Carlin, Delmarter wedding

Claire Carlin, of Lafayette, Louisiana, and Brooks Delmarter of Millry, Alabama became husband and wife on May 15th, 2009 at Silver Shells Resort in Destin, Florida.

Claire and Brookes first met while attending school at The University of Alabama. (writer’s note: ROLL TIDE!)  While attending school in Tuscaloosa Claire and Brookes  were set up by a mutual friend.  Because both were in and out of town, they had talked for about two weeks before they actually met. For their first date they decided to go to Chili’s, for what they both thought would be a typical night. The two quickly recognized the mutual sparks and their relationship continued to grow over the next five years.

On Christmas Eve of 2007 Brookes proposed to Claire at her mother’s house in Lafayette, LA.  It began as a typical Christmas Eve for the couple.  They exchanged gifts between siblings after getting home from mass.  Everyone had the opportunity to exchange gifts to one another except Brookes to Claire.  Claire says she had not really been expecting anything from Brookes, who is a last minute kind of guy.  She had read the sweetest card ever from him, and when she turned the card over it said, “Look in the bottom of the bag”.  Right there in the bottom of the bag  -the same bag that had already been used for a gift exchange earlier in the evening- was the most beautiful ring Claire had ever seen; simply loose in the bag.  Brookes says the ring’s box had been in his truck- with his hunting equipment- for so long that it was dusty and worn to the point that he decided to take the ring out to present it to Claire.

Down on one knee, in front of her family, Brookes asked Claire to be his wife.  Claire, though somewhat surprised, of course replied with a very positive “yes!” and the planning was on.

Now it was wedding day!  May 15th, 2009.  The ceremony was held on the beautiful beach front of the St. Thomas condo, at the beautiful Silver Shells Resort and Spa in Destin.  Claire and Brooks decided on Destin because it is where they now live, and planned on building a family together. They chose this particular resort because the bride’s dad- Don Carlin, owner of Destin’s well known La Dolce Vita Beach Service- makes his home on the bottom floor of the St. Thomas tower; where his patio would make for a perfect ceremony and reception.

The astonishing bride wore a cream colored strapless dress with light beading detail, and satin buttons up the back, by Anjolique.  Claire stated that she was so in love with this unique dress, she would wear it everyday if she could.  Though she wore a beautiful wedding dress, she chose not to wear a veil since the wedding was being held on a beach where the wind could possibly be blowing it around. Claire also wore her mother’s diamond bracelet, as her something borrowed. Two rhinestone and pearl pins in her hair, and rhinestone and pearl drop earrings completed the look.

The groom wore white linen pants with a long sleeve white linen shirt while the three bridesmaids wore lime colored dresses, cut above knee, matching the white linen pants and long sleeved lime pinstriped shirts, all by J. Crew.

All of the weddings bouquets and arrangements consisted of white lilies, Calla lillies,  hydrangeas, and touches of pink roses.  The bride’s beautiful bouquet was the same, but had white orchids added to it.  All the arrangements for the wedding were beautiful.  Two of the bride’s favorites were the tall arrangements with lime filled vases, and the arrangements they were married between, which were two tall bamboo poles with massive orchid arrangements streaming from the top of the two poles.  All floral arrangements were done by Lana Hanna of Sheer Elegance.

Susan Parker served as the couple’s wedding planner and did a wonderful job of making it all come together in a unique and inviting setting for Claire, Brookes, and their group of about forty five friends and family.
Claire and Brookes chose well known wedding photographer, Jace Delgado from Valparaiso, Fla., who did an amazing job of capturing all the smiles, laughter and happiness throughout the event.

The bride and groom had a spectacular wedding ceremony, officiated by Samuel Blowes from Shoreline Church in Destin.  The ceremony was attended by about forty five of the couple’s closest friends and family.  After the ceremony the entire wedding party and guests walked to a large grassy area from the beach and each released a beautiful monarch butterfly.  The butterflies were placed in single glassine envelopes with the couple’s picture and a quote that said, “I love the feeling of being in love, waking up with butterflies in your stomach”. This was something the bride said she would definitely never forget.  Some of the beautiful monarch butterflies even stuck around to accompany members of the wedding.  A magical moment and experience for everyone.

The reception was held on the outdoor patio area at St. Thomas in Silver Shells, and was catered by Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, which literally set on the Silver Shells Resort property.  Some of the dishes served were: prime, an assortment of breads and cheeses, w pasta, and other choices such as chicken, mushrooms, and shrimp.  All these are personal favorites of Claire, that she wanted to share on her special day.

The fun loving couple had a laid back do-as-you-wish reception.  The wedding party and guests were seated while eating,  with some deciding to dance as they ate!  The talented, Kyle Lamonica provided some great acoustic tunes and sang some favorites of Claire’s and Brookes’ as the patio filled with dancing.  Everyone had a fun, with  the bride commenting, “ The open bar didn’t hurt either!”

The surrounding of the reception was absolutely beautiful.  There were decorations such as white lights wrapped around two different patio areas that gave extra lighting.  They also had four large standing lights provided by the florist, who also decorated the tables for this magnificent, yet laid back reception.

Claire and Brookes left the reception by running through the crowd of guest and jumping into a black limousine that would take them to their honeymoon spot nearby.

From the festive reception the couple set off to a beachfront cottage, in Seaside Florida, provided by Cottage Rental Agency.  They stayed in a two floor cottage with the bedroom and bathroom on the bottom floor and the living room, kitchen, and balcony -with a hammock on the second floor.  In the cottage the linens and furniture were a dazzling white color.  The bride says, “It was the most beautiful place she had ever stayed”.

After a four day Seaside honeymoon, Claire and Brookes had to get back to reality at the family beach business, entering the busy Summer season. The Delmarter’s are now enjoying their dream life, living and working in paradise…or the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast, to those of you who haven’t discovered it quite yet.