Tying the knot seaside has always been a not-so-secret dream of mine, because, fear of all things ocean-related aside (true story), there’s just no place as serenely beautiful as the beach. Count the cool ocean air, acres of sand and crystal blue skies as reason enough to love beach weddings, but when you add in this gorgeous affair captured by Amanda Suanne, the perfection just can’t be denied. See it all here.
From the Bride… This was hands down, the best day of my life. It was a gorgeous sunny day in June. Not too hot, with a slight breeze. We were all ready to go. All of the guests were properly seated. The Groomsmen were lined up in the sand, and my bridesmaids were making silly faces at me to make sure I wasn’t nervous. I stood with my dad behind some tall bushes to make sure Jon couldn’t see me until the moment I walked towards him. (We chose not to see each other before the ceremony.) I heard my song, “Air” by Bach begin to play and my dad simply said, “Ready?” I’ll never forget the moment I saw Jon, waiting for me to become his wife. My dad slowly walked me down the boardwalk steps, telling me a joke until our feet hit the sand. I held on tight to his arm, carrying my pink peony bouquet in the other. It was so comforting to see Jon standing next to his father, who married us. The ceremony was short and sweet, which was followed by an hour of pictures while the guests enjoyed their cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
The reception flew by with delicious food, cake, champagne toasts, and dancing. We danced to “Hey Pretty Girl” By Kip Moore. I danced with my father to “Little Miss Magic” by Jimmy Buffett, and Jon danced with is mother to “A Song for My Son” by Mikki Viereck. Our wedding party and Jon and I were all introduced to the song, “How You Like Me Now” by The Heavy. We had our guests sign the back of pictures that I had printed on card stock that we used as our guest book. We used mason jars with the labels that we wrote the guests names and table numbers for them to use as escort cards. We had “His” and “Hers” specially cocktail drinks that they could use their mason jars to fill with on their own. The table numbers related to something in our lives, for example: Table 4, The Number of times Whitney and Jon have been to Rosemary Beach together. The guests especially loved doing the Limbo under several suspenders that were tied together! Our exit was special as our guests waved handmade ribbon sticks that my mother worked so hard on. I think that was her favorite moment! Jon drove us off in our groomsmen decorated golf cart.
I look at these pictures on a daily basis to remind myself how lucky we were for the perfect setting on the most perfect day.
Jon and I met because we shared a class at the University of Tennessee. However, I was not aware of that until we were introduced by two mutual friends. He said, “You know we have two classes together, right?” Well, I didn’t know, because I sat in the front, and he in the back. After that, we only became friends… until one day (three months later), I realized I couldn’t wait to see him all the time. I suddenly looked forward to our co-ed softball games that we played together, even though I was a terrible player. I loved every moment we spent together in and between our two classes. He made me laugh, every time we were together. And one day, as we were walking around campus, he picked a flower out of the ground and gave it to me. That is when I knew he was the one. It didn’t take long before we were completely inseparable.
Nearly four years later, actually four days before our anniversary, Jon flew me to my favorite place on earth, New York City. He took me to Central Park, where I desperately wanted to go for a row boat ride in the pond. We were barely too late and the rental hut was closed. Without a back up plan, we began to walk back towards the beautiful Bethesda fountain, where he said,” I’m so sorry the boat rental was closed, but I think this will cheer you up.” That is when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. We celebrated with friends who were close by and were able to take pictures of our special moment.
We decided on a summer destination wedding at the beach as we hoped our guests would enjoy a fun vacation. The only beach we had been to together was Rosemary Beach on 30A in FLorida. We spent a little over a year planning our perfect day. And boy was it worth the wait. I can’t imagine getting married anywhere else. The sand is clean and white, the ocean is a beautiful blue, and the quaint little ocean side town makes you feel right at home. It was hands down, the Best Day of My Life.
Photography: Amanda Suanne | Event Planning: It's A Shore Thing Wedding and Event Planning | Floral Design: Events by Nouveau Flowers | Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Wedding Cake: Confections On The Coast | Invitations: Gourmet Invitations | Ceremony Venue: Rosemary Beach™ | Reception Venue: Rosemary Beach™ | Brides Shoes: Valentino | Bridesmaids Dresses: Weddington Way | Catering: Townsend Catering | Make Up: Make Me Blush | Hair: The Grove At Grayton Hair Salon | DJ: Beachside DJ | Ceremony Music: Wedding Music Plus | Decor: Pressed Cotton | Golf Cart: Peddlers