Florida Weddings

When I think of Miami I think of hot nights, fiery spirit and spicy romance.  The wedding inspiration that Serendipity Studios and JCG Events put together captures all these elements and so much more.  I love the literary theme that runs throughout, the incredible paper good design that recalls a vintage, old Havana vibe and colorful, mouth-watering local foods.  Pass me a mojito because I plan on staying here awhile!  Click here for more Miami chic inspiration!

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We have even more spicy romance and a sneak peek into the set up of the day with this beautiful video by Serendipity Studios!

From JCG Events… Putting together this inspiration shoot was just like the wedding planning process, the concept kept evolving. We first brainstormed with Travis and Candice of Serendipity Studios and they knew immediately which location would be the perfect setting for the shoot -Grove Isle Hotel & Spa in Miami, FL. This wedding venue nestled in a small private island off of Miami has a tropical yet luxurious feel to it that immediately evokes ideas of an intimate romantic love affair.

Planning a wedding is essentially story telling and if we were going to tell a story with this shoot we needed to create the main characters. The details all came together once we had dreamt the couple in mind- Aryana Morena, Cuban American and Spencer Mills, author from New York City. This is how the “Chic Cuban Literary” inspired concept came to be.

Ashley of Smashing Cards custom designed the wedding invitations, menu cards, table numbers and bar menus to illustrate this theme. The invitation infused a vintage feel reminiscent of a Cuban cigar box with the elaborate border but incorporated modern font with a fresh and vibrant color combination-pink and orange. The invitation was wrapped in hot pink silk, which opened just like a book. To tie in Spencer Mill’s affinity for Ernest Hemingway’s work we paid tribute by providing the two drinks of choice for Hemingway- a mango mojito and a white diaquiri. Hemingway, while in Cuba, frequented a watering hole, La Bodeguita, where he famously wrote on the wall “Mi mojito en la Bodeguita.”

It was important that every detail was thought out and that was true even to the design of the menu. It was carefully prepared and designed by the executive chef at Grove Isle where he incorporated all local ingredients and infused a Latin Cuban flavor to the menu with a modern twist. The starter was a refreshing octopus and avocado salad topped with passion fruit caviar. The main course was a mouth watering braised short ribs prepared a la “ropa vieja” a well known cultural Cuban dish of shredded beef accompanied by a mashed yucca with bacon, red piquillo puree and micro cilantro. For dessert the couple opted to forgo a wedding cake for a delicious and decadent dessert display of Cuban bread pudding topped with caramelized bananas and guava and cream cheese ice cream.

Fleurish Design team and head designer, Jairo Barrios, immediately took to the concept and really took the shoot to the next level with all the natural elements they incorporated such as incorporating lemons to the arrangements and the sugarcane stalk detail at each place setting with a pink lotus flower. The flowers were an array of vibrant colors and hues that really popped against the wooden tabletop and natural linen. The natural wooden chairs complimented the table by adding a unique element with a vintage old Havana vibe. The boutonniere was a green succulent that had such a beautiful contrast to the Groom’s chocolate brown pinstriped suit. The bridal bouquet was comprised of mango cala lilies wrapped in natural twigs that created that textured and layering needed for this design. The favors were decorative wooden boxes from West Elm with a domino set inside.

The models we featured on the shoot are actually engaged and are set to wed in June in Puerto Rico! This shoot was the perfect practice run for them in terms of getting comfortable in front of the camera. They really helped the story come to life. Gina Dearing, one of the top Miami make-up artists had them camera ready for the shoot. The shoot came together so nicely thanks to all the efforts of such a wonderful team of vendors!

Photography & Cinematography: Serendipity Studios / Event Planning: JCG Events / Floral & Event Design: Fleurish Design & Events / Rentals: Fleurish Design & Events / Stationery: Smashing Cards / Venue: Grove Isle Hotel & Spa / Hair & Makeup: Gina Dearing / Rings: Ring Finger Studio / Suit: Tiglio Uomo / Wedding Dress: Reem Acra / Jewelry: Erin Cole

Welcome to the Style Me Pretty Florida blog!  This is the place where we’ll bring you loads of inspiration from all over the sunshine state.  There is some serious style pouring out of this beautiful and diverse place!  One of my favorite photographers to come out of the south is Laura Leslie Photography.  I have fallen fast and hard for her work. I want to frame some of these Miami beach shots and hang them in my apartment.  It doesn’t hurt when there is a swoon-worthy, chic-to-the-max wedding involved too.  The coral and yellow hues compliment the ocean views so perfectly and I am bonkers for the mod meets romance meets hot Miami nightlife vibe!  Click here to see even more!

