Lindsay and John’s destination St. Pete Beach wedding featured an outdoor garden ceremony with a geometric wooden arch, a white reception with dinner under the stars, and some fashionable accessories including black leather jacket and matching hats.
“I really liked the idea of a warm-weather beachy wedding but I didn’t want the wind and the sand. I wanted warm evening lights to set the vibe, a beautiful garden feel with plenty of fresh flowers, and fabulous food and drinks with our closest friends and family,” the bride shared. “I used mostly organic garden colors like olive greens, blushed hues like blue, pink, and gold, and dark navy to balance out John’s outfit.”
After attending a friend’s Tampa Bay destination wedding, the North Dakota bride fell in love with the Florida area and decided to host a St. Pete Beach wedding. Lindsay planned her wedding completely through Instagram, using Marry Me Tampa Bay as her guide in locating the most sought-after and trustworthy vendors.
“I browsed through venues and vendors and different styles to get ideas. I loved when I saw my venue worked with Marry Me Tampa Bay, so I knew I was in the right spot for planning a destination wedding,” the bride explained. “I did follow Marry Me Tampa Bay and possibly a few other wedding planning Instagrams and went through their followers as well and just typed in specifically what I was looking for, so if they had ‘flower’ in the handle or ‘photography’ it made it so easy! I think it’s a fantastic way to find businesses that are smaller which I am a huge fan of!”
Seeking the ideal blend of Florida beaches with Tampa Bay tropics for her venue, Lindsey found the perfect combination of beachy vibes and outdoor beauty.
“I wanted the garden vibe near the beach, and I wanted it a bit eclectic, unique, and not just cookie-cutter,” the bride revealed. “I was looking for garden venues and when I saw that the Postcard Inn had a unique mix of all three I dreamed up my own inspiration.”
Planning from nearly 2,000 miles away, Lindsay relied on online tours and thorough communication from the PCI wedding team to design an unforgettable wedding day.
“The Postcard Inn made it so easy to pick online via their packet. We printed it out, picked out packages, emailed PCI, and set everything up!” the bride gushed. “Every time I opened an email too coordinate with the staff it was like Christmas. They were very helpful, knowledgeable, and worked so well with us. Even during the pandemic when we were trying to decide to postpone or not, they were accommodating and wonderful to work with.”
Originally set for May 18th, and then postponed to November 30th because of the pandemic, Lindsay and John’s wedding ran into several obstacles, but a positive attitude kept the bride calm amidst all the chaos.
“The week before was probably one of the most stressful weeks of my life. All of our flights were canceled, my great uncle passed away, a dozen people decided not to attend last minute, and our pastor decided not to travel due to COVID,” the bride revealed. “At that point I just let every expectation go and trusted that if we could just get there everything would work out and it really did. Planning a wedding during a pandemic is no joke and can give the calmest of brides stress and anxiety. Every single vendor worked seamlessly with us when we were trying to figure out the next step. In the end, everything exceeded my expectations!”
With an emphasis on bringing their closes friends and family to Florida for fun in the sun, the couple found creative ways to incorporate the Sunshine State into their wedding weekend.
“I worked with a designer out of Nashville to design a tote bag with our story to gift our guests as goodie bags. I put wrapped sage with lavender and rose petals that I handmade, personalized matchbooks, clementines with a little flag that said ‘Welcome to Florida’ as well as waters, bamboo reusable straws for the weekend, and luggage tags. I also had customized coffee sleeves that said, ‘The perfect blend Lindsay + John’ for guests to use for their coffee!” the bride beamed.
The couple wanted to ensure that once their guests traveled to Florida for the wedding, everyone would have a blast during the celebration.
“We wanted a DJ who would keep the party going and everyone dancing the whole night. Because we had a varied age range from parents to aunts and uncles to friends our age, we needed a good blend. We used my friend’s DJ from her wedding, Grant Hemond & Associates, and they were the easiest ever to deal with. We got a discount for booking a Monday wedding. Michelle was our contact, and she was prompt and took care of us! DJ Eric kept us dancing from the first dance until the very end!” Lindsay recalled.
