Industrial Downtown Tampa Wedding | The Rialto Theatre Wedding
Bethany and Kyle's downtown Tampa wedding featured a modern design and antique flair with a neutral champagne and blush color palette.
“We wanted a romantic wedding that wasn’t over the top,” the bride explained. “Something that depicted us and wasn’t too overwhelming or large of an event, but still a social event to celebrate our marriage. We wanted a fun event that everyone could enjoy!”
The Tampa couple incorporated their personal tastes to create a unique atmosphere, without the use of typical wedding decor.
“I was a pretty low-maintenance bride; glitz and glamour, over the top florals and sparkles are just not my thing,” Bethany shared. “Basically, if Restoration Hardware created a wedding, that’s kind of how we wanted our wedding to look: modern with repurposed antique elements.”
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With the help of St. Petersburg wedding stationery designer A&P Designs, the bride created a simple, but elegant letterpress invitation with a hand drawn image of their venue's exterior.
“From the design process all the way to picking up our perfectly wrapped invitations, A&P Designs was phenomenal. I feel our invitations gave our guests a glimpse of a general wedding theme we wanted to portray. I love that it is owned by a local husband and wife duo who equally share their love for this craft. They literally handpress each invitation on a vintage printing press.”
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Finding an affordable catering company who offered a unique menu and the taste to match was important to Bethany and Kyle, who hired Tampa Bay wedding caterers Olympia Catering.
“We’re complete foodies. We absolutely adore trying new foods at different restaurants, so our food was something important to us. Kyle attests to the quote that you first ‘eat with your eyes, prior to your mouth,' so we knew presentation had to be on point, as well as taste,” the bride explained. “We wanted something that differed from typical wedding food, but still wanted a seated dinner to complement the setup of our tables.”
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To bring together all the details of their day, the couple hired Tampa Bay wedding planner Inspiré Weddings and Events.
“The Inspiré team were fantastic and a great asset; each member has something different and fabulous to offer to ensure a bride of every style has their needs and wishes covered. For each meeting, the ladies just seemed to ‘get our vision' and generally always had a contact or solution for any request.”
Looking back, one of the bride's most memorable moments involved taking a moment of quiet time with her new husband.
“No matter how much you plan for your wedding to be an easy and non-stressful event, it becomes quite a busy day that can and will go by in a blur. After our ceremony and photos, prior to entering our reception, our planners had a quiet room set up for us with our signature cocktail and hors d’ouevres. Even for just this 10-15 minutes we had to ourselves, it was a lovely and quiet moment where could just enjoy and relish that we had just gotten married,” Bethany reminisced.
What was your invitation design inspiration?
Simple but elegant. We knew we wanted letterpress and a simple script font, without any additional details on the actual invitation. We had a hand drawing of the exterior of our venue on our envelope liners, which was an actual detail we fell in love with.
From the design process all the way to picking up our perfectly wrapped invitations (they packaged everything perfectly with the prettiest twine), A&P Designs was phenomenal. I feel our invitations gave our guests a glimpse of general wedding theme we wanted to portray. I love that it is owned by a local husband and wife duo who equally share their love for this craft. They literally hand press each invitation on a vintage printing press.
The Proposal:
We got engaged in a small, quaint town called Thomasville, Georgia, which is about 20 minutes north of Tallahassee. They have a precious downtown that is composed of pretty much one stunning brick street and several gems of restaurants and shops. It’s one of those places that has beautiful historic architecture, where time tends to stand still and you feel as if you’re transported back in time. This is actually where Kyle took me on our first date. We went to Sweet Grass Dairy Farms wine and cheese shop for some vino and of course, fromage, followed by dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. This had become one of our favorite go-to date spots, so when Kyle suggested we get dressed up for a date night there, I thought nothing of it. Little did I know, he would ask me to be his wife while strolling the brick-paved, twinkle light-adorned streets, en-route to dinner. It was perfect in every way!
What did you look for in a wedding planner?
Inspiré Weddings and Events were a fantastic team and great asset, each member of their team has something different and fabulous to offer to ensure a bride of every style has their needs and wishes covered.
For each meeting, the ladies just seemed to “get our vision” and generally always had a contact or solution for any request. It would have been a grueling and painful process to pull this wedding off without the help of this team, especially for the day before, and day of needs and issues.
How would you describe your theme?
Romantic and simple, with a rustic elegance. A modern wedding with an antique flair. I was a pretty low-maintenance bride; glitz and glamour and over the top florals and sparkles are just not my thing. Basically, if Restoration Hardware created a wedding, that’s kind of how we wanted our wedding to look: modern with repurposed antique elements.
What were your colors?
I didn’t want a wedding that screamed a specific theme or color. I love neutrals and candles. My bridesmaids wore champagne and blush tones. Everywhere we could put it, my florist placed seeded eucalyptus greenery, ivory, little pops of antique gold pieces and candles everywhere.
What was your menu inspiration?
We’re complete foodies. We absolutely adore trying new foods at different restaurants, so our food was something important to us. Kyle attests to the quote that you first eat with your eyes, prior to your mouth, so we knew presentation had to be on point, as well as taste. We wanted something that differed from typical wedding food, but still wanted a seated dinner to complement the setup of our tables.
We loved Olympia Catering‘s unique menu creations that could be designed completely around our taste and budget. Olympia built an on-site kitchen and cooked all of their food [at the venue], as opposed to delivering in hot boxes, already cooked, much like their competitors. I really felt like the sky was the limit with Olympia for food options. Their staff was fantastic; Donna was amazing with meeting all of our requests.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Make this day about you and your partner! Don’t forget the purpose of a wedding: to get married. At the end of the day, as long as you get married, that’s all that matters.
Ceremony Venue: Le Méridien
Reception Venue: The Rialto Theatre
Photographer: Erin Whitman PhotoArte
Planner: Inspire Wedding and Events
Florist: Hannah's Florals & Events
Caterer & Cake: Olympia Catering *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Bartender: Spunky Spirits
Favors: Mini Doughnut Factory
Rentals: Terri Smith Details, A Piece of Cake Event Planning
Band: Brady Clampitt Band
Officiant: Ed Ayers
Invitations: A&P Designs *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Wedding Dress: Made by Bride's mother
Bridesmaid Dresses: BHLDN
Bridal Hair and Makeup: Reanna Smith
Bridesmaids and Mother’s Hair: Blo Blow Dry Bar
Groom and Groomsmen Attire: BeSpoke & Co.
