachel and I came up with

 two ideas.

 For the high top tables we 

placed a few small clear glass stones on the bottom of 

a clear glass cylinder. 

Then we placed an orchid stem into the glass

cylinder. We added water and a floating candle.

We placed a few pieces of moss around the 

bottom of the vase.

 Then each cylinder was tied

with a natural colored bow and several

 pieces of small driftwood were placed

 inside of the bow. 

For our large tables we used larger pieces of

driftwood, moss, fern and 

white orchids.

In the center of this arrangement was

placed a white pillar candle and  

a hurricane lamp over it.

As the wind blew my team was at my side 

working hard, full of smiles and laughter.

Thank you, Rachel and Anne, for a wonderful day. 

Thank you to the Groomsmen for setting up the tables. 

Jay, Dan, Sorrel, Richard and Bonnie,

thank you.

It truly was a beautiful day! I am so blessed to have been a part of it.

Thank you, Jeremy and Felicia.

The Wedding - Driftwood Arbor

As I walk along our Florida Beaches

 on occasion I will see a beautiful piece of driftwood.

Washed and worn, some pieces molded by time

with ripples and dimples.

I find myself picking these pieces of time up

 and carrying them home imagining what they have been through 

and how they came be in my hand on this day.

My son Jeremy and his lovely bride Felicia

have seen some of my pieces of driftwood and the 

mirrors I have made with them.

 These two native Floridians thought that a

driftwood arbor would be a wonderful addition

 to their wedding day. Felicia asked Jeremy and I if we

could make their dream a reality.

Jeremy and I both love a challenge so

our answer was, of course, yes.

 For a year I wandered about our small island and 

various and sundry places gathering nature's outcast.

At the end of March Jeremy and his friends

 came to the island and bundled all the driftwood I had found.

 They placed it in their boats and took it to the mainland.

Then they put the driftwood in their trucks and hauled it to the 

shop where Jeremy and I would build the Wedding Arbor.

Jeremy and I figured the Arbor should be 

seven foot by four foot. That would be

 large enough for three people to stand in or in front of

 but not to large to transport.

 Jeremy built the Arbor frame and painted it.

 I asked if I could help but he

wanted to do it himself.

Once the Arbor was painted Jeremy and I started putting

 the puzzle together. Each piece of driftwood

was strategically placed. For hours I handed Jeremy

driftwood pieces as he drilled and screwed them into the 

arbor frame.

I had such a wonderful time working with Jeremy.

He is so talented and creative. This arbor was

as much his design as mine.

We made a great team. 

The arbor is finished.

 Now we must get this arbor to its destination.

 A frame was built in and around the arbor

to give the men something to hold onto

 and to support the arbor

as they lifted and moved it from place to place.

 Jeremy and his buddies lifted and carried

 this huge, very heavy arbor and set it in the prefect place.

Hours of hard work, fun and lots of help,

we are now ready for the final touches on the arbor.

The supports are removed. 

There she stands in all her glory, 

pieces once discarded

have come together to make one beautiful center

piece for a very special day.

Congratulations

 Felicia and Jeremy

Thank you Craig Ligibel for the wedding pictures.

Jeremy, Mac, Josh, Dave, Daniel, Blue, Elliott, Eric, Justin,

Lance, Matt, Christian, Steve, Jay and Rob

    all who had a hand in helping with this project

thank you, we could not have done it without you.