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The couple held their wedding in Miami Beach, a few hours from the bride’s hometown of Palm City, Florida.  The Raleigh Hotel provided a beachfront venue with a vintage feel.  The “old Florida” vibe was a real draw and the bride was excited to incorporate the beach into the celebration, having grown up on South Florida beaches. The hotel had special significance to the couple because it was where they stayed during their first trip together.

The bride’s childhood Reverend presided over the ceremony, held steps from the beach in an alcove on the hotel grounds. The cocktail hour and reception were held around the Raleigh’s historic art deco pool and decorated with white and yellow orchids with blush accents. The groom’s father’s family from Thailand transported small hand painted ceramic covered boxes as wedding favors for the guests. The four tiered petal shaped wedding cake was topped with bride and groom love-birdies and included South Florida themed flavors, such as key lime, the groom and bride’s father’s favorite flavor. The bride surprised the groom with a red velvet flavored groom’s cake shaped like a shamrock in honor of Notre Dame, the groom’s alma mater.  Liquid DJs made the reception high energy by lighting the reception tables with a warm glow, uplighting the surrounding palm trees, and spinning a lively playlist that kept people dancing until the early morning.

Wedding Photography: Laura Leslie Photography / Wedding Venue: The Raleigh Hotel / Floral Design: Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop / Wedding Cake: Edible Creations Cakes / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier (Sunday Rose) / DJ & Reception Lighting: Liquid DJ’s / Wedding Cinematography: LK Cinematic Video / Hair & Makeup: Tatjana Terzic + Linda Zibelli / Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff (Style: 537, Color: Terracotta) / Men’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse

This Miami wedding is just so full of style, and it has another super talented bride and groom at the helm. Seriously, you people amaze me. All the invitations, table signs, place cards, guestbook pages, favor tags, etc. were done by the talented couple. I would say this duo already makes quite the team! And now they have quite the collection of images from Captured Photography by Jenny to remember all their efforts for their gorgeous and timeless day. It doesn’t stop there of course, be sure to head on over to the full gallery of images for even more!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride… There are so many ways I could describe this wedding! Some of the words that pop in my head are: Miami-stylish-romantic-garden wedding. The day started at the Hyatt Regency located in Coral Gables, a Spanish-style hotel with lots of interesting indoor and outdoor spaces such as a natural stone courtyard and a beautiful fountain. This is where I got ready and met with Gian for the first time.

The ceremony was an outdoors intimate event held in the beautiful gardens of the Zen House located in South Miami. The ceremony was conducted by a very good friend of ours who we admire, respect and love very much. We also wanted Gian’s dad (who has been married for 30 years) to say a few words of how beautiful love and marriage is and my brother (who just got engaged) to talk about love and the commitment relationships require in order to be prosp-erous. There was a music trio playing some of our favorite classical songs and the flower arrangements were a mix of greens, yellow, white and pink, which consisted of succulent plants, eucalyptus, yellow pom-poms and garden roses, among other plants. The reception took place at the historic Douglas Entrance, a beautiful building built in 1927, which set tone for the romantic-vintage style and where the flower arrangements brought the garden feeling indoors.

All the place cards, table signs, guestbook pages, menu, favors tags, invitations, etc were done by us. I wanted to add personalized touches throughout the wedding and make it fun for our guests, so I decided to make the guestbook using my few Photoshop skills and asked several questions to our guests such as “How do you know the groom and bride?” “Any advice for the newlyweds?” “Your favorite bride and groom memory” and asked to draw a portrait of themselves and of us. Using the same design style I created the place cards with the names of each of our guests and a little icon on the side which helped differentiate what dish each guest was having (meat, fish or vegetarian). The three icons we used were a camera, keyboard and a dog. These three things are meaningful to us since I love photography and do it as a hobby, Gian is a keyboard player in a band and we have a lovely and playful 4-year old beagle called Malkovich. The seating chart and table numbers were also done with the same design style.

