Melissa Martin’s bridesmaids hold parasols designed by Jen Naar at Gaboodles, Ink as the bride and groom pose behind a parasol at right. Gaboodles, Ink offers personalized stationery, invitations and gift baskets. / Special to the News Journal

Written by Melissa Martin Bailey

I officially am a married gal.

I will now get back to writing about football parties and new ideas for celebrating the holiday season, but before I do, I thought I would take the opportunity to write about planning my wedding reception to finish out this wedding series.

Because I’m in the event-planning business, it was easy to choose the right vendors for our wedding.

Hiring a wedding planner was a necessity, and Megan Kennedy of Megan K. Events was at the top of the list. With her fresh eye and knack for detail, it was a no-brainer to have her on board. Not only can you hire her event company for the planning portion; she also specializes in floral decor and design. But even though Kennedy and company do impeccable work, Shannon Pallin from Fiora always will have a special place in my heart. Though Fiora was the chosen florist for the reception, I had Kennedy’s team transform my rehearsal dinner venue, 5 Eleven Palafox, into a page right out of a bridal magazine.

After meeting and working with Pallin years ago, I knew she would do the floral design for my wedding. Her long-term experience and knowledge in her field make her one of the best floral designers in the country. After 10 years in California, Pallin moved to New York City and worked as a designer and stylist for Martha Stewart, Preston Bailey and Katie Brown. Her 22 years of experience shine in your consultation as she verbally paints a picture of your event.

For the wedding venue, she decided to capture the natural beauty of the Barkley House by enhancing its beauty with cafe lights and rich, bold colors. The centerpieces alternated between fresh flowers and antique birdcages as well as black urns with manzanita branches, complementing florals and mixtures of foliage and vines on the bases.

As many of you can guess, my choice to cater my wedding rehearsal and reception was The Fish House. Not so much because I have been with the company for more than 10 years, but because I have been lucky enough to see the amazing culinary skills of the chefs, who create the best of Southern cuisine.

Because it was hard to choose what we wanted our guests to experience, Josh and I decided on several action stations and food displays as well as passed hors d’oeuvres.

To start, we served mini Southern crab cakes and barbecue beef satay. The guests also were treated to an antipasto station during cocktail hour. When the stations opened, the guests were able to try homemade Asian stir-fry as well as Grits à Ya Ya served in a martini glass. We also took advantage of the fall vegetables available at the local farmers markets to create a large fall-inspired salad bar.

Chef Billy Ballou and team put together eye-catching displays of fresh-caught seared tuna and coastal shellfish — fresh-cracked oysters, clams and snow crab.

Last but not least, I have to talk about the sweetest woman in town: cake baker Betty Weber, a lady so good at what she does, you have to book her months in advance.

Well, friends, I hope you have enjoyed the journey we have taken over the past few months, and while you read this, I imagine I will be lying under the Jamaican sun, sipping an umbrella cocktail, enjoying my honeymoon.

Until next time, friends, no worries.

In 1830, 15-year-old Don Facundo Bacardi Massó left Spain to join his brothers in Cuba. Upon his arrival, rum was the most popular spirit even though it was crude and unsophisticated. Here he saw an opportunity and dedicated several years to refining the spirit. Ultimately, in 1862, he established the Bacardi Co.

One of Cuba’s oldest drinks was the Draque, which was named after its inventor, the English corsair Richard Drake, and is the predecessor of the widely popular mojito. Much like today’s mojito, the Draque, or Drak, was made with mint leaves, lime and a rough sugar-cane spirit called aquardiente (meaning fiery water). During the mid-1800s and around the same time that the Bacardi Co. became established, the Draque recipe was changed to use rum in place of aquardiente, thus becoming the mojito.

Another classic cocktail originating in Cuba — and allegedly with Bacardi Rum — was the daiquiri. The account goes that in the summer of 1898, an engineer named Jennings Stockton Cox, who was leading a mining expedition in the town of Daiquirí, Cuba, began experimenting with Bacardi Rum and concocted a mixture of rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice, sugar and shaved ice. He aptly named it the daiquiri.

