Our Tips for the Best Wedding Day Accessories

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Photography: Matlock & Kelly

Every bride deserves to feel like a queen on her wedding day. Once you’ve found the perfect dress, you can add accessories to finalize your entire look. When shopping for your complimentary pieces, consider the following.

Shoes

When deciding on shoes make sure to pick something that you are comfortable in. If you’ve never walked in heels before, we wouldn’t recommend trying them out for the first time as you walk down the aisle. Instead, choose a pair that you can see yourself in throughout the entire night!

Embrace Your Every Day Style

You should feel like a princess on your wedding day but that doesn’t mean you have to dress like one (unless that’s your thing). Choose a dress that compliments your style and wear something you couldn’t envision yourself in.

Don’t Overdo It

Similarly, don’t get too adventurous when it comes to jewelry. Instead, choose something that compliments your dress rather than overpowering it. If you’re wearing a gown covered in rhinestones then it might be best to keep your accessories simple. If you’re wearing something with less bling, feel free to incorporate more statement pieces into your attire.

Consider Your Venue

If your wedding venue is outdoors and you are getting married in the winter you should probably consider incorporating a shawl into your outfit. If your ceremony is on a sandy beach, 9 inch stilettos may not be the best thing to wear either.

Earrings

Consider your hairstyle before selecting your earrings. If you plan on wearing it down, then incorporating studs would be a great way to finish off your attire. If you are thinking about having an updo then you can compliment the look with longer, dangly pieces.

What’s the biggest take away from this? Wearing something that you are comfortable in and can last throughout the entire night. Remember that trends come and go and just because all the other brides are wearing something doesn’t mean that you have to as well!

3 Reasons to Hire a Videographer

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Venue: The Vinoy | Photography: Salvador Robles Photography

When planning your wedding you and your fiancé are going to have an ideal budget that you want to stay within. You two are going to discuss the absolute necessities numerous times along the way. While we agree that there are some things that can be easily cut, here’s a list of the three reasons why we don’t think a videographer should be one of them!

Capture Words and Moments That Photographs Can’t

Images are great for just that, capturing still life moments. There’s so many sentimental occasions in weddings that photographs aren’t able to accentuate such as recitting your vows, hearing the toasts from your parents, and your first dance as husband and wife. Meaningful times like these captured with audio give you the opportunity to look back and feel the raw emotions that you felt on that vary day.

Opportunity to See Missed Moments

During your wedding day you are likely to run into circumstances where two things happen at once. There will be precious moments that you and your significant other will miss , but that’s the benefit to hiring a videographer. It gives you the opportunity to soak in every single thing that you are physically present for, but allows you to look back at the ones that you weren’t!

Ability to Share Your Wedding With Loved Ones

Unfortunately there is going to be a loved one who isn’t able to attend your wedding. Whether it being a relative who lives out of the country or a grandparent in the hospital – having a video copy of all of the significant moments of your wedding day is a great way to look back on it with the people who weren’t able to be there.

The Vinoy (St. Pete) Wedding – Breanne & Quinn

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Breanne and Quinn met each other when Breanne was only 4 years old and Quinn’s mom was her pre-kindergarten teacher. Although the two grew up together, they waited until they became adults before officially starting to date. They knew immediately that their connection was strong which led to Quinn asking Breanne for her hand in marriage exactly one year after starting their relationship. Pro Move: Quinn proposed at the same location that he asked Breanne to be his girlfriend!

The couple decided to have a traditional wedding and held their ceremony at St. Mary’s Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. Since the church already had stunning features, Event Design added a few small flower arrangements to some of the aisle pews (which were later donated!) 

Looking back, Breanne thinks that the ceremony was the best part of her wedding day. She remembers walking down the aisle with her dad by her side and seeing Quinn standing at the alter with a big smile on his face and thinking “this is perfection”. 

When selecting reception venues, Breanne had her heart set at The Vinoy. After seeing her sister get married at this location a few years prior (which we also helped design, btw!) Breanne fell in love with the atmosphere of the hotel. Even though her family was local to the St. Pete area, The Vinoy made her feel like she was having a destination wedding.

The couple envisioned a romantic and classic style wedding. They wanted to avoid using anything trendy so they were able to look back on it and still love the timeless decor. In order to achieve that look, Event Design used white flowers with simple touches of greenery and gold accents through vaseware, table numbers, and chiavari chairs. We also placed a greenery hedge wall behind the sweetheart table with white flower accents across the top and an LED sign of the couple’s last name secured to the middle.

If Breanne could offer one piece of advice to any couple planning their wedding it’s to not procrastinate. It’s never too early to start planning and your wedding day will sneak up on you before you know it! She said that hiring Event Design made her process even easier due to constant communication. Breanne said that she was extremely picky with her flower design and the Event Design team was able to create exactly what she envisioned and carried it through to her wedding day!