To end the evening, the bride styled her deep v-neck fit-and-flare wedding dress with an ivory Monroe Rancher hat and chic leather jacket for their magical sparkler exit.
Where did you host your bachelorette party?
My bachelorette party was originally scheduled to be in uptown Minneapolis! However, everything was shut down in April so we postponed it to July at an Airbnb on Cormorant Lake in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. We had a blast getting food catered in by my best friend’s mother-in-law, who owns a catering company, hanging out on the lake, pontooning, and we even crashed a private birthday party that had a local live band. It was better than I could have imagined!
The Proposal:
John had just graduated from North Dakota State University, and we took a trip to celebrate. We went to Nashville with nine of our friends for a long weekend, and he proposed on the pedestrian bridge downtown!
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
I really liked the idea of a warm-weather beachy wedding but I didn’t want the wind and the sand. I wanted warm evening lights to set the vibe, a beautiful garden feel with plenty of fresh flowers, and fabulous food and drinks with our closest friends and family.
What were your colors?
I mostly used organic garden colors like olive greens, blushed hues like blue, pink, and gold, and then dark navy to balance out John’s outfit.
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
I wanted a garden vibe near the beach, and I wanted it a bit eclectic and unique and not just cookie cutter.
My girlfriend was in town visiting family so I casually mentioned if they were nearby to check out the Postcard Inn on the Beach which I had found on Instagram. She Snapchatted an entire tour of it. She knew my style and said this was the place where I had to get married! I trusted her opinion, looked it up, and PCI made it so easy to pick online via their packet.
We printed it out, picked out packages, emailed PCI, and set everything up! Every time I opened an email to coordination with the staff it was like Christmas. They were very helpful, knowledgeable, and worked so well with us. Even during the pandemic when we were trying to decide to postpone or not, they were accommodating and wonderful to work with.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
We flew down to the Florida Keys to Key West because we forgot to plan until super last minute (mainly because of COVID). John booked our flights and hotel at the Gates Hotel; we just wanted something relaxing so we didn’t need to think too much about the honeymoon or restrictions!
What did you look for in a wedding DJ?
We wanted a DJ who would keep the party going and everyone dancing the whole night. Because we had a varied age range from parents to aunts and uncles to friends our age, we needed a good blend.
We used my friend’s DJ from her wedding, Grant Hemond & Associates, and they were the easiest ever to deal with. We got a discount for booking a Monday wedding. Michelle was our contact, and she was prompt and took care of us! DJ Eric kept us dancing from the first dance until the very end!
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Use your trusted resources! Via a planner or planning company if it’s in your budget or getting creative with looking online or using your social media platforms.
Ceremony, Reception, and Caterer: Postcard Inn on the Beach *Marry Me Tampa Bay Preferred Wedding Pro
Photographer: Kartsie Photography
Florist and Rentals: Leaf it To Us
Cake: Cassis Bakery Macaroons
DJ: Grant Hemond & Associates *Marry Me Tampa Bay Preferred Wedding Pro
Officiant: Father of the Bride
Invitations: Basic Invite
Transportation: Affari Transportation
Dress Shop and Designer: Posh Bridal Couture (Minnesota) – Erin Cole Bridal
Shoe Designer: Sam Edelman
Hair & Makeup: Fargo Blonde
Wedding Rings, Jewelry, and Hat: Your Day by Nicole, Gigi Pip – Monroe
Groom’s Attire: Halberstadt’s On Broadway (North Dakota)
Rehearsal Dinner: Rick’s Reef
Morning of Yoga: Wendy Buck Yoga
Welcome Bags: Laurel Ellsworth Designs
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
*Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pros are highly respected by our local wedding community and have been personally vetted by our editor.