Any bride who chooses to wear a green wedding dress is an absolute winner in my book, but Claudia takes it one step further with the cutest little green veil! Definitely a superstar in my book for daring to go against the grain and wear whatever maker her feel best for her big day.
And then there’s the florals (seriously, have you seen the chuppah?). And the super cool stationery. And the warmth and love radiating from every single image by Allison Williams Photography . And…. you get the picture – this wedding is very, very special.
Ryan, the groom, converted to Judaism and embraced Claudia’s family and Jewish traditions emphatically. I loved seeing their modern take of all the Jewish wedding traditions in the wedding film at the bottom of the post. Have a peek – it’s an absolutely gorgeous film
In a slight deviation from the norm, the narration of this W-Day comes directly from Carlene Smith of Naturally Yours , Claudia & Ryan’s super talented wedding planner.
Enjoy! This wedding may very well make you green with envy (could not resist, but you’ll excuse me because it’s a Friday, right?). Happy weekend everyone!
How they met
Carlene Smith, their Wedding Planner: Despite attending the same college, Claudia and Ryan didn’t meet until they attended a serendipitous goodbye party for a mutual friend in New York. After their initial conversation, Ryan instantly felt moved by Claudia. He asked her out, but she said no!
In the form of an email, Ryan laid out a convincing argument as to why she should go on a date with him – and she agreed! Fast forward a few years later, Ryan planned an elaborate proposal that involved a cute scavenger hunt (including their friends and family from all over the country) that ended with him on one knee on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building.
A warehouse wedding with a vintage, eclectic feel
The whole room felt very vintage, eclectic, and slightly prohibition era-esque. And yet, the setting still set a classic, romantic wedding tone. After the ceremony and cocktail hour downstairs, guests were escorted to the upstairs space. From the moment they stepped off the industrial elevator, guests saw the bright and shining Chicago skyline.
A Chicago skyline theme of sorts
There was a light Chicago theme, emphasising the skyline in their invitations and other printed goods. Combining Claudia and Ryan’s aesthetics, we utilised old whiskey crates for the escort cards, and the pie table.
A warehouse venue with skyline views
We chose Bridgeport Art Center because it was a perfect mix of industrial, prohibition feel, but with warm rustic brick and wooden beams. Since Claudia is an architect, having skyline views was very appealing to her.
A ceremony full of Jewish wedding traditions
Two aspects that Claudia and Ryan agreed upon right away were that celebrating with their family and friends was the biggest priority and that they wanted to incorporate many Jewish traditions into their ceremony (Ryan, newly converted to Judaism, embraced Claudia’s family and Jewish traditions with excitement).
Many of their friends and family flew in from across the country to help them celebrate their big day. The ceremony included the tisch (joyous celebration with the men drinking whiskey and signing the marriage contract), the badeken (the veiling of the bride and greeting her loved ones), and then they moved into the formal ceremony under the chuppah . Many family were involved in this portion with the seven blessings , the ketubah signing, and the breaking of the glass .
A green wedding dress
From Claudia’s leaf-green gown to the floral chuppah, each element was designed to reflect the couple’s love of nature and commitment to their future.
Two tastes coming together
Planning Claudia and Ryan’s wedding was interesting because both had completely different ideas of what they wanted their big day to be like: Claudia envisioned a very casual, Sunday backyard pizza party, and Ryan wanted a lively and more formal Saturday night party. As the planner, we had to find solutions to bring two different tastes together in the same event, to make it feel cohesive and like their two tastes were coming together.
Food
Claudia & Ryan had a kosher southern barbecue family style meal which felt casual and fun. The pies for dessert tended to the more casual feel that Claudia wanted.
