Inteview with our stunning bride, Kristina:
HOW DID YOU MEET? We met in high school 10 years ago. We were introduced by both of our friends when we crossed paths in the hallway. I’ll never forget we sat down on a bench and just hit it off. From that day forward I always knew he was the one.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU THE MOST TO YOUR HUSBAND? Of course his looks at first. But his genuine personality. Ralph’s always been such a gentleman and so caring. I love that about him. He’s always there for his friends and family and has such a big heart.
HOW DID HE PROPOSE? We went to Key West for Ralph’s birthday. Neither of us had ever been so we were so excited to share something new together. We walked down Duval Street to the Southernmost Hotel where they have a little beach and dock type thing. We took some pictures then went down to the Southernmost point. Ralph thought that would be a good spot to propose but when he saw so many people there lined up waiting for pictures he suggested we go back to the dock spot and take some more pictures because we had our sunglasses on and we didn’t have any together. We got back to the spot and saw a man taking pictures of seagulls with a big fancy camera so I said we should ask him he looks like he knows how to take pictures. He took a few pictures and went to hand us our phone back. Ralph asked him to take just a few more and that’s when Ralph got down on one knee and proposed. I was sweating and freaking out that I don’t really know what he said I just said “yes, yes”. Our wonderful “camera man” captured the most beautiful pictures and thankfully snapped all the way through.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING? Purple is one of my favorite colors, and I loved the sleek grey look against purple. Perfect fall colors for October. I wanted everything to look sleek and sophisticated.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR VENUE: We knew we wanted a venue that could act as ceremony and reception so we wouldn’t have to travel. We searched high and low and the last place we went to was Embassy Suites. We fell in love the atrium and the bridge. We loved that it wasn’t traditional.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST PLANNING CHALLENGE? I didn’t really have any challenges. Everything kind of ran pretty smoothly. The hardest part was being on a completely different coast than the venue. It was difficult to get things done from 2 hours away.
DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY DETAILS? We had thank you cards at every place setting. We wanted everyone to know we were thankful to have them there and we also wanted to add a little section for the people we know would have been there but had passed. That was important to me to honor those people and remember them on such an important day.
WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY? Most memorable moment of course was exchanging vows. But also having the people we love most there to celebrate with us.
DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE: Our cake was a 3 tiered cake with the bottom being vanilla with a buttercream frosting. The top 2 tiers were chocolate amaretto with the same buttercream frosting. The bottom of each tier was piped with little round balls to sort of look like pearls.
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER? Amazing! I’m absolutely in love with Sara and Jason! Such incredible chemistry. They truly know how to capture you at your best and make you smile and laugh to get the perfect shot. Since the wedding I’ve had friends and family say nothing but the best. I can’t say enough about them.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AS A COUPLE? Relaxing! Now that all the hype and planning is done we just want to buy a house, travel, and then start a little family. In that order 😉
CAN YOU PLEASE LIST YOUR VENDORS:
Ceremony/Reception: Embassy Suites Fort Lauderdale
Cake: Edible Creations Cakes
Flowers: 84 West Studios/ De La Flor Gardens
DJ/Lighting: 84 West Studios
Hair/Makeup: Asteria Make-up Studio
Video: Kastro Media

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Some lovely words from a wonderful couple:

HOW DID YOU MEET?
We met at a Make-A-Wish benefit at the Hard Rock Casino. My sister talked me into going out with her on a work night and we met up with a few of her friends at the event.
Kevin was in the board of Make-A-Wish at the time and was friends with my sisters friends.
We all went out after the event and Kevin was able to get my number by the end of the night.
We went on three dates before Kevin moved to Chicago for a business opportunity. We dated long distance for 2 and a half years before he moved back to South Florida!

