Julia met Chris in Germany in August of 2011 where they were both serving in the military. They quickly became inseparable, and when it came time to plan their wedding, they decided on a destination wedding in the bride's hometown of Tampa. Both desired an eclectic feel for the wedding with a nod to the bride's Tampa roots as well as the couple's travels abroad. The Don Vicente in historic Ybor City was perfect. The bride's favorite flowers are poppies, and with the groom in his dress blues for the wedding, the color scheme of poppy orange, lemoncello, and aqua blue was born. Julia wanted their guests to really understand and feel the Tampa she grew up in. This inspired such details as a Cigar Bar, Cigar box centerpieces with collections of candlesticks and bottles and cans filled with colorful flowers, a Cuban cuisine menu, Florida orange marmalade favors, and even a tangelo mojito signature drink!
Meghann and Friedel - A Homespun Garden Wedding
Meghann and Friedel met when their mutual friends decided to play matchmaker and invited each of them to an FSU football game. After spending the entire weekend together, they returned to Tampa and went on their first official date a few weeks later. When Friedel proposed, he gave Meghann a gorgeous antique ring from the turn of the 20th century. Meghann, a health-minded dietitian, and Friedel, a landscape designer and small business owner, wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere for their wedding guests - like they were all among family. They chose the Davis Islands Garden Club as a gorgeous backdrop for these nature-lovers' nuptials. Meghann wanted to DIY elements of the wedding to offer a personal touch, including herb-infused olive oils at an Olive Oil Tasting Station, home-made Florida orange marmalade favor jars that doubled as escort cards, sourced vintage furnishings for a Cigar Bar area, and old family frames suspended from tree branches as an open-air photo booth space. They chose a color palette of eggplant and palm green, and incorporated such details as a Farmers Market display of local fresh produce and cheeses (as a nod to the bride's passion for healthy living), garden details like tin flower cans as vases, and vintage elements like lace overlays, mismatched china at the place settings, and mason jars down the aisle. They wanted a personal touch for their guests, to the escort cards were displayed on clotheslines along with personal pictures of the couple with each guest from over the years! The couple agree that the most memorable aspect of their wedding was exchanging their self-written vows as they committed their lives to each other forever. For future couples, they offer this advice: "make it personal, and make sure you savor every moment the day of your wedding as it goes by in a flash, so take mental pictures whenever you can so you walk away with personal snapshots of all the memories!"