Kelly and Cassidy’s intimate Tampa wedding featured a palette of crimson and marigold, natural wildflowers, nods to their mutual love of travel, and a collection of homages to their beloved pets.
“We drew inspiration from our travels as a couple. Travel is a passion for Cassidy and I and we have had so many amazing adventures together that we knew we wanted to incorporate that into our wedding details. For our seating chart, we had tickets to direct each guest to their table, which were all based on the destinations we traveled to. The table numbers had the location name and a photo of us in that location. We also used postcards that we’d collected during our travels over the years as our guest book and absolutely loved reading the notes from everyone later on,” the bride shared. “We chose burgundy with gold accents. We didn’t incorporate these colors into too much of the day, but my flowers had burgundy in them, and Cassidy’s suit was a similar color, so I decided it’d be a good fit.”
The couple had originally planned to wed in 2020 but had to change course and decided on an intimate elopement at Channel Islands National Park, off the coast of California, before returning home to celebrate with a park ceremony and brewery reception with their 70 closest friends and family a few months later.
“We waited so long in hopes that we could reschedule our original plans for a later date that included a wedding day with all of our friends and family present, but eventually, we just had to do what felt right to us, so we chose to elope with a few close friends that were able to make travel plans and then, later on, we hosted a celebration back home with all of our loved ones,” the bride revealed.
The Tampa bride is no stranger to weddings as the owner of FairyTail Pet Care, which includes your pet on your wedding day. Including her own pets in the celebration and being on the client’s side of the experience is something Kelly will forever treasure.
“It was so much fun to be on the other side of things and be able to fully appreciate how special it is to see your pups at the height of such a big day. I scheduled time to see my pups, Rowdie and Grizzie, before heading to the ceremony, just as the nerves really started to kick in and they helped bring me back to the present moment and focus on what really mattered,” the bride beamed. “I did a first look with them and nearly melted over their sweet and hilarious reactions. Rowdie barely noticed me at first because he was too focused on the treats his handler had in their hand (typical labrador!). My baby, Grizzie, was the opposite, wiggling around and kissing me like crazy. They brought the biggest smile to my face, and everyone else’s around, too! I also loved seeing the pictures later on that Cassidy took with them before the ceremony.”
During their park ceremony, the couple opted to ‘tie the knot’ using a custom rope versus the traditional exchange of rings.
“It is unique to elope and then have another ceremony with a reception back home,” the bride detailed. “Aside from that, we actually did not exchange rings during our ceremony, and instead, we literally tied the knot. We had a custom chord made with a special knot and tied our hands together as we exchanged our vows. The knot is now displayed in our home and is extremely special to us. We also had my best friend (and business partner), Ilana, officiate both ceremonies!”
The bride and groom hired Wedding Dance Lessons By Amanda to help them create a memorable and entertaining first dance.
“We love to dance and thought it would be a fun experience! Dancing is something we both enjoy, and we had so much fun practicing it the weeks leading up to the wedding. We didn’t want our first dance to feel awkward and wanted to feel comfortable doing more than just swaying back and forth, so we hired Wedding Dance Lessons By Amanda. She exceeded our expectations and fluidly created a first dance just for us that perfectly fit our skill set and personalities,” Kelly raved. “Amanda was amazing to work with. I didn’t really know what to expect out of dance lessons, but she really went above and beyond fluidly creating our dance and making it such a fun experience!”
Several key moments stood out to the bride as most memorable, including the surrounding environment during their elopement hike, as well as dancing with friends and family at their Tampa reception.
“For our elopement, we didn’t pick a specific spot ahead of time to exchange our vows, we figured we would just stop when it felt right. We came across a side trail that led up a hill to this open area on a cliff with the most stunning 360 views. We tied the knot, and as we sealed the deal with a kiss, we heard a group of people clapping and congratulating us from below. It was so amazing! During the rest of our hike, we got the sweetest reactions from the other hikers, which is something I did not expect at all!” Kelly reminisced. “For our celebration back home, we had the best time dancing with our friends and family! I did not leave the dance floor once it opened up, and everyone was having the time of their life! A particularly special moment was when my four older brothers surprised me with a dance with each of them to the song Wildflowers by Tom Petty.”
The Proposal:
Cassidy really outdid himself, and I was so utterly surprised by his proposal! We were on a backpacking trip in Europe, and a couple of weeks in, we found ourselves in the South of France during the two weeks of the year when the lavender fields are in full bloom. We rented a car and drove through the mountains, stopping along the way to soak in the incredible views.