Ceremony Venue: St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church | Reception Venue: The Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club | Chairs, Flowers, and Decor: Event Design | Photography: Matlock and Kelly Photography | Videography: Kemari Lyn Films | Dresses: BHLDN | Hair & Makeup: Femme Akoi Beauty Studio | Suits: Men’s Wearhouse | Invitations: Jerry and Julep | Band: Taylor Fletcher Music | Cake: Cakes Plus Tampa

3 Advantages to Hiring a Decor Company for Your Wedding Day

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Venue: Armani’s (Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay)

When it comes down to planning your wedding day the ambiance of the ceremony and reception spaces plays a major roll. Simple touches like Chiavari chairs and floral centerpieces can enhance the room and cater it towards your specific style. Instead of adding one more thing to your plate, we recommend reaching out to companies who specialize in designing weddings. Still not sure if outsourcing this role is necessary? Check out these three advantages to hiring a decor company that will definitely make you change your mind!

Venue: The Vinoy | Photography: Salvador Robles Photography

Create Symmetrical Atmosphere

The limit does not exist when it comes to designing the style and atmosphere of a wedding (if we were tech savvy we’d insert the Mean Girls gif here). Even though you might have a specific style in mind, coming up with ways to achieve it can be a complete headache. Luckily, if you hire a reputable professional in the wedding decor industry, it is literally their job to advise you as to what works and what doesn’t. Whether you’re planning a modern reception or a rustic ceremony, they are there to tell you what elements to use to enhance the ambiance!

Venue: Tampa Yacht & Country Club

You Will Save Your Time and Money

Wedding planning takes up enough of your time as is, so why not put a trusted professional in charge of figuring out all of the decor elements? We often hear couples talk about DIYing some of their own pieces which sounds great in theory but ends up taking A LOT more time than expected. Additionally, buying individual items from different companies can end up costing more than what was originally proposed by renting them through a decor company. On top of all of that, what are you going to do with all of the purchased items once your wedding is over? Unless you plan on getting into the wedding industry, there isn’t really a reason to keep 200 partially used candle votives and glass cylinders.

Venue: CL Space | Photography: Lindsey Vander Wal Photography

Set Up and Tear Down

The last thing that you’re going to want to do on your wedding day is figure out who will be available to set up and tear down rented items. Although it’s nice if your loved ones offer, it can be hard to expect them to when they’re going to want to spend their time getting ready and celebrating with you as well. Luckily, a professional wedding designer can focus on these tasks instead so your friends and family members are able to be apart of the entire wedding day process.

Now that we’ve convinced you that you need to hire a decor company, feel free to reach out to us on our contact page so we can sit down and discuss creating the design of your wedding!

Let’s Talk Invitations: What you need, what you don’t and who the heck gets one?

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Venue: Tampa Yacht & Country Club

Receiving a wedding invitation gives guests an opportunity to get a sneak peak of the decor of your special day. These paper invites can foreshadow the entire ambiance of your ceremony and reception and what they can expect in the months to come. On the surface, you may think that all of your elementary school birthday parties prepared you to send out the perfect invite, but there are some things that we recommend thinking about as you start the process of designing your stationary!

Colors

Make sure the colors on your invitation are the same ones that will be seen on your wedding day. Though choosing light/pastel hues might seem great if you’re sending your invites out in the spring, it can be confusing if you intend to use dark shades in your fall wedding.

Online RSVPs

This day and age, many couples are deciding to forgo mailing back RSVPs and instead switching to online versions to ensure that nothing gets lost in the mail. If you plan to invite an older generation to your wedding, providing a phone number to call instead will help as well!

Directions

If your ceremony and reception are at two different locations, including directions from one place to the other is an unexpected addition that can show guests you went the extra step!

Include Meal Options

As funny as it may sound, some couples forget to add the meal preferences in their invite. By including the options at the very beginning you won’t have to go back on a later date and ask each attendee their decision.

Avoid Mentioning the Registry

There are more appropriate times to discuss gifts and more than likely guests will ask you directly for ideas. With that being said, including a link to your wedding website is completely fine and from there you are able to add a wedding registry tab.

Specify Who is Invited

Make sure to include the name of each person invited on the envelope. If you don’t have enough space on the envelope, you can use verbiage such as “X number of seats have been reserved for you” to ensure clarity and avoid assumptions.

5 Tips for an Epic Engagement Shoot

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Photography: Limelight Photography | Location: Craig Park

Engagement photographs are the perfect way to get comfortable in front of the camera as well as allow your photographer to learn more about you and your significant other’s personalities before the wedding day. The days leading up to these photographs may seem a little stressful, but our friends at Limelight Photography have given us some tips and tricks to get the best engagement shots

Personalize It!

