Alex and Kit’s St. Petersburg wedding encompassed the best of both worlds by combining the beach’s sandy shores for their ceremony and downtown for their late-night reception. The exotic-inspired color palette of greenery and neutrals tied in Florida’s natural flora with the sparkle of the courtyard’s romantic string lighting.
“Our theme was tropical and natural, sultry and romantic, and lush and moody, with a hint of boho in our furniture rentals. We have always loved tropical greenery and felt like it was a timeless look that we could always look back on still be in love with,” the bride shared. “We actually chose to do no colors and neutrals only, aside from the tropical greenery in our florals. We went for champagne and cream for linens with gold accents and literally no actual flowers, just greenery only!”
The Tampa bride turned to Marry Me Tampa Bay to find the perfect setting for her Pass-A-Grille beachfront ceremony and downtown wedding. She discovered her reception venue and wedding ceremony site through the website’s past real wedding features.
“I found the articles and testimonials in the advice tab very interesting and helpful,” Alex revealed. “I also browsed the featured weddings for design, décor, and floral inspiration!”
The exposed brick aesthetic and convenient location to downtown St. Pete’s late-night EDGE district made NOVA 535 the ideal reception venue to host their 125 guests. The lush bamboo courtyard complemented the couple’s tropical theme, while the flexibility of the private venue offered the perfect amount of customizations.
“Our hearts were set on getting married and having sunset photos on the beach because the beach has always been special to us and one of our favorite pastimes; however, the beach reception locations were very limiting for what we were looking for. We wanted our reception to go later than normal and we wanted to use outside food truck vendors, which NOVA was the perfect option and allowed us flexibility for our own creativity and vision,” Alex beamed. “NOVA fit our needs for flexibility and later hours, and they totally blew us away with their service! We partied until 1 a.m! Ruby, the venue manager helped with all planning, communication, and selections leading up to the day, and she is a rockstar, always so responsive, detailed, and resourceful! Stephany, the day of coordinator, and April, the bartender, were wonderful and made our day special!”
With an emphasis on providing their guests with a top-tier party experience, Alex and Kit brought three food trucks into the outdoor courtyard instead of a traditional seated dinner. The decor featured lush tropical plants that elegantly contrasted against the custom neon sign for their photo-opp spot.
The bride’s favorite moments of the day included a surprise from Kit during their ceremony that made her extra emotional which involved the couple’s puppy, Luna.
“My most memorable moment, by far, was the surprise ring bearer who sprinted down the aisle – our Luna pup! Kit planned this for me, and it was such a special and emotional moment during our ceremony! He planned for our good friend Brian to bring Luna from our house to the beach, and he brought her out at the perfect moment, as there was a split second of confusion on where the hell the rings were,” the bride beamed. “Another beautiful moment was the speeches from our Matron of Honor, Best Man, and Groomsman. Their speeches were incredibly loving and thoughtful and truly touched our hearts, and had all of our guests choked up.”
The Proposal:
Kit planned the best destination proposal in Napa Valley, overlooking the most scenic vineyard in town, William Hill, as I had a glass of cabernet in hand. It was a WINEderful proposal!
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Costa Rica! It was the perfect mix of our hobbies and interests and offered a variety of jaw-dropping scenery, beach and ocean views, jungle and greenery, and volcanoes and mountains.
Where did you host your bachelorette party?
Charleston because of the cute, historical downtown area to bike ride around and the great nightlife and food.
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
Our hearts were set on getting married and having sunset photos on the beach because the beach has always been special to us and one of our favorite pastimes; however, the beach reception locations were very limiting for what we were looking for. We wanted our reception to go later than normal and we wanted to use outside food truck vendors, which NOVA 535 was the perfect option and allowed us flexibility for our own creativity and vision!
We had very specific requirements for our reception venue that made NOVA 535 the most obvious and best choice, custom flexibility for outside vendors, including food, décor, design, and later hours extending past midnight. We partied until 1 a.m.!
NOVA 535 fit our needs for flexibility and later hours, and they totally blew us away with their service! Ruby, the venue manager, helped with all planning, communication, and selections leading up to the day. She is a rockstar, always so responsive, detailed, and resourceful! Stephany, the day of coordinator, and April, the bartender, were wonderful and made our day special!
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
Tropical and natural, sultry and romantic, and lush and moody, with a hint of boho in our furniture rentals. We have always loved tropical greenery and felt like it was a timeless look that we could always look back on still be in love with!
What were your colors?
No colors and neutrals only, aside from the tropical greenery in our florals. We went for champagne and cream for linens with gold accents and literally no actual flowers, just greenery only!
I change my mind way much, and my favorite things and colors are always evolving. I didn’t want to look back on photos and be sick of any color or flower. Kit even jokes all the time about this and asks if I am sick of him yet, and lucky for him, he’s the only exception.
Which vendors really exceeded your expectations?
Our photographer is a gem and true expert of imagery and lighting! Her work is exceptional, her energy and spirit is contagious, and we just adore her! She is now a personal friend, and we have used her for other shoots and will only use her for anything in the future.
Our planner is an angel and was so organized and efficient in the prep leading up to the wedding as well as keeping everything perfectly smooth for us on the day of!
Our ceremony reception site was wonderful and so fun to work with!
Our florist truly made our day magical! We walked into our reception in awe and pure bliss at all of the lush tropical foliage! As we walked into our reception for our introduction, that was our first time laying eyes on our decorated venue and then from the intro, we went straight into our first dance. I remember us both looking around at everything during our dance, gazing at our tropical oasis that finally came to life after planning and designing for months! We could almost barely focus on our dance because we were in shocking admiration of the vision our florist created for us!
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Get a planner!! Even if you can do it on your own, it will add unnecessary stress and tension, and you will naturally be less excited and present. Natural/outside venues or partial outside areas are so much more fun, beautiful and offer amazing photos over indoor spaces. Don’t underestimate the importance of having enough time to enjoy your reception. Spend the money on florals. It represents your style and personality and brings life to your special day!
