Amanda and John’s classic white and gold St. Petersburg wedding featured an outdoor waterfront ceremony, followed by a formal white and gold reception. The bride and groom hosted a downtown St. Pete wedding to give their guests plenty of options for entertainment and local attractions. “A majority of our guests were from out of town, and we felt that they would enjoy being able to walk to all of the local shops, restaurants and farmers markets,” the bride explained.
Even though they were surrounded by an urban atmosphere, the South Tampa couple chose a unique St. Petersburg wedding venue for their wedding reception that felt like a hidden oasis. “When we visited NOVA 535, saw the bamboo garden for cocktail hour and the exposed brick and wood beams inside for the reception, it was a no brainer,” Amanda gushed. “NOVA 535 is so unique. How often do you see cocktail hours hosted in a bamboo garden? How often do you see receptions in a beautiful indoor setting with exposed brick and wood beams? This is what drew us to the venue.”
With the bride being a local food blogger, the menu played an important role in the couple’s wedding day. “We tried five different catering companies and no one came close to Olympia Catering’s food and service,” the bride shared. “Working with Sherri and the entire Olympia team was one of the easiest portions of planning the wedding. Their food has so much flavor, and their staff is absolutely delightful!”
To capture the special moments of their wedding day, the bride and groom hired St. Petersburg wedding photographer Limelight Photography for their reputation and professionalism. “Working with the entire Limelight staff, especially our lead photographer, Jess, was a wonderful experience,” the bride shared. “She made everyone she came into contact with comfortable and was a pleasure to work with. She was able to capture beautiful photographs for both our engagement session and wedding without showing any sign of stress. We had a large wedding party which is hard to manage, but Jessica and her assistant Carlos made it look easy. They were patient and acted professional throughout the entire event.”
Looking back, one of the bride’s most memorable moments came during the long, but wonderful walk down the aisle toward her groom. “The walk started through the trees of the Mahaffey Theater, then opened up to the lush green plaza area where our guests were seated in white garden chairs with a white rose petal lined aisle,” Amanda reminisced. John was patiently waiting at the end with the beautiful backdrop of palm trees, sailboats and the unique blue atrium of the Dali Museum. Imagining that special moment gives me chills every time and brings a warm smile to my face.
Why did you choose to have wedding planner?
I chose to have a day of coordinator because there were a lot of vendors to manage and logistics.
Exquisite Events was budget friendly and had good reviews. They did a great job! I gave them all of our vendors information and timelines, and they made sure that all the vendors were on time and did the correct set up.
The Proposal:
John popped the question on a remote Island off of Ft. Myers in front of both of our families.
What did you look for in a wedding photographer?
We looked for someone who was professional and could capture all of the special moments, as well as get along well with our wedding party and guests.
We chose Limelight Photography because they were very professional, had an amazing reputation and we loved their example photos. They also only do wedding photography only which really stood out to us. Working with the entire Limelight staff, especially our lead photographer, Jess, was a wonderful experience. She made everyone she came into contact with comfortable and was a pleasure to work with. She was able to capture beautiful photographs for both our engagement session and wedding without showing any sign of stress. We had a large wedding party which is hard to manage, but Jessica and her assistant Carlos made it look easy. They were patient and acted professional throughout the entire event.
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
We wanted to have a unique venue for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception so we decided to look for places that would accomplish this.
When we visited NOVA 535, saw the bamboo garden for cocktail hour and the exposed brick and wood beams inside for the reception, it was a no brainer We chose the venue because it is honestly so unique. How often do you see cocktail hours hosted in a bamboo garden? How often do you see receptions in a beautiful indoor setting with exposed brick and wood beams? Also, the fact that you could choose any licensed food vendor was a huge advantage, because other venues only let you choose from their select few.
How would you describe your theme?
Classic, with lots of clean white and splashes of gold. We both enjoy the classic formal look and felt that the clean white and gold would portray that.
What was your wedding menu and cake inspiration?
Our wedding menu was created to cater to all of our guests’ different taste buds. For the hors d’oeuvres we did grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato basil soup shots, beef tenderloin crostini, tomato
bruschetta and scallops wrapped in bacon. We felt that those options covered everything from seafood, comfort foods and even vegetarian options. For the salad we chose the Spanish style salad because we wanted something with lots of flavor, not just the classic caesar salad. For the dinner we chose Olympia’s signature chicken because who doesn’t love cheese stuffed chicken? For our wedding cake inspiration we wanted to continue the look of the simple, clean and classic formal theme.
We tried five different catering companies and no one came close to Olympia Catering’s food and service. Working with Sherri and the entire Olympia team was one of the easiest portions of planning the wedding. Their food has so much flavor, and their staff is absolutely delightful! We have nothing but great things to say about Olympia and would recommend them to everyone.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay Brides?
Shop around. Don’t settle just to cross something of your to-do list! I planned my wedding by myself which was a lot of work, but totally worth it! For each vendor I would concentrate on one at a time and do serious research to find my top 3-5 that I wanted to look into. After that I would set appointments and look online for the in detail questions to ask and things to consider when comparing. It took a lot of time, but I was able to know each of my vendors personally.