Pick a location or setting that involves something that you and your significant other like to do together. Some examples of this could be going to the beach, cooking in your house, or even walks in the park! If you pick an atmosphere that is meaningful to you and your fiancé you’re more likely to be comfortable in front of the camera so your photographer can capture genuine happiness!

Use Props

Having items that are important to the ambiance that you are trying to recreate is vital! Imagine having a picnic blanket laid out on the beach to make the setting appear more like a date or bikes to ride on for shots in the park. Even smaller elements like champagne and glasses to use for a toast can take your pictures up to a whole new level.

Hire a Hair & Makeup Artist

Having someone else in charge of doing your hair and makeup will give you one less thing to stress out about. Doing this is also a great time for you to test out your wedding day hair and makeup stylist to see what you do and don’t like – that way there aren’t any surprises later on down the line!

Hire a Professional to Assist Pets

What’s better for an engagement shoot than to include your animals! Taking photographs with the entire family is an awesome way to have all of your loved ones in a single image. Keep in mind that pets most likely won’t be in every single image taken so make sure you hire a professional (or have someone in charge) of holding and entertaining your pet when they aren’t in photographs.

Avoid The Sun

It is recommended to avoid the sun at least one week prior to your engagement shots. You are spending good money for these images and the last thing you would want seen is a bad sunburn or unwanted tan lines!

Of course, the number one tip is to relax and have fun! You should never feel forced to do anything and if there’s something that you aren’t comfortable with let your photographer know!

Don’t Make These Mistakes When Wedding Dress Shopping

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Photography: Benjamin Hewitt Photography

You just got engaged! Now what? Many brides immediate answer is to go dress shopping, of course! While having the perfect dress is obviously a BIG deal, there are many things that newly engaged couples don’t consider when picking out the gown for their big day!

Not Having a Set Wedding Date or Location

Having a wedding date and location is a necessity before you can even consider finding a dress! Even though you may have a style in mind, there are so many elements that can change the actual design. For example, if you were to get married in the summer in Florida (preferably in the Tampa Bay area ?) you may be too hot to be wearing a long sleeved dress. If you were to decide on a beach wedding, you would likely find sand underneath your fabric if you were to choose a train. Once a date and venue is set you will have a better idea of what is the most practical during the time of year and location of your wedding.

Getting Overwhelmed by the Different Styles

Did you know there are over a hundred different styles of wedding dresses? With trends constantly changing new designs come into the market every single day. Just like deciding on your hair and makeup, it is strongly encouraged to browse different designs online to see which ones appeal to you the most. This will prevent you feeling bombarded when you do go to a salon and give you a more set idea of what you’re envisioning!

Not Bringing the Proper Undergarments to Any Fitting

Getting closer to deciding on the perfect dress? Make sure to bring the undergarments that you plan on wearing to your wedding that way you know what works and what doesn’t. This will prevent you from scrambling day of trying to figure out how to hide a bra strap or panty lines.

Not Having a Set Budget in Mind for Your Dress

One of the most devastating stories that we hear from time to time is that someone found their dream dress just to see that it is completely out of their budget. To avoid the heartbreak, many salons recommend having a set budget prior to going in store to shop. This also allows the bride to be focused on exactly what is within her means as opposed to getting attached to styles that she isn’t able to afford.

Lastly, remember to have fun! Wedding dress shopping is something that can be done with friends and family members to make the experience even more enjoyable. So sit down, pop a bottle of champagne, and remember that this is leading up to one of the most memorable days!

3 Things to Pack for Your Photographer on Your Wedding Day

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Venue: Isla Del Sol Yacht & Country Club | Photography: Limelight Photography

Detail Shots!

These are some of the most under appreciated photos from wedding attendees but the ones that are the most valued by the Bride and Groom. Images from the big day (before it ever happens) are perfect to use as keepsakes for later down the road when things might be lost during moves, kids, and life in general!

With so much on your mind leading up to your big day you might be stumped on what to give to your photographer to get the most epic shots. Fear not! Here are three things that we believe to be some of the most significant items to bring day of

  1. Wedding Invitations (because these will definitely be lost years later so why not have a digital copy!?)
  2. Loose Flowers – these are great to use as an accent around larger items as well as incorporate your wedding colors into the shot. BONUS! Did you know we provide them complimentary if you get florals from us? All you have to do is ask ahead of time
  3. Sentimental Items and Momentos – These items can be some of the most meaningful pieces to you such as your dad’s borrowed wrist watch or your grandmother’s veil

PRO TIP: Items used in detail shots should be relatively small and able to fit inside of a box. This means you are able to start collecting them now and hand them over to your photographer day of so it’s one less thing that you have to think about!