Claudia & Ryan’s little white book
Wedding planner – Naturally Yours Events Photographer – Allison Williams Photography Videography – Charlie Hilbrant Films Venue – Bridgeport Art Center Flowers – Fab Floral Designer Caterer – Wolfgang Puck Catering Bride’s dress – Mignonette Bridal Dress Designer Hair + Makeup – Nika Vaughan Bridal Artists Tableware rentals – The Festive Frog Limousine – M&M Limo Transportation Lighting – Atmosphere Events Group Lighting Invitations – Spilled Ink Press and Starshaped Press DJ – Toast and Jam DJs Orchestra – Key Tov Orchestra Musicians Photo booth – Fotio
It goes without saying that your choice of venue is one of the most important pieces of your wedding puzzle. I personally love unusual wedding venues so when Elisheva Golani ‘s submission dropped into my inbox, and I saw a wedding that took place in an Airplane Museum and hanger, I literally squealed with joy!
And it gets better – one of Talia’s bridesmaids was Balushka of the incredible Balushka Paper Floral Artistry who created an abundance of paper flowers to adorn the chuppah as well as decor for the entire space. Her work is totally and utterly gorgeous, and the paper floristry fills the space brilliantly.
There’s also a blush-coloured wedding gown, a surprise bottle dance choreographed by the groom and his friends, a sparkly confetti canon, and a bride and groom entrance from a vintage airplane to the sound of Rocky’s Theme Tune !
Talia and Barry are one super cool, super creative couple and I cannot wait to show your their W Day. Fasten your seat belts folks!
How we met
Talia, the Bride: Ours is an interesting story – we were first set up 10 years prior to our engagement, by my dad and his tennis partner in 2005. We went on our first date and Barry took me to an Ethiopian restaurant, opened doors, brought me flowers… the whole 9. He was a total gentleman, but alas I was just beginning to explore life as an adult and so was he – needless to say we were both very different people back then. After one date, he called, but I wasn’t interested. Of course, years later, he stuck in my mind as being the kind of guy I needed to date, we reached out to each other on a few occasions- but we were never able to meet up. Finally, we were able to meet for coffee and we were together ever since… He proposed 10 years to the day of our first date- we even went to that same Ethiopian Restaurant! (good thing about engineers is that they keep EVERYTHING).
Choosing to get married in a 1940’s airport terminal museum
Once we got engaged we immediately agreed that we didn’t want to get married in a “usual” space. Both of us had been to countless weddings and were over the idea of a hotel reception. Based on the calendar we also knew that if we were to have a Sunday wedding with a Monday holiday we were going to have to have it in the Winter time, which limited our options. We initially loved the idea of an indoor/outdoor space, but there were few and far between that could accommodate a 300+ wedding.
So, once we finalised the date we began looking at unique spaces and one of them happened to be The 1940’s Air Terminal Museum . Originally I thought it would be a great place for the rehearsal dinner so we made our way, fell in love, and then the coordinator said “why don’t you look at the hangar while you’re here”. The minute we walked inside this 8000 sq ft, dirty, drafty, space I immediately envisioned my wedding and all that we could do. The vintage planes, the huge sliding hangar doors sold me… yes, we would have to bring in our own kitchen, heating, comfort stations etc… but it was totally worth it!
Going into this I knew that if we were going to use the hangar, we would literally have to create everything we wanted to see. I designed the ceiling draping to take advantage of the unused space up there and found a gigantic beaded chandelier. This was the focus of the room for me and set the tone. We also pipe and draped all of the walls 24-feet high to make the room feel like you stepped into another dimension – the hangar is near the airport and in an industrial area… so to come from outside where it looks deserted and old to this beautiful room of light was fantastic.
An Art Deco theme, and hand made paper flower decor
One of my bridesmaids was Balushka of Balushka Paper Floral Artistry . We had been roommates some time before, but we always talked about how she would decorate my wedding. So when the time came, I told her I was leaving it up to her and I would fill in the details.
She came up with the most gorgeous panels of hand made paper flowers in shades of blush, plum, ivory and gold. I knew that I wanted a blush dress and we both worked from there. We loved the art deco/40’s fabulousness of the museum and hangar, but we didn’t want to go overboard on any airplane themes (even though my husband works for Nasa 🙂 We instead chose to keep everything classic with a hint of art deco in the details. Even though I had friends in the industry to help, I could not have done it without our wedding planner Sharlene Barris . She literally made my vision a reality and saved the day on numerous occasions.
