Mandy Miles' - "Tan Lines"
Sunday, March 21, 2010
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By MANDY BOLEN Citizen Staff

In three weeks, this column will have a new author. I'll still be the one fretting over the keyboard late Friday or early Saturday, but the name underneath the photo will be different.

Mandy Bolen will cease to exist on April 10 around 6 p.m.

After a few heartfelt words, a shiny new ring and an official declaration, Mandy Miles will make her entrance into this world wearing a white dress and surrounded by people who love her. Some in the crowd will have her old and familiar last name, while others will welcome her into the new world of Miles.

Those two worlds will combine joyously amid tears, laughter, memories, music and cocktails, and I can't wait.

But before the beauty of a wedding comes the ugliness of its planning, and believe me, it hasn't been pretty.

If you, dear readers, are sick of hearing about the wedding, then try planning it. Stop by our house for a glimpse of the utter chaos that somehow will become an unforgettable day.

Tiny seashells, a bag of sand and 100 tea candles will become centerpieces. The boxes stacked in the foyer will be lovingly wrapped and distributed to bridesmaids and groomsmen. The scraps of paper stacked on the coffee table will become our wedding vows and the tiny boxes on the curio cabinet contain the rings we'll wear forever.

It will all come together perfectly, but it is a bit all-consuming, so please bear with me for another three weeks.

This ordeal has tested my already-questionable organizational skills. It has devoured my evenings and taken me to Web sites I never knew existed. Did you know you can buy tiny, personalized tins of mints to give to wedding guests? Would you know where to find a tuxedo for a ring-bearing dog?

The Internet, of course, has been a valuable and intriguing resource, often for showing me things so ridiculous that I become thankful for the relative normalcy of our impending nuptials.

But I've also learned that this tiny island has nearly everything needed for the perfect start to a new life.

Sure, I regularly complain about our lack of a Target, a mall and an Olive Garden, but we have the essentials.

Location, location, location.

And we picked the perfect one when we chose West Martello Tower for our wedding and reception. Operated by the Key West Garden Club, the waterfront garden is filled with flowering plants, orchids, palm trees and meandering cobblestone pathways that go through and under centuries-old banyan trees.

The scenery, and the people mingling among it, will be captured in photographs by our good friend, Rob O'Neal, who will pull double-duty as photographer and groomsman. And I can't thank him enough for all he's done for me in the past 11 years.

Jimmy and Joanna Cooper of Soundwave Productions will provide the music for dancing and the videography to capture the most important day of my life.

Caterer extraordinaire Tami McGrail, of Sebago Yacht Catering at The Galleon, is cooking up some seriously delicious duck empanadas, shrimp quesadillas and seared tuna -- and managing to make the garden look even better than usual.

The Conch Tour Train will get everyone safely from the Southernmost Hotel to the garden and back again. The Southernmost will welcome nearly 100 of our guests, arriving from all over, so there should be some interesting poolside gatherings throughout the wedding week.

Phil and Kelly Cooke, new owners of The Galleon's Tiki Bar, will host our rehearsal dinner party, while Cakes by Karol is whipping up a German chocolate groom's cake for Mr. Miles.

The flowers are by Gilda and expertly assembled by our friend, Josh Scaturro. The beer is from Anheuser-Busch, the vodka is from Russia and the 150 guests are from everywhere.

A Jersey girl is marrying a Georgia boy with friends and family coming from each place to witness the event and perhaps restart the Civil War.

Three weeks to go. What could possibly go wrong?

mbolen@keysnews.com