Small Destination Wedding in Pensacola Beach, Florida • Xsperience Photography

When you’ve dated for 13 years and already raised 5 beautiful, smart, confident and well mannered daughters, how do you get married? You gather the crew and make a vacation out of it!! Nicole and Andy brought their girls and immediate family to Pensacola Beach, Florida for a small destination wedding. They endured the heat to avoid the crowds. By endure…I mean, over 100 degrees in full sun. You’d never know it by these smiles and happy faces though. They remained true to the meaning of marriage through it all. The kids were overjoyed to see mom and dad officially become husband and wife. And the cool ocean water helped keep the guests happy:)

They said their vows on the beach with the sound of the ocean waves in the background. Afterwards they cruised around Pensacola Beach in a bus with just the adults. Even the world’s greatest parents deserve some adult time!!

Why did you choose Pensacola Beach, Florida for your Destination Wedding location?

We chose Pensacola Beach because of the venue! It was reasonable and had more options!

What was your favorite part about the experience?

My favorite part of the wedding was renewing our relationship in front of many of our closest friends and family. We agreed to go into this marriage leaving the past in the past. After 13 years, 5 kids, and starting a very young (Me 18 and Andy 22), committed relationship we shared many happy and hard moments but we enjoyed, overcame and conquered those. Relationships are the raw goodness of 2 people making a life together. We have a new outlook going forward.

Since you’ve already accomplished so much as a couple, Do you have any advice for building a strong relationship?

My advice is to be open and honest with each other, and keep the communication going. Enjoy each other and hold on to the the sweet, little memories. Never go to bed angry. Tomorrow is a new day. Don’t start it with bitter thoughts or feelings. Be transparent with each other and let the love flow. Remember you don’t have to rush things, because good things always come with time. Putting more love, heart, and thought into life will never lead you in the wrong direction.

Tell us about your Destination Wedding experience…

We booked a beach-side condo through VRBO and I would 10/10 recommend it! Everything was so well stocked and clean. I’ve always been more fond of smaller, more intimate weddings.

Our wedding was a different experience for us than the traditional wedding and we live for experiences. We chose a smaller destination wedding because we wanted to get our family together on vacation to celebrate and just enjoy themselves. After being together for so long, it just seemed to be the way to go.

A little tidbit about me is that I loved movie “The Little Mermaid” so being on the beach with a “mermaid tail” trumpet style gown was secretly celebrating the little girl in me making my dreams come true! My heart belongs to the sea!

~Nicole Johnson