Selected Photos by Warehouse Studios*
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Growing up with a mom that is a florist had to have been a little girl's dream for Nicole in planning her very special wedding day. But Nicole and fiance, Justin, were focused on the overall fun and carefree experience they wanted their guests to experience. Nicole, gave her mom, Beth and stepdad, free reign in designing beautiful fresh flowers arrangements for her garden styled reception at the Ybor State Museum.
She was not disappointed.
While it was decided to hold the ceremony indoors at the nearby Don Vicente Hotel, much of Nicole's focus was on the lovely outdoor layout of the museum garden area. Her desire for a more casual reception translated into a variety of seating ranging from four-person bistro tables to non-reserved traditional round table settings.
Nicole and Justin wanted all of their guests to mingle, enjoy the setting, and partake of the food offered at various stations throughout the gardens.
The couple's day started with relaxed getting ready pictures at the hotel by Warehouse Studio photographers. It was important for Nicole that immediate family and bridal party were close by for all of the wedding day activities.
Nicole and Justin's canine family members were a part of much of their day.
With everything being inside of the hotel, Nicole, was unaware of the rainy weather conditions affecting the set up of her outdoor reception nearby.
There was only limited "covered" areas in the Ybor State gardens. We made the best of the situation being thankful it was not a full sit down affair with preset table settings. We gave thanks for the inclusion of mason jars in Nicole's rustic chic theming. The lids came in handy for protecting the many toppings and condiments.
Despite the weather, Nicole and Justin took everything in stride. We are very happy to share these images of their February celebration in Ybor City.
Nicole's mom, who owns Beacon Woods Florist in Hudson, created a whimsical array of live florals throughout the garden area. String lights illuminated all of the activity spaces.
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The couple desired a neutral, yet definative base color palette so we utilized our in-house champagne satin tablecloths for display tables. Guest tables remained ivory with pops of the champagne in flowing chair covers.
Signage was very important to Nicole and Justin, so directional and sentiment was everyhwere.
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Instead of typical sign in book, they chose jenga puzzle pieces where guests could leave a message they could "build on" for the future.
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While the fresh florals fared better than the other elements of the reception, the rain did not dampen the spirits of the guests nor their hosts.
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When guests arrived after the ceremony, they eagerly took part in caricature sessions by a local artist hired by Nicole and Justin.
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Each guest's/couple's fun portrait was hung on a clothesline near the front entrance of the garden. While waiting out the rain and the bridal party picture-taking, we entertained guests with hand-passed appetizers that included Mac N' Cheese Pops, Gazpacho Soup Shooters with Shrimp Garnish, and Spicy Cajun Pecans served in lace doillie cones.
Our fearless bartenders braved the intermitant downpours to serve up a full open bar to the arriving guests.
We designed four distinct stations with an international garden theme to reflect Nicole and Justin's varied food choices. This ranged from a Parisan Garden Salad Station to an Oriental-inspired offering of Chicken Teriyaki and Noodles.
An Italian station featured pasta with a variety of toppings. Each station was decorated with items from our in-house inventory of table-top props.
A fourth station was a carved beef slider station.
The dj and the main cake table were strategically placed under a pavilion in the corner of the gardens. They chose a small presentation cake along with intricately decorated petite fores from Chantilly Cakes.
One of the finer details of Nicole's wedding was her mom's intention of featuring the multitude of miniature desserts on a vintage bookshelf. With the rain, that plan had to be scrapped in favor of the band-stand covered area.
When it came time for the newlyweds to be introduced, there was a break in the showers and the smiles on their faces cleared away the dark skies.
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Justin had worked diligently up until their wedding day to restore an old pickup truck for their "getaway" vehicle. It made its appearance after the couple's farewell.
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Congratulations Nicole and Justin!
Planning, Decor, Coordination and Catering :
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