I get to design weddings at some super cool venues along the Gulf Coast.  Brittany and Fred’s wedding was the first wedding to be hosted at the illustrious Casa Destino private home on the beach in Destin.  It is not only HUGE (over 16,000 square feet) but the view from every room on all 4 floors is breathtaking.  The house did double duty as accommodations for the families during their stay as well as the venue for the big event.

Brittany had her heart set on a beach ceremony but also wanted her guests to enjoy an amazing dinner on the sand, under the moonlight.  Dancing and celebrating could go on long into the wee hours of the morning inside the expansive house (which also doubled as our Plan B in case of rain).  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and everyone enjoyed dinner under the stars while the waves softly crashed behind them.  Another wedding in Paradise!

OK, now I’ll hush so you can look at all the pretty details!

Can’t get enough of Brittany & Fred’s wedding?  Head on over to our Facebook Fan page and see the rest of the album.  While you’re there, become a Fan and you’ll be automatically entered in our “Every 100 Fans $100 Giveaway“.

Thanks to Candice K for taking these gorgeous photos.  She’s pretty amazing (clearly) and really, really fun to work with.

Tiffany is ridiculous: RIDICULOUSLY sweet and unassuming, RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous, RIDICULOUSLY kind (she’s an ER pediatric nurse).  People adore this girl.

Alan is painful:  PAINFULLY gracious, PAINFULLY hard working (he’s a successful entrepreneur), PAINFULLY in love.  Everyone loves him.

Seriously, a Match Made in Heaven.

I had so much fun planning this wedding with Tiffany.  She was open to all my ideas and knew just what she wanted.    Tiffany and Alan decided to have their ceremony overlooking the Bay side of Sandestin with lots of traditional roses in shades of pink and touches of tropical green cymbidium orchids.  It was the perfect complement to their Kentucky roots and their Florida beach nuptials.

After the ceremony, we arranged for a shuttle to take the wedding party over to the beach where Candice K captured some of my all time favorite shots while the guests enjoyed an amazing outdoor cocktail hour.  The salmon colored bridesmaid dresses from JCrew looked spectacular on the beach right before sunset!

Some sweet personal touches included the Bride’s brother officiating the wedding and her sorority sisters gathering around the Bride and Groom during the reception, hand in hand, serenading the happy couple.

I’ll let Candice’s gorgeous photography tell the rest of the story, but since everyone loves to hear the behind the scenes stories, here are a few reasons we were glad Tiffany had a Wedding Planner!:

~ The Bride and Bridesmaids were enjoying a lovely pre-ceremony photoshoot outside of the Bride’s vacation rental, when we discovered the Groom and Groomsmen were going to be driving right by on their way to the ceremony.  A quick phone call to the Best Man’s cell kept us up to date on their location so I could quickly grab the bride and hide her behind a bush as the guys drove by, completely oblivious!

~ The wind picked up before the ceremony, causing concern for the rose petal aisle that was planned.  Not to be deterred, our rockstar floral team whipped out a can of spray adhesive and those petals didn’t move one bit!

~ The assistant to the pastry chef inadvertently placed the cake on his standard cake plate and delivered it during the ceremony.  During cocktail hour, before the guests had come into the reception, I realized the oversight.  I don’t even want to know how, but he was able, in less than 2 minutes, transfer the cake, completely unscathed, to the cake plate the Bride’s mother had dropped off to the kitchen earlier in the week before anyone was the wiser.

~The adorable flower girl, although prepped and rehearsed, caught a case of stage fright at the very last second.  Without hesitation, we calmly instructed the rest of the Bridal Party to casually walk right past her and continue the processional without any incident or commotion.   Amazingly, Miss Flower Girl stood perfectly still and let everyone pass her, and then calmly walked to her mother and sat down.

LESSON:  Nothing is perfect and things WILL happen, but your Wedding Planner will save the day!

A few weeks ago Kimmy & Brandon got married.  Do you know them?  Well, trust me, you wish you did!  What a fun couple!  First of all, they both are incredibly gorgeous.  Any future children have clearly hit the genetic jackpot!  Also, they have impeccable taste in music.  Not to mention that they win the Most Laid Back & Relaxed Couple of the Year Award!  The guest list for their wedding consisted mostly of international family and friends, which made for a really interesting and fun reception.  Being an amazingly gifted dancer, Kimmy and her super-cool bridesmaids set the dance floor on fire all night long! 

We are also so glad that Brenda over at Best Wedding Sites and Brenda’s Wedding Blog loved Kimmy & Brandon’s wedding photos enough to feature them on her site as well!  Leslie Roark rocked the photos and Kim over at Dine By Design created a display of almost-too-pretty-to-eat food for this gorgeous beach house wedding right here in Destin, FL.  The cake is a spot-on replica of something Kimmy presented to Renee at Fatty Patty’s cakes.  Gorgeous, right?

Don’t you really just want to come down to the “World’s Most Beautiful Beaches” and let us help you plan your wedding, too?  :) 

I am so excited to share some gorgeous photos with you from last weekend’s wedding.  Stephanie and Jason came down from Tennessee with their precious families for a very sweet and intimate celebration.  Kate Crafton, photographer extrodannaire and her second shooter (and rockstar in her own right) Anna Bonick of Hullabaloo Design were off the charts amazing.  Ladies, are you listening?  Kate and Anna will travel down to our breathtaking beaches (or anywhere else, I am sure) and shoot your wedding, and then you can have drop-dead-gorgeous photos like this of your very own!