The favors were little pots with candles shaped as succulent plants and boxes with little chocolates called “brigadeiros.” The little tags attached to the candles with our initials and the date (V+G) were hand made by me. The tags were done with the same card stock used for the place cards and table signs, and the borders of these tags were hand painted in acrylic and hand written. There were several fun things to do at the reception such as a photobooth with cool props, a barista with an espresso/gourmet coffee station, and a candy station. The guests had so much fun… it was 2am and there were still some people dancing on the dance floor!

Wedding Photography: Captured Photography by Jenny / Wedding Flowers: Trias Flowers / Event Design: Fetes and Events / Event Planning: Mia Bella Events & Design / Wedding Ceremony Location: The Zen House / Wedding Cake: Edda’s Cake Designs / Wedding Reception Location: Douglas Entrance / Invitations & Paper Goods: The Bride & Groom / Wedding Gown: La Sposa from J del Olmo Bridal Gallery and Couture / Bridesmaids Dresses: J. Crew / Groomsmen Suits: Mr Tux / Hair & Makeup: Gladys Perez / Ceremony Music: Elegant Musicians / Wedding Transportation: Florian’s Classics / Photobooth: My Event Photo Booth / Wedding DJ: The DJ Connection / Wedding Favors: Sweet Caroline and Favors by Serendipity / Pastries: Le Royal French Bakery

If you need a little spring in your step before heading off into the weekend, this downright darling Miami wedding by 13:13 Photography will do just the trick. Completely DIY and completely adorable, it is as budget-friendly as it is beautiful. All the friends and family involved had a hand in making it such a memorable affair, and I think they can most definitely pat themselves on the back for a job very well done! There is a weekend worth of wedding in the full gallery, so stop on by!

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Our wedding, after a lot of work, turned out to be exactly what Dustin and I had envisioned. At first, I had wanted to get married on the beach since I’ve always been fond of the ocean. But once I started looking at the costs of Miami venues I knew that option was out of the question. I then resorted to the internet for venue options and happened upon this beautiful image of a wedding ceremony under a great old oak tree. It was stunning. Breathtaking. When I saw this, I knew this is what I wanted.

Dustin and I were high school sweethearts. We have been together over eight years so we have lots of memories all throughout Miami. One Valentine’s Day we had a picnic at Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables. And it just so happens to be filled with great old oak trees. Flash forward a few years, we visited the location and after wavering back and forth we decided to have our wedding ceremony in front of one of the oak trees. Our vision was a bit difficult to understand, especially for our family, but once November 14th came around, everyone LOVED the ceremony location. It was described as being very “us.” Easy going, rustic, and full of natural inspirations. I had ordered our save the dates prior to booking our venue. I followed our color scheme of aqua, tan and white and purchased scratch-off save the dates from unlesssomeonelikeyou on Etsy. Our guests thought it was fun and unexpected.

Our invitations proved a little more difficult. My friends and family say that I don’t like to make decisions, and they were proven right when I wavered back and forth between 3 or 4 designs. It finally came down to the tree design and our “logo.” I wanted to introduce our guests to the theme of our wedding, so I included an oak tree in the design with a “carved” heart and Y+D in the trunk. I designed every piece in the suite with the exception of the map which was designed by finelinestationery, another Etsy find. The pocketfold was actually a mistake. I had designed the invitations around a specific pocketfold, but used the measurements of another one with the wrong paper. So what did I do? Ordered the right paper and made my own pocketfolds! It came out for the best because Dustin was able to punch out a heart on each pocketfold showing part of the design. We wrapped the invitations in blue and white bakers twine with a tag and the guest’s name. Even after going through the ups and downs of this whole process, I’ve decided to open my own Etsy shop, ylovesd!