HOW DID HE PROPOSE?
Kevin had talked about wanting to go skydiving in the Florida Keys for his 30th birthday for about 6 months. But the week before our weekend trip to the keys he started backing out if it, saying he didn’t want to skydive anymore. I was so confused because I thought that was the whole reason why we were taking the weekend trip, so I told him he had to do it.
We drove down to the keys on Friday and Kevin, despite his nervousness, went skydiving! We then went to our cottage at The Moorings on islamorada. As soon as we got there we decided to walk around and check out the beach and place we would be staying for the weekend. They had a dock on the beach with a hammock, so Kevin suggested we go out and sit on it. As soon as we sat down Kevin got up and got down on one knee to propose!
The surprises didn’t end there. We went to dinner that night at a restaurant on the water and Kevin had arranged for both of our parents to be there to surprise me!

WHAT INSPIRED YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING?
I wanted our wedding to feel light, airy, and romantic and as soon as I found my dress I was able to envision the rest of the decor. My dress was light and whimsical and captured all of the feelings I wanted for that day. From there I decided to stick to neutral colors of grays and ivory, with small details of lace and damask to complete the romantic feel.

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR VENUE:
I have 3 sisters and 2 of them are already married. Both of my sisters had their reception at the Parkland Golf & Country Club, and although I looked at other venues, nothing compared to Parkland. After being in both of my sisters’ weddings, I knew I could trust this venue and I couldn’t find anywhere else as pretty.
We got married at my church that I have been going to since I moved to Florida when I was 12.

WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST PLANNING CHALLENGE?
My biggest challenge was time.
I gave Kevin the responsibility of handling the DJ and playlist because I knew he would make it a fun party. Buy I took on all the rest of the planning. I travel a lot for work and found it difficult and tiring to fit in all of the appointments, but I am pretty easy-going so everything ended up just falling right into place.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN ELEMENT OF YOUR WEDDING?
I fell in love with the gray damask table linens that I chose in the first few months of planning. My florist laughed because he said most people choose linens last and I was one of the only people he had seen choose them first. I based all of my decor around these linens and think the center pieces helped complete the romantic feel of the tables and reception.

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY DETAILS?
We decided to use pictures of ourselves on the table numbers, using pictures from when we were 1 for table 1, pictures when we were 2 for table 2, etc
Kevin’s sister was a huge help, getting all of the pictures developed in black and white and finding all of the silver frames to put them in. Then my sisters and I added ribbon and bows to each frame to complete them.

WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?
The day of our wedding was truly perfect and I loved everything about it.
I loved being able to spend the morning getting ready with my sisters and best friends and it was so special to have my sisters with me when I read the note Kevin had sent me before the wedding.
But, my most memorable moment was standing at the alter with Kevin and exchanging our wedding vows. We chose to use the traditional vows and to know that we were reciting the same vows and making the same commitment to each other that our parents had made over 30 years ago was so special.
The reception all becomes a blur of fun and excitement so it was great to be able to slow down and really take in everything at the ceremony.

DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE:
We had a four tier cake from We Take the Cake. I wanted something simple and romantic, so we had alternating tiers of buttercream roses and they added bands in gray to help tie it in with the decor.
We chose alternating tiers of golden butter cake and lemon cake, both with a raspberry filling. I knew that I wouldn’t spend a lot of time eating at the reception, but I made it a point to sit down and eat our cake!

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER?
Incredible!! Sara and Jason were our favorite vendors to work with throughout the entire process. From the moment they arrived they made us feel comfortable and at ease with everything. It is easy to feel rushed or stressed on the day of the wedding, but they were the calming force in every situation. I was most impressed with their ability to fit right in with our family and friends that you almost forget that they are taking pictures. We were so lucky to have found such an amazing couple to work with and I cannot wait to use them again in the future!

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AS A COUPLE?
Now that all of the wedding planning is over we can finally spend time looking for a house! We are excited to find our first home together and look forward to starting our family.

CAN YOU PLEASE LIST YOUR VENDORS:
Florist: Dalsimer Atlas Flowers
Linens: Over the Top
Entertainment: Mike Sypes Entertainment
Cake: We Take the Cake
Make-up: Janell Leigh
Ceremony: St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church
Reception: Parkland Golf & Country Club

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This was one of the coolest ideas for an engagement shoot we have seen in a while. We met up with Allena, Rob and a gorgeous 1968 white Mustang convertible in the town of Celebration. I grin just thinking about it…I think you will too when you see these photos 🙂

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