Intimate DIY Florida Wedding at St. Pete Beach

Abby Capalbo
September 18, 2014
Categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, The Blog

J Layne Photography captured this stunning seaside soiree in a way that makes my heart sing the sweetest of songs. I could look at these gorgeous images for the rest of the day, and I might do just that. Because not only are these images gorgeous, but they are also filled to the brim with love and heartfelt details, making me head over heels in love with this gallery.

Colors

Seasons

Winter Weddings

Settings

Hotels + Resorts Weddings

Styles

Vintage

From The Bride….DIY Projects- Pretty much everything! For the ceremony we made the ribbon wands that were placed on everyone’s seat to wave, we also bought our own soft white linen fabric for the archway. The table decorations for the reception were also all done ourselves. We spray painted wine bottles in a soft creamy white, silver, and bronze and then put curly willow and baby’s breath in them. The vintage wooden crates were items we already owned – we came up with the floral/candle design that went into them. The silver lanterns were also items that we already owned. The succulent centerpieces we did ourselves – we ordered the succulents from a nursery and placed them in vintage tin mini-drawers. The gold table runners we made ourselves as well. The votive candles set up throughout we also purchased ourselves – our family who helped set everything up gathered crushed shells from the beach and added them to the votives for a special touch. We also did the favors ourselves – we blended together some gourmet coffee flavors and put them in little glass carafes for everyone to take home and called it: M + A – The Perfect Blend. We also did candy boxes as favors for the little ones! Our guest book was a drawing on a canvas that Mike drew himself of a couple holding balloons – we then had our guests stamp their thumbprints as the balloon portion of the drawing.

We wanted the wedding to really represent who we are as a couple – we’re huge into DIY so we wanted to bring that quality into the wedding. We’re really laid back, fun loving, and travelers – so we wanted those elements present on our big day as well. Besides that we were inspired by wedding blogs like Style Me Pretty and Inspired By This. If it was a wedding that incorporated soft neutral colors and a casual vintage flair – we couldn’t get enough!

We both really wanted our wedding day to reflect us as a couple. From selecting a beach side location to satisfy our love of travel, to the shoes optional ceremony to capture our laid-back, fun loving nature – we chose elements that incorporated our personalities and tastes. I wanted to create a soft neutral color palette that would play up the ocean and beautiful scenery around us. We used soft blushes, whites, and touches of silver and bronze. We also used plenty of candles to offer soft lighting to play up the whole intimate and romantic. It was also important to me to add touches that paid tribute to both my grandmothers who are no longer with us. I wore my dad’s mother’s vintage costume ring that she had given to me. The succulents that were used in my bouquet as well as our centerpieces were a nod to my maternal grandmother who passed her love for them down to me.

Being able to work on DIY projects for the wedding together also made the whole planning process so much more fun and creative! One of my favorite details of the wedding was our thumbprint guestbook that Mike drew himself! It’s now a charming addition to our wall art in our home. We’ve also since turned the fabric we used for the ceremony arch and the table runners into pillows for our bedroom – being able to re-purpose our wedding DIY projects into home decor has definitely kept our newlywed buzz going and is a great way to incorporate elements from such a special day into our home!

Our first look was a really special moment – but for me the most memorable was walking down the aisle. All the craziness of planning and running around disappeared the moment I stepped out onto the sand. Seeing our closest family and friends waiting, along with my handsome groom, set against the gorgeous backdrop of the ocean and white sand was a moment I will never forget. Almost as soon the music started playing (a mash-up of Jason Mraz’s I’m yours and Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwoʻole) and I started walking down the aisle I was completely overcome with emotion! It’s hard to describe how perfect and beautiful the moment was!

My advice to brides to be is: if you just focus on the fact that you’re about to walk down the aisle and marry your best friend – it will absolutely be the best day of your life!! We definitely had things that went wrong – from having to switch the location of the ceremony and reception because of weather to my vision of having the votive candles hanging over the tables not working out – and more. It even rained right up until the big moment. But focusing on the fact that I would soon be married to someone that I couldn’t imagine my life without (my ultimate partner in crime!) made all these details not even matter. If you just focus on the celebration and being surrounded by loved ones (and letting these loved ones handle any details that go amiss the day of!) I promise it will be the most perfect and beautiful day!