by Debbi | Sep 2, 2010 | Stories
Sandbar fan Ashley emailed us this fantastic picture that her photographers, Heartland Photography, took on her wedding day a few weeks ago:
(I hope it's okay to use this picture here- Heartland Photography, if you want us to take it down, just let me know. It's just so fabulous we wanted to share it!)
You can go here to see the "sneak peek" of Ashley and Tyson's wedding pictures, which includes the one above as well as some other amazing pictures.
And here, the photographers provide a slideshow of their favorites, which again includes the photo above along with a great shot of the wedding party inside the bar.
Ashley told us "we also did *gasp* put on the mermaid costumes (we returned them, I promise) and took a couple more pictures." Clearly she's heard about the recent mermaid costume thefts!
Congratulations on your marriage, Ashley and Tyson! And if anyone's looking for a photographer, check out Heartland Photography. We were blown away by the gorgeous pictures on their site!
by Debbi | Aug 29, 2010 | Bachelorette Parties, People, Stories
Yesterday, former Sandbartender John married the love of his life Natalie. After a beautiful wedding and fun reception at the Oread, the mostly younger half of the wedding guests moved on to the Sandbar.
Some of the group gathered upstairs on the beach for a few pictures:
And then the party moved back downstairs. John and Natalie danced in the window to the back room while everyone cheered. Their friend Pump convinced the bartenders to pause the music for a few minutes so he could say a few profound words about the newlyweds. Jake, groomsman and another former bartender, was up on the bench in front of them, and Dave quickly joined.
(For those of you who might be familiar with Jake & John, or with the items that deck our walls, you might notice that in the photo above, above the girl in the purple dress' head, there's part of a framed picture. The guy in the middle in the blue shirt is Dave, and Jake and John were on either side of him. Very fitting that they chose this spot to dance last night, huh?)
And then, it was time for Natalie's first ever hurricane.
Yes, she and John dated through most of college, and he tended bar here for at least a year, yet somehow Natalie always dodged the mermaid costume and never actually experienced the indoor attraction. For her hurricane initiation, John donned the mer-man costume and read the poem with her.
You might be surprised that a bride would come to the Sandbar on her wedding night; but you might be more surprised to learn that there were TWO brides in the bar last night. Another bride- who was still dressed in her full length gown- showed up with a small entourage. Congratulations to that couple as well!
We also got to see another former Sandbartender, Drew. He was out on the town with friends celebrating his bachelor party and they stopped by the bar.
'Tis the wedding season, it seems!
by Debbi | May 9, 2010 | Sandbar Love Stories
Well, the one week anniversary was actually yesterday, but whatever. Bartender Heather and her new hubby Ken have been married for a week! And they've been off soaking up the sun in Hawaii while the rest of deal with this unpredictable Kansas weather.
The wedding last Saturday was held at the Adams Alumni Center on the KU campus. Heather is a KU alum, and the groom- well, let's just say he's not. He's a Nebraska fan, and arrived at the wedding with a giant blow up Cornhusker in tow. It was tied around the Jayhawk statue in front of the building for a brief time, until the helpful staff at the Alumni Center assisted with removal.
After the wedding, the bride and groom made a brief stop at The Sandbar for pictures. Fitting, since they became engaged on the bar last year. They didn't get on the bar this time- large wedding dresses tend to make that difficult- but we took some pictures downstairs and also upstairs on the fake beach.
Next stop, the fabulous wedding reception at the Lawrence Country Club. Rumor around the club was that this was the biggest event they've seen in ten years- and I believe it. Lots of people, loads of great food, and the drinks were flowing.
The dance floor stayed packed, too. You probably notice that at most weddings, people have to be dragged on to the dance floor with a silly snowball dance, and the only people who actually stay on the dance floor are the little kids. Not this wedding. Young and old alike were dancing up a storm all night. Sandbar staff Dave, Tyler, and Andrew (Fyler not Madl) entertained the masses with their stellar moves.
When the reception finally wrapped up late that night, lots of us traveled to The Sandbar to cap off the evening. It was busy there, too.
Overall, it was a beautiful and fun day. Congratulations to Heather and Ken, we are all so happy for you!
by Debbi | Dec 13, 2009 | Newsworthy, People, Sandbar Love Stories
If you're around The Sandbar very much, or if you keep up with our blog, then you know Friday bartender Heather got engaged last spring. The wedding plans are moving along and the future married couple is enjoying pre-wedded bliss.
Heather & Ken's engagement announcement hit the LJW this weekend. A lovely photo of the pair accompanied the announcement.
You'll have to scroll down the page to see the announcement, because it's grouped on a page with all the other brides-and-grooms-to-be.
We like that Heather included her bartending gig as part of the announcement!
by Debbi | Oct 19, 2009 | Bar Band, People, Sandbar Love Stories
Last week I promised more stories from Homecoming weekend, but I also wanted pictures, and unfortunately someone kept leaving the camera at the bar.
I talked about the Bar Band already but didn't mention some Very Important People who stopped by to see them play. Peach and Ted, creator and long-time owners of The Sandbar, don't visit very often anymore because they're so busy running their other four businesses, plus a farm, plus family, and all the other stuff they're involved in. But every once in awhile they make an appearance, and Friday was one of those times.
The Bar Band was lined up outside and ready to play, but we had to ask them to wait until Peach and Ted could get here. They had some hunters staying at the Lodge of Baldwin City– Italian hunters here by way of Pennsylvania. Of course they had to see an indoor hurricane in Kansas while they're here!
(Just in case you couldn't tell who the hunters were, I drew a nice arrow and wrote their names on the picture.)
At just about the opposite end of the spectrum that night, we also entertained a wedding party. But not just any wedding party- the groom is the cousin of Hayley, our Wednesday (and sometimes weekend) bartender.
Chris is in medical school and lives in Colorado, and he got married in Lawrence on Friday. After the wedding and reception, much of the party traveled to The Sandbar, where of course the bride and groom danced on the bar in their wedding finery.
It's not the first time a bride and groom have been fun-loving enough to hop up on the bar and dance, and it probably won't be the last. It's always fun when the couple is part of the extended Sandbar family though.
Congratulations to Chris and his new bride, and Hayley's family!
