When your biggest wedding day wish is that your family and friends can have a laid-back vacation with "lots of sunshine, good music and great food", it's not a big surprise that Sanibel was tops on the destination list. A hop from their home in Germany brought this sweet, beautiful couple to Florida, and Casa Ybel Resort , where Jillian Tree Photography captured all the fun moments of their perfect day.
Susannah and Ferdinand met through a mutual friend and clicked right away. Even though they knew it would be tough - she was headed to Ireland for a semester abroad, and he to Florida for an internship - they started a relationship and made it work. Says Susannah, "The great thing about our relationship is that we have fun being out with other people, but also love just hanging out on the couch and cooking together. He makes me laugh and I know I can trust him all the way. He sometimes pushes me, for example I started my own business this year and he gave me full support from the start and helped me realize my dream."
Getting ready with her bridesmaids was one of Susannah's favorite moments of the day: "...when they helped me get into my dress and my maid of honor Jennie put down the flower crown on my head, the sun was shining so brightly, I was just sooo excited and happy to get married to the man I love, who is also my best friend. I suddenly wasn't nervous anymore, there was just a huge smile on my face!"
Her other favorite moments included the first look with her dad, and walking down the aisle with him towards Ferdinand.
“There was a light breeze, the sky was so beautiful, the colors of the flowers, the music (Somewhere Over the Rainbow), all my family and friends around and then finally being handed over to Ferdinand, it was such a great feeling.”
With a destination wedding in mind and loved ones all across the globe, Florida - a spot that held fond memories for them both - was the prefect choice: "We wanted to have our closest family and friends with us on our wedding day to celebrate our love in a laid-back way. It was very special to us that so many of our friends and family flew in all the way from Germany and other places to join us. We just wanted everybody to have a great time with lots of sunshine, good music and great food!"
We knew that we wanted to get married on the beach and on the Gulf side of Florida because we just love the beaches and the sunsets there. I found Casa Ybel on the Internet and fell in love with it right away. Seven months before our wedding, we flew over to Florida and Casa Ybel was the first of three venues we wanted to have a look at. I remember the day when we went there it was rather grey and a little sprinkle of rain, but as soon as we entered the grounds and saw the beautiful Thistle Lodge building, the garden, the beach, the patio, all the beautiful plants and palm trees, we knew that it would be the perfect location.
How can you not fall in love this shot of Susannah's dad, a saxophone player, jumping in to play with the their band, Briz & Lady?
We celebrated until 3:30 in the morning and then everybody went into the pool to refresh themselves. I was simply the best day ever!!!!
