Stephanie and Austin's destination Clearwater Beach wedding combined crisp white hues with pops of watery blue, accented with neutral flora and organic greenery. Guests enjoyed a rooftop ceremony followed by an elegant ballroom reception overlooking the ocean.
“My theme was minimalist with a hint of ‘coastal grandma.' I wanted minimal dรฉcor because the beauty of the venue spoke for itself. I wanted the beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico to be the main focus,” the bride shared. “Our colors were white, silver, navy, and steel blue. I chose these colors because we both love the color blue, but I also fell in love with the social media trend of ‘coastal grandma.' It reminded me so much of the beach and the colors of the gulf.”
Stephanie chose to tie the knot in Clearwater Beach, where her parents live, making the locale sentimental for the destination May wedding. After viewing countless stunning images online and following a detailed phone call with the hotel's amazing events team, she booked the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach, site unseen.
“We wanted a beach wedding, so our main focus was finding a venue that was right on the Gulf of Mexico. We wanted to see the beautiful views of the water and beach. My mom and I came across the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach online, and we were blown away. When we saw the pictures of the breathtaking views of the Sky Terrace and the wall of glass windows in the Bellair Room, we had a gut feeling that this was the one,” the bride beamed. “What sealed the deal was when we had a conference call with the Senior Event Sales Manager, Lindsey Sikes; it felt like we had known her forever. She answered all of our questions and explained everything in great detail. Even though we never saw the venue or saw Lindsey and her team in person, we knew that the Hyatt Clearwater Beach was our venue. It checked all the boxes: unbelievable food and beverage package, breathtaking Gulf of Mexico views, room block for our guests, amazing amenities and facilities, and most importantly, an amazing team. We highly recommend the Hyatt, and we will be going back to visit for years to come!”
The Pittsburg bride turned to Marry Me Tampa Bay for inspiration and resources while planning their destination celebration. The wealth of knowledge helped Stephanie select her venue and vendors and provided additional peace of mind during the process.
“I used Marry Me Tampa Bay to look at previous weddings that were at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach; this was extremely helpful to us because we were a destination wedding, and we never saw the venue until five months after booking!” Stephanie revealed. “Reading about the couple's experiences at the Hyatt also showed us we picked the best venue, which was super reassuring! The Hyatt also recommended us to read the article ‘4 Ways Wedding Insurance Can Help You Be Prepared for the Unexpected,' which guided us on the importance of wedding insurance. We used Wedding Protector Plan that was included in the article. I spent a good amount of time looking at the venue's preferred vendor list and also the Marry Me Tampa Bay list! I also found my hair and make-up, Femme Akoi Beauty Studio from Marry Me Tampa Bay!”
The pair prioritized personal details within their 97-guest wedding celebration to reflect who they are as a couple. One of the most prominent elements was their shared love for their furbaby, Sebastian, who made a unique 2-D appearance that evening.
“We wanted our wedding to represent us as a couple and who we are as people. One of my favorite things we did was incorporate our golden retriever, Sebastian, into the day as much as possible! We named our bar ‘Sebastianโs Bar,' and we had a large picture of him at the bar!” the bride detailed. “I also ordered a three-foot cutout of Sebastian that we used for our reception entrance! It was one of my favorite memories of the night! Our guests loved dancing with the Sebastian cut-out, especially my two-year-old niece. We wish we were able to bring our sweet boy to Florida, but incorporating him as much as possible was our way of having him be a part of our big day!”
Stephanie relied on the planning experts at Coastal Coordinating to assist her through the wedding process and to provide a seamless experience. From the moment she met owner Katy Turchich, it felt kismet. Katy and the Coastal team provided attentive service and guidance in the months leading up to the big day and allowed the couple to enjoy a stress-free celebration.
“Coastal Coordinating was a preferred vendor at our venue. When I looked at their Instagram, I noticed one of my friends from back home used Coastal Coordinating for their destination wedding. My friend raved about Katy and also how she was from Pittsburgh too! Long story short, we always say that no matter where you go or who you talk to, there is always a connection to Pittsburgh,” the bride joked. “During our consultation call, we found out that Katyโs family was from the same hometown as my dad! Even crazier, one of her family members and my dad were friends back in grade school, and our grandparents lived a couple blocks from one another. It was meant to be! I canโt explain the amount of love and gratitude we have for Katy and her team. She spent countless hours with us, from preparing our timeline, answering our questions and concerns, and being our lifeline the last 60 days to the day of the wedding. Katy and her team went above and beyond to make our wedding day one of the best days of our lives.”
