Elegant Sarasota Wedding | Ringling Museum – Ca'd'Zan Mansion Wedding
Taylor and Curt's Sarasota wedding featured an outdoor ceremony and reception at the historic Ca'd'Zan at the Ringling Museum, vintage Rolls Royce and show stopping choreographed first dance.
“We selected a classic and timeless color scheme of black and gold, which fit well with the style of the venue and looked great on everyone,” the bride explained. “I wanted colors that wouldn't date my wedding photos.”
The Tampa couple combined the groom's traditional tastes with the bride's modern flair.
“I think our wedding had a good balance of both [of our styles]. Classical violin music was played before and during the ceremony, and then we amped it up a bit for the cocktail hour/dinner and had an electric violinist play and sing more contemporary music from artists like Taylor Swift,” the bride explained. “The furniture we used was traditional, chiavari chairs and baroque style couches in a lounge area, but we added some flare with sequin table clothes and a gold leather tufted bar.
To make sure their wedding day went smoothly, the paired hired Sarasota wedding planner NK Productions.
“After hiring Nicole with NK Productions, every vendor we met with said what a great choice we made, how wonderful she was and how they absolutely loved working with her and her team,” Taylor gushed. “I was surprised that Nicole began working with us not just the day of our wedding, but 30 days before. She finalized orders with our vendors, made a wedding day timeline, helped me with the floor plan for the reception, the seating chart for the ceremony and a back up plan for rain just days before the wedding. I would recommend a day of coordinator to everyone who is getting married, and I am glad that we chose NK Productions.”
Photography was a priority for the bride and groom who splurged to hire favorite Sarasota wedding photographer.
“We wanted a photographer who could capture every detail and, at the same time, not take away from any of the guests' experience by getting in the way,” Taylor explained. “Limelight Photography was the first and only photographer we met with. We got the beautiful, edited photos for our engagement session within one week and we received a sneak peek of 70 of our wedding photos within five days of the wedding, with the remaining 1,100 photos sent eight days later. I have friends who got married three months ago and still haven't gotten their photos! Limelight was amazing, and I recommend them to everyone I know who is planning a wedding.”
MORE: LIMELIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY WEDDINGS
Looking back, one of the couple's most memorable moments was the first dance.
“We wanted a choreographed routine that wasn't your ordinary first dance. We signed up to take dance lessons in January and continued going once a week up until the weekend before our wedding. I was so nervous about all the lifts, flips and dips as I was walking out onto the dance floor. Luckily everything was perfect, I didn't lose any teeth and everybody cheered us on saying we would have been on Dancing with the Stars. I must have watched the video of our dance 1,000 times the next day!” Taylor reminisced.
What was your wedding day beauty inspiration?
Keeping with the theme of classic and timeless, I chose vintage “s wave” curls, and then went a little more modern with a dark plum lip color which everyone told me not to do. But I'm so glad I didn't listen because it looked fabulous, and I got compliments on the lip color all night.
My mother hired Michele Renee The Studio for her wedding six years ago. We had a great experience with them at her wedding, so I decided to use them at mine as well. Our stylists were very professional and talented. I brought them photos for inspiration, and they were able to duplicate anything I brought them.
What did you look for in a wedding planner?
We were really looking for a day of coordinator that would make sure everything went smoothly the day of the wedding and that the reception and ceremony space would be set up beautifully and broken down efficiently so that my family members didn't have to stay and try and figure it out at 11:30 at night.
NK Productions was recommended by our venue coordinator at the Ringling Museum. After hiring Nicole, every vendor we met with said what a great choice we made, how wonderful she was and how they absolutely loved working with her and her team. I was surprised that Nicole began working with us not just the day of our wedding, but 30 days before. She finalized orders with our vendors, made a wedding day timeline, helped me with the floor plan for the reception, the seating chart for the ceremony and a back up plan for rain just days before the wedding. NK Productions was present at my rehearsal, making sure everyone knew what to do and when to do it. The day of the wedding Nicole was there to oversee all deliveries made by the vendors. Everything was set up just the way we discussed, and the girls even helped me get in and out of my dress a couple times for wardrobe changes! I would recommend a day of coordinator to everyone who is getting married, and I am glad that we chose NK Productions.
What did you look for in a wedding photographer?
Curt and I thought we would get more use and enjoyment out of phenomenal photos as opposed to good photos and a wedding video we may watch on milestone anniversaries. By eliminating the cost for a videographer, we were able to afford one of the best photographers in our area. We also wanted a photographer who could capture every detail and, at the same time, not take away from any of the guests' experience by getting in the way. Having a photographer who was willing to work with us to get a first look session, wedding party photos, as well as family photos all completed before the wedding began was very important to us. We heard too many stories from friends saying they didn't get to enjoy their reception because they were constantly being pulled aside for photos.
Limelight Photography was the first and only photographer we met with. I had seen their work on Pinterest and really liked what I saw. Before scheduling a meeting I read numerous rave reviews. During our meeting with Michael, we were told that our wedding photos would be ready for us just two short weeks after our wedding and would have 40 hours of editing from our photographer. He also said that our photographer would not be photographing any other wedding that weekend that way they can focus on my wedding. Limelight archives your wedding photos in high resolution for life. If you ever need to retrieve them because of a fire, computer crash, flood, anything, they have them on file. Everything that was promised in that meeting was absolutely true! We got the beautiful, edited photos for our engagement session within one week and we received a sneak peek of 70 of our wedding photos within five days of the wedding, with the remaining 1,100 photos sent eight days later. I have friends who got married three months ago and still haven't gotten their photos! Limelight was amazing, and I recommend them to everyone I know who is planning a wedding.
How would you describe your theme and colors?
We selected a classic and timeless color scheme of black and gold, which fit well with the style of the venue, looks great on everyone and there was no clashing of colors when it came to my wedding photos with guests. I wanted colors that wouldn't date my wedding photos (and who doesn't look great in black?!)
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay/Sarasota couples?
Be sure of what you want so you aren't overwhelmed with options and so you won't be talked into something that is over your budget. Also don't be so concerned with having the same timeline at your wedding as everyone else. I wanted my photos taken before my curls fell out I sweat off my makeup, and I wanted to be able to sit down and eat my food when I was still hot, and I did!
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Ringling Museum – Ca'd'Zan Mansion
Photographer: Limelight Photography *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Planner: NK Productions *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Florist: Viktoria Blooms
Caterer: Modern Events
Rentals: A Chair Affair *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Rentals: So Staged Events and Rentals
Linen Rentals: Kate Ryan Linens
Cake: The Cake Zone
DJ: Breezin' Entertainment
Officiant: Family Member
Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas and Tampa Calligraphy
Transportation: Luxor Limousine
Bridesmaid Dresses: Rent the Runway
Hair & Makeup: Michele Renee The Studio *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Dance Lessons: Fred Astaire Dance Studio