Invitations
We worked with Julie at Ten Four Paper to create our awesome invites. We asked her to design hem with a dash of deco and we wanted to use ivory with a hint of blush. She came up with some great ideas and we so pleased with the outcome.
Hair + Make-up
I loved the idea of having my hair down, but knew it would be bothersome later in the night – so I compromised and did half-up and swept to the side. I have a lot of hair and i wanted an intricate design which my hair stylist, Sisa Armendariz of Craze Salon, totally nailed. As far as makeup, all of my friends recommended Rivki of Rivki Makeup Artistry and for good reason. She really did a beautiful job and my makeup looked as fresh at 2 in the morning as it did at 4pm that afternoon.
A blush wedding dress
I was really uncomfortable with the idea of going into a bridal salon and being overwhelmed with all the choices. Knowing me, it would easily turn into a nightmare. I had been looking online at dresses I liked and finally found one that I thought would work. Balushka (being in the industry) convinced me to visit her friend and local designer David Peck before I visited any stores just to get his input.
I met with him, showed him what I liked and he said – “let’s do this!”. Not only did he make the dress of my dreams, but we were able to incorporate some details that really made it mine. The colour, and the fact that he hand-draped and hand stitched every pleat on that dress to fit my body. He and his team were amazing to work with and I continue to keep in touch with them today.
Accessories
I’ve been a bit obsessed with Etsy because it allows me to find unique items that you wouldn’t find in most stores – I found these fabulous, hand-made hair-pins from a designer in Canada. I’ve never been a veil-girl so I wasn’t too worried about finding one… but one of our close family friends said that she had her daughter’s veil preserved and it would be her honour if I borrowed it. It was a gorgeous cathedral-length, silk tulle veil with teardrop Swarovski crystals hand beaded from top to bottom. I literally sparkled from head to toe! While my dress was strapless, i needed a cover-up for the chuppah, so I managed to find a deco-inspired caplet from BHLDN that worked perfectly.
Gold heels
I used to teach dance so while i knew i could manage the sky-high heels, I also knew i would appreciate being comfortable. I chose to go with pewter-gold 2.5 inch heels from Nina that worked out beautifully.
The handsome groom
Barry also liked the idea of wearing a non-traditional tux, and in going with our “dash of deco” theme, he easily decided on a white tux jacket with black bow-tie, vest and pants. He was totally channeling James Bond that day.
Bridesmaides / bridesmate and groomsmen / groomsladies
We each had five bridesmaides/bridesmate and groomsmen/groomsladies. I had my four best girlfriends and my best guy friend from high school. They wore beautiful strapless dresses in gray from BHLDN – he wore a gray suit. Barry had three of his best friends as groomsmen, and two of his best girlfriends as groomsladies. They wore the same dress in black, and the guys wore black suits.
The ceremony
Unbeknownst to the family or wedding party, we asked Barry’s brother if he would play me down the aisle on the piano – he is an incredibly talented pianist and he played my favourite song Hallelujah as I walked down. Then, as a surprise for me, Barry asked him to play one of our favourite songs from Aerosmith as the two of us walked down after the ceremony.
I wanted to be able to display my ketubah for years to come, regardless of decor and after a lot of searching we found Ruth Mergi from Israel. She uses lasers to cut paper in such intricate detail. It is probably one of my most favorite pieces in our home.
A paper flower-filled chuppah
Balushka was in charge of this, we gave her the dimensions and I said fill it with flowers… and she did! The museum itself was very light-filled and had huge vaulted ceilings, so the details of her flowers really stood out.
Music for the ceremony
For the processional we played All You Need Is Love by the Beatles. Our parents came in onto Yerushalayim Shel Zahav – then came Barry came in on his favourite song The Luckiest by Ben Folds and his brother played Hallelujah for me on the piano – super special.
Flowers
I knew that i wanted to create my own centrepieces using Balushka ‘s paper flowers. We created willow branches adorned with gorgeous paper flowers and hand beaded crystals. To accent these 6 foot creations we had AJ’s Urban Petal add fresh flowers around, along with candelabras and art deco glass lanterns. He chose O’hara roses in blush to compliment the tables as well as my bridal bouquet. He and his crew also were responsible for transforming that space into a warm, light-filled, beautiful atmosphere – I will always be grateful to him and his team.
