Kristin and Charles
“Our wedding inspiration was a take on a modern, light and airy European chateau. I wanted a lot of florals for our wedding. I wanted the florals to be beautiful and romantic, and yet have a sense of whimsy and fun. As the planning took shape, my original vision for mostly white flowers with pops of pink transformed to incorporate more color to really make the venue pop. Our wedding colors were navy blue, muted sage green, coral, and peach. Our favorite colors are pink and blue and we felt like this palette nicely complemented the spring season and represented us at the same time.” -The Bride
FEATURING
Kristin and Charles’ downtown Tampa wedding was an elegant evening filled with pastel blooms and a floral motif inspired by the stately gardens of the French and English countryside. The bride and groom exchanged vows surrounded by natural light from the floor-to-ceiling windows of their historic venue, before toasting with guests in an outdoor courtyard cocktail hour, and dancing the night away in a chic ballroom-style reception.
The Hair and Makeup
Femme Akoi Beauty Studio
“I looked through tons of different photos on Pinterest and Instagram, and ultimately decided I wanted a soft updo. I figured I would likely be warm throughout the evening and wanted my hair off of my neck/back and out of my eyes, but didn’t want it to feel too done up. I wanted to add softness with some loose tendrils since this would also help mask any hair that lost shape throughout the night—which never actually happened because my hair stylist.
Cassie from Femme Akoi Beauty Studio was amazing! I liked the idea of incorporating a soft braid into one side, as well as a few bedazzled pins. The look was a modern take on a classic look, and I was really happy with how it turned out.
My makeup artist, Monica from Femme Akoi, did a beautiful job with my makeup and my wedding party’s makeup, and it also lasted throughout the night. I was so impressed! For makeup, I wanted it to feel bridal and yet still like me. Monica used the term ‘snatch-ural,’ and I loved that! She understood that I wanted to feel like the best version of me.”
The Inspiration
“Charles and I spent a lot of time trying to think of ways to make our wedding feel like it represented us and our relationship. We brainstormed and tossed ideas around with our planner John, and ultimately, that’s where so many details came into play.
We wanted our wedding to be both meaningful and fun, and to feel like we made it unique to us. One of the biggest compliments we received throughout the wedding night and beyond was that our wedding was ‘so us,’ and we loved hearing how much fun our guests had and how they’d appreciated so many details we put together!
When planning, beautiful florals, yummy food, a venue that didn’t feel over-crowded, and trusted photographers and videographers were at the top of our list! We wanted everything to go smoothly and for everyone to have a great time!”
The Honeymoon and Bach Parties
“I had my bachelorette locally in Orlando to minimize the number of people who would have to travel for my bridal shower, bachelorette, and wedding. My mom and maid of honor coordinated a bridal shower and bachelorette the same weekend, and they did a wonderful job!
Charles had his bachelor party in Myrtle Beach and had a blast!
Charles had not been out of the country before, and I have been fortunate to have traveled to many amazing places, so we wanted to create a trip that was a great adventure for both of us! We went to London for several days, and I had so much fun showing him my favorite places around the city! We also visited the Harry Potter Studios since Charles is a huge Harry Potter Fan! We then flew to Athens, where we spent a couple of days exploring before boarding our Virgin Voyages cruise ship. We sailed throughout the Mediterranean, where we lived the high-life in their Rockstar Quarters! It was such a treat exploring new places together, and boy, did we feel special throughout the time on our cruise—it was truly an incredible trip! “
The Flowers
Monarch Events and Designs
“When looking for a wedding florist, we wanted someone who was going to understand our vision and run with it—while keeping in budget! It wasn’t until I started wedding planning that I realized how easy it was to run up your entire wedding budget on fresh flowers alone! When I shared inspiration pics with my planner, John, he shared candidly his estimate for what each of them cost—I was floored!
We didn’t want to have the same look as a million other weddings and wanted someone who was going to be honest if our ideas weren’t going to work well, or if the flowers we wanted weren’t going to be in season, and who would also suggest ways to help us make the most our budget.
Monarch Events and Designs was recommended by our wedding planner John Campbell and I’m so glad because Jean did an absolutely incredible job! I admittedly had very high expectations for flowers—since I grew up in a plant nursery, floral representation was very important! She understood what types of flowers I wanted to use, and that we wanted florals to look organic and flowy, romantic and yet whimsical with pops of color that complimented the venue and our tablescapes beautifully.
