The Sandpearl Resort Wedding – Melissa & Kevin

by

Melissa and Kevin are some of the bubbliest and most positive couples that every vendor dreams of working with. Their love story is special including them meeting at a young age and later became engaged at their favorite place, Disney! The couple originally planned on having an intimate wedding at a Disney resort the following year, but due to scheduling errors their dream location fell through. Although many would feel crushed, the two decided to make the most of this situation and have their wedding at the next best location, The Sandpearl!

Choosing the Resort was a relatively mindless decision. Even though it was close to their families and friends, the modern beach styled atmosphere made the attendees feel like they were on a tropical vacation. Melissa and Kevin dreamed of an outdoor ceremony so they could walk down the infamous stairs only to be greeted by loved ones in front of the hotel’s waterfall. Unfortunately, days before the wedding Florida experienced its first cold front of the year (we’re talking in the 40’s). Although this was unexpected, the couple didn’t change their minds and decided to bundle up and have their ceremony on the lawn anyways.

Since their dreams of a wedding at Disney didn’t happen, the couple decided to bring Walt to them. Event Design created single rose centerpieces inside hurricane vases to resemble Beauty and the Beast and even “hid” the classic Mickey Mouse ears inside Melissa’s bouquet. To add the final touches to the Ballroom, Event Design used navy linen, silver chiavari chairs, and drapery to create the traditional and timeless look that we all know and love from any Disney experience.

Decor and Florals: Event Design | Photography: Edwin Colon Photography | Venue: Sandpearl Resort | Coordination: Special Moments Event Planning

3 Ways to Incorporate Your Children Into Your Wedding

by

Venue: Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa | Photography: Alexis Kline Photography

Inviting children to a wedding has been a big debate throughout the past few years. We’ve heard from numerous couples expressing both positive and negative feelings towards this idea. While some believe that the more the merrier, others fear that they might cause a distraction during significant parts of the day. But what happens if the child happens to be your own? Whether it’s with your significant other or from a previous relationship, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to want to include them. Although the standard idea of incorporating them as flower girls or ring bearers might seem like the easiest route to go, here’s three of our favorite ways to include them that can be appropriate for any age!

Customized Mocktail

Even if you don’t plan on having a bar at your wedding, coming up with an original drink that your little one loves is a great way to remind your guests that they are a part of the day! This could be a fun concoction that you both create and test out in advance or one that’s already known but with a fun twist (shout out to the Shirley Temples with not one but TWO cherries). Bonus Points: Make sure you name the drink after your child so everyone at the wedding knows who inspired it!

DIY Crafts

As you get closer to your wedding day your mind might be running a mile a minute thinking about all of the finishing touches that you still have to do. How much easier would it be if you had another pair of hands to help you make the welcome baskets and hand-written place cards? Asking your little one to help out is a great way to get the tasks done more efficiently as well as create memories.

Family Cake Topper

Just because it’s going on your wedding cake doesn’t mean it only has to be the two of you! Having a cake topper that includes your entire family reassures your little ones that this day should be just as special for them!

Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Wedding – Rebecca & Jason

by

Rebecca’s best friend (who later became her Maid of Honor) met Jason during basic training for the army. She immediately realized the similarities between the two and formally introduced them after graduation. After many years of dating, Jason decided to pop the question in the most intimate setting he could imagine – on their patio while listening to their favorite song WITH his grandmother’s ring!

While planning their wedding the couple decided that the surrounding scenery was one of the most significant parts of their day. They decided to get married at the Hyatt Regency on Clearwater Beach so that they could have views of the water during their entire celebration. Praying for good weather (and thank goodness it was perfect!), the couple decided to hold their ceremony on the hotel’s outdoor terrace. To not take away from the beautiful view, Event Design provided a drapery archway as well as chair florals to make the space appear more wedding like.

After exchanging vows and taking pictures, the couple moved their celebration to the Hyatt Regency’s indoor ballroom to hold the reception. Rebecca and Jason wanted to create a very timeless and romantic atmosphere through the use of chiavari chairs, specialty linen, and meaningful centerpieces. Before their delicious meals were served, Rebecca decided to switch into a comfy white jumpsuit so she was able to bust out her favorite dance moves later on!

Rebecca and Jason’s most cherished memory of their wedding day was being able to celebrate it with their family and friends. The couple were originally planning on getting married in April of 2020 but due to COVID they had to go through two postponements.

