Beach Wedding

Week of April 25

We were walking along the shore at Palm Island Beach in December 2001.It was sunset and what I didn't know, is that John had a surprise. What John didn't know was that the Lord had one, too!

At exactly 5:42 pm, when the sunset was at it's brightest and most colorful, John looked me in the eyes and asked me to be his wife. I was so happy and time just seemed to stand still. As we admired the beautiful diamond ring, which was reflecting the colors of the sunset, two dolphins jumped up out of the water! Right in front of our eyes, they jumped and played close to the shore! This was really very special because I LOVE dolphins and rarely see them. I felt it was as if the Lord was smiling down on us and celebrating too!

As we planned our wedding, set for a year later, December 2002, I told many people about the wonderful dolphins at our engagement. I always said, "Wouldn't it be something if the Lord sent dolphins to our wedding ceremony, too!" We were planning a beach wedding at The Radisson on Lido Beach in Sarasota.

In the months leading up to our wedding I worked with Kimberly, the wedding coordinator at the Radisson. I told Kimberly about the dolphins at


our engagement and said that maybe God would send dolphins to our wedding ceremony, too. She laughed and said she always does her best to make the wedding perfect, but they usually don't see dolphins at the weddings there.

It was sunset on December 8, 2002, our wedding day. I stood in my gown waiting with my bridesmaids on the little bridge that leads to the beach. John and his groomsmen were already in their places down by the water. All of the guests were seated on the beach, facing the water, waiting for the ceremony to begin. We were told to stay out of sight and wait for Kimberly to come and give us the okay to proceed down the "isle."

Kimberly came running over with tears in her eyes. She said, "Sandy, you're not going to believe this! There are dolphins out there in the water! The guests are all looking at them! I've done a lot of weddings and I don't usually get emotional, but this is just what you wanted!"

I said, "God sent the dolphins, Kimberly.”

Sandy Kilroy
Lakewood Ranch, Florida