Gabrielle and Devin
Sacred Heart Catholic ChurcH AND
“We wanted our wedding to be very classic and traditional, to match both of our personalities.. We chose navy blue, ivory, and champagne for our color scheme. We picked the colors first and then decided on the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay for our venue afterwards. The Skylark room ended up having accent colors that matched our colors perfectly. With every decision in the wedding planning process, large or small, we made them together to ensure that both of our desires were met and that it stayed true to ‘us’. ” -The Bride
FEATURING
Gabrielle and Devin’s classic Tampa wedding was a timeless summer celebration filled with neutral flora and surrounded by 158 of their most treasured loved ones. The bride and groom exchanged sacred vows in a traditional Catholic Mass in downtown Tampa before hosting their friends and family in an elegant rooftop reception set at a waterfront resort.
“What made our wedding so unique was our family and close friends,” the bride detailed. “Every person there played a special, unique role in our lives, whether individually or as a couple. We loved being able to share one of the (if not the most) important days with the people who mean the most to us.”
The Proposal
“Devin wanted to go on a picnic at the beach. We went once when we first started dating, and he had been talking about it for a while, so we decided to have a picnic on Friday night, at the same spot where we first went. He picked me up, and we were starting to drive to St. Pete. The sky was pitch black, and I said, ‘I feel like we should just go somewhere inside,’ and he said, ‘Oh no, it’ll be fine.’
We got to St. Pete right by the Don CeSar; the skies were clear and beautiful, and he proposed there. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen. He was so nervous. He barely ate any of the food that I made for the picnic.”
The Honeymoon and Bach Parties
We honeymooned at two Greek islands: Paros and Naxos. We wanted to go somewhere we’d both never been. We loved the beaches, restaurants and all of the different activities to do there.
For my bachelorette party, we went to Drip in Ybor (my favorite pottery spot), followed by my aunt’s house for dinner and some games, and then to the Dallas Bull for dancing. I wanted to do something more low-key and have events that my younger cousins and sister could go to so they could be included during the day. My aunt so generously offered her house (my other aunts and cousins all helped decorate and make everything all special) to host dinner and made it so much easier for everybody to be able to talk and just spend time together and get to be with each other too!
Devin picked Anna Maria Island for his bachelor party since it was close and they could hang at the beach and pool at the house they rented.”
The Venue
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
“The location was a big part of our venue search; we wanted a venue within 15 minutes of our ceremony chapel. We also needed to able to accommodate 150 people, and the menu options were also very important to us.
We loved the view from the Skylark room and the fact that there is an outside terrace. Devin wanted to do a hand-rolled cigar station, so it was perfect for that. There is also some sentimental importance on both sides of our family with the Skylark room which used to be Armani’s Restaurant (where one of Devin’s aunt and uncle got engaged).
The service was amazing! We worked with Devon Thurmond, and it was an absolute pleasure. She was so hardworking and had amazing follow up throughout, letting us go into the wedding day stress free! Their entire team was amazing and a joy to work with.”
The Inspiration
“We wanted our wedding to be very classic and traditional, to match both of our personalities.. We chose navy blue, ivory, and champagne for our color scheme. We picked the colors first and then decided on the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay for our venue afterwards. The Skylark room ended up having accent colors that matched our colors perfectly.
With every decision in the wedding planning process, large or small, we made them together to ensure that both of our desires were met and that it stayed true to ‘us’. “
The Decor
Fiesta Event Solutions
Quote goes here about what Fiesta Event Solutions provided
The Most Memorable Moments
“At the mass, I was just nervous for the day, and to see Gabrielle for the first time in her dress. As we walked out at our reception, everybody was looking at us. We decided to do a spin and dip, and we did it, and it looked good, so I was excited we didn’t mess it up.” -The Groom
“The most important aspect of the wedding for me was our wedding mass and the sacrament of marriage. Our priest, who celebrated the mass, is actually a close family friend we’ve known for over 10 years, so it made it even more special to have him there to make our vows so memorable.
We had been taking dance lessons for a few months and had a choreographed first dance that we were going to do, but literally after the ceremony, Devon and I decided to scratch it and just wing it. We had so much fun doing actual classes, but my dress was so heavy, and we were both nervous about doing the dance without messing it up, so we just danced like ‘us’!” -The Bride
Which vendors really exceeded your expectations?
Truly, all our vendors exceeded our expectations, but the ones that stand out the most are the venue, the band, the videographer, and the hair and makeup artists. All the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay personnel were so accommodating and very organized. The band, the New Royals, sounded absolutely amazing, and we got so many compliments about them after the wedding. Ashley Ann did my hair and makeup, and I felt so beautiful the whole day (it was completely tear-proof). Michael from MSM IMAGE was so professional, and we knew we wanted him as our videographer from the moment we first talked to him. Just from our first conversation, you could hear how passionate he is about what he does and the importance of capturing/preserving family memories.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
There are so many distractions and little mishaps that come up before your actual wedding day, and I feel like it’s so easy to get caught up in those and lose sight of the day and what it really is about. Your wedding will come, and it will be beautiful, and you’ll want to live it all over again, so just enjoy everything leading up to it (which is sometimes easier said than done! I broke out in hives and chemical burns from bug spray the week of the wedding, so I had to overnight Amazon gloves to hide them.