Jean somehow managed to exceed my super high expectations—I was truly blown away when I first saw my bridal bouquet and actually speechless (a rarity for me) when I saw the arch she created! They were absolute perfection and truly the florals of my dreams! I truly couldn’t have asked for anything better—she took our vision and elevated it beyond what we could have imagined! Our guests were just as in love with the florals as we were and we get comments to this day (over a year later) on how stunning they were!”
The Proposal
“Charles took me to a lovely steakhouse for dinner, and when we returned home, he said he had something for me and to wait a couple of minutes. As I waited, he came out to blind fold me and let me into our bedroom. When he told me to remove the blindfold, I saw the bed had rose petals in the shape of a heart, along with candles and a box of my favorite chocolates from See’s Candies. Our dog, Cruz, was there and so excited, and I realized he had a little box attached to his collar with our initials on it. When I opened the box, Charles was on one knee and a ring was insid,e along with the question ‘Will you marry my Dad?’ engraved on the inside of the box.”
The Experience
“One of my dearest friends, Scott from Scotland, as he is known, was our officiant and did an absolutely incredible job personalizing our ceremony. Hearing the vows Charles wrote for the first time was so special, and I felt that our vows to each other were the perfect blend of heartfelt, funny, and uniquely us. Sharing that moment under our gorgeous floral arch in front of our closest family and friends was a moment we will treasure forever!
We also experienced a ‘sneak peek’ of our reception setup after the space was flipped following the ceremony. We were blown away by how beautiful everything looked and how it all came together! Experiencing that together before our guests were inside really enabled us to take everything in and appreciate all the details we had been talking about for so long, actually come to life!
The entire night, we felt so deeply supported and surrounded by love—it was truly palpable. We were incredibly touched by how many people traveled from near and far to celebrate with us, with representation from over 10 states and six countries. It meant the world to us to feel that kind of love surrounding and uplifting the love Charles and I share. When I think back on our wedding day, that’s the feeling I remember most profoundly—and most fondly!”
The Design Inspo
“Our wedding inspiration was a take on a modern, light and airy European chateau. I knew I wanted a lot of florals for our wedding—I grew up in our family’s plant nursery, so that was an important aspect for me. I wanted the florals to be beautiful and romantic, and yet have a sense of whimsy and fun. As the planning took shape, my original vision for mostly white flowers with pops of pink transformed to incorporate more color to really make the venue pop.
Our wedding colors were navy blue, muted sage green, coral, and peach. Our favorite colors are pink and blue and we felt like this palette nicely complimented the spring season and represented us at the same time.”
The Venue
The Vault
“We wanted to find a venue that we could have both the ceremony and reception without requiring our guests to relocate. I wanted something that would be beautiful on its own—without distracting from the décor and florals I had envisioned. Plus, I wanted a venue that was set up to accommodate food and beverage, chairs, etc. as I didn’t want to have to research and coordinate all of these things separately.
When I came upon The Vault, I immediately fell in love with how bright and simple, yet gorgeous the space is! It was an already beautiful canvas that we could add to in order to personalize our wedding. I loved that it was mostly indoors (just because we all know Florida weather is finicky and can change quickly), and because of the large windows, it helped bring the outside in.
We still got to enjoy the outdoors during cocktail hour in the courtyard, which was lovely complete with a little fountain! Additionally, I had seen a lot of reviews that the food served at The Vault was delicious and that was a big plus as well—everyone has had those mediocre catered meals at some point—we wanted our guests to really enjoy the food served!
Everyone I interacted with from initial inquiry through signed contract was so kind and responsive! This was also very important to me because you can have a beautiful venue but if the guest service is lacking, it will completely alter the experience. To me, The Vault offered everything we were looking for and was a no-brainer. We were so happy with our choice and have recommended them to others since!”
The Entertainment
“We wanted someone who was going to be fun and have a great read on the room. We had been to weddings where the DJ didn’t seem to pick up on the vibe of the room and when to keep songs going vs. move on to another. I researched several companies, read a ton of reviews, and kept seeing Keith’s name pop up. I had calls with other companies before, and as soon as we connected with Keith from Events Done Right—we knew he was our DJ!
Keith was absolutely wonderful! We loved his charming personality, timely communication, and willingness to accommