[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”] Spring and soft pastels – pink, blue, yellow, orange and green. The bride’s gown was a soft pink hue and the bridesmaids wore gowns full of color and texture. The floral was an array of pastels and accented with butterflies and white and gold pieces.[/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]Our bride wanted a romantic but cheerful wedding with lots of personalized Bridgerton vibes. She worked closely with her planner Christy at Anna Christine Events and florist at Gather and Grace Designs to come up with little moments and vignettes that captured those kinds of details.[/field]
[field title=”Proposal Story”]Before dating, Dennis and I were unknowingly living within 2 miles of one another without ever having crossed paths. We, instead, initially met and began dating via bumble! I was working locally in Orlando as a CVICU nurse and Dennis was completing his final year of medical residency. Upon graduating, Dennis took his first job as a physician in Mississippi. Thus began our long-distance relationship status which continued on for another year-and-a-half before we ended up tying the knot!
I am a Florida transplant. As such, the bulk of my closest friends and family reside out-of-state. Dennis would often make the drive down to see me, and I would fly up to see him. Like Dennis, my best girlfriends traveled to enjoy both me and the beautiful Florida weather. The girls and I had spent the better of three months planning a girl’s trip to Florida with overlapping time off and a beach-centered itinerary. I was beyond excited to have two of my besties simultaneously visiting from Texas.
I frequently shared the excitement about the girl’s only trip with Dennis, which is why it came as a shock that he decided to join in on the trip at the last minute and without an invitation. I kindly reiterated that it was a “girl’s trip,” but he insisted that he wouldn’t be in our way. He also highlighted that it would afford him the opportunity to meet one of my best friends he had yet to meet, which he knew was highly important to me. So, I had to break it to the girls that Dennis would be crashing our trip.
Once the ladies Krystal and Rebecca had arrived, we prepped and shopped for an epic beach vacation. Dennis arrived shortly thereafter allowing the ladies and Dennis to get to know one another better. Rebecca, who has a discerning eye for people of poor character, approved of Dennis straight away.
After a day spent learning about one another, we planned for a beach excursion the following day. Dennis insisted we go alone to enjoy our “girl time” and that he would be perfectly content catching up with his local friends during the day while we were away.
The following day Krystal, myself and Rebecca headed to Siesta Key where we enjoyed sand, sea, and mini doughnuts — so many mini doughnuts. We spent the entire day there and packed up late in the afternoon to return home.
I was driving while the girls and I chatted. It was Rebecca’s birthday so I had Krystal secretly message Dennis to ask that he procure a surprise birthday cake while we made the trek home. Following this, Kryss seemed highly engrossed in a stream of texting. I asked her if everything was okay, and she replied that she and her husband were sending each other spicy messages and that this was something they did when traveling away from one another. My inquisition into her texting promptly ended at that response.
Once we arrived home, I saw that my home’s pool area was illuminated with all of the market lights, so I assumed Dennis was enjoying some high quality R&R out back. I parked the car and began unloading all of the sandy beach equipment and garbage we had arrived back with. Kryss insisted we go inside to ask Dennis to come out and help us unload. I scoffed with some level of offense and replied that I live alone, am physically fit, and can unload everything myself.
As I threw the trash into the outside garbage bin I saw the bin was filled with flower stems, but stems alone without blooms. I thought to myself “Man, Dennis really went all out for Rebecca’s birthday! I can’t wait to see the cake!”
The girls kept at their attempts to usher me towards the inside of the house. I finally complied and as I opened the door to the interior I was met with a trail of rose petals that directed me towards the back pool area. I followed the path of roses, and as I did the octave of my voice climbed as I asked the girls what was happening. I hadn’t realized they were videotaping. Dennis had alerted them to his scheme, but only as recently as the drive home from the beach.
I rounded the corner and approached the pool area glass sliders where I fell to my knees and sobbed as I saw a sharply dressed Dennis standing atop a heart-shaped bed of rose petals, surrounded by tea candles, and backed by a lit chiminea. He had plucked all of the rose petals himself, and those rose stems in the trash weren’t for Rebecca. They were for me! As I approached him, he dropped to one knee and offered me what will be one of my greatest blessings by asking for my hand in marriage.
“Telina, you are the woman of my dreams, the love of my life, and the answer to my prayer. Will you give me the honor of being my wife?”
It became clear. He wasn’t crashing the girl’s trip. No, instead he had driven 10 hours one-way, spent the day plucking petals off of roses, staged the backyard, stood in 80-degree weather wearing a dress suit while surrounded by fire (as I took my sweet time unloading a car), and then mustered the courage to propose to me in front of my closest friends. He did it all because he wanted me to experience the proposal while loved ones were with me to celebrate. And yes, he also managed to get Rebecca a delicious cake. [/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]
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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]The bride’s Ines Di Santo from The Bridal Finery looked like a work of art. It was both elegant and playful, just like the bride.[/field]
[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]The bridesmaids wore mix-and-match styles in soft pastels! The bride loves pattern and texture, so this was incorporated in to the bridesmaid’s style![/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]A clean and classic fitted black tux was the perfect accent to the whimsical bridesmaid gowns.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]
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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]
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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]
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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]The bride and groom wanted both their drinking and non-drinking friends to feel welcome, so they had both signature drinks and a mocktail bar. For mocktails, they served a Watermelon Rose Water Iced Tea and Sparkling Mango Pineapple Punch. For their signature drinks, they served The Butterfly Effect, which was made with
Butterfly Tea, Vodka, Elderflower Liqueur, Agave, Lemon, and Sprite, and The Smoking Jacket, which was an Arthur’s Old Fashioned served in a Cedar Smoked Glass.[/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]The floral really helped bring the Bridgerton vision to life. Gather and Grace Designs made completely styled looks for all areas, and made sure the vision was cohesive throughout. The bride also provided lots of tiny touches, including paper butterflies to go in various locations and statue busts to add to the centerpieces.[/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Everything Cake created a clean and elegant three-tier cake with artful floral placement that complemented the wedding’s theme.[/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]Keeping with the Bridgerton theme, the bride had Violinist Tanner Johnson playing instrumental contemporary music from the time guests arrived, all through ceremony, and during cocktail hour.[/field]
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[field title=”Special Detail #3″][/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]
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Photography: Kristen Weaver Photography | Cinematography: The Garrs | Floral Design: Gather and Grace Designs | Wedding Dress: The Bridal Finery | Wedding Dress: Ines Di Santo | Cake: Everything Cake | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids' Dresses: V Chapman Studio | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Milla | Catering: Arthur's | DJ: I rock your Party | Groom's Attire: Indochino | Wedding Venue: Bella Cosa Lakeside | Accessories: Oscar De La Renta | Beauty: Bronze Glow Beauty | Musician: Tanner Johnson | Photobooth: Party Shots Orlando | Planning: Anna Christine Events | Rentals: A Chair Affair | Rentals: Caeser Event Rentals | Signage: Bowtie and Brush