Attire-wise, I kept my dress flowy and fun, with a simple one-shoulder flower dress from David’s Bridal. My something blue was a gorgeous set of earrings from lulieyal– which I still love and wear today. The bridal bouquet was made up of white hydrangeas with bear grass and willow bark, with the handle covered in blue and white bakers twine. I had my something borrowed (from my sister)–2 lockets, each with an image of my father and grandfather that were tied to my bouquet. It was a beautiful way to remember them. For my bridesmaids, I only had two requirements –their dress had to be short and tan. My vision turned out perfect, because all four dresses were completely different but looked beautiful side by side. My hubby, Dustin wore a tan suit from Men’s Warehouse, while the groomsmen wore khaki pants and a white button down shirt. The best man opted to wear a khaki vest to set him apart, and all them adorned matching aqua ties. The ties were a nice pop of color. The cutest member of our wedding party was our beautiful niece, the flower girl. Of course me being “non-traditional”, her outfit needed to be fun and different. I ordered a tutu from TheDressUpChest–my fourth Etsy find so far. Being only three, she loved “dressing up” and the tutu was a perfect choice.

As far as the ceremony decorations, I wanted to keep it clean and simple. My wonderful brother and cousins woke up bright and early Sunday morning and brought the location to life. We hung white paper lanterns through out the branches of the massive oak tree. Following inspiration from our invitations, Dustin carved out a heart from wood and hung the heart with a Y+D (props used in our engagement session) at the base of the tree. A week before the wedding, we decided to scope out the location. My brother and Dustin thought it would be best to build a wedding platform to place in front of the tree. It turned out to be a great idea, as we were slightly elevated during our vows and it served as the perfect location for family portraits. We also placed lanterns at each corner of the platform and spread rose petals around the tree to complete the look. Down the aisle we placed shepherd hooks with hanging buckets filled with fresh blue and white hydrangeas. I also made “Tears of Joys” tissue packets and placed them in a basket for our slightly emotional guests. At the entrance of the park, we had Sarah from sarahedesigns create a rustic hand painted ceremony sign marking it’s location. It matched our theme perfectly and we plan on hanging it on the wall of our first home.

If you thought the ceremony was filled with DIY projects, the reception topped it all. The biggest, labor intensive project was our custom napkins. Each guest at our wedding would have their own dinner napkin along with a matching place card. Over the course of months, I purchased a total of six different fabric designs. My wonderful and amazing mother sewed every single napkin. Once all the sewing was done, I assigned each guest a napkin and table number and went to work on the place cards. The cards were punched on one side with a heart cut-out and the guest’s fabric swatch was glued in the place card. I printed the place cards and then stamped the table number a couple days before the wedding. We purchased a large corkboard and Dustin covered it with tan fabric. We slowly and painstakingly hung each place card in alphabetical order on the board. It was….breathtaking, a masterpiece. I can laugh about it now, but that project was well worth the time and effort. When our guests arrived at the reception venue, the Red Fish Grill (which was on the water!) they would locate their place card/hangtag, go to their table number and find their corresponding napkin. This was my favorite project and well worth the time spent on it.

For centerpieces, I had purchased aqua mason jars from ebay along with clear mason jars from my local grocery store. We arrange them on the table with blue and white hydrangeas and tied bakers twine along the rim with a tag featuring our Y+D logo and our wedding date. We cut and arranged all the flower centerpieces two days before the wedding. The table numbers I designed and printed and stuck them in white Ikea frames. I decided not to have just one guest book. Instead, I made 15 guest books, one for each table. Each book featured an image from our gorgeous Everglades-themed engagement session and a question. “What’s your favorite memory of us?” and “What is your hope/wish for us?” were a couple of our guest book questions. Looking back, each of our guest books offers more then a signature, we can laugh and cry about everyone’s message to us. For our cupcake table, Dustin helped me make a “Love is Sweet” sign out of dollies which we hung on the front of the table. Around the dance floor, we continued the theme by hanging white and aqua paper lanterns throughout the canopy.

Aside from a few details, we let nature serve as the major decoration. We were outside on a beautiful sunny day with palm trees swaying gently above us and the ocean wind gently breezing by. Both my hubby and I can attest that our wedding day was perfect. It was very us, and we did things the way we wanted, not what was expected. We couldn’t have done it without both of our families, who really helped us throughout the whole experience. For having a wedding budget under $12k in Miami, it was a great accomplishment on everyone’s part!