Another historical drink developed around this time, and purportedly with Bacardi Rum, was the Cuba Libre (meaning “free Cuba”). Well, maybe the drink’s name has more historical relevance than the drink itself. It is simply Bacardi Rum, cola and lime.

Over the years, Bacardi has developed many different-flavored rums, such as cherry, peach and raspberry, as well as many others. Their newest debut is Bacardi OakHeart — a smooth, silky spiced rum.

Bacardi OakHeart Punch

1 1/4 ounces Bacardi OakHeart Spiced Rum

1 ounce Southern Comfort

Fill glass with equal parts:

Orange juice

Cranberry juice

Splash of grenadine

Build ingredients in a tall glass over ice.

The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003, or visitwww.goodgrits.com.

MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' starring former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough of Pensacola broadcast live from The Fish House in Pensacola this morning. / Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com

“You’re with ‘Morning Joe’ from beautiful Pensacola, Florida.’’

That’s the message sent out across the nation early Thursday morning as the MSNBC morning news/talk show broadcast live from The Fish House in downtown Pensacola.

About a dozen people nibbled on muffins and bagels inside the waterfront restaurant, watching the program on television screens. Outside, just feet away, Scarborough sat behind a bistro table with notes and paperwork in front of him, bright lights and cameras shining his way.

The show airs from 5 to 8 a.m. weekdays on MSNBC.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity to be showcased on a nationally renowned show like Morning Joe,’’ said Laura Lee, communications director for Visit Pensacola, a local tourism and marketing group. “We were up there in New York in June and Joe showcased our local seafood and celebrity chefs. And to have him back in Pensacola in October with the sun rising over the water, well, you can’t beat that.’’

Never mind that sunrise was still an hour away. Photographs of the Pensacola Beach “ball’’ water tower and downtown Pensacola that greeted viewers back from commercial breaks showcased the area.

Scarborough, a 1981 Pensacola Catholic High School graduate, opened the show without co-host Mika Brzezinski, who slept in a bit, said Fish House owner Collier Merrill.

“I’m going to fetch her in a little while,’’ Merrill whispered. The show sometimes begins without one of the hosts, who joins the program later.

Later today, Scarborough and Brzezinski will appear at a fund-raiser for the Pensacola State College Foundation at the Sanders Beach-Corinne Jones Community Center.

Brzezinski walked into the Fish House at 5:45 p.m. after being “fetched’’ by Merrill, a close friend of Scarborough’s.

“I’m a little late,’’ she said to the small gathering inside, before grabbing some coffee and joining Scarborough outside. Then, the two delved into the news of the day — the death of Steve Jobs, presidential politics — with images of boats bobbing on the bay behind them.

The show ended with Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward and Merrill being interviewed by Scarborough about Pensacola’s resurgence after the 2010 oil spill. Hayward touted the area’s history, economic development and “world’s whitest beaches.’’

“As white as Ashton’s teeth,’’ Mika said, as the mayor smiled broadly as proof.

From MSNBC.com, here is the “Morning Joe” segment spotlighting Pensacola, and featuring Mayor Ashton Hayward and businessman and civic leader Collier Merrill.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Laura Bogan - Owner of Boco Networking, lover of grits.

Recently, in an ongoing effort to get to the bottom of why Pensacolians love grits so much, the Grits Girl had a chat with her good friend Laura Ragan Bogan. Many people around Pensacola know and love the Bogan family. We all still miss seeing the family patriarch, Perk Bogan, who passed away in April of 2005. His two sons, Chris and Ben, are regular fixtures around town. Chris dated and then married his high school sweetheart, Laura Ragan. For as long as any of us can recall, there was never a time when Chris didn’t belong to Laura, and Laura didn’t belong to Chris. The couple has one son, Winston. From our perspective, their life together looks like one big Ralph Lauren photo shoot: a beautiful, stylish couple living a lovely life, raising their son, helping others, and rescuing pets. Recently, Laura embarked on a new challenge and started her own social media marketing company, BOCO. The Grits Girl wanted to know what fuels her passion for social media, child rearing and helping others — could the secret lie in the grits? Let’s find out.

