From the Bride...Devin and I met in October 2011 at the University of Florida, introduced by mutual friends at a tailgate for a football game. A few years later, we found ourselves in Santorini, Greece where Devin proposed. We were in our hotel room with flowers and champagne and I was in so much shock that I kept asking him if he was joking!

I hated the idea of having the wedding in a traditional ballroom but our options were limited with such a large head count. I've always loved The Raleigh, so it was one of the first venues we looked at. It's a landmark hotel in South beach - the epitome of "old Miami" (Karl Lagerfeld has even used the iconic pool as the runway for a Chanel fashion show!) We looked at a few more venues but we just couldn't imagine having the wedding anywhere else.

Our vision for the wedding was for it to be timeless and romantic. We chose a black, white and gold color scheme in a garden style. We chose to have a non-denominational ceremony although we incorporated a couple of Jewish traditions. We married under a wood chuppah lined with soft sheer white draping and flowers. Devin's late father's best friend is a well-known contemporary poet so we asked him to officiate the ceremony. It was a beautiful way to honor his father's memory.

The reception was held in the back of the hotel garden. The focal point of the reception was the icicle light installation overhead. Originally the reception was designed to be al fresco, and the lights were to hang freely in the shape of a tent, but Miami's unpredictable weather had other plans. We ended up with an actual clear tent behind the lights which actually reflected all the string lights and made it look even more beautiful than originally planned. We chose smaller garden-style centerpieces with mismatched vases, assorted white and gold candles and flowers in white and black accents, dusty miller and eucalyptus to tie into the bridesmaid dresses.

If I could offer one piece of wisdom to future brides and grooms is to make sure you are 100% comfortable with your rain back-up. We chose the driest possible date and it still ended up pouring the night of the wedding. In the end, I loved the look of the clear tent over the reception and the rain made it memorable and romantic. Also, do yourself a favor and choose comfortable shoes! Learned that the hard way.