Our fabulous photographer
Ever since I began seeing her photos from friends on Facebook, I’ve been obsessed with Elisheva Golani ‘s photos. They are ethereal! She did such a great job capturing our special day and all the unique moments throughout!
A four-tier wedding cake
Surprisingly there are only a handful of places that bake (good) kosher cakes so we trusted Three Brothers Bakery . We went with a 4-tier, round vanilla cake with white buttercream – each layer decorated with a different design in champagne/blush. Each tier had its’ own flavor (apricot, lemon, almond and strawberry).
First Dance
As a dance instructor, everyone expected a routine – which I was happy to do! We mixed 3 songs with 3 different dances: Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud , Celine Dion’s Le Ballet and then a Salsa mix. We danced nightclub 2-step, west coast swing and salsa.
Entertainment
One of the 3 top things of our wedding was the DJ. Damon Pompalino came highly recommended and he did not disappoint. We met with him a few times to give him an idea of what music we liked, who would be at our wedding etc. He did an excellent job playing some South African songs, Israeli music, latin, oldies, blues etc… it was totally us. But Barry and his boys threw in some surprises as well – a bottle dance 🙂
The Bride’s speech… in Afrikaans!
My husbands family is from South Africa, as was my wedding coordinator – she helped me come up with a funny speech in Afrikaans that I can only assume went well with the guests as they were laughing the whole time – Barry did the same in Hebrew for my family and friends.
Advice to brides and grooms currently planning their wedding
I guess being a bit older and having seen so many weddings, my practicality kicked in a bit more than I thought it would. When faced with decisions, I really steered towards what would make sense and what would work rather than what I hoped would work. This left only a few things up to chance and everything else went as expected. While we did have some snafu’s they weren’t anything we couldn’t handle, particularly because my team was amazing and so experienced. If you’re going to use a coordinator, use one that friends have used before and try to imagine them in different situations – would their personality and decisions be one’s you would agree with – I had to trust mine to make quite a few when I couldn’t.
Talia & Barry’s Little White Book
Photography – Elisheva Golani Venue – The 1940’s Air Terminal Museum Caterer – Jenny Tavor Paper flower decor – Balushka Paper Floral Artistry Wedding planner – Sharlene Barris Invitations – Ten Four Paper Bride’s dress – local designer David Peck of Miles David Atelier Bride’s shoes – Nina Bride’s accessories – handmade hair pins from Etsy , veil borrowed from a friend, BHLDN caplet Make-up – Rivki Makeup Artistry Hair – Sisa Armendariz of Craze Salon Bridesmaid dresses – BHLDN Cake – Three Brothers Bakery Flowers – AJ’s Urban Petal Chuppah – Balushka Paper Floral Artistry Ketubah – Ruth Mergi DJ – Damon Pompalino
That’s Amanda and David’s day. These two wanted a casual beach look and a formal black-tie feel so they mixed the two together, and you know what? It just works! When you’re contemplating a theme for your wedding you should never feel restricted by the ‘should’s or what’s perceived to be the done thing. Anything goes as long as it’s 100% you…
Amanda grew up in a small beach town and had always dreamed of a wedding on the seafront, but once she’d set her sights upon a statement wedding gown (and when I say ‘statement’ I mean a vision of sophisticated sparkle with a generous dose of modern frou frou) she took that dream, added in sequins and a ball gown, and turned a casual beach wedding into a super chic formal beach affair.
It’s all just so fabulous and full of shimmery, sparkly fun – there are golden flamingoes, a chuppah at sunset, sparkly Kate Spade KEDS , glittery tablecloths and a gourmet popcorn bar!
And if you’re looking for sparkly bridesmaid’s dress inspiration then Amanda’s choice of gown for her girls will definitely give you a touch of the green eyed monster…
On a different note, I must also mention that Amanda carried the most beautiful memory locket in her bouquet to honour her father who tragically passed away in 2013. This is the most touching and creative idea for carrying the memory of a loved one down the aisle – you must take a look.
