Downtown Tampa Wedding | Tampa Marriott Waterside Wedding
Allison and Max's downtown Tampa wedding was inspired by vintage elements and a classic style.
“Our theme was old Hollywood meets old Florida. We love the classy, old Hollywood look,” the bride explained. “Max immediately knew he wanted the white dinner jacket look.”
Although she couldn't make it to the wedding ceremony, a very special guest to the bride and groom made a grand entrance during the reception.
“Max and I really wanted to somehow involve our labrador retriever, Libby, in the wedding as much as possible,” Allison shared. “The church obviously wouldn't allow a clumsy and large 5-year-old yellow lab to walk down the aisle, but we wanted her to have her moment too. So, when we were announced at our wedding reception, Libby walked in with us and stood with the bridal party during our first dance.”
The Tampa couple searched for an elegant wedding venue with multiple spaces and amenities for their guests.
“We really wanted something that was indoors in case of bad weather, a beautiful cocktail hour area, a big ballroom and a place that you could stay at after drinking all night at the reception,” the bride explained. “The Tampa Marriott Waterside was all of that and more; the staff was wonderful and treated us like royalty the entire weekend! Not only did the venue exceed our expectations, but the staff kept sending up little gifts the day of: mimosas, chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of wine and a free stay on our one year anniversary.”
MORE: TAMPA MARRIOTT WATERSIDE WEDDINGS
Looking back, one of Allison's most memorable moments was seeing her soon-to-be husband for the first time on her wedding day.
“The most important to me was seeing Max at the end of that aisle. We didn't have a first look so it was really important to see his face,” the bride reminisced. “The whole day flew by, but the moment I walked down the aisle it felt like the whole world slowed down, and he was the only one in that church.”
The Proposal:
Max proposed on March 28. We planned on meeting my good friend, Patricia, and her husband, Kevin, for a double date brunch. As I was just about done getting ready, Max came up to me with tears in his eyes and told me he would drive us to the brunch because I would be on my phone the entire way there. This scared me to death because I thought he was implying that something terrible happened to a family member and this was his way of breaking it to me. What I didn't realize was that he was holding the ring box in his hand.
As I was about to scream “What happened?! Why? Is everything okay?!,” he walked over to me with the ring box. As he was getting down on one knee, I screamed “OH! This is happening right now?” Max said a beautiful proposal with our dog Libby sitting next to him, and we both cried and shook the entire time. We got into the car, but no one would answer my phone call telling them we were engaged. I was wondering why Max didn't tell my family this was happening, because if I know my mother, she would be staring at her phone all morning waiting for me to call her after he proposed. Max explained to me that he was planning on doing it later this weekend, but he just couldn't wait so that's probably why no one was answering. Little did I know, our entire family and a bunch of good friends were waiting in the outside sitting area of the brunch and surprised me when we walked in. That morning will forever be one of the best morning's of our entire lives together. He really did manage to surprise me, which is hard to do!
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
We really wanted something that was indoors in case of bad weather, a beautiful cocktail hour area, a big ballroom and a place that you could stay at after drinking all night at the reception.
The Tampa Marriott Waterside was all of that and more; the staff was wonderful and treated us like royalty the entire weekend! Not only did the venue exceed our expectations, but the staff kept sending up little gifts the day of: mimosas, chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of wine and a free stay on our one year anniversary. Jeni Wallace was our main contact, and she was amazing. The Marriott sold us because they told us when we were announced at our wedding reception, our labrador retriever could walk in with us and stand with the bridal party during our first dance. The hotel was close to everything and had a great a great Riverwalk for out-of-town guests. I also loved that a great outside bar was in short walking distance.
How would you describe your theme?
Our theme was old Hollywood meets old Florida. It sounds silly, but we loved the classy, old Hollywood look, and I fell in love with a Rifle Paper Company invitation. It had a citrus theme to it, and I loved the colors and the font. It inspired me to plan my whole wedding around it.
What were your colors?
Our main colors were light coral and dark green (our flowers incorporated a lot of dark green leaves which I loved), and the colors that were shown here and there were orange for our citrus look (we had a lot of kumquats in our centerpieces and oranges in our invitations, programs, and menus) and gold.
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What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay Brides?
Your wedding goes by very quickly! Stick with your original ideas and don't change ideas throughout the wedding planning
process. It will only cause headaches.
Remember why you're doing this, to spend your life together with someone.
Don't leave out your fiancé in the wedding planning process. If they want to give their opinion, let it be heard.
Make sure your hair holds up through windy weather.
Ceremony Venue: St. John's Episcopal Church
Reception Venue: Tampa Marriott Waterside – Venue Coordinator: Jeni Wallace *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Venue
Photographer: Justin Demutiis Photography
Videographer: Life's Highlights
Planner: Confetti Events
Florist: Botanica International Design & Décor Studio
Lighting: J. Thor Productions, Inc
Caterer: Tampa Marriott Waterside
Cake: Publix
Band: C'Nergy
Chiavari Chair Rentals: Signature Events Rentals
Officiant: The Rev. Charles Connelly
Transportation: OMG Trolley
Dress: Matthew Christopher
Hair: Courtney Samnik
Makeup: Femme Akoi
Stationery: Paper Plum
