Our Wedding: July 2, 2009

We arrived in Little Cayman on Wednesday, July 1. In the airport in Grand Cayman, we met with our pastor, who would be going to the government house in Grand Cayman to apply for our marriage license. We gave him our documents and signed some paperwork, and then bid him farewell. We took the twin otter plane to Little Cayman, where we would be getting married.

We were staying at Southern Cross Club, and this was our third trip there. We first visited Southern Cross in 2007 on a whim vacation over the fourth of July. We love it, and consider Little Cayman "our" place. There wasn't a more perfect place for our wedding.

The next day, Thursday, July 2 was the big day. We started out the day perfectly - some breakfast, two dives on Bloody Bay Wall, some lunch and then a nap in a hammock. Our room had an outdoor shower, so while I was getting ready for the wedding, I watched the dive boat come back from the afternoon dive.

Our photographer met us in the late afternoon, and he worked with us for about an hour or so on the beach, taking photos. Here are a few:

During the photo shoot, my flower bouquet arrived! When we arrived on Wednesday, I was absolutely delighted to hear that Brigitte Kassa was the one who would be making my bouquet. We have met Brigitte a few times, and I think she's terrific. She is a Little Cayman legend, that is for certain. She is known as the first woman on Little Cayman, and runs the National Trust at the Booby Pond in Little Cayman. The flowers for my bouquet came from Brigitte's garden. She asked me on Wednesday what type of flowers I'd prefer and I just kind of shrugged and told her to just make a beautiful mix. She certainly delivered and exceeded my expecations.

For all of the lamenting that I did about my wedding shoes, I actually only ended up wearing them for about five minutes before I kicked them off... They were still perfect, though, and I was glad that I had them - just in case.

I love this next photo because I know what was going on in the picture. The photographer asked me to whisper something in Todd's ear, and so I used our "The Bug" voice that we have and talked to him about The Bug. It got a laugh :)

We met up with our diving friends, Matt and Ellen, who were our witnesses, to head to Owen Island. We met Matt and Ellen at Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman in July of 2007. This was our fourth dive vacation with them, and we were excited to have them join us for our wedding, especially since our families couldn't be there.

The wedding took place on Owen Island, which is a small island within sight of Southern Cross Club. Southern Cross sits on South Hole Sound, and Owen Island is right at the entrance to South Hole Sound. It's small and uninhabited, but has a beautiful beach and a variety of birds. We took Southern Cross Club's pontoon boat out to Owen Island - it's a pretty short ride.

Here we are on the pontoon, where Matt said he was stealing both ladies away from Todd:

On Owen Island, the club had set up a very simple setting with flowers (again from Bridgette's garden). It was absolutely perfect.

Ellen started tearing up right away. I had to tell her to stop or I was going to cry also, and I really wanted to keep my makeup on. The pastor read from I Corinthians (one of my favorites):

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

First was the declaration of intention, and right as Todd was about to say "I Do," a wave came up and washed over Pastor Henriquez's shoes. He didn't miss a beat though, and it was soon time to say our vows. Todd was serious in everything that he said, and I tried not to cry both while he said his and while I said mine...

I, Todd take you, Kim, from this day forward as my wife, partner and best friend. I promise to take you to my heart – as you are and as you will be. I promise – to walk by your side forever – to grow together with you – and to be more in love with you – than I am today. I promise – to support your dreams – and to be there for you – for the rest of my live.

And then we exchanged rings...

...With this ring I thee wed. I give this ring as I give you my love. It is a symbol of the trust I have in you.

A word about my ring... The setting is called "Champagne," and the cluster of little diamonds on the setting are meant to look like champagne. I had thought of it this way up until a conversation that I had with fellow diver Bethany at Southern Cross Club. She said, "Oh! The diamonds look like scuba diving bubbles!" I like that definition so much better.

Pretty soon, the ceremony was over and we were married and it was time for our first kiss...

We took some more photos on the beach on Owen Island. Some in the water, some out.

Then, of course, Todd will be Todd... I love this photo because it really shows US. Todd being himself (a goofball), and me shrugging and saying "yep, that's my husband..." :)

Since we're runners, the photographer got some shots of us running on the beach:

And there was a beautiful sunset:

We boarded the pontoon again to take a sunset cruise around South Hole Sound, where we sipped champagne and signed our marriage license. Ellen gave a lovely toast, as well.

Finally, it was time for dinner. We shared even more champagne (I think between the four of us we had three bottles... or was it four? Who knows). We had grilled prawns for dinner, and Chef Ron made us a lovely wedding cake.

And as we cut the cake, the resort shot off a special fireworks show just for us. Todd had won the fireworks display in a photo contest, and we thought it would be a perfect time to have a fireworks display. So, we stood on the beach with glasses of champagne and celebrated before finishing our cake.

After dinner and cake, we headed back to our room for a special surprise. On our bed was a framed photo of us taken earlier in the day, as well as our flowers from the ceremony. Covering every surface in the room were tealight candles. It was very, very romantic.

Our day was lovely. We do wish that our friends and family could have been there with us, but it was very important for us to have our ceremony in our special little corner of the world, and as simply as possible. Each and every one of you was there with us in spirit, though. The UMBC Gang was celebrating at J. Patrick's Pub, and I got an awesome photo from them (and a text from Nick -- LOL -- I need more details of that one). Our original plan had been to just elope without telling a soul that we were getting married, but after three months of knowing when and where the ceremony would be, I just had to tell people. I think we succeeded in our main goal - a simple ceremony that was about our love and us. Later, we will have a celebration with our families.

Tonight, I'm the luckiest girl on the planet. I've finally found the one who is right for me, and I couldn't be happier to spending the rest of my life as Mrs. Todd Krebs.