GG: What’s it like starting a new company?

LB: Scary and exhilarating at the same time. But most importantly, it doesn’t feel like work. I love what I do and am having a blast doing it.

GG: What’s your favorite season and why?

LB: Fall. Halloween is my favorite holiday and October at the beach is the best.

GG: What’s your favorite memory of growing up in Pensacola?

LB: Our beach and hanging out with childhood friends.

GG: Pensacola is seeing a resurgence. What are downtown business owners doing differently now that seems to be bringing people downtown?

LB: I think people are pursuing their passions, following their dreams, and the small businesses opening downtown reflect that. When I go into a business that the owner is passionate about — has put his or her heart and soul into — I can feel it, and it makes the whole experience that much better. If someone loves what he or she does, you know it.

GG: After college, Pensacolians typically move away to find work. What are the advantages of staying here and growing a family and a business?

LB: I love that my son is growing up with my childhood friends’ children. I love that he is riding his bike on the same streets I rode my bike on as a kid. In fact, he is growing up a mile from my childhood home and less than a mile from my husband’s. I find that very comforting. Especially during these crazy times.

GG: What’s your guilty pleasure?

LB: Mexican Coca-Cola from Apple Market. They are still made with real sugar, not corn syrup, and I am completely addicted!

GG: What’s a cause worth fighting for?

LB: Anything you believe in. For me, it is all about rescuing animals. Spay and neuter your pets, people!

GG: Who inspires you?

LB: My husband and my son.

GG: What’s important for people to remember?

LB: Don’t live your life worrying about what other people think.

GG: Why do you love grits?

LB: What Southern girl doesn’t?

The Grit’s Girl thinks that Laura Bogan is a brave and courageous woman. It takes real grit (pardon the pun) to start your own business and follow your dreams. There’s saying that Laura has posted on her Facebook page that reads: LAUGH so hard that even SORROW smiles at you; FIGHT so strong that even FATE accepts defeat; LOVE so true that even HATRED walks out of the way; and LIVE life so well that even DEATH loves to see you exist.

We think that this saying really defines who Laura is.

Until next time, peace, love and good grits to you! GG

The Greenhorn, by Melissa Temsook-Boeker - Photo by Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com

By Melissa Temsook-Boeker special to The Pensacola News Journal

The service industry is, by nature, ever-changing — from trends to menus to locations and so on. So, it follows that those of us in the service industry grow and change with it. As a bartender, sometimes you hit your stride, find a place where you feel comfortable, and get so used to the bar where you work that you could probably mix drinks blind-folded if you had to; you might even stay there for years before, inevitably, it’s time for a change.

This past month, it was that time for my change. I left a job after two years and started training at Atlas Oyster Bar. No matter how much experience you have, it’s always humbling to be the new girl again, having to ask where everything is, learning a new menu, getting lost a couple of times — and, inevitably, as soon as someone is standing behind you, forgetting how to work the computer. But I really do believe that change is good, and I like to think of this newest change as a fresh start. So, this month I am combining fresh ingredients to create a green drink for my days as the greenhorn.

Greenhorn

1 ounce Stoli Strasberi (or Blueberi) Vodka

½ ounce cucumber vodka

½ ounce ginger liqueur

4-5 ounces herbal lemonade (recipe follows)

Combine all ingredients and pour over ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Herbal Lemonade (2 quarts)

6 ounces basil 6 ounces mint 2 ounces sage 2 quarts lemonade of your choice

Wash herbs and leave whole. Combine with lemonade in a large sauce pot and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and chill overnight. The longer it steeps, the better it will be. Once the mixture gets good and green, strain and serve.

Atlas Oyster House, 600 S. Barracks St., Pensacola. 437-1961, or visit atlas.goodgrits.com.