Green - Beach Bride

Simple and Sentimental Beach Wedding

By Chie

Simple, sweet, sentimental, and beautiful. I love it when weddings capture the meaning of these four words. We totally adore details and decors as much as the next bride but at the end of the day, weddings are only supposed to be a part, albeit a big one, of a wonderful relationship not the culminating event of it. So I am very captivated by Kevin and Gina’s special day. The details were simple but striking. But what I love the most is that this was not just a wedding of two loving people, but the marriage of one complete and happy family. Their children were their entourage and it’s such a great idea that they let them be a part of the sand ceremony. Congratulations to this beautiful family!

Photographer:

Although the Hotel Del Coronado is always beautiful, it’s not every day that it looks like a tropical island somewhere in the Bahamas! The wedding featured today was just such a day…absolutely magical with almost white sand beaches and gorgeous clear blue skies dotted with wispy cloudys. Gina and Kevin were a really special couple. I was touched by their kindness and loving hearts that showed in the way the treated everyone. Susanne Duffy of Crown Wedding coordinated this beautiful event and the decor was unique, vibrant, elegant, and everything a bride could dream of for one of the most important days of her life! Susanne worked with Emily Smiley of Platinum Pro on the florals and overall look of the beach wedding and the visual collaboration was vibrant and unique with lot’s of unexpected details and texture like driftwood paired with lanterns and succulents paired with bright pink and purple flowers!

Vendors

Photographer: Vallentyne Photography
Event Planner: Crown Weddings and Events LLC
Event Venue: Hotel Del Coronado
Floral Designer: Platinum Pro
Other: Side by Side Cinema
Linens and Coverings: Wildflower Linens

JoAnn & Glenn – Love is Patient

By Chie

Everything about this couple just shows the world that patience reaps great rewards. At first, they didn’t want to get married but time proved how much they truly love each other that they knew they can’t live without the love of their lives, so marriage suddenly became something that they both knew was perfect for them. After their engagement, they spent two years planning their wedding. The length of their planning period not only gave them less stress but also, since they booked everything way ahead, they were able to cut some costs. It was easy for them to do that because they were set on having their wedding day on their anniversary date. Smart move I must say!

Congratulations JoAnn & Glenn! And advanced best wishes to you two as well!

Our couple is getting married on December 6 of this year.

What is your story as a couple, how did you meet & fall in love?

Glenn and I will have been together 14 yrs the day we get married Dec 6, 2014. Glenn works as the manager of the caricature artists and draws himself at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure in Orlando Florida. I met Glenn through a co-worker of his. When we first met we both didn’t want to get married but as time has gone on and the more we loved each other day by day, Glenn said he could not picture his life without me in it. I took him away for his birthday as a surprise and he ended up with a bigger surprise for me while walking down the beach at sunset, he dropped to one knee, told me how much he loved me and asked me if I would be his wife. Through my tears of surprise and happiness, I answered “YES!!”

What makes the two of you a perfect match?

We love and respect one another. We took our relationship slow but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We really know everything about each other. We always communicate, even if it’s something we don’t really want to talk about. We’re not perfect, but we both know how important it is to talk to one another and be careful with your words. This is were respecting one another comes in to play.

What was the best advice you received when you were planning your wedding?

Don’t rush in to it. Glenn and I have been engaged for 2 yrs. We wanted to plan and have the perfect wedding for us.

What tips & tricks (can we use “hacks”?) can you share future brides that you yourself have learned during and after your wedding?

Take things slow and do research. After we got engaged, I started going to Bridal shows and researching on the internet. I booked everything in 2012 so that I was locked into 2012 prices. This way we have time to save up for our big day and not start our marriage off in debt. We also are not taking our honeymoon right after the wedding also to save money for it. We’re taking it 3 months later which is also nice to give us something to look forward to after the wedding.

What are you most excited about for the future?

Being Mrs. Ferguson!! I know that might sound silly to some, but being we’ve been together as long as we have (14 yrs the day we get married) it’s a big deal to me.

What would you say, the overall story for this album?

We really wanted to revisit the time that we had together as a couple on the beach when Glenn asked me to marry him. We also wanted to do the engagement session at sunset because it is such a beautiful time of day and it was my favorite part of the day that day.

What was your favorite part of the day?

The Sunset, It was so gorgeous and full of color.

Here is some additional info the photographer shared with us regarding our bride’s wonderful dress.

I really wanted Joann to look and feel good for her engagement photos so I went out and personally picked out this gorgeous bright striped dress. I knew that she didn’t really own any clothes that were bright because we had a little talk about what kind of clothes she had and she told me that she only had clothes that were black, grey and white. She had recently lost some weight and I knew that she needed something that fit her better and showed off her new rocking body! She loved the dress and actually decided to keep it after the engagement session which really made me happy.

Vendors

Photographer: Alice Rose Photo
Makeup Artist: Marigold Scott On Location Hair & Makeup
Reception Venue: Daytona Beach Shores Beach House

Kelly & Thomas – Beach and Barrack

By Chie

Yes, you’ve read that right… Beach and barracks. Such an unlikely combination for our very compatible couple. Kelly & Thomas’ engagement shoot was held in two stylistically different places. First was on the beach in Delaware bay where the couple made use of the wonderful lighting provided by the sunrise. And second was in Camp Henlopen State Park, a historic site, where they both channeled their vintage style. The beach pictures made for some soft and sweet photos, while the camp gave fun and old-fashioned themed ones. But despite all these differences in details, what all photos have present is that they captured the undeniable state of bliss and love our couple has. Congratulations Kelly & Thomas!

