Weddings at the beach are total swoon fests no matter what. But when a fab NYC planner (L’Atelier Rouge) gets married and brings a little Manhattan to the Florida Keys? There are no words. Seriously, no words. Just gorgeous photos from Cengiz Ozelsel of Adagion – which are each worth AT LEAST 1,000 words, thank goodness. Because this blogger is speechless. Make sure to join me in the gallery where we can admire our bootys off without saying a word!
Carlos and I had been together for over six years when he proposed on his favorite holiday – the Fourth of July! From the time of our engagement, we knew that we had to get married in the Florida Keys. We wanted not only to have a fun destination wedding that our friends would enjoy attending, but also to select a location that was meaningful for us both. Carlos’ family has a house at the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada, Florida and he grew up traveling there every year. His parents were married there, we had spent vacations there, and we couldn’t imagine a better place to escape to in the middle of March!
Being a wedding planner myself, the pressure was on to create a wedding that really reflected who we are. While I love the beach, I knew I didn’t want my wedding to have an overtly tropical feeling. I wanted to take everything that I loved about the New York City weddings that I planned and translate this to Florida. I wanted it to feel like a city wedding that just happened to take place on the beach. We started with an aesthetic of Lucite, mirrors, crystal, candlelight, and all white flowers. I knew that I wanted to stick to a chic look that was slightly modern with a hint of classical elements.
For the ceremony, we went with angled arrangements of white roses accented with geometrical steel grass for a bit of a modern feeling designed in vases wrapped in silver mirrored finish at the top. These were placed as collections on a stage on top of Lucite pedestals.
The cocktail reception took place out on the beach with silvery linens and candlelight. My favorite piece was the mirrored escort card display that I had custom printed on mirrored lucite and displayed in a white baroque style frame purchased on Etsy. The names and table numbers were printed in an acqua shade that served as our pop of color against the white décor.
The dinner reception took place under a tent that we had draped with sheer white fabric and hung crystsal candelabras in to glam up the night. We alternated floral arrangements with candle centerpieces. We had half of the tables with modern floral arrangements of floating white roses and sculpted white calla lilies. The custom lucite boxes were placed on the other tables filled with white pillar candles accented with touches of crystal and ivory lace. We placed mirrors under each of the tables and then accented the flowers with crystal gems and white damask velvet printed votive candles for a nice glow.
I didn’t want it to feel like a cookie cutter wedding where everything looks the same. We alternated white crinkled taffeta linens with white silk dupioni linens to add a contrast of texture, and then place silver ballroom chairs with white cushions at the candle box tables and rented clear ghost chairs for the floral tables to add another touch of lucite. For the menus, I thought it would be different to have this printed in the acqua shade on lucite which not only looked beautiful against the white linens, but served as a keepsake.
As the sun set over the water, we continued dancing with guests throughout the evening, had a wonderful island inspired meal and treated guests to late-night ice cream from a local keys vendor. While it may have been stressful to plan on my own, I wouldn’t change anything about that day! The best advice I can give to brides is to take a deep breath and enjoy every second of the planning- even the crazy times, because it will go by so fast.
Planner: Holly Navarre (Bride), L’Atelier Rouge / Florals: L’Atelier Rouge / Linens: Nuage Design / Ghost Chairs: Nuage Design / Chairs & Tables: Panache / Tenting & Dance floor: Milemarker Party Rentals / Venue: Morada Bay, Islamorada Florida / Guest Hotel, Rehearsal Dinner, & Saturday Lunch: Cheeca Lodge / Hair & Makeup: Stephany David, Damali NYC / Photography: Cengiz Ozelsel, Adagion / Ice Cream: Mr. C’s Gourmet Ice Cream / DJ: DJ Mike Kruz, Scratch Events / Mirrored Escort Card Display, Menus, & Placecards: A Milestone Paper Company / Bride’s Dress: Nicole Miller from Lovely Bridal / Bride’s Shoes: Prada / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Priscilla of Boston / Groom’s Attire: Kleinfeld’s Mens / Groomsmen Attire: Jos A Banks / Men’s Ties: Thomas Pink / Rings: Zwicker and Zacher