Wedding Best Of

More on the rest of the honeymoon at a later date...

Sea Things #4: Frogfish

Sea Things is a regular feature on my blog where I profile a different sea creature. Look for it weekly, or something close to weekly.

From 2009 Bonaire - Best of Resized

Frogfish are weird, creepy little animals. They sit on sponges and lure prey with a cool fishing lure type thing that is on their head.  If a fish comes along and tries to munch on the lure, they eat the fish.  Cool, huh?  Usually, they will be found on sponges that match their own coloring (and they can change their coloring to match) and they are incredibly difficult to find for this reason - they look just like a sponge.  It helps that they are kind of bumpy looking anyway.

Frogfish don't look like fish, nor do they look like frogs.  They look like sponge, and they look like a little monster or a dinosaur or something.  And trust me, if one comes after you (which has happened to us, but this does not happen often at all), it's kind of scary.  Most of the time (99% of the time), a frogfish just sits there not moving at all, waiting for some prey to happen along.

If you are Australian or talking to an Australian, a 'frogfish' refers to a different kind of fish and what we know as a frogfish in the Caribbean is called an Anglerfish.  Otherwise, it seems that frogfish are found all over the place, but we've only seen them in Bonaire.  We've heard that we may see some frogfish in Hawaii when we visit in the fall.

I worry about Frogfish in Bonaire.  I feel as though divemasters are constantly pointing frogfish out to divers, and when we are on the island, the topic of discussion is often where to find a frogfish (what dive site, and where).  Frogfish stay for long periods of time on the same sponge.  The orange one pictured on this post is the same frogfish, taken on two separate days during our trip.  My worry is that the divers scare off the fish's food, and stress the poor little guy out.  Or, poor bouyancy destroys the reef around the frogfish and makes it less likely for prey to visit.  But, I don't know.  I can't ask the frogfish what he thinks.

If there is a hand signal for a frogfish, I don't know what it is.  This makes it difficult, of course, because they are hard to spot - even when you're staring right at them.  I honestly had a frustrated diver try to point a frogfish out to me for like 2 or 3 minutes and I was still convinced that she was referring to the unremarkable anemone nearby.  Perhaps someone can make one up, or tell me what one is, because I don't know it.

Here's a website about Frogfish if you'd like to see more...

From 2009 Bonaire - Best of Resized

Is there a creature that you would like to see featured in Sea Things? If so, shoot me an email and if I can, I'll write about it.

Thought I Would Share a Couple More...

But no more until we get home.  The one of Todd jumping is my favorite.

 

 

One Photo...

There are a lot more, but I had a request to post some, so here is a small one.

WE DID IT!

Kimberly Lynn Ennis

and

Todd Andrew Krebs

announce their marriage

Thursday, the second of July

two thousand nine

Owen Island

Little Cayman

More to come...

Once In a Lifetime

by Keith Urban

I can see it in your eyes and feel it in your touch.

I know that you're scared but you've never been this loved.

It's a long shot, baby, I know it's true,

But if anyone can make it, I'm betting on me and you.

Just keep on moving in to me,

I know you're going to see,

The best is yet to come.

And don’t fear it now; we're going all the way,

Where that sun is shining on a brand new day,

It's a long way down, and it's a leap of faith,

But I’m never giving up, 

'Cause I know we got a once in a lifetime love.

Everybody's looking for what we've found,

Some wait their whole life and it never comes around.

So don’t hold back, now, just let go,

Of all you’ve ever known,

You can put your hand in mine.

And don’t fear it now; we're going all the way,

Where that sun is shining on a brand new day.

It's a long way down, and it's a leap of faith,

But I’m never giving up, 

'Cause I know we got a once in a lifetime love.

I close my eyes and I see you standing right there,

Saying “I do” and they’re throwing rice in our hair.

Well, the first one’s born, 

Then a brother comes along and he’s got your smile,

I’ll be looking back at the life we had still by your side.

So don't fear it now; we're going all the way,

Where that sun is shining on a brand new day.

It's a long way down, and it's a leap of faith,

But I’m never giving up, 

'Cause I know we got a once in a lifetime love.

Sea Things #3: Queen Angelfish

Sea Things is a regular feature on my blog where I profile a different sea creature. Look for it weekly, or something close to weekly.

From Turks & Caicos Underwater (resize)

Queen Angelfishes are probably one of my favorite fishes.  How can they not be?  They are just too beautiful for words.  Their name comes from the "crown" that you see on the front of their heads, but they are definitely the most beautiful and colorful of all of the angelfish - at least in the Caribbean.  They can actually grow quite large - up to 3 1/2 pounds and 18 inches in length. 

For food, they tend to eat sponges and algae, sea fans, and soft corals.  They are often seen in pairs.  In fact, I've been told that angelfish in general mate for life, so, as British Divemaster Mark from Little Cayman says, "perhaps if you see one alone, it's a right ugly one."  As a result, I usually feel pretty terrible when I see an angel alone.

For the most part, I've found Queen Angels to be found mostly in deeper water (30-40 feet and below, but often I only seem them at 80 feet or more), and they are usually skittish and won't stay still for a photograph.  Many times, if I try to point a pair out to Todd, they're gone before I can show him, or they're so far below us that I know he won't be able to get a picture.  The most I've ever seen at once was in Turks & Caicos around Le Dome, near Provo.  However, I have seen them pretty much everywhere else that we've been as well.  The hand signal for a Queen Angel is to take one hand and point towards your forehead, moving your finger around in a circle, as if tracing the crown there.

Basically, if you're looking for a colorful, and striking fish in the Caribbean, this is the one for you.

From SCC Photo Contest

Is there a creature that you would like to see featured in Sea Things? If so, shoot me an email and if I can, I'll write about it.

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