Finally, don’t miss Amanda’s ‘How We Met’ story below. Her and David met online on JDate and she describes it all so wonderfully. Amanda and David are one of several JDate couples I’ve had the pleasure of featuring on the blog (I love hearing the myriad of different ways of how couples meet so I always ask them!)
Stay tuned to view all the fabulous images by Donna Von Bruening and the oh so romantic video by Rad Red Creative . You’re going to go crazy for it all.
How we met
David’s dad had first created his JDate account in hope that he would meet a nice Jewish girl. After comical dates on other dating sites, he gave JDate a shot and sent me a brief message. My mum was very convincing of the fact that I should try online dating, and even bought me a few books about the subject that she had pre-read, highlighted and sticky tabbed. I created a profile on JDate (while living in Alabama) since I was in the process of moving back to Florida and knew quite a few sorority sisters that met their husbands on the site.
Little did I know that I would be living less than a mile away from my future husband, and we didn’t even know it. On October 3, 2014 we met in person and had our first real date. A date that started as a quick lunch while my car was in the shop, turned into an all day adventure on the lake and lasting until dinner. After our lunch at Panera discussing our education and work history, we went out on a nearby lake on David’s jet-ski. When David was pulling the ski back on the trailer, I caught a glance of him in the rear-view mirror, at that moment I knew that I could see myself marrying David. I also believe in signs and how the universe communicates its message to you. When we were in David’s car I glanced at the Jeep dashboard and it said “Since 1941,” this struck me as such a coincidence- my dad was born in 1941 and had an antique car with the license plate “It’s a 41.” My dad had passed away in 2013 from a quick diagnosis of cancer. I knew this was his way of telling me, he’s something special. We instantly clicked and knew that this was the real deal. I called my mum early the next morning and told her “he’s perfect, I know I’m going to marry him.” Little did I know, David had called his parents and told them the same thing.
Our connection grew quickly and easily turning into love. JDate connected two people that were meant to be together when they otherwise never would have crossed paths. On February 15, 2015 David planned a brunch to gather our families together. After brunch on a clear blue sky day, David proposed with a gorgeous ring inside a box of chocolates. He even made sure my nails were painted that day, an important detail that he took note of.
A Florida wedding at Sandpearl Resort
We got married at the Sandpearl Resort . Being native Floridians, we knew that we wanted a beach venue but not necessarily in the sand. The Sandpearl has a beautiful green lawn steps from the sand so that our guests could keep their shoes on but still listen to the Gulf waters in the background.
The venue is also located directly across from David’s parents apartment, where he proposed on the balcony a year earlier.
Sandpearl Resort also provided all our catering and every morsel was truly phenomenal. The entire dinner course was so scrumptious, it just melted in your mouth.
A formal beach wedding
Our theme was a formal beach affair (black-tie optional). We wanted the focus of the wedding to be a celebration of our love for each other and Florida itself. Our wedding colours were chosen to reflect the colours of the evening sunset on the beach and natural elements found along the seashore; emerald, mint, coral and accents of gold.
Planning the wedding
I was a very hands-on bride and did most of the planning myself and with my mother-in-law and mum, but we did use a planner Artistry Designs Group in the months leading up to the event. She helped confirm the day of details and also helped conceptualize the vision for our ballroom reception and the floral decor.
When I began planning our Jewish wedding I searched for resources that would help guide me in this endeavour. Surprisingly there were not many resources that existed for Jewish brides. I was so happy to stumble upon Smashing The Glass and would get lost in the articles and real wedding features. Being a Jewish bride that converted to Judaism during my engagement, I knew I had a lot to learn and wanted to ensure that everything was done in the right manner.
Stationery
I wanted the invitation design to set the tone for the wedding. Something classic and elegant that was more than just a tangible piece of paper. Calligraphed addresses by Calligraphia by Melissa added that extra special touch, rather than just mailing them out pre-labeled.