Read on as to why their photographer had a blast in shooting in the said venues and what she has to say about our loving couple.

Tell us something about the couple.

Kelly is an elementary education major and Thomas works as an EMT. Kelly and Thomas are such fun and energetic people- I enjoyed photographing them because they were up for anything and it was so clear that they were just happy to be together. When they are not dancing, kissing, and laughing, they are staring at that ring! And who could blame them? Check out that rock!

What would you say, the overall story for this album?

Kelly and Thomas traveled all the way from Fort Myers, FL to have their engagement photos taken in Kelly’s childhood vacation spot of Lewes, DE. Her mother and Grandparents would camp in Cape Henlopen State Park and she has fond memories of traveling to the beach each summer. The starting location is a sunrise shoot on the sands of the Delaware Bay (where her family owns a vacation home) and the second location is in the grounds of Cape Henlopen State Park just a few miles away. The state park was used during the second wold war as a military base by the U.S army and was later deemed surplus property and became a state park. The park still has observation towers, barracks, and canons. The second location of the shoot has some of these (the barracks especially) as a fun/different backdrop. Because of the history of the park, Kelly styled the second half of her shoot with a vintage flare and brought some props along.

What would you say, the overall story for this album?

The story of this beautiful engagement gallery is a destination shoot of sorts.
The bride, Kelly, grew up vacationing in the lewes de area and wanted to incorporate the childhood memories into her shoot with her hubby to be, Thomas. The two love vintage finds and decided to theme half of their shoot to reflect this , and what better place to do so than in the military barracks use din WWII.

What inspired the wedding day outfits?

Like I said before, the history of the Cape Henlopen state park grounds spurred a vintage throw back theme for half the shoot. Kelly thrifted and made her and Thomas’ outfits.

What was your favorite part of the day?

Waking up to see the sunrise for the first half of the shoot was absolutely incredible. The lighting as we walked along the sandbars and pier were so soft and glowing.

Vendors

Photographer: Joy Michelle Photography
Other Location:Cape Henlopen State Park

Roya & Taylor – Orange Hues & Love So True

By Shang

Hailley Howard gives us something to indulge on today with Roya & Taylor’s lovely beach wedding. Roya is actually part American and part Persian, so they decided to incorporate some of her middle-eastern traditions into the wedding. Their wedding details is just oozing of that simple and classic vintage vibe. I love how the colors are playfully enticing to the eyes – the orange hues are the perfect addition to an otherwise perfect day. Cheers again to the lovely couple!

Vendors

Photographer: Hailley Howard Photography Event Venue: Smog Shoppe

Kate & Stephen – Splash Me Some Love

By Shang

Teamwork – a very important ingredient to a happy married life. And that is what helped this wonderful couple in planning out every bit of details for their wedding. Kate & Stephen shared the same love for the ocean. And that was why it was a no-brainer when it came to choosing out the venue for their ceremony. With the extra help from family & friends, they were able to pull off the wedding of their dreams.

The couple’s Photographer Mindi & Rich Verdi shared with us how Kate was able to plan out everything to its perfection –

When my now husband and I first discussed planning our wedding we thought about some of the best times in our life and the moments that brought us together. Our shared wanderlust and love of the ocean made our seaside ceremony at the end of Long Island a natural choice.

The town of Montauk and its beautiful landscape mirrored our personalities and aesthetic taste so well that we decided to weave these elements throughout our wedding design, making many of the details by hand. It was not without help from our families and friends. My father spent weeks collecting driftwood to build our beautiful alter, my husband, mother and I hand cut and engraved each anchor place card, my mother and father-in-law helped to arrange garden roses and eucalyptus into mason jars with twine, and my friends helped pour seasalt and rosemary into small jars for wedding favors. My grandmother made the grooms cake from her secret German recipe for Black Forrest Cake. We also remembered my family who could not be with us by carrying my brother’s surfboard down the aisle and placing it where he would have stood along side of us while we said our vows. Other personal touches included custom items handmade by artists on Etsy, including a cornhole set in our wedding colors and table card holders shaped like the moorings we frequently tied our boat up to. We made our own table cards using images of vintage postcards from destinations where we had been boating. Finally, since the destination for our honeymoon was Thailand, we concluded the night by launching Thai lanterns into the ocean breeze to signify letting our worries float away.

After marrying my best friend on such a beautiful day filled with the love and laughter of our friends and family, it was hard to imagine we’d ever have reason to worry again.

Vendors

Photographer: Photography by Verdi
Reception Venue: Gurney’s Inn
Bride’s Dress: Tara Keely
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mishka
Groom’s Tux & Groomsmen’s Pants: Bonobos
Bridesmaids Dresses: Anthropologie
Bridesmaids Dresses: Plum Pretty Sugar
Flowers: Charlie Whitmore Gardens
Invitations: Pressroom & Company