The festivities were artfully documented by the talented team at Lifelong Photography Studio through light and airy imagery. Striking a balance between natural candid shots, skillfully posed formals, and details, they captured the entire celebration in timeless storytelling format for the bride and groom to treasure for years to come.
“I chose Lifelong Photography Studio because their work was everything we wanted in our wedding pictures: timeless, bright, and slightly airy. Buffy Feldman and her team were amazing, from our first consultation, making the timeline, to the day of our wedding. Buffy truly captured the moments that Austin and I will always remember,” Stephanie gushed.
Before their ceremony began, Stephanie and Austin shared a few intimate moments together, which the bride will forever remember fondly and look back on with gratitude.
“One of our most memorable moments was doing our first look and personal vows to one another. It was a moment we will forever remember, having that one-on-one time before our ceremony. It not only calmed our nerves, but we were able to spend that time with just one another,” the bride reminisced. “The day goes by in the blink of an eye, so those 30 minutes of just being together is something we will forever cherish. We were able to laugh, cry, and be ourselves before we walked down the aisle to become husband and wife.”
Where did you host your bachelorette party?
Nashville, Tennessee. My friends and I went to Nashville, and we had the time of our lives! It became one of my favorite places, and I had to go back for my bachelorette!
What were your wedding hair and makeup inspiration?
At first, my hair inspiration was timeless, half up and half down with soft curls. I donโt wear much makeup, so I wanted to be very natural. However, a year before our wedding, I was a maid of honor for my best friend's wedding in Florida. I tried out the look for her wedding, and the Florida humidity got the best of my hair, and I felt that my makeup was too natural when looking back at the pictures. Thatโs when I changed my mind to do an updo and do natural glam, but drama to the eyes!
When I did my trial with Lana at Femme Akoi Beauty Studio, she did an amazing job bringing my vision to life. I used inspiration for my hair and makeup from Femme Akoi's Instagram from prior brides. My biggest advice when it comes to booking hair and makeup is to do your research.
The day of our wedding, Lana and Hollie were extremely thorough and thoughtful to my entire wedding party and myself. They spent a great amount of time with each one of us and made sure that our hair and makeup were to our satisfaction. I know that can be a very stressful part of a wedding day, but Lana and Hollie made it seamless! All of our hair and makeup made it through the Florida heat, and also the laughs and tears that were shed.
The Proposal:
We had plans to go out to dinner that night with our good friends, however, about half an hour before our reservation, a massive rainstorm hit the city of Pittsburgh. I was getting ready in the bathroom when Austin in the other room goes, โThey just texted me. They canโt come anymore due to the storm. The roads are bad.” He thought I was going to run into our bedroom, but instead, I go, โWell, letโs go still; Iโm hungry!โ I kept getting ready in the bathroom while poor Austin was down on his knee waiting for me to come out of the bathroom.
When I finally came out of the bathroom, I saw him down on one knee! He proceeded to tell me that we were never going out to dinner with our friends, but we were meeting all of our closest family and friends at our favorite bar. One of my best friends, who was in med school at the time, and our family from Florida surprised me at the bar that night too, but the surprises didnโt stop! Austin, along with the help of our families and my best friends, had an engagement party at a local restaurant the following day. I was completely blown away, and it will be a weekend that we will forever remember!
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
We went to Siesta Key for five days after our wedding for a mini-moon. It was so nice to sit on the beach and relax after our wedding week! We are planning a two-week trip to Europe in the summer for our honeymoon. We are thinking of Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and England! We are so excited to start planning our Europe trip this fall.
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
We wanted a beach wedding, so our main focus was finding a venue that was right on the Gulf of Mexico. We wanted to see the beautiful views of the water and beach. My mom and I came across the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach online, and we were blown away. When we saw the pictures of the breathtaking views of the Sky Terrace and the wall of glass windows in the Bellair Room, we had a gut feeling that this was the one.
What sealed the deal was when we had a conference call with the Senior Event Sales Manager, Lindsey Sikes; it felt like we had known her forever. She answered all of our questions and explained everything in great detail. Even though we never saw the venue or saw Lindsey and her team in person, we knew that the Hyatt Clearwater Beach was our venue. It checked all the boxes: unbelievable food and beverage package, breathtaking Gulf of Mexico views, room block for our guests, amazing amenities and facilities, and most importantly, an amazing team.