Photography: 13:13 Photogtaphy / Hair: Rose Mejia / Video: Marty Reinhardt / Band: Dexter Hurtado and students from UM’s School of Music / Cigar rollers: On-Site Cigars / Cupcakes: LA Sweets / Custom hand painted ceremony sign: Sarah Elizabeth Design / Ceremony Venue: Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables / Reception Venue: Red Fish Grill / Flower Girl Tutu: TheDressUpChest / Dress: David’s Bridal / Invitations: Fine Line Stationery / Save the Dates: Unless Someone Like You

This wedding is just so sweet and intimate it melted my heart immediately. That and the fact the bridesmaids wore some amazing shoes perfect for the Miami setting (I am a huge sucker for shoes). Shoes aside, this wedding is full of details so fabulous you won’t believe they are DIY, like the hundreds of beads the bride sewed BY HAND to make her headpiece. True Story. For even more heart melting images be sure to check out the gallery.

click here for the full wedding gallery!

I have known my now husband Aaron almost my entire life. When we first got engaged we knew right away that we did not want to throw a grand event, we wanted to throw an intimate celebration. We surrounded ourselves with only 35 close friends and family. Our venue was amazing. It was right on the water. The view of the ocean went on forever. It was breath taking. Megan from the Grove Isle Resort and Spa was wonderful to work with. We told her our budget, guest count, and what we wanted. She worked miracles with that. I would advise other brides to do the same and work with your venue. Our luckiest find for our wedding was Shannon Mathis our photographer. We really lucked out with her. She was so incredible and amazing to work with. Her pictures are so natural and romantic. I love that she also captured all the little details that we worked so hard on. She was so easy and fun to work with and so creative.

We only started planning our October wedding in June. With only four months to plan I knew right way there would be a lot late of night DIY projects. I absolutely love personal touches and details. My MOH especially is a detail fanatic. I spend hours with her throwing ideas back and forth, needless to say we came up with so many crafts in so little time. With her help we made the tissue paper pomanders, and the petal cones from an amazing pressed floral paper from which I also made the place cards. Her mom made the table runner. I also made the invitations and the venue matched the menu to the invitations. The project that took the longest was my headband. It took about a week or so. Each bead had to sewn by hand and there were hundreds of beads. My favorite project was our ring book. I didn’t want the typical ring pillow. I found the idea on a wedding blog and immediately told my fiancé about it; he actually got very excited about and wanted to be part of the project. It was so much fun taking him to the craft store and planning this project. We picked Wuthering Heights because it is my favorite book; I even used a quote from it in my vows. The most special thing I made was my brooch for my bouquet. I had my favorite picture of my father on one side and my grandparents on another. I also hung my sister’s bracelet on the brooch. This was my way of having them close to me on that special day. Part of why we chose 10.10.10 was also because it was my grandmothers birthday.

I walked down the aisle to “Here comes the sun” it was the perfect song for us. As soon as I saw Aaron I had a hard time trying not to cry….I was just so overjoyed! It was funny because he kept whispering to me “Can I kiss you yet!” Our officiant was incredible! Reverend Calderon knew exactly what we wanted. He made our ceremony very special; almost poetic. He made us laugh and cry.I think one of the most memorable and emotional parts of the day was after the ceremony. We presented my daughter Sophie with a special medallion just for her. She was not expecting this so she got very emotional with tears of joy and surprise. I don’t think there was one dry eye anywhere including the catering staff.

We loved that our wedding was so small and personal. Everyone kept telling us that they felt they we part of something so private and special that day and truly felt that they shared in our love for each other. Our wedding day was a celebration of a lifelong commitment for each other surrounded by all of our loved ones.

Photography: Mi Amore Foto / Flowers: Tawney of Mayesh Wholesale Florist / Ceremony Location: Grove Isle Hotel and Spa / Reception Location: Grove Isle Hotel and Spa / Make up and hair:  Michelle Vera / Singing duo:  Davis and Dow / Reverend:  Michael Calderin / Brides ring:  James Allen / Dress: Allure

I love this next wedding for a few reasons. For one, I am a little obsessed with the bride and groom…SO. FREAKING. GORGEOUS. Second, I love that they did an ultra chic, oh-so-Miami photoshoot before the wedding began. So cool. And finally, I love the sweet simplicity of the reception. The chandeliers, the perfect pink florals, the glam and glitz translated in a pretty, soft way. Held in the bride’s mother’s backyard (jealous), this wedding is total perfection. And photographer KT Merry captured it all to perfection. Click here for even more.

