This Florida wedding captured by Michelle March is a sum of so many beautiful pieces and parts. These parts as a whole tell the story of a happy day rich in color and love. And when you pull apart the layers, you’ll find a lace caplet dress mixed with candy colored flowers and a day swathed in sunshine. No matter which way you look at it, it’s pure perfection and there’s even more in the full gallery.
From the Bride…The first memorable event of 2012 was winning a cruise to the Bahamas. I didn’t think it was possible to top such luck until I saw Jorge kneeling on the top deck of the ship with a ring he had made himself. He is not a jewelry maker and it meant the world to me to find out the time he took to make it and how perfect it was. My beloved engagement ring set the tone of our wedding. It was a DIY affair full of vintage details. We envisioned a small, warm and welcoming wedding where we could feel comfortable sharing our deepest feelings for each other.
Jorge loves classic English cinema and I love tea and anything floral so we were inspired by our likes and decided to have a romantic floral garden tea-party wedding. Throughout the year, I collected vintage teapots, tea cups, vases and any floral inspired decor. On one of my many trips to the thrift store, I spotted two wicker heart-shaped chairs; like a cartoon character with bulging hearts for eyes, I fell in love with them immediately! They were so perfect for our wedding. I later found out, via Pinterest, that Kate Moss had the exact same chairs at her wedding! Made me love our chairs even more. We truly love all of our guests and since it was relatively small wedding we were able to add special touches to make them feel loved. One of my favorites was the spool place card holders. Jorge’s dad cut about 80 spools by hand! I then had my lovely bridesmaids help me stain them and finally wrap them with mint colored lace. Our guests loved to see their name displayed in such cute way. We also found some awesome cardboard teaspoons online that we used as escort cards. Each of them had a fun trivia question on the back to strike up a conversation. As favors, we gave each guest tea bags so they could go by our tea station and pick their favorite flavored loose tea to take home.
The details of our wedding were crafted with a lot love and care thanks to the help of our wonderful friends and family. My mom used her skilled hands to lovingly crochet holders for our teacups’ flower arrangements that hung from our wedding aisle chairs. She also made me two beautiful crochet garters, one to give to a lucky bride-to-be and another one that I’ll cherish forever. We had a tight budget and we couldn’t afford a florist. I was worried about timing and how little I knew about flowers but I did my homework and a lot of planning. With the help of my favorite ladies we created all the flowers arrangements one day before the wedding, I was surprised how little time it took us! We had a wonderful time helping each other out and felt proud of our masterpieces. Jorge and I tackled many DIY projects as well. He built our ceremonial arch and I put together the laced embroidered hoops that we used as a backdrop of our ceremony. He also constructed the wooden directional signs and our big chalkboard welcome sign on which I, for the very first time, enthusiastically employed my chalk calligraphy skills.
It was important to us for our invitations to be lighthearted and touching. The sweetest person we know, our 8 year old daughter Luna, worded them. We also implemented a whimsical family portrait (including our kitty Musa) illustrated by Dairy Sketches from etsy. I digitized the illustration and gave it a personalized look. I also designed the rest of our stationary pieces carrying the same floral look. Being a career Graphic Designer helped a lot! Everything was going as planned until I broke my ankle one week before the wedding! Needless to say, I was devastated. I didn’t know what hurt the most, my ankle or the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to walk the day of my wedding. I dreaded the idea of using crutches or a wheel chair. But my dear love saved the day. He put wheels on a throne-like chair, so my mom could push me down the aisle, it was genius idea! and it made our wedding so much more special.
Our wedding was definitely an act of love from the very beginning. We were also extremely lucky to have the most amazing vendors to help out with every detail and make it memorable beyond our wildest expectations. I was so happy to see all the hard work displayed when I arrived. My ladies looked gorgeous with their handmade bouquets and the headpieces I made for them. Our daughter looked precious with her one-of-kind vintage dress and her pretty smile. But as my mom pushed me down the aisle in my “royalty” chair, I could only focus on my love’s twinkly eyes. I was finally marrying my best friend and that’s all that mattered at that moment.
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Photographer: Michelle March | Wedding Venue: Cauley Square | Day of Coordination: Better Half Weddings | Cinematography: Michael Burgos | Floral Design: DIY, Bride + Bridesmaids | Catering: Angelo’s Buffet | Portrait Illustration for Invitations: Diary Sketches | Stationary Design: Celia’s Design | Cake: Gigi-Mamma Cakes | Decor: Las Celias + Unearthed Vintage | Photobooth: Sideshow Booth | Custom Props: Llorente Design | Wedding Dress: French Juliet Tailor | Shoes: Seychelles | Headpiece: Serenity Crystal | Bridesmaids: Various | Groom’s Suit: Calvin Klein | Groom’s Shoes: Nordstrom