Chad and Lloyda have quite the love story. Young love rekindled years after living separate lives apart from each other. Fate reunited them years later. The next chapter of their love story takes place at Oleta River State Park for a beach wedding and together they can have the rest of their lives to write new chapters daily of their life together as husband and wife.
Chad and Lloyda chose to have a beach wedding, but unforseen circumstances nearly ruined it. When the company they hired to plan and coordinate the wedding, Miami Elite Events, arrived to the location to setup for their wedding, they found the place in total disarray. It seemed that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines was having a park cleanup but in reality it was more of a complete makeover.
I arrived early at the pavilion to take some shots of the decorations etc. and only saw holes in the ground where trees where to be placed, mounds of dirt piled high, Royal Caribbean volunteers everywhere and Miami Elite Events staff trying to set up among the chaos. I won’t lie there was so much work that needed to be done that I honestly felt that the beach wedding would have needed to become a parking lot affair.
Seeing how I had no available shots of the location due to the “construction” I headed over to where Lloyda and her bridesmaids were getting ready. All the while I was taking photos of Lloyda I was thinking about if the venue was ready and if not how would Chad and Lloyda react. When it was time for me to head back to the venue for the ceremony and reception, part of me was nervous to see what it looked like, but thankfully Miami Elite Events was able to pull off the miracle and the place looked amazing.
Chad and Lloyda had only their closest family and friends at their beach wedding. Both of their sons from their previous marriage participated in the event as well as their daughter together. The cake was made by Tatylicious, which is owned and run by Lloyda and some of her family. This wedding was truly a family event.
The ceremony was short, but the highlight was listening to each of them read their own vows to each other. They recounted their young love and how the same love reunited them years later. Each pledging to love each other for a lifetime. It truly was beautiful.
After the ceremony I gathered up the wedding party with the help of Joselyn, from Miami Elite Events, we walked over to where I had scouted out the bridal party photos. Chad and Lloyda were stopped by representatives from Royal Caribbean who felt bad that their beach wedding was nearly ruined and presented them with a free 7 day cruise to anywhere they wanted. I won’t lie, I was hoping to get a free weekend on a lifeboat somewhere, but alas it was not meant to be.
The ceremony was just one big party. All the guests were dancing and enjoying themselves. Chad and Lloyda’s smiles never left their faces from the moment Chad saw Lloyda walk down the aisle. To think that everyone was having fun when the events earlier were anything less.
I wish Chad and Lloyda a lifetime of happiness and if they can’t use their free cruise from Royal Caribbean I would be more than happy to adjust my schedule around so I can fill in for them.