Click here to see the wedding in it’s perfect entirety.

From the bride Ana…I have to begin by saying that this wedding was arranged in a very short time and from long distance! I live in Ecuador and the wedding was in Miami. And yes…. It was very stressful! Thankfully, I had this great wedding planner (Monica Prorrata from the International Event Design) who made everything I wanted possible. I really do not have words to describe my wedding… it was simply perfect; the invitations, the decoration, the flowers, the people, the music, the food, the drinks, the cake, even the cold weather!

We started the day with a beautiful sunshine at 9am at the Mondrian Hotel in Miami Beach, with a little breakfast and of course some champagne to make the getting ready part a little more fun. While our hair and makeup was being done and shortly after we popped the first bottle of champagne the one and only KT Merry arrived to photograph us getting ready. The photo session began, which I have to admit was one of my favorite parts during the day, especially when I saw my very handsome groom for the first time before the ceremony. I was so happy, I couldn’t believe the day was finally there, and I just felt so beautiful in my custom made dress and cathedral veil, which I put so much love and effort into. KT & Chad, our photographers, did a wonderful job capturing all that happiness in those pictures.

The reception location was my mother´s backyard just in front of the canal giving the scenery a very nice touch. The decor was classic, garden inspired French, which was just ideal for the day. The very special treat of the wedding were the sweets which were all brought from Ecuador!

The day went so fast…, but my favorite and most special moment during the wedding was dancing the waltz with my daddy and the first dance, and dancing to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Rod Stewart, with Javier. Three months have passed already and I look back at that day, and I can truly say that everything during that day was a pure reflection of who I am and what I love.

Photography by KT Merry / Wedding Planning: International Event Design / Wedding Gown: Custom made in Ecuador / Decor: Dream Designs / Decor: Event Outfitters / Linens: AB Cover Designers / Music: Master Musicians / Flowers: Petal Productions / Makeup/Hair: Sasha 305-372-8003 / Catering: Chef Larz / Cake: Ana Paz

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To our loyal readers … a little déjà vu … all over again?

Lindsey and Kristin Vining thrilled us long, long ago with the photographs from Lindsey’s Miami bridal shoot at the Mondrian Miami Hotel. And as excited as we were with those, the rest of the shoot couldn’t be revealed until now!  Lindsey and her BFF, (a.k.a.) Kristen, actually did a bridal portrait duet!  They are both just so gorgeous!

Kristin Vining has posted Kristen and Hunter’s wedding on her blog … so we can finally reveal some of HER bridal portraits …

Kristen’s stunning gown is by Modern Trousseau from Hayden Olivia’s Bridal.  Lindsey’s is by Ramona Keveza.

I have to tell you, if you’re a bit confused on the names ~ there’s Kristin (the ace photographer) and Kristen (the knock-out bride) and ONE of them just married Hunter! That would be Kristen.  Then we have Lindsey (of SMP fame: her bridals, her e*shoot, her wedding and who now has her own personal “pretty” business!).

AND we have Kristen and Hunter’s cute, cute, cute e*shoot (cigars and all) AND their South Carolina wedding coming up bright and early Monday morning!

But first, another couple of shots of these ultra glam~BFF’s ..

How FUN to share the day with each other! You can see the whole gallery here.

If you love color and the spicy culture of Miami then you are going to die over this wedding. Sent to us by Luxe Fete, it is a dreamy combination of modern aesthetics and vibrant cultural touches. Held at the Viceroy Hotel in Miami, guests sat on floor cushions at the edge of an amphitheater during the ceremony and later danced the night away to an Indo-Caribbean band. I don’t think it gets much cooler then that. Don’t forget, the gallery is filled to the brim with a ton of pretty pictures from this wedding.

