This gorgeous navy and peach wedding captured by Kristen Marie Photography took place on a farm in Dade City, Florida and is filled with beauty, love, and inspiring details. The bride Nicole drew her inspiration from the kumquats that Dade City is known for, the color navy, and a rustic barn, and the result is gorgeous! Nicole is here with us today sharing more about her wedding…
What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?
My sister Kris was definitely the person who helped me the most during the planning process, as it was her home and backyard where the wedding took place. I looked for weeks for the right venue, but because we had a limited budget, nothing we looked at seemed within reach. So when I ran the idea by her to have it in her back yard, she never hesitated in offering her beautiful property. We couldn’t have had such a beautiful wedding without her support!
What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?
I knew having our wedding in the backyard would probably create some logistical challenges, so I needed to make sure all of my vendors, especially the caterer, were comfortable with the location. It was also very important that I found vendors that supported and encouraged my vision. My caterer never batted an eye when I said I wanted my signature drink to be a “Kumquat Martini” even though he’d never even heard of a kumquat before. My florist also never worked with kumquats, so when I told her I wanted to use them in everything—our bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, as cinches for the drapery on the barn, cocktail tables, and on the pasture poles down the aisle way, she did some research and came up with complimentary flowers that would work within our budget. It was also important that my day-of coordinator understood what I was looking for and had the talents and skill to pull it off. From our first meeting, I knew Brook and I would work well together because she totally got what I was going for. She took all of my ideas and executed them to perfection, and even added some of her own touches that took it to the next level. We communicated enough that I completely trusted her to do what she thought was best and the end result blew me away.
What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?
I basically had three centers of inspiration that really helped me to stay focused on the overall picture–the barn, kumquats and the color navy.
At the center of it all was the barn. It is at least 100 years old and used to be an old cow feeding station. The natural beauty of its surroundings, like the moss hanging from the trees, the adjoining cow pasture and the beautiful abandoned home right behind it draped in ivy saved me a lot of time and money because I didn’t need to do a thing! It was so naturally beautiful, we had plenty of photo backdrops to choose from that made for some stunning photographs.
Using kumquats in all of my decor was also really important to me. I grew up in Dade City, FL and kumquats are what they’re known for. My uncle also makes an amazing kumquat pie, so I called him and asked if he would be willing to make 75 individual mini kumquat pies as gifts for our guests….they loved them!
No matter what other themes I picked, I knew the color navy would be at the center of my color pallet. My engagement ring is a blue sapphire, a gift from my husband’s mother, and very special to me, so I knew I had to incorporate navy. After lots of searching on Pinterest, I found this navy, peach and mint green color pallet, which I thought was perfect. I loved that all of the colors I used in my flowers and linens and the kumquats weren’t exactly perfectly matching, but they were complimentary and somehow it just all worked when they were put together.
What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
Do I have to pick just one? haha. I really have two that stick out in my mind…..
In the middle of our ceremony we had some, shall we say, uninvited guests. As we were leading up to our vows, a few cows came out of nowhere and straight to the fence line to check out what we were doing. I could see them coming from my vantage point, but all of our guests backs were turned to them, so it wasn’t until they started mooing that everyone noticed them. It was a great moment for a laugh and gave me a few seconds to compose myself before saying my vows.
Another great moment for me was the surprise Murder Mystery Show I planned during cocktail hour for my husband. I know it was a little different, and I wasn’t sure how our guests would react, but it was something I had to do for my Sherlock Holmes obsessed husband. He had no idea what was going on when a man came running through cocktail hour in a bloody shirt and “died” at his feet. It kicked off the rest of the 20 minute surprise performance by a group of community actors I work with. My guests were totally enthralled and everything went off as planned, and most importantly my husband thinks I’m the coolest wife ever for doing this at our wedding!
What is your best piece of advice for other brides?
The best piece of advice I have is to go with your gut. It’s hard when you’re in the middle if choosing venues and meeting with caterers and photographers and florists to feel like you’re making the right decision, but every decision we made along the way just felt right. I will admit, when I started the planning process I was drowning in pins on Pinterest and probably changed my mind every other week to the point where I was doubting my whole vision. I just had to sit down and close my eyes and picture what I wanted that day to feel and look like and it totally changed my whole perspective. Your wedding day is for you and your husband…no one else. So you do what feels right to you…no matter how quirky or unconventional. Also, don’t take everything on yourself. If you have family and friends offering to help you-let them.
Oh I LOVE Nicole’s advice to remember to keep your vision in your mind as you’re planning! And how she used kumquats as part of her inspiration- amazing!
So are any of you using something unique like kumquats as the inspiration for your wedding? I’d love to hear!
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