A Nature Inspired Miami Beach Wedding That Wows
The first words the couple used to describe their dream wedding were memorable and vibrant. They chose a beautiful garden in the heart of Miami Beach to host their wedding and leaned into the vibrancy of nature to inspire the design. Vibrancy through music, food, florals, and decor all ensured the night was truly memorable.
Of their proposal, the groom writes: "I will never forget my marriage proposal to Becky: the moment itself (a rooftop sunset together in Florence, Italy) could not have gone more perfectly, while my physical state (wracked by a seafood-induced stomach virus) could not have been worse. To set my plan in motion, I told Becky I got us a reservation at a private rooftop bar "that lets you bring in your own wine," and kept the ruse up even as I unlocked the door to what was clearly an AirBnB (with a key that I secretly had picked up hours earlier while "grabbing a gatorade from the corner store"). On the roof deck--in the midst of a breathtaking sunset--I got on one knee, proposed, and we toasted to our life together. And I know everything was meant to be, because--by some miracle--that wine was the only liquid I could keep down all day!"
The bride's gown was found in the beautiful bridal shop Chic Parisien. From the very start, the bride knew she wanted to dawn a dress that was colorful and unique. She selected a beautiful floral gown by Monique Lhuillier.
For food and beverage, we took a narrative approach to the menu. The couple was looking for a lively event atmosphere rather than a formal, plated dinner so we designed action stations based on cities that were important to their love story. We featured a Southern food station to nod to Becky's home city of Tallahassee; a Masa de Puerco & Plantains station for Chris' home city of Miami; a Pizza & Chinese take-out station to pay homage to NYC where the couple met; and an Italian Pasta station to tie in Florence, where the couple was engaged.
When the couple came to me with their wedding design vision, they had several different ideas that they wanted to marry together, but weren't quite sure how they would meld. Melding these visions was truly one of my favorite weddings to design. The couple wanted to blend a tropical vision with a Southern elegance and a vintage touch. For their ceremony Lucelo Flor designed a beautiful, chromatic grounded arrangement so that the couple truly felt they were standing in a garden. We incorporated three different styles of chairs in ceremony and reception. In ceremony, we blended the chairs together as inspired by the couple's favorite Miami date night spot, Lagniappe. In reception, each of these chairs stood with their own table design for each of the aesthetics we melded together in their vibrant reception. To tie it all together we had a ceiling of sprawling vines and rattan pendants suspended over their classic black and white checkered dance floor.
The couple was very intentional about sustainability at their event. The bride works in the global sustainability field for corporations and wanted to be sure that their wedding followed suit with a sustainable edge. We sourced recycled take out boxes for the Chinese take-out action station and minimized all plastic & paper products that could've ended up discarded!