{click here for the FULL wedding gallery}

From Luxe Events:

Miami CBS4 Reporter and Weekend Anchor Natalia Zea had just moved to Miami, when a good friend convinced her to go a reggae party at a private mansion. Natalia and Leonard did the whole “shy-eye exchange” thing before she surprisingly introduced herself. “We shared one dance – and that was it,” she bashfully recalls. Nearly three years later, that thing called “it” led them to the altar at a breathtaking panoramic ceremony overlooking Miami’s Biscayne Bay. The trendy venue, Viceroy Miami, served as the gracious backdrop. In honor of Leonard’s heritage and in keeping with Natalia’s spirit, the couple opted for a simple chic wedding with subtle Indian nuances. Something bright. Something fun. Something haute. The details for this “Love is the Spice of Life” wedding was all but too fun to create:

A unique ceremony space where guests were seated on fuchsia and mango floor cushions on the ledge of an amphitheater over looking Biscayne Bay; A variety of hand carved Indian side tables used as a base for the chic and colorful ceremony flowers; A bright Indian-print paper suite; Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce wrapped in twine and colorful swarovski crystals; A “ Love is the Spice of Life” recipe box for guests to write their secret recipe for long lasting love; Intricate wooden-carved signs, made in India, directing guests to the bay front ceremony; Mango-colored favor boxes wrapped in a fuchsia satin ribbon and crystal knotted twine; Colorful lotus candle holders incorporated in all aspects of the design (the lotus is a very important symbol in the Indian culture). A 100-year-old Indian altar table. A modern variation on a traditional mandap gently draped with beautiful sari fabric. Sari-wrapped Chiavari chairs for the bride and groom Natalia and Leonard surprised their guests with a Tassa Band. A Tassa Band is a traditional Indo-Caribbean form of music. It’s impossible not to dance when you hear it. And let me just say it was the most awesome thing ever. Every single guest was entranced and dancing the ENTIRE night. Each guest was greeted at their seat with a poignant or funny picture of themselves in a gold frame. The frame was wrapped in twine and topped with a mango garden rose.

These personal touches truly created an atmosphere that celebrated their love!

Photography: David Sutta / Design and Planning: Luxe Fete / Bouquet: Ever After Florals / Venue: The Viceroy Miami / DJ: Shannon Powell of Liquid DJs

Okay. This just might be the cutest engagement session EVER. It seriously wins the prize for the most adorable set of pics I’ve ever seen and I am insanely jealous that I didn’t think of the idea first. Shot by Stephan Maloman, these pics are making me very, very happy.

A perfect pink dress, a dreamy groom and four inch stiletto’s. Um, hello perfection, my name is Abby. I love, love, love this shoot and am so thrilled that Stephan sent it our way!

Make sure to check out Stephan and Candace’s site and blog for even more eye candy!

We have been waiting for this day for what seems like forever! Kristin Vining just let us know that Lindsey & John were married this past weekend and we’re quite literally chomping at the bit to see the photos! Lindsey is a huge Style Me Pretty fan and we are huge Kristin Vining fans … so we’ve been keeping tabs on these wedding plans for quite a while! We did a Little Black Book Blog feature on their so-so-so-cute vintage-styled engagement shoot a while back – Milk & Cookies With Lindsey and John.  Sooooo … we haven’t actually seen the wedding photos, but to tide us over, Kristin sent us these absolutely jaw-dropping images from Lindsey’s bridal portrait session …

It’s almost impossible to believe that these are real bride shots!

Lindsey and her friend Kristen asked Kristin to fly with them to Miami to do both of their bridal sessions! How fun is that? Kristin says that they had a blast … and never even left the hotel! All shots were taken at the Mondrian Miami Hotel.

Kristin is also the founder and owner of Weddings And The City in Charlotte. She and her fabulous team of planners worked with Lindsey from start to finish! I’m seriously SO anxious to see the results!

Lindsey ~ you look sensational!! We cannot wait to see more! And Kristin ~ what can we say except WOW!

Lindsey’s gown is by Romona Keveza and her jewelry is from BCBG. The info we have on her veil is that she ordered it on etsy, but we’ll have to check into where.

In just a bit … we’ll have a sneak peek at the little ones who helped celebrate the day. Kristin’s very own little “twinkies” were the flower girl and ring bearer. You’re not going to believe their vintage adorableness!

