Oh goodness! Have we been busy explaining the oil situation to our bridal couples and future bridal couples! I hope to be able to post frequent updates to the blog so that all of my couples will be able to click on here and see exactly what is happening on our part of the beach.
As of today, we have had no oil/tarballs/sheen on our beaches. However, the forecast for that is an everchanging thing! This past weekend, we did have a piece of the actual oil rig wash up on a section of Laguna Beach (which is just one of the little neighborhood names for a stretch of beach here in Panama City Beach). It was an aluminium container about the size of a chest freezer that had unknown liquid inside it although no liquid was leaking at all from the item. It was quickly removed, the area thoroughly inspected and the small area that was closed for this was reopened later that day since there was no oil or tar present. So far, that has been the extent of what we have seen in Bay County and on Panama City Beach. South Walton Beach had a similar item wash up on their shores near Miramar Beach on Sunday/Monday and it was quickly removed as well. The same conditions were present with this second container...there was no oil, no leakage of the liquid inside the container and it was removed and the beach reopened.
To help with the posting of information, I will be placing links to this blog that will take you to local news of the oil spill. From what the experts are saying, it is only a matter of time before it actually makes it to our shores but the hope is that it will be tar balls that are easily cleaned up. No one is anticipating waves of thick black oil like they have in Louisianna. Please be aware that our local officials are taking this VERY seriously and have aggressive plans of action in place to deal with any oil that may wash up here. There may be times over the next few months that require portions of the beach to be shut down and cleanup to take place. If your wedding is scheduled to take place on a beach that has been closed we will have to move to an alternative location. We have 27 miles of beach in our county and we have high confidence that we will be able to still have your wedding on the beach. BUT, this is a changing situation. What is clean and clear one day may be closed the next and visa-versa. We will work very hard to make sure your wedding is still a dream beach wedding--it just may not be in the originally set location.
This is very distressing for all of us who live and work here on the coast....our beaches are truly the
World's Most Beautiful Beaches and while we are used to dealing with hurricanes and the temporary halt those storms bring to our lives here, this oil spill is a catastrophe none of us have ever had to deal with before. We are all doing what we can to preserve both our beaches and the way of life we have here. Please be patient if you are contacting our office to get information about your wedding--we are working with several bridal couples and still doing weddings right now so needless to say, it is very hectic! If you still have questions after viewing the enclosed links, emails are probably the best way of getting your question to us.
We appreciate ALL of our couples and the faith you have placed in us to handle one of the most important events in your lives! Please-if you can, say a little prayer for our coast to survive and overcome this disaster!
Just as a side note--this is a wedding from Saturday when the first container washed up onshore about 3 miles from our wedding location. The beach and the water was beautiful and people were enjoying themselves as usual. Our couple, Amanda and Michael from Illinois, decided to go ahead with the wedding plans and were so glad they did!
Tar Balls on Okaloosa Beach-Destin