Hair + Make-up
I didn’t want to look too overdone or not like myself. My glam-squad from Michele Renee The Studio came out in full-force to beautify my family and bridal party. I chose to wear my hair half-up as up-do’s just aren’t a natural look for me. I wanted to feel beautiful with natural looking waves rather than fussing with bobby pins for the night. For makeup I added lashes and chose a bold lip.
A Hayley Paige ‘WOW’ wedding dress
My dress was from the most adorable wedding gown boutique in Tampa, Florida ( The White Magnolia Bridal Collection Tampa ) and the designer was Hayley Paige . After months of scrolling through Instagram and looking on Pinterest I had an idea of what I was looking for. I didn’t want anything “too bridal” or similar to any of my friends dresses, and I was looking for a wow factor.
I had saved the picture of “the dress” on my phone knowing that I wanted to at least try it on. Once I put on my dress, our casual beach wedding soon turned into a black-tie optional event. I did not want to take it off and I think my family realised it was “the one” as soon as I came out of the dressing room.
Accessories
My custom veil was from Sara Gabriel and I chose it for it’s simplicity and complimentary rhinestone and pearl design that matched the detail of my dress. My earrings and veil were from The White Magnolia Bridal Collection Tampa as well.
Two pairs of sparkly Kate Spade Shoes
I’m a true beach girl that is more comfortable barefoot or in sandals than in heels. I searched for something with a bit of sparkle and found these amazing Kate Spade heels. They weren’t too high and were closed-toe pumps which was different than the usual scrappy or peep-toe heels that I had seen. On the wedding day, I made a quick decision to choose comfort over look and wore my reception shoes the entire day! My Kate Spade shimmery silver Keds hid perfectly under my dress and the best part, my feet weren’t killing me at the end of the night… and no one knew that I was wearing sneakers the entire night.
Six Bridesmaids
I had six bridesmaids ranging from best friends from high-school and college to my sorority sisters. They wore a long ivory Nordstrom dress with gold, silver and rose gold sequins, and a modest side slit . I loved the glamour that it added to our photos.
My sorority sister and friend, Lauryn helped create custom signs that were displayed throughout our wedding venue to welcome, direct and thank our guests. They were so creative and created with such thought and talent. One of my most memorable moments was revealing my wedding dress to my bridal party. It was one of the biggest secrets that I had to keep and I was so excited to see their faces when I came downstairs.
The handsome groom
David chose a black Ralph Lauren suit and at our first-look I was so overwhelmed with how handsome he looked. I gave David a gold engraved money clip that my mother had given to my father on their wedding day. It was something special that I could pass on to David and it made our first-look even more emotional.
Chuppah design
We wanted simple yet elegant chuppah, and for the people in it to be the centre of attention. Our white draped chuppah glowed as the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and was illuminated with soft amber lighting.
The ceremony
Our ceremony was held on a Saturday evening after the Sabbath. We waited for the stars to rise in the sky as our guests enjoyed a cocktail hour prior to our ceremony. During our Ketubah signing family and close friends gathered together to listen to blessings from our Rabbi and witness the signing of our marriage contract. We chose a laser-cut Ketubah that reflected a tropical theme from Ketubah.com . During our ceremony, our Rabbis David Weizman and Danielle Upbin who are husband and wife left everyone with chills as their captivating voices were so raw and filled with joy for our special occasion.
Of course not having my dad there to walk me down the aisle made the day more emotional and raw but I began my morning with a walk by myself along the beach and was able to feel at peace knowing that he was watching from above.
Music for the ceremony
For our ceremony we had a modern electric violinist that entertained our guests during our cocktail hour and then leading into our ceremony. For our processional we played instrumental versions: Over the Rainbow and All of Me and our recessional was Marry Me . For our first dance as husband and wife, we chose Bob Marley’s Is this Love .
Flowers
My goal was to not have any roses or “traditional” flowers. I wanted a tropical feel with unique flowers. Pincushion proteas played a large role in the bouquet and were dyed coral to compliment our wedding colors. Monsterra leaves also added that tropical elegance that I was looking for. Lilies added a fragrant accent to fill the reception room as-well.
