Gov. Charlie Crist got hitched Friday night to multi-millionaire socialite Carole Crist.

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. . . Gov. Charlie Crist and his bride, Carole Crist, spent so much time mingling with the 200-plus guests at their wedding reception Friday night that they forgot to give the wait staff the nod to have the main course served. Result: Fifty to 60 people left after the poached-lobster appetizer. Pretty rude, if you ask me. One had a good excuse: state senate President Jeff Atwater. “I’ve got to go to a funeral in Palm Beach County,” he said. “It’s been great being here, but I can’t stay.” About 11 p.m., four hours after the exchange of vows, those left behind were served the main course, citrus-braised ribs and grouper. The traditional cake-cutting came after midnight, for 50 or so people . . . (Read more…)

with Dara Kam

Under a cold full moon Friday, Florida found itself a new first lady – and a governor who, now married, can truly aspire to a national office.

“It’s a great night for Florida, and a great night for us,” a beaming Gov. Charlie Crist told the press as he exited with his new bride the First United Methodist Church downtown St. Petersburg.

He could barely finish his sentence that his voice became drowned by 100 or so protestors set up across the street: a group against the state’s gay marriage ban, another against gays, and a third protesting authorities’ handling of a local police shooting.

“Free speech is alive and well,” Crist shouted as he left the church, a short walk from his condo. (Read more…)

The band that Gov. Charlie Crist and Carole Rome picked for their wedding reception Friday is The Buzz Cats.

The eight-piece group was hired to entertain the 200-plus guests until midnight, said bass player Louis Vigilante.

“We’re going to do some Big Band, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin,” Vigilante said shortly before the reception at the Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg. “We’ll do some jazz standards.”

The unusual thing, said Vigilante, is that the newlyweds don’t have a wedding song and told the band leaders they didn’t want a first dance.

“It’s pretty rare, but it’s their wedding,” said Vigilante, who used to tour with The Backstreet Boys.

With Dara Kam

Gov. Charlie Crist and socialite Carole Rome spent their last evening as just an engaged couple Thursday night at an intimate $36-a-head wedding-rehearsal dinner at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.

The 52-year-old Crist, parents and sister Margaret Wood belong to the 2,800-member club, which is housed in a stately mahogany-covered building on the bay.

On the relatively simple menu: salad with crumbled blue cheese, a Crist staple; tenderloin and shrimp; and upside-down pineapple cake. (Read more…)