BB mayor marries on beach

Bradenton Beach Mayor Bob Bartelt turned from civic affairs to civil affairs Oct. 23.

The mayor, appointed to office in June and elected to office last week, exchanged wedding vows with Kim DuPont on a late October Saturday at sunset. She’s now Kim Bartelt, and he’s now not only Mr. Mayor, but also husband Bob.

The couple, in a joint statement, thanked “our families and friends who attended the ceremony to make sure that Bob didn’t run away.”

They also thanked local business people hired for the wedding, including Karen Greenley, who sang at the ceremony; the Cicerones band, which performed at the reception; Silvia’s Flower Corner, which provided “elegant” flowers and decorations; Joe Cuervo and the Drift In, responsible for the libations at the reception; Peter Barreda, who catered the reception; and Mike and Michelle of the Tropical Isle Inn, where the reception and wedding took place.

“What a fabulous way to start a life together,” the couple said.

The Bartelts had the dream beach wedding experience that the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce promises newlyweds and promotes annually with a wedding festival in February.

The Bartelts said they celebrated with “beautiful weather all week long,” exchanged vows during a “gorgeous sunset” and then danced under a “magnificent full moon.”

The Patricks and the inn staff “worked from the moment we checked in on Thursday to the moment we checked out on Sunday to make all of us feel like we were home,” the couple said. “In fact, they did such a good job that both of our families decided they wanted to do this every year.”

Not an annual wedding, they noted, but an annual family reunion.