Weddings at Casa Ybel Resort: August 2009

Friday, August 28, 2009

The Wedding Photos are Here!!

Mr. and Mrs. Josh Reed

On June 19, 2008, Casa Ybel Resort hosted the Wedding of Josh Reed of the Buffalo Bills, and his stunning wife, Amanda Mueller. Josh and Amanda were such a delight to work with, and they had the most beautiful intimate beach wedding at our resort.

I have been waiting with baited breath for the photos from the insanely talented, Impressions Photography (http://www.impress-photo.com/) , and Krista was so nice to share them with us this week! They came out to truly reflect the overall beauty of the day, the resort, and most important, this fabulous couple!

I hope you enjoy the photos just as much as I enjoyed working with them!

Enjoy!

Josh and his Groomsmen, so stylish!

Amanda was simply stunning

Waiting for the ceremony

The groom's embroidered Shirt, so sweet

The Amazing Ceremony Site

Danny Morgan Entertained the guests before the ceremony

Praying during the ceremony

It's official!!

Barefoot in the sand

The entire bridal party-LOVE these bridesmaids dresses

What a stunning couple

Beautiful Centerpieces by Floral Artistry

The bride mingles with the guests between courses

Scrumptious shrimp cocktail, prepared by Thistle Lodge Chefs

Thanks again to Krista from Impressions Photography for sharing these stunning photos, and thank you to Josh and Amanda for trusting us with your perfect day.

Wishing you many years of happiness and love!!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Destination Weddings: Why Sanibel Island?

Nowadays, there are so many wonderful Destination Wedding Locations! The world is just full of stunning beaches, amazing sunsets, clear water, and fantastic properties to host your wedding at. In all of the places I have traveled, and all of the places I have seen, I genuinely adore Sanibel Island as a destination location, and believe we are just PERFECT for a destination wedding. I may seem a bit biased, considering I work out here, and live in Southwest Florida, but let me tell you why this is such a magical place for me, and everyone who visits!

The natural beauty of Sanibel speaks for itself. With the entire island serving as a nature preserve, Sanibel has unparalleled levels of native wildlife, foliage, water, natural sand beaches, shells, and stunning views and sunsets for all to enjoy. Where else can you see dolphins, a shark, a bobcat, an iguana, baby turtles, and an alligator all in the same day? (Not an exaggeration, I once saw all of these animals in one day from the time I arrived on Sanibel for work, to my drive home!)

The sunsets on the Island are unlike any I have ever seen, and add such an ethereal atmosphere, that Sanibel seems like it's own world.

Can you imagine a more perfect background for a wedding than this? When nature provides this on your special day, what else do you need?!

When it comes to Sanibel Island as a great Destination Wedding location, this is really a no brainer. The majority of your guests for a destination wedding will be out of area or out of state, so most likely, they are also making a vacation out of your wedding weekend. As such, when hosting a destination, there had better be a whole lot for your guests to do while they are there, aside from the one day your wedding will take place.

Sanibel is PERFECT for vacation, whether your guests are older, young couples, singles, or traveling with young children. The island is full of exciting and relaxing things to do with the whole family.

Consider the following; on Sanibel you can:

1) Rent bicycles and ride the island! Take in the nature and sights while spending relaxing time with your family and loved ones.

2) Enjoy the local tastes at a variety of restaurants! The island is FULL of fantastic restaurants that are all so different. Your guests can travel the island sampling everything, or even stay right on property and enjoy a romantic, exquisite dinner at our very own Thistle Lodge Beachfront Restaurant!

3) Visit J.N Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. You can get there by bike or car, and take in the true beauty of the island in it's most natural form. www.fws.gov/dingdarling

4) Rent jet skis, go windsurfing, canoe, kayak, or rent a fishing charter boat for a full day of water fun!

5) Take a sunset cruise off of Captiva. A lot of couples even do this a few days before the wedding to welcome the guests! http://www.captivacruises.com/

6) Visit the Historic Sanibel Lighthouse and have a picnic! There is a great little picnic area right next to the Lighthouse.

7) Go shelling! A visit to Sanibel Island is simply not complete without trolling the beaches for shells! We are one of the best in the country for shelling, and you will find some unique and hard to find shells on our beaches!

8) Golf. For you Golf lovers out there, Sanibel Island has some of the nicest courses around!

9) Shop till you drop! Periwinkle Way, the main road down the Island, is packed full of specialty shops and thrift stores for an amazing shopping adventure!

10) Relax. The beaches are like no other, the water warm, the weather beautiful, the drinks cold and refreshing. At Casa Ybel, your guests never even have to leave the resort to have a great time. They can relax on the beach, or poolside; sipping a cocktail from Coconuts Poolside Grill, and listening to the sounds of Danny Morgan live on the weekends!

Kids can delight in our Casa Kids Club, and give parents a little break to visit Thistle Lodge Restaurant or spend time in their fully appointed condo!

All in all, there is so very much to do on this beautiful island, so there will never be a dull moment during your wedding weekend. We here at Casa Ybel Resort do many, many weddings, and would be delighted to show you just how great we are as a Destination Wedding selection for your special day.

With the natural magic of Sanibel Island, and the pure beauty of our historic resort, we can provide that perfect Destination Wedding you have been dreaming of!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Special Beach Wedding at Casa Ybel Resort

Last weekend, we at Casa Ybel were fortunate to host three amazing weddings. A big congratulations goes out to our newest happy newlyweds:

Mr. and Mrs. Dietz

Mr. and Mrs. Bump

Mr. and Mrs. Flannagan

It was such a pleasure to host your special day, and we hope you return in the future to celebrate your love once again on our property.

One wedding in particular was very special to us, as it was family from one of our greatest Preferred Vendor, Kelly McWilliams! (http://www.destinationnapleswedding.com/). You hear us refer to Kelly quite a bit on our blog, as we always adore working with her on her incredible weddings, and it was such an honor to host this event for her! It is truly the greatest compliment when such a respected wedding professional trusts you with a family event near and dear to their heart!

Kelly, as always, did a wonderful job putting together the details for the happy couple, and it was just adorable! Once again, Kelly proves that "intimate", and "simple" does not mean you need to skimp on the details and design of the event!! Oh, and a side note on how amazing Kelly is: she not only planned, designed, and managed the wedding, but she also officiated and photographed...oh, and made the bouquets! Doesn't it make you all wish we all had wedding planners in the family!!

Here are some pictures from the day for you to enjoy!!