Happy Friday everyone! This pink and burlap wedding from Amy Little Photography is the perfect way to start off our Real Wedding features for 2014! A rustic chic style event at the gorgeous Florida beachfront venue Palazzo Del Sol was the perfect option for high school sweethearts Shelbi and Blake, who wanted a destination beach wedding without the usual “beachy” theme. Shelbi is here to share her amazing insight with us… (and she has some great advice, because she is an Every Last Detail reader herself!)
What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?
Our wedding planner, Jessica Miller with Serene Occasions, helped to make our wedding day absolutely perfect! Jessica honestly coordinated everything from start to finish, and connected us with incredible vendors through her wedding planning studio, The Wedding House. I told her what our vision was and she made it come to life! It was really great to have someone that knew exactly what to do for all of the big plans concerning the wedding, and left me with plenty of time to really focus on the smaller, personal details.
What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?
My husband and I live in Texas and although I started out attempting to plan our “destination wedding” in Florida from afar, I quickly realized just how difficult it was going to be. After realizing I needed some professional help, I immediately turned to the Internet and looked through tons of event planners in the Destin, FL area. I knew I wanted someone who I believed could help me put together a beautiful wedding in the exact style that I wanted while also staying within our budget. We needed someone who could take care of everything for us (catering, rentals, music, the ceremony, etc) since we were too far away to make enough trips to meet with many different vendors. When I came across Jessica, I could tell from her portfolio that she was the perfect match for what I wanted and what we needed! And I was right, she helped us put together a wedding that was our own, making it beautiful while helping us keep it intimate and remaining in our comfort zone just the way that we wanted to. Not to mention, the one time we were actually able to make a trip down to Florida prior to the wedding we were able to meet with Jessica for a full day at The Wedding House, where we had the opportunity to discuss all of the wedding plans in detail, do the cake tasting, and meet with the caterer all in one place!
What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?
My husband and I knew for a long time before the planning ever began that we wanted a small wedding on the beach. However, while we wanted a wedding at the beach, I knew I didn’t want to stick with a “beachy” theme and instead was drawn to a more rustic feel with burlap and lace with light, romantic colors. So with that in mind, we just began planning the design by attempting to bring that style out in a way that was fitting on a beach setting. And it was actually in the middle of planning that I thought adding a bit of a “love bird” theme could be cute and fitting for us, and that helped with inspiration for a lot of the little decorations here and there at our reception!
What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
It’s hard to say!! The whole day and night just went perfectly. Getting ready with my bridesmaids was exciting, our photographer Amy Little had us having a great time while taking tons of amazing pictures, the ceremony was beautiful, and the reception was so much fun! One specific thing I could say was one of my favorite moments would definitely be the first look J we read letters that we wrote to one another before seeing each other for the first time and of course that ended up being an emotional but amazing moment for both of us!
What is your best piece of advice for other brides?
I would recommend using a great wedding planner, if you are able to. Specifically one that you believe is right for your style! I always hear about brides having crazy wedding stress, but Jessica just made it so easy for us and when it came to planning I hardly had to deal with any wedding stress at all… and the day of she took care of every detail without a hitch and Blake and I didn’t have any worries from start to finish! And I have to say, I would also recommend investing in photography because the pictures on your wedding day are really special and always will be! The day goes by so fast and it’s great to have amazing pictures captured of both the big and little moments.
See, what did I say- amazing advice and insight, right? I love the way that Shelbi used burlap and lace to create her own “non-beachy” style. And with a gorgeous beachfront venue like Palazzo Del Sol, you don’t need much else!
Shelbi and Blake’s wedding was a style that wasn’t typical for their wedding location… are any of you doing the same? What kind of location will your wedding be taking place at, and what style of wedding are you having? I’d love to hear!
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