Catering By Robert . Event Concepts : Navy Nautical At Tampa Bay Watch

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Navy Nautical At Tampa Bay Watch

Abbey and Eric

Abbey and Eric's wedding planning journey with us started 14 months before their April 21, 2018, celebration. We learned that both of them grew up in New England and that much of their vision for their day revolved around their fondness of the ocean.

Since Tampa Bay was now their home, they chose Tampa Bay Watch as their location because of its unique setting on an estuary overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

Their sign in feature was a watercolor drawing of the waterfront side of the Watch.

******* Selected Photos by Lifelong Studios *****

The details of the proposal were part of Eric's "dating game" where he offered special envelopes to Abbey for weekly adventures. "One of these envelopes read 'The Big One: 5 Days' Notice,'" recalled Abbey. "I thought it was for a Disney trip and held on to it to save the best for last."

As it turned out, this last official date started with a helicopter ride and ended with a horse and carriage tour of St. Pete where Eric ended up proposing to Abbey on the waterfront of Vinoy Park.

Although the official wedding colors of the attendant gowns was a dusty blue, Abbey loved the idea of traditional nautical navy and white simplicity. This included our in-house navy blue floor length cloths, silver charger plates and navy napkins in a pocket fold topped with a alternating sand dollar or star fish holding a thank you card.

Abbey loved the idea of blue and white striped runners which matched her invitations. When we were unable to find rentable versions, Abbey purchased them at cost from one of our linen suppliers.

Abbey and Eric's choice for fresh florals was a softer look with graduated shades of blush pink and white. At our suggestion, they hired one of our favorite florists, Carmen's Flowers, to provide small arrangements surrounding our in-house white carriage lanterns on each of the guest tables.

The bridal party personal flowers were in the same shades.

Abbey and Eric chose to utilize our white pergola as their ceremony backdrop. Carmen accented it with two arrangements that was later moved to the reception area.

Our white shepherd hooks down the aisle, also held small jar arrangements by Carmen.

Abbey hired Kristen of Flawless Fetes to coordinate the rehearsal/ceremony, and serve as a day of coordinator. She took a lot of pressure off Abbey by handling the "end of the night" items so that her family/bridal party members didn't have to worry about transporting them back to the hotel.

We all worked as a team to place the many personalized features that Abbey and Eric collected for inclusion for their wedding day.

The results of our one-on-one Design Meeting with Abbey several months prior to the wedding, translated into a collective coastal look.

She requested that we incorporated our navy sequins specialty cloths for the cake and sweetheart tables.

The guest tables surrounded the dance floor and the buffet was set on the south side of the room.

During social hour, the couple leisurely enjoyed formal pictures as they decided to do a "first look" prior to the start of the ceremony.

Because Tampa Bay Watch restricts on-site cooking to areas outside of the main building, our culinary staff set up a "cook tent" for frying of appetizers and other fresh cooking of our cuisine that included vegetables and our traditional Paella (later transferred to the upstairs buffet area)

Our hand-passed hors d'oeuvres included Deep Fried Mac and Cheese Bites and Eggrolls, Cajun Chicken Skewers, Brushetta, and Mini Meatballs. We also provided a displayed Smoked Cheddar Spread with dippers during social hour.