Our Florida Keys Wedding
Our tropical Florida Keys wedding was filled with a lot of tears, a lot of laughs, amazing drinks, one perfect sunset, and a ton of dancing. Marrying my best friend in front of our favorite people was the best feeling I have ever felt. The amount of joy and happiness we both felt was overwhelming in the absolute best way possible.
I should start off by saying I am convinced Playa Largo Resort & Spa is the best place to get married in the Florida Keys. It's only an hour away from the Miami airport (MIA) and 1.5 hours away from the Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL), so it's the most convenient place to have a wedding in the keys if you are trying to minimize your guests travel time. If you're looking for a place to host your whole wedding weekend look no further because Playa Largo has it all and they will go above and beyond for their couples and their families. We decided to have a welcome party off of the lobby the afternoon before the rehearsal dinner (Friday) and it was amazing. I loved that I was able to say hello to the guests and spend a little extra time with them. It also took the pressure off of saying hello to everyone during the wedding/reception.
Anyways, if you want all of the details about our wedding check out my wedding details blog post, but in this blog post I'll be walking you through our wedding day and sharing some personal details with you.
The day started off with my Maid of Honor, Jenn, running to grab us coffee while I literally swept popcorn under the rug from the night before. We were up late talking, laughing and making it rain popcorn evidently. I was rushing to clean up the suite before Natalia arrived at 8am to start hair and make up. I was first to get my hair done and then I pretty much sat around waiting to get my make up done for most of the morning. Looking back I wish I would have had my makeup done sooner so that I could enjoy feeling pretty with my bridesmaids and have time to add my own touches afterwards. Once my mom and I were done with our make up it was time to start taking pictures. We both felt a bit rushed and believe this is why we forgot to put my veil on. Yes, we forgot to put my veil on! UGH I'm still bummed about it, but honestly everything else about the day made up for it so I cant even complain. Plus I ended up getting my veil photos a year later when we were asked to do a styled wedding shoot at another venue.
The weather was much hotter and more humid than I had expected leading up to the wedding. The past 3 years the first weekend of May was always perfect. High 70's-Low 80's, low humidity, and a breeze. That played a huge part in why I chose early May for our wedding. Unfortunately, Florida's weather is very unpredictable, but at least it didn't rain!
JT and I decided we did want to do a first look so that we could have some time to mingle with the guests during the cocktail hour and I'm so thankful we did that! Especially since JT still cried when I walked down the aisle. Bless his sweet soul.
Our ceremony was incredibly special to us. My uncle Rod officiated and it was extremely meaningful and emotional. JT and I decided, after going back and forth, that we were going to write and recite our own vows. I was so nervous. I hate public speaking. JT on the other hand is a natural, so I knew his vows were going to blow mine out of the water no matter what...and I was right. We definitely could have done a better job at discussing how our vows were going to go. Mine ended up being much shorter and to the point, his were longer and more detailed. It fit our personalities well though. JT's vows were incredibly thoughtful. I don't think there was a dry eye while he recited them. I will forever cherish, and hold him to, those sweet words.
After the ceremony our guests made their way over to the cocktail hour only a few steps away from the ceremony. We finished taking photos and were able to make it to the end of the cocktail hour just in time to snag a few hors d'oeuvres. We then moved to the Lawn for our reception where my dad opened up with the best speech. He's also a natural. Clearly, I didn't get any of his charisma. After dinner we took our sunset photos and then my Maid of Honor and JT's Best Man Tommy gave their speeches. The four of us have all known each other for a long time, so the speeches were extra sweet and nostalgic. After the speeches it was finally time to get the dancing started! Due to a noise ordinance in the Keys we had to move the party inside at 10pm. We all moved to the ballroom and the party definitely didn't stop. It's safe to say we had the time of our lives! Hopefully you stick around long enough to see the dancing photos at the end of the post ;)
We can't thank our family and friends enough for coming together from all over to celebrate our marriage, our vendors for making everything possible, our photographer Chelsea of Finding Light Photography for capturing the sweetest moments, and our videographer Harkan Films. I am still in awe of it all. It was the most amazing weekend that we will always hold close to our hearts. Below I have listed a few more details followed by almost all of our wedding photos! Sorry in advance for how many there are, it was so hard to choose!
First Dance Song: Beautiful Crazy by Luke Combs
Father Daughter Dance: I Loved Her First by Heartland
.Mother Son Dance: My Wish by Rascal Flatts
Something Old: Lace from my mothers wedding dress on my bouquet
Something New: My dress / jewelry
Something Borrowed: My Great Grandmother's broach on my bouquet
Something Blue: My mothers blue + gold ring and our Blanc de Bleu Champagne.
Signature Cocktail: Dragonfruit Mojito
Signature Beer: No Wake Zone Islamorada Brewing Company
MORE WEDDING BLOG POSTS:
*cue the tears*
For photos of our wedding details, click here.
For our wedding video, click here.
If you've made it this far, thank you so much for the support! I hope you enjoyed our wedding recap. If you have any questions at all drop a comment below or DM me on Instagram!
XOXO
Comments