Since most of the weddings I plan are weekend weddings, I get to plan some really great shindigs for my clients. This spring we had our fair share of awesome parties. But the one that seems to have been the overall crowd pleaser was the cruise to Cabbage Key for lunch or dinner. Here's the thing. If you go to the Cabbage Key website, it really doesn't look that thrilling. And if you look at the Captiva Cruises website, the boats don't look like they will blow you away. But let me tell you something, in reality, these 2 combined are off the charts fun.Why? It's the experience of spending 4 hours with a group of your closest family and friends. It's seeing the dolphins follow the boat, jump the wakes, and completely soak crazy groomsman Jack. It's being in the open air and seeing all the surrounding islands with a cold Captiva Breeze cocktail (yummy beyond all imagination)in hand. If you charter the Lady Chadwick, when you get to Cabbage Key the staff greets you at the dock with another tropical cocktail before you head up to the restaurant for some casual island fare. This is no chain restuarant! The staff all live on the island, and the menu is the menu...they make burgers one way, the good way.
Once your done eating, there's only native Cabbage Key things to do. Climb to the top of the water tower for an unforgettable view,
go on a short hike, play football on the lawn,
lay out on the beach,
chase a turtle (this requires several captiva breezes to be funny), play the hook game (see previous post), and most importantly, hang your signed dollar in the dollar bill room.
I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but its more my intention of letting you in on a secret spot. It's the perfect prefix to the big wedding day. Many times my clients are concerned that its just too casual. Yeah, well, I can say this- I've never heard a single guest use any description but, "Wow, incredible, amazing, teriffic, wonderful, outstanding..."
Oh, and if you have an extra day to spare, rent out the entire island for your wedding party and throw the biggest most fun overnight relaxing bash ever. Party all night, sleep til the sun comes up, gather for breakfast, and then head back to Captiva totally prepared to enjoy the rest of the wedding festivitites. Nothin to do but chill out and have fun together. Speaking from personal experience (my 30th birthday)- it rocks!