Our fabulous photographer…
About 12 years ago I met my wedding photographer, Donna Von Bruening , and had always joked that one day she would capture my wedding day. Donna was at the time the International President of my sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon, and I was about to start my sophomore year of college. Throughout the years I followed her work and loved that her photography style was more journalistic than posed and staged. She captures the raw emotion and love of the day instead of recreating wedding photos over and over.
…And videographer
We did decide to have a videographer after much deliberation about whether it was a necessary addition to the day, I am so glad that we did! Rad Red Creative is a husband and wife team based in the Tampa area. I love that they are edgy and innovative with their work and use added elements like drone footage to highlight the venue location. The flow of their videos isn’t the “typical” wedding style but adds a fresh take at a film that you will want to watch multiple times.
A gold and white wedding cake
Our cake was designed by Chantilly Cakes who has a partnership with our resort. We chose different flavors for each of the four tiers and combined gold and white color elements for the cake. Pinterest helped inspire our design choice.
Entertainment
We chose a club style DJ that could play background music during dinner and start the party during the reception. We had a live saxophonist that came in after dinner to start the party and play along with the DJ. ( Breezin’ Entertainment ).
A mother and daughter first dance
My mum and I used to dance together around the house when I was a little girl. My parents always joked that I was born in the wrong century since I loved Oldies music. We had a mother and daughter first dance to I Can’t Help Myself This was such a fun and emotional moment for the both of us since my father passed away three years ago. We tried to keep the music up-beat rather than an emotional slow song.
A gourmet popcorn bar + custom cookie favours
Realising that most favours get left behind or thrown out (really – who wants a picture of a couple?), we decided to go with edible favours. We had a gourmet popcorn bar from iPop Gourmet Popcorn that was such a hit and custom cookie favours created by Alessi Bakery in the shape of the state of Florida with a heart over our venue location in complimenting colours.advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Advice to brides and grooms currently planning their wedding
Focus on your day and what is important to you. If something really stands out that you want to play a big role, express that to the vendor or your coordinator. Things may not go 100% all the time but be grateful for the love and support that surrounds you on your wedding day. For me, taking an hour of “me” time in a bubble bath on the wedding day allowed me time to rest and relax before the day escaped away. We also took time after the ceremony to enjoy a glass of champagne together privately and soak in the fact that we were married – I’m so happy that we did this and were able to have a few minutes together before greeting all of our guests.
Focus on your day and what is important to you. If something really stands out that you want to play a big role, express that to the vendor or your coordinator. Things may not go 100% all the time but be grateful for the love and support that surrounds you on your wedding day. For me, taking an hour of “me” time in a bubble bath on the wedding day allowed me time to rest and relax before the day escaped away. We also took time after the ceremony to enjoy a glass of champagne together privately and soak in the fact that we were married- I’m so happy that we did this and were able to have a few minutes together before greeting all of our guests.
Amanda & David’s little white book
Photographer – Donna Von Bruening Videographer – Rad Red Creative Wedding Coordinator, Florals & Decor – Artistry Designs Group Venue + Catering – Sandpearl Resort , Clearwater Beach Bride’s Dress + Jewellery – Hayley Paige from The White Magnolia Bridal Collection Tampa Bride’s Shoes – Kate Spade Bride’s Veil – Sara Gabriel Groom’s Attire – Ralph Lauren Bridesmaids – Nordstrom Hair and Makeup – Michele Renee The Studio DJ, Violinist & Saxophonist – Breezin’ Entertainment Outdoor Lighting – Nature Coast Entertainment Services Cake – Chantilly Cakes Invitations – Inviting Business Calligraphy – Calligraphia by Melissa Rentals – Photo Booth & Heart Light – Boone’s Professional Events Sparkly Table Numbers – Rented from Glitz Events Popcorn Bar – iPop Gourmet Popcorn Cookie Favours – Alessi Bakery Mazel Pouch – Jennifer Raichman Ketubah – Ketubah.com Officiant – Rabbis David Weizman and Danielle Upbin , Congregation Beth Shalom
