A Classic Wedding With a Tropical Twist at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota

Lauren Megerdichian
August 30, 2022
Categories: Destination, Real Weddings, The Blog

As a Florida native, the bride’s “Old Florida” wedding theme was the perfect fit for their Fall fête at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota – planned by Choreographed Events! From the woven light installation at their tented reception, to the larger-than-life tropical arrangements by Tailored Twig – this sun soaked wedding day is chockfull of bright ideas for a coastal wedding done right, be sure to check out the full gallery captured by Hunter Ryan Photo for all the pretty.

From the bride… Andrew and I met and still live in Washington, DC which has no shortage of beautiful wedding venues, but when it came to planning our own, Florida was one of the easiest decisions we made together.

I’m a Central Florida native but have been visiting the west coast for over 10 years, spending as much time as I could at my family’s home on Longboat Key.

Since the start of the pandemic, my fiance and I were able to take advantage of our flexible/remote work environments and spent months at a time on Longboat Key. It was such a special time for us in the early stages of our engagement to spend quality time with family. Late afternoon sunset cruises on the boat weren’t too bad either – it was those evenings spent on the boat with the family dog, bobbing in the bay just through Longboat Pass, that gave us the inspiration for our custom watercolor invitations.

As soon as Andrew and I landed on an Old Florida themed reception, it took him all of about 5 minutes to decide he wanted to surprise our guests with a vintage get away car. I’m pretty sure he was almost as excited to ride in that car as he was to marry me

Of course as a native Floridian, I was so excited for the chance to show our family and friends what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places in the country. I knew Sarasota would appeal to guests looking for a relaxing beach vacation and to anyone looking for a fun night on the town.

I think like many girls, I’ve always fawned over my mom’s wedding dress: a long-sleeved, high neckline with the most incredible 80s-inspired shoulder pads. While it didn’t fit our wedding theme to wear her dress, I wanted to take inspiration from it while I worked with Melissa, my design consultant at Boca Bridal. It just so happened that the summer I was looking for a dress, Mira Zwillinger introduced their removable topper line of designs which meant I could create an ode to my mom’s cathedral-style ball gown for our church ceremony but have a cool, sleeveless look for our outdoor reception. And the applique we landed on was a perfect fit for our Old Florida themed reception.

While I’m originally from Florida, I spent a large part of my life in Dallas, TX with many of our guests flying in from that region as well. One of my favorite parts of Texas is their appreciation for good tequila! I’m pretty well known among my friends for my signature drink order (a Casamigos Ranch Water) and I thought serving that on a warm October night as our signature drink would hit the spot.

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