The most important elements were food, alcohol, and music. We have been to a lot of weddings over the years, and those were the biggest elements we noticed and remembered most. When we were reading reviews from prior couples and talking to Lizzie and her team, they reassured us that the food and alcohol were one of their top priorities, too. When we went to our food testing in January, we were completely blown away by the portion size of our plated meals and how delicious the food was. To this day, people still keep telling us that we had the biggest portions and the best food they ever had at a wedding.
When we came down in January to do our food testing, I met Lizzie for the first time. We felt that we knew Lizzie forever and that she had our best interests at heart. Lizzie's attention to detail was unbelievable. She remembered that my mom loved ranch dressing, and they brought out ranch just for my mom! Itโs the little details like this that we will always remember. Lizzie and her assistant Cassie went above and beyond to make sure our wedding day was perfect. We highly recommend the Hyatt, and we will be going back to visit for years to come!
What did you look for in a wedding planner?
Coastal Coordinating was a preferred vendor at Hyatt Clearwater Beach. When I looked at their Instagram, I noticed one of my friends from back home used Coastal Coordinating for their destination wedding. My friend raved about Katy and also how she was from Pittsburgh too! Long story short, we always say that no matter where you go or who you talk to, there is always a connection to Pittsburgh. During our consultation call with Katy, we found out that Katyโs family was from the same hometown as my dad! Even crazier, one of her family members and my dad were friends back in grade school, and our grandparents lived a couple blocks from one another. It was meant to be!
I canโt explain the amount of love and gratitude we have for Katy and her team. She spent countless hours with us, from preparing our timeline, answering our questions and concerns, and being our lifeline the last 60 days to the day of the wedding. Katy and her team went above and beyond to make our wedding day one of the best days of our lives.
When we were flying down to Florida for our wedding, we sat next to one of our favorite Pittsburgh Steelers of all time, Ryan Shazier. It was a memory that we will never forget, Ryan was so sweet, and wished us the best of luck on our wedding week and day! One of our favorite things to do is going to Steeler home games, and watching them every Sunday. We felt like this was another sign that this wedding in Florida was meant to be!
What did you look for in a wedding photographer?
When you look at wedding pictures on social media, there are so many styles and editing techniques. At first, this was overwhelming because I couldnโt figure out what style was best suited for us, even though we admired the beauty of each photographer's specific style. However, after many hours of research, we noticed that we were drawn to the pictures that were timeless, bright, and slightly airy. We wanted our wedding pictures to never go out of style.
I chose Lifelong Photography Studio because their work was everything we wanted in our wedding pictures: timeless, bright, and slightly airy. Buffy Feldman and her team were amazing, from our first consultation, making the timeline, to the day of our wedding. Buffy truly captured the moments that Austin and I will always remember.
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
My theme was minimalist with a hint of ‘coastal grandma.' I wanted minimal dรฉcor because the beauty of the venue spoke for itself. I wanted the beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico to be the main focus.
What were your colors?
Our colors were white, silver, navy, and steel blue. I chose these colors because we both love the color blue, but I also I fell in love with the social media trend of ‘coastal grandma.' It reminded me so much of the beach and the colors of the gulf.
What did you look for in a wedding DJ?
Our DJ was the first vendor we booked. I used the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach's preferred list, and they highly recommended Grant Hemond & Associates.
When I contacted Grant Hemond, Michelle was extremely helpful in answering all of our questions and concerns. I explained that Austin and I wanted our wedding to be a fun party with all of our closest family and friends. We wanted to be out on the dance floor all night. The more we explained our vision, she said that Jason Tally would be the perfect fit. When we were telling our family friends about our DJ, their daughter had Jason Tally for their wedding! This was another sign that our wedding in Clearwater was meant to be!
Which vendors really exceeded your expectations?
All of our vendors were absolutely amazing to work with and went above and beyond for us in every aspect.
Iโm so thankful for my florist. She is a guidance counselor at a local middle school and owns her shop on the side. She was so accommodating and went above and beyond to make sure that my vision would come to life. I vividly remember taking a couple of moments during dinner and just admiring her work, from the centerpieces to the greenery on all the signs, to our sweetheart table, and the statement chapel pieces she put behind our sweetheart table.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Social media can be extremely helpful when it comes to inspiration, but itโs very hard not to compare yourself to other brides. Everyone has different visions, budgets, and must-haves.
Do what you want to do; donโt get caught up in the little details that other people are doing. This day is about you and your significant other; make it the day you always envisioned it to be! Stay true to yourself!
