June 3, 2012

Katie + Alan / Boca Grande Wedding (THIS is how you do coastal elegance! )


Interview with our AMAZING bride, Katie:
HOW DID YOU MEET? Timing is truly everything and in our case, it was the truth! We met 9 years ago at a gym that we both worked out at. I had known about him for some time through a friend who had a connection to his family. Little did we know that we would meet again seven years later at very different points in our lives. I tracked down Alan’s number and texted him out of the blue. We decided to meet for drinks and after a couple weeks of initiating a second date, we became inseparable from then on.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU THE MOST TO YOUR HUSBAND? As soon as you meet Alan, you instantly feel as though you have known him for years. He has the biggest heart and is the most genuine person I have ever met. His easy going, laid back personality is the perfect balance for my high energy! Not to mention, he is very good looking and has the most beautiful blue eyes!
HOW DID HE PROPOSE? We had just come back from a friend’s wedding in Longboat Key for the weekend and I couldn’t wait to do absolutely nothing. My sister, who had been with us that weekend, called and asked if Alan and I wanted to meet her and her husband and my nephew at one of our favorite restaurants, Houstons, to sit by the lake and enjoy the sunset after a very fun weekend. Normally I would never turn down cocktails by the lake but I was exhausted. He convinced me and we headed up early to grab a seat for the 5 of us. We talked about how much fun we had that weekend celebrating with our friends and as we always did, began talking about our own “one day” wedding. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee asking me to be his wife. Both our families were inside the restaurant watching the whole thing. They joined us down by the lake for drinks and appetizers and then we celebrated over dinner afterwards!
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING? A laid back beach town with a feel of coastal, preppy and southern charm. A fabulous band, great food and a stocked bar were a must!
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR VENUE: Boca Grande is a very special place to Alan and I. Alan grew up going to Little Gasparilla Island, which is a boat ride away from Boca Grande. It was also one of the first places we went together on vacation. We had always envisioned a laid back, coastal location for our wedding weekend – a place where our friends and family could relax and spend the entire weekend on “vacation”. The Gasparilla Inn was the perfect venue – classy, gorgeous and a little slice of old Florida.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST PLANNING CHALLENGE? I would have to say living in Orlando and having our wedding location three hours away, did make for some long days on the road – sometimes day trips and other weekend trips to knock as much out as we could while down on the island. Luckily for us, we got to enjoy many beautiful beach days and weekends on the island while in town, so I can’t say it was that challenging!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN ELEMENT OF YOUR WEDDING? The mix of coastal, preppy and southern charm was played out in every area of our weekend. From the starfish vases on the tables to the chevron table cloths and shrimp and grits for dinner!
DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY DETAILS? I had a “look” I wanted for the tables and searched everywhere for chevron style table linens. I had no luck with linen companies, so decided to order fabric off of Etsy and my sister made the 14 table linens for the reception. They were a perfect match to our fabulous invitations! A friend designed the programs and reception table and drink cards. She took our invitation and interpreted it in the most perfect way. Instead of flower boutonnieres for the guys, we purchased starfish and had pins put on them. It was the a fun touch to a coastal wedding! For our guest book, I got a coffee table book on Boca Grande and had all our guests sign that which we can display in our new home! I purchased all the glass vases for the tables which I found to be the same price as it would have been to rent them – now we can reuse them in our new home for backyard parties!
WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY? There were quite a few moments that stood out for me on our wedding day … Seeing each other before the ceremony was really special for the both of us. We got a chance to spend some time together taking pictures, laughing and taking in all the moments that led up to that day. When the church doors opened and my Dad and I walked down the aisle – it was a moment I had dreamt about my whole life and to see Alan at the end of the altar with tears in his eyes was indescribable. Walking into our reception as we were introduced for the first time truly took my breath away – seeing all our family and friends there celebrating with us in the most gorgeous setting I have ever seen in my life – the crystal green ocean and sand in the background, it felt like a dream.
DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE: I wanted to tie in the flower on the front of my dress to the cake and gave the Inn’s pastry chef an image of my dress and then a picture of a cake I liked that I had found. We both love all things sweet so we thoroughly enjoyed picking out the flavors! It was a white cake with raspberry filling and a lemon icing and pound cake with a thick vanilla icing.
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER? After falling in love with Jason and Sara’s work on the blog, we met up with them for coffee right after our engagement. As fabulous as their pictures were, so were the two of them. Their chemistry together as a husband and wife team was infectious and the passion they share for photography is incredible. Their creativeness is unbelievable. They are both so laid back and were an absolute blast to work with, extremely professional and made us laugh… a lot! ☺
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AS A COUPLE? We closed on our new house a month before our wedding, so we have a long to do list for that! We are off on our honeymoon late June to St. John and Virgin Gorda and are really looking forward to lots of relaxation, plenty of cocktails and the beautiful beaches!
CAN YOU PLEASE LIST YOUR VENDORS:
Church: St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Boca Grande, FL http://www.standrewsbocagrande.org/
Reception: The Gasparilla Inn Beach Club http://www.the-gasparilla-inn.com/
Florist: Native Gardens, Boca Grande, FL http://nativegardensflorist.com/
Cake: The Gasparilla Inn http://www.the-gasparilla-inn.com/
Invitations: Nico & Lala http://www.nicoandlala.com/
Hair/Makeup: Vanessa Schmitz, Stella Luca, Orlando, FL
Band: Wings of Sound, Orlando, FL http://www.wingsofsound.com/

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