Nicole and Korey’s luxurious downtown St. Pete wedding was the essence of classic glamour featuring an outdoor courtyard ceremony, bespoke details, and a custom wedding dress that inspired much of the lavish ballroom reception decor.
“Nicole and Korey originally came to me with a concept of ‘Royal Glam Gatsby’ to honor the Renaissance Vinoy’s history and their love of the 1920s. They were struggling with a way to incorporate Nicole’s love of lush florals and their desire to include wine tones into a classic Art Deco style of black and gold and clean lines,” wedding planner and designer John Campbell, owner of John Campbell Weddings, shared. “Looking at the design elements they were drawn to, I introduced them to the world of Art Nouveau, and it was like a puzzle piece slotting right into place. An Art Nouveau-inspired wedding brought the elegance, glam, and intricate detail one might associate with a royal wedding while honoring the history of their venue and allowing them to have a floral-forward design with a more colorful palette.”
The Tampa couple originally envisioned a destination April wedding but decided to keep things closer to home and selected the historic Renaissance Vinoy to host their outdoor courtyard wedding and ballroom affair for nearly 140 guests.
“Numbers and dates are very important to this couple. They were originally introduced to each other at a party on Easter weekend, so getting married on Easter weekend with such a perfect date was fate for them,” John revealed.
The reception flawlessly encapsulated a vision of gilded glamour with tall floral centerpieces surrounded by romantic taper candlelight. Gold-rim crystal dishware and gold flatware from Kate Ryan Event Rentals were included in the elaborate tablescape décor for added opulence.
“Kate Ryan provided all of the chairs, linens, tabletop items, and a few additional pieces. When I was looking at different rental companies for this event, I popped into their showroom to browse some of their inventory. I saw a beautiful piece of fabric they had in stock and Kristin, the owner, mentioned it could be made into a custom overlay,” the wedding planner revealed. “Fun fact, you can now rent the ‘Art Nouveau’ overlay, named for Nicole and Korey’s wedding from Kate Ryan! Beyond this one-piece, everything from Kate Ryan’s gold velvet Chiavari cushions to their Deco-esque glassware fit so perfectly with this design.”
Nineteenth-century painter, Alphonse Mucha, was a main source of design inspiration for the couple’s custom celebration.
“This wedding was full of custom elements made just for the couple. Custom table linens were made to coordinate with the skirt of Nicole’s custom Martina Liana gown. Nicole’s dress also inspired the custom stationery suite that we designed. Even the table numbers were bespoke! Every piece of this wedding was thoughtfully curated in order to give Nicole and Korey a day that perfectly reflected their love,” John detailed. “The colors were gardenia, winery, blush, and dark green. The colors were chosen to compliment the venue and were pulled from classic Art Nouveau prints. The dusty, almost-moody hues in Mucha’s works played a major role in selecting some of the accent colors.”
A five-tier statement cake from The Artistic Whisk took center stage for a wow-worthy finale. The white dessert featured a different pattern of gold embellishments on each tier surrounded by romantic greenery.
“The Artistic Whisk has always created beautifully grand cakes for me. When you’re doing a wedding in the Vinoy Grand Ballroom and plan to put your cake on the stage, you really need to go big,” John explained. “One of my trade secrets is that I love doing fake cakes for display. Nicole and Korey’s cake was almost entirely made of foam with one small section of a tier for them to cut into. This allowed us to have a super grand cake that remained on display the entire night. Guests were served sheet cakes in classic vanilla and chocolate selections, and they were delicious!”
During the course of planning their wedding, Nicole and Korey had their first child, and finding ways to incorporate their son without overwhelming him was a priority.
“Having the groom and his little guy in matching tuxes, including baby red bottoms, was such a sweet element and one that I know they’ll look back on and treasure,” the planner beamed.
Nicole looked at a lot of hair and makeup artists, at least a dozen. It was very important to her that the artist she went with could demonstrate a lot of skill with Hollywood waves and glam makeup.
Femme Akoi is always one of my go-to hair and makeup companies, and Nicole fell in love with the owner Christine. Christine really understood Nicole’s vision and perfectly executed the look at the trial. Nicole also had a large list of folks needing hair and makeup services, approximately 20, so working with a company that could take on a group that size was a deciding as well.
Femme Akoi was a well-oiled machine and had everyone looking flawless and completely finished with services ahead of schedule.
How would you describe the theme/wedding design inspiration?
Nicole and Korey originally came to me with a concept of ‘Royal Glam Gatsby’ to honor the Renaissance Vinoy’s history and their love of the 1920s. They were struggling with a way to incorporate Nicole’s love of lush florals and their desire to include wine tones into a classic Art Deco style of black and gold and clean lines. Looking at the design elements they were drawn to, I introduced them to the world of Art Nouveau, and it was like a puzzle piece slotting right into place. An Art Nouveau-inspired wedding brought the elegance, glam, and intricate detail one might associate with a royal wedding while honoring the history of their venue and allowing them to have a floral forward design with a more colorful palette.
The colors were gardenia, winery, blush, and dark green. The colors were chosen to compliment the venue and were pulled from classic Art Nouveau prints. The dusty, almost-moody hues in Alphonse Mucha’s works played a major role in selecting some of the accent colors.
“This wedding was full of custom elements made just for the couple. Custom table linens were made to coordinate with the skirt of Nicole’s custom Martina Liana gown. Nicole’s dress also inspired the custom stationery suite that we designed. Even the table numbers were bespoke! Every piece of this wedding was thoughtfully curated in order to give Nicole and Korey a day that perfectly reflected their love.”
-Wedding Planner and Designer John Campbell, owner of John Campbell Weddings
“The Artistic Whisk has always created beautifully grand cakes for me. When you’re doing a wedding in the Vinoy Grand Ballroom and plan to put your cake on the stage, you really need to go big!
One of my trade secrets is that I love doing fake cakes for display. Nicole and Korey’s cake was almost entirely made of foam with one small section of a tier for them to cut into. This allowed us to have a super grand cake that remained on display the entire night. Guests were served sheet cakes in classic vanilla and chocolate selections, and they were delicious!”
Kate Ryan Event Rentals provided all of the chairs, linens, tabletop items, and a few additional pieces. When I was looking at different rental companies for this event, I popped into their showroom to browse some of their inventory. I saw a beautiful piece of fabric they had in stock and, Kristin, the owner, mentioned it could be made into a custom overlay.
Fun fact, you can now rent the ‘Art Nouveau’ overlay, named for Nicole and Korey’s wedding from Kate Ryan! Beyond this one-piece, everything from Kate Ryan’s gold velvet Chiavari cushions to their Deco-esque glassware fit so perfectly with this design.