Stephanie wanted a vintage feel with some modern touches to go along with the beach house where the reception was being held.  The house is a 100 year old Victorian home that has been moved from another town to sit and overlook the sugar white sands of Inlet Beach.  The owners have lovingly refurbished the home and added some beautiful modern touches to its otherwise vintage appearance.

With a small ceremony like Stephanie and Jason’s, I like to do something that feels cozy, like place the chairs in a circle.  The guests sat family style at long mahogany tables, decorated with a variety of white flowers and groupings of turquoise vases and containers, along with lots of candlelight, accented by vintage silver pieces.  The Bride contributed a beautiful collection of vintage crocheted doilies that served as the perfect runner for the tables.

While the steel drums played, guests dined under cafe lighting with lots of love, laughter and memories.  Stay tuned for more details.  Until then, enjoy this little slideshow Kate put together! 

The inspiration board I designed for an upcoming wedding in Destin, FL:

The (lovely) bride is so excited, she actually ASKED me to post it on

my blog!  Happy girl!

I had the rare occasion to enjoy a late Saturday afternoon at the beach today with my family.  We were sitting in an area close to public parking and restrooms (easier with the little ones!), and as a result, it was not the most secluded area on the beach. 

At around 6pm, with the sunset still over an hour away, I spied the setting up of a beach wedding not far from where we were sitting.  As I watched the situation unfold, it was all I could do not to jump up and offer some guidance while still in my swimsuit!!!  Of course I stayed put, but at some point it occurred to me that I needed to write a blog post on the subject of beach weddings in order to offer some insight and assistance to others IMMEDIATELY!

This wedding was extremely small…probably 25 people max.  The “setup” consisted of a few tiki torches wrapped in silk flowers to mark the beginning and end of the “aisle”.  Guests stood wherever they wanted and the officiant had his briefcase at his feet.  Someone was holding a small boom-box stereo.   The ceremony lasted no more than about 5 minutes.  Guests took photos for about 30 minutes, all the while surrounded by a bevy of tourists throwing footballs and frisbees, a couple of men who nearly walked through the blessed event toting their fishing poles and bait buckets, and wet, screaming children chasing each other and flinging sand. 

I can assume that the couple wanted a small, inexpensive wedding on the beach.  I can also deduce that they were most likely no-frills kind of people.  I can totally dig that.  In fact, I sincerely LOVE those kinds of couples the best; they are laid-back and stress free.  But something wasn’t sitting right with me about the whole thing.  While the ceremony was extremely brief, it was obvious that the couple wanted to be sure that the moment was captured and documented as much as possible.  It was clear that they had their closest loved ones nearby to witness this special event. 

Yes, maybe this was EXACTLY what they dreamed of (bait buckets and all).  Or maybe it was the only way they could figure out how to do it.  Maybe they didn’t think there was any other option.  I am not at all making a judgement call on this couple.  But the whole thing did get me thinking about what I would recommend as an alternative in this situation.

1. Find a less populated area of the beach and stake your claim as early as possible, so as not to risk Melba from Alabama in her bikini in the background of your photos.  I have found that most people are extremely respectful of beach weddings, but coming in and trying to set up less than an hour before the ceremony is not going to guarantee you the perfect piece of paradise you are hoping for.  Steer clear of major public accesses; instead look for smaller ones, maybe without restrooms or lifeguards which will likely mean less people.  People are good about making room around what is obviously a wedding setup, but don’t expect them to move from where they’ve been sitting all afternoon when you come in at the last minute with the decor.
2. Photographers generally prefer the guests to be sitting in chairs in order to capture the best photos of the Bride and Groom.  However, if you don’t want to spend money to rent chairs or benches, then get creative with the set-up.  The wedding I observed today would have been precious if the guests had been standing in a circle or semi-circle around the couple.  The organized, clean lines photograph beautifully, give the guests an excellent vantage point of the vows and provide a sweet feeling of being surrounded by loved ones, especially when the guest list is very limited.
3. If you can’t spend a lot on decor then have your guests be your decor.  Ask guests to wear a certain color.  Everyone in shades of blue or white and khaki, or whatever color you choose will serve as a lovely accent to your backdrop and not cost you a dime. 
4. Assign someone - anyone - to be “in charge”.  Let me rephrase that.  Do not ask your mom, his mom, your best friend or your Grandpa.  Someone who is NOT close family or already in the wedding party.   Someone you doesn’t mind overseeing things, giving directions to guests and participants, and asking those wet, screaming children, cute as they may be, to please stop throwing sand so close to the ceremony.  Maybe a friend of your mother’s from church, or your cousin’s wife.  Of course, this is normally MY job.  But I realize that it is also something that so many people think they can do without, and while they can, it could and SHOULD run so much smoother by asking someone to take on this responsibility
5. Be very selective who you ask to set up your “setup”.  A beach wedding is a bit of an arbitrary location; no real parameters and a wide open space.  Today we watched as the Groom and Best Man spent nearly an hour trying to figure out the best way to place 4 tiki torches in the sand.  They really tried, bless their hearts.  But it was extremely obvious they weren’t really sure and at some point, also obvious that they just stopped caring.  Have a rehearsal before hand, just like you would in a church, and if at all possible, ask the officiant to attend, as well as anyone who will be in the wedding party.  Use a stick (or your foot) to delineate in the sand the area and and arrangement, including how far from the boardwalk and water’s edge as well as where people should stand and where the aisle should be.

In the end, the couple today looked very happy and I wish them nothing but the best.  I am not trying to come across as a snob or judgemental about their choices on their wedding day.  I just believe that with some well thought out planning there ARE ways to spend a very small amount of money on a beach ceremony and still make it a sacred, creative and personalized memory for years to come. 

Photo via Meg Baisden, photog extraordinaire