Following their wedding, Rebecca says that her favorite reason as to why she hired Event Design was because of how easy we were to work with. She said that we were able to “read her mind” when it came to the decor and everything turned out exactly how she envisioned. If she could give one piece of advice to any couple planning their wedding she would recommend not sweating about the little things and enjoying yourself because it goes by quickly!

Floral, Chairs, & Decor: Event Design | Venue: Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa | Photography: Alexis Kline Photography

3 Things to Know Before Your Hair & Makeup Trial

by

Venue: Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa

Okay, you are only a few months away from your wedding day. You have a gorgeous venue, the perfect dress, and all of the other venders sorted out. You think you’re ahead of the game, but you’re starting to second guess yourself. Is there something, even the smallest thing, that you’re missing?

Well, have you scheduled a trial run for both your hair and makeup? But wait, why would you add an “unnecessary” expense to your wedding budget? It sounds silly, I know, but think of the peace of mind you’ll have if you’re able to see how everything looks ahead of time! So scheduling an appointment for a test run sounds easy enough, right? Well yes, but sometimes brides aren’t sure what is necessary to bring/do for their consultations. Here are our top three tips of things to know for both during and leading up to your trials!

Have Your Accessories Ready

Plan on wearing a veil during your ceremony? Maybe reusing a timeless head band that your mother wore during hers? Make sure you bring these items to all of your trials, that way the stylists know exactly how to incorporate them into your hair designs. This will even give you a full perspective of exactly how everything will look as opposed to just assuming.

Bring Inspirational Photographs

Although these stylists know how to work their magic, they are not mind readers. There are hundreds of different designs you can do with both your hair and makeup and having a clear idea of what you envision ahead of time will avoid stress on the both of you.

Have Clean Hair and With No Products

Some people might assume that if you’re spending money for someone to do your hair the least that they could do is wash it, right? True. BUT we like to encourage brides to wash their hair the night before so it has the opportunity to regain some of its natural oils which will work in your favor! Additionally, put as little products on your face as possible (ideally none at all) since makeup tends to stick better that way.

Remember, these are only trials so if they do something that you don’t love be sure to be vocal about it! One of the worst things you can do is settle on something just because it looks “fine”. These are pictures and memories that are going to last a lifetime so make sure that you’re completely comfortable with how everything looks so there are no regrets later on down the road!

Kapok Special Events Wedding – Dior & Bobby

by

Dior and Bobby approached Event Design in the summer with a dream of a Beauty and the Beast styled wedding for the following year. Since they were already planning on having their ceremony at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, they decided to hold their reception somewhere close to the Tarpon Springs area which led them straight to the Kapok Special Events Center. If you’re new to the Clearwater area, this venue has a pretty long history (being once considered a top restaurant in the Tampa Bay area as well as an Inn), but in present day is commonly known for having a Kapok Tree located directly in front of the building. Having floor to ceiling windows exposing a lush and well maintained garden, the couple decided that this would be a great place to hold an outdoorsy themed wedding which is commonly seen in the Beauty and the Beast movie.

With both a ceremony and a reception venue decided on, Dior and Bobby were ready to bring their theme to life. Similar to the famous film, the wedding colors were going to be navy blue, gold, red, and touches of greenery (ivy in particular). With family members, including the band itself, flying in from Greece, the couple’s original 350 guest count wedding grew to 422 in a matter of months. With that being said, the two felt the pressure of making an even bigger impression on their attendees and did not want to skimp on the details to make the wedding even more memorable. Including their already contracted decor elements of gold chiavari chairs, navy and red linen, chargers, and lush centerpieces, Dior and Bobby immediately decided to include a monogrammed GOBO of their initials to be projected onto the dance floor.

Of everything that Dior and Bobby wanted included in their wedding day, the two most significant things were the sweetheart table and the bridal bouquet. To achieve a classic Beauty and the Beast styled wedding, Event Design used candelabras on their table, as well as the iconic single rose inside a dome vase. For the bridal bouquet, we decided on an all rose arrangement and accented each stem with diamond pins to bring out the red hue even more.

The day of the wedding Event Design received a call from Bobby’s mother saying that as a surprise to the couple she wanted to extend the wedding an additional hour and a half. The wedding that was once supposed to end at 1:30 AM had now been extended to 3:00 AM (at the earliest) and from the pictures that we received from their photographer the wedding extension did not go unappreciated!

Ceremony Venue: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral | Reception Venue: Kapok Special Events Center | Photography: K&K Photography | Decor & Floral: Event Design | Cake: Hands on Sweets