We eventually stopped at one of the lavender fields to get a closer look and take in the amazing aroma of the flowers. As we immersed ourselves in the fields, I turned around to find Cassidy on one knee asking me to spend the rest of our lives together. I then gave an answer to the easiest question I’ve ever been asked in the most beautiful place I’ve ever been! I still can’t believe Cassidy was crazy enough to carry my ring all that way; just waiting for the perfect moment!
Owning FairyTail Pet Care, how did it feel, as a business owner and pet mom, having your pets there?
It was so much fun to be on the other side of things and be able to fully appreciate how special it is to see your pups at the height of such a big day.
I scheduled time to see my pups, Rowdie and Grizzie, before heading to the ceremony, just as the nerves really started to kick in, and they helped bring me back to the present moment and focus on what really mattered.
I did a first look with them and nearly melted over their sweet and hilarious reactions. Rowdie barely noticed me at first because he was too focused on the treats his handler had in their hand (typical labrador!). My baby, Grizzie, was the opposite, wiggling around and kissing me like crazy. They brought the biggest smile to my face and everyone else’s around, too! I also loved seeing the pictures later on that Cassidy took with them before the ceremony.
What elements of your wedding were the most important?
We wanted to showcase our elopement, so we had a video playing and a photo album displayed from our day at the welcome table so our guests could experience it in a special way.
We also wanted to incorporate giving back to a local cause that is special to us so we had FairyTail Pet Care coordinate with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to bring adoptable puppies to our cocktail hour. Our guests really enjoyed the puppy snuggles, and we received the best wedding gift EVER when two of my brothers adopted puppies! Watching them grow up together is the best reminder of our special day!
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We wanted to explore a part of California that we’d never been to, and we found a precious and secluded B&B outside of the parks that were exactly the vibe we were looking for. We had the perfect mix of romance and adventure.
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
We drew inspiration from our travels as a couple. For our seating chart, we had tickets to direct each guest to their table, which were all based on the destinations we traveled to. The table numbers had the location name and a photo of us in that location. We also used postcards that we’d collected during our travels over the years as our guest book and absolutely loved reading the notes from everyone later on. Travel is a passion for Cassidy and I, and we have had so many amazing adventures together that we knew we wanted to incorporate that into our wedding details.
What were your colors?
We chose burgundy with gold accents. We didn’t incorporate these colors into too much of the day, but my flowers had burgundy in them, and Cassidy’s suit was a similar color, so I decided it’d be a good fit.
How did you incorporate your personalities into the wedding?
We love to support local businesses, so our catering was from our absolute favorite neighborhood restaurant, Xtreme Tacos. It is walking distance from our house, and we literally eat there once a week, so that was a lot of fun to share with all of our guests.
Cassidy works for Buddy Brew Coffee, so we had their coffee truck come out to serve drinks and my favorite dessert, an affogato.
We chose a beautiful park in our neighborhood for our ceremony that we walk our dogs to on a weekly basis, and our reception venue was one of our favorite neighborhood bars, c.1949, that we frequent quite often.
Why did you choose to take dance lessons?
We love to dance and thought it would be a fun experience! Dancing is something we both enjoy, and we had so much fun practicing it the weeks leading up to the wedding. We didn’t want our first dance to feel awkward and wanted to feel comfortable doing more than just swaying back and forth, so we hired Wedding Dance Lessons By Amanda.
Amanda exceeded our expectations and fluidly created a first dance just for us that perfectly fit our skill set and personalities. She was amazing to work with. I didn’t really know what to expect out of dance lessons, but she really went above and beyond fluidly creating our dance and making it such a fun experience!
Which vendors really exceeded your expectations?
Our dance instructor, Amanda, was amazing to work with. I didn’t really know what to expect out of dance lessons, but she really went above and beyond fluidly creating our dance and making it such a fun experience!
Our photographer, Marc Edwards Photographs, blew us away with our wedding images. He photographed our elopement, which required him to travel across the country to a place he’d never been before, and then on the day of, we took two 1-hour boat rides and hiked 8 miles in total. All the while Marc was capturing every moment perfectly and never once forced us into any particular poses, just let it all happen naturally. At our celebration back home, he seamlessly captured every bit of our day and coordinated photos with our 30+ family members with ease.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Before you get into planning mode, take the time to think about your best day ever with your partner. What does it look like? What is most important to you? What stressors should you avoid? Keep that in mind throughout the planning process, and always remember this day is about the two of you celebrating your lifelong commitment, so don’t let anyone else’s opinions about what your day “should” look like get in the way of that!