And while we wait to see what Lindsey’s wedding has in store, here’s a link to another of Kristin & Weddings And The City’s hugely popular weddings featured on Style Me Pretty:  Elle & Todd’s Pink & Grey Wedding.

We have so many really amazing wedding films to share with you from our Little Black Book cinematographers and we’ve gotten SO far behind!

At one time, we had thought about having some movie weekends so that you and your sweetie could plan on cuddling up with a huge bowl of popcorn while you watch a variety of film styles and wedding stories. I mean, how else are you going to find the perfect film-maker for your own wedding???  What do you think? Would you do it? If we planned ahead, could you put your lists aside, slow down, relax and enjoy? Let us know what you think of the idea of Movie Weekends on the Little Black Book Blog! We have a bunch of great highlights and trailers we’d love to share with you.

In the meantime, we wanted you to see this super-cool film from Hello Super Studios (don’t forget that if you click on the arrow & then pause the film for just a bit ~ allow it to load ~ you’ll have a smoother online playback) …

photography courtesy of  Trevor Goldsmith

A little about the wedding ~ The lovely couple, Hannah and Alan from England, decided to have their intimate destination wedding on South Beach at the fabulous Tides Hotel. They stayed there with their families for the week and rented out the top floor penthouse for the celebration. Hannah was very meticulous with the details. Being a graphic designer, she designed their own logo, the programs and the menus. They went with a vintage hollywood style, from the men’s suits to her lovely fitted dress. The ceremony was held in the penthouse, followed by cocktails on the roof and ending with dinner back in the suite. The weather was perfect and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

And from the beautiful bride, Hannah …

After being together for 7 years, Alan surprised me by proposing on the very first night of our 2 week vacation in the Maldives. One evening as we sat on our deck outside the beach bungalow, under the starry sky we began sharing our thoughts and dreams of what our wedding day would be like. We both had agreed very early on that we wanted an intimate family wedding somewhere warm. A couple of years prior, and with this in mind, we had set off on a cruise around the Caribbean on the quest for a setting for our future wedding. As we were flying in from London we had to stay overnight in Miami, before boarding our cruise the next morning.  This was to be the start of our love affair with Miami and South Beach in particular!

Whilst we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, nowhere else even came close. We met so many amazing and talented people along the way. Each member of our ‘dream team’ grasped our vision and interpreted it into something wonderful. Not only did they bring our dream to life but they captured it on film and video so we can re-live it day after day and share it with our friends and family back home. We were so grateful for our family members that were able to join us, they made our day complete, in fact everything turned out just as we had planned….only so much better!!”

My dress was ‘Seville’ by Suzanne Neville customized with a “Stella McCartney” black belt and brooch by Stephanie Browne

Congratulations Hannah & Alan!!

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A little bit from Tatiana and Megan at Hello Super Studios about their “style” of wedding cinematography …

We capture fun and stylish weddings with the nostalgic charm and beauty of super 8 film. In the face of a digital world, we are film purists and want to make what’s old new again. Nothing compares to the look and feel of real film… it’s not only aesthetically pleasing, it’s also archival. We attract couples who are looking for something different to reflect their own unique style and taste. And as two former DJ’s, we absolutely love editing gorgeous footage to music (using either our client’s favorite songs or ours).

Thanks ladies, for sharing!

I have been really excited about today’s post for a while now. A few weeks ago, I headed down to Naples, Florida for one of my best friend, Stephanie’s, wedding. Stephanie has always been the little Martha Stewart of the group…her taste and eye for detail are just perfect and she is always looking for new ways to express her creativity. The wedding was no exception.

In a word, Stephanie and Robert’s wedding was GORGEOUS. The color palette that she chose was absolutely breathtaking…the flowers enough to send any wedding aficionado over the edge. Every detail was planned to perfection and it truly was a magical evening…

All photos by the amazingly talented Sarah Bussey

The whole evening was beautiful, the bride was so at ease and glowy, the groom completely over-the-moon. I have to admit, this was one of the most lovely weddings I have ever attended. And, lucky for us, Stephanie sent me a few of the details that made this wedding truly special and unique. Check back a little later to hear the details of the affair from Steph and to see more gorgeous photographs of the evening.