Some lovely words from a wonderful couple:

HOW DID YOU MEET?
We met at a Make-A-Wish benefit at the Hard Rock Casino. My sister talked me into going out with her on a work night and we met up with a few of her friends at the event.
Kevin was in the board of Make-A-Wish at the time and was friends with my sisters friends.
We all went out after the event and Kevin was able to get my number by the end of the night.
We went on three dates before Kevin moved to Chicago for a business opportunity. We dated long distance for 2 and a half years before he moved back to South Florida!

HOW DID HE PROPOSE?
Kevin had talked about wanting to go skydiving in the Florida Keys for his 30th birthday for about 6 months. But the week before our weekend trip to the keys he started backing out if it, saying he didn’t want to skydive anymore. I was so confused because I thought that was the whole reason why we were taking the weekend trip, so I told him he had to do it.
We drove down to the keys on Friday and Kevin, despite his nervousness, went skydiving! We then went to our cottage at The Moorings on islamorada. As soon as we got there we decided to walk around and check out the beach and place we would be staying for the weekend. They had a dock on the beach with a hammock, so Kevin suggested we go out and sit on it. As soon as we sat down Kevin got up and got down on one knee to propose!
The surprises didn’t end there. We went to dinner that night at a restaurant on the water and Kevin had arranged for both of our parents to be there to surprise me!

WHAT INSPIRED YOUR VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING?
I wanted our wedding to feel light, airy, and romantic and as soon as I found my dress I was able to envision the rest of the decor. My dress was light and whimsical and captured all of the feelings I wanted for that day. From there I decided to stick to neutral colors of grays and ivory, with small details of lace and damask to complete the romantic feel.

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR VENUE:
I have 3 sisters and 2 of them are already married. Both of my sisters had their reception at the Parkland Golf & Country Club, and although I looked at other venues, nothing compared to Parkland. After being in both of my sisters’ weddings, I knew I could trust this venue and I couldn’t find anywhere else as pretty.
We got married at my church that I have been going to since I moved to Florida when I was 12.

WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST PLANNING CHALLENGE?
My biggest challenge was time.
I gave Kevin the responsibility of handling the DJ and playlist because I knew he would make it a fun party. Buy I took on all the rest of the planning. I travel a lot for work and found it difficult and tiring to fit in all of the appointments, but I am pretty easy-going so everything ended up just falling right into place.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN ELEMENT OF YOUR WEDDING?
I fell in love with the gray damask table linens that I chose in the first few months of planning. My florist laughed because he said most people choose linens last and I was one of the only people he had seen choose them first. I based all of my decor around these linens and think the center pieces helped complete the romantic feel of the tables and reception.

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY DETAILS?
We decided to use pictures of ourselves on the table numbers, using pictures from when we were 1 for table 1, pictures when we were 2 for table 2, etc
Kevin’s sister was a huge help, getting all of the pictures developed in black and white and finding all of the silver frames to put them in. Then my sisters and I added ribbon and bows to each frame to complete them.

WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?
The day of our wedding was truly perfect and I loved everything about it.
I loved being able to spend the morning getting ready with my sisters and best friends and it was so special to have my sisters with me when I read the note Kevin had sent me before the wedding.
But, my most memorable moment was standing at the alter with Kevin and exchanging our wedding vows. We chose to use the traditional vows and to know that we were reciting the same vows and making the same commitment to each other that our parents had made over 30 years ago was so special.
The reception all becomes a blur of fun and excitement so it was great to be able to slow down and really take in everything at the ceremony.

DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE:
We had a four tier cake from We Take the Cake. I wanted something simple and romantic, so we had alternating tiers of buttercream roses and they added bands in gray to help tie it in with the decor.
We chose alternating tiers of golden butter cake and lemon cake, both with a raspberry filling. I knew that I wouldn’t spend a lot of time eating at the reception, but I made it a point to sit down and eat our cake!

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER?
Incredible!! Sara and Jason were our favorite vendors to work with throughout the entire process. From the moment they arrived they made us feel comfortable and at ease with everything. It is easy to feel rushed or stressed on the day of the wedding, but they were the calming force in every situation. I was most impressed with their ability to fit right in with our family and friends that you almost forget that they are taking pictures. We were so lucky to have found such an amazing couple to work with and I cannot wait to use them again in the future!

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AS A COUPLE?
Now that all of the wedding planning is over we can finally spend time looking for a house! We are excited to find our first home together and look forward to starting our family.

CAN YOU PLEASE LIST YOUR VENDORS:
Florist: Dalsimer Atlas Flowers
Linens: Over the Top
Entertainment: Mike Sypes Entertainment
Cake: We Take the Cake
Make-up: Janell Leigh
Ceremony: St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church
Reception: Parkland Golf & Country Club