This is the fun part. I reserved the gorgeous pavilion at Matheson Hammock (some of you are familiar with it) for the 17th. It's ours until around sundown (when the park closes), so I'm thinking we can start any time around noon. I'm planning to be there by 11 at the latest. I will bring music, some decorations, and hopefully a slideshow of wedding photos. Our photographer, Dan Scheerer will be there with copies of the wedding photo discs available for sale. Knowing him, he'll probably have a couple of cameras around his neck, too.

You're actually taking care of the food, if you don't mind. There are only a couple of rules (below) and aside from that, go nuts. Honestly, Kia and I have been working our butts off and just don't have it in us to throw the party ourselves. I was thinking of cancelling, but I already had the pavilion reserved, and some friends suggested I leave it to you, our dear friends. So here you go. :D

I'm sorry for the rules. The first two are so Kia can enjoy everything there. You can substitute honey, agave nectar, or brown rice syrup for sugar if you modify the recipe. You can use crystalline fructose (they sell it at wild oats for sure, and probably other places) as a direct substitution. Heck, I'll BUY the crystalline fructose and provide it if you like. Just say the word.

The alcohol thing is a park rule. We abide by it or we have trouble. Anyway, I don't want anyone getting plastered and a DUI on the way home. :) We're going to bring a couple bottles of champagne for sure. Korbel Brut is really reasonably priced, excellent, and available at Publix.

The simple food thing isn't a rule. It's just a hint in case you care what we tend to eat. Pasta salad with virgin olive oil instead of mayonnaise, for instance. Grilled chicken instead of chicken cacciatore or whatever. We can grill hot dogs and hamburgers, steak, jerk chicken, bratwurst, pineapple, squash/onion/peppers/etc, and anything else that can be cooked on a grid. Simple will make it easier for you, too.

Our friends are wonderful people, excellent cooks, and very generous. This pretty much guarantees that there is going to be too much food. Bring a container or two so you can take home some leftovers and one person isn't left with 30 hot dogs while another is stuck with 3lbs of rice and beans. :)

P.S. CHILDREN ARE WELCOME! (as long as they're smart enough not to taunt gators, hah!)

I'm going to keep a list of what everyone's bringing, and any other contributions anyone wants to make. Drop me an email to let me know. I could use help with decor, playlist suggestions, events planning, and so on. We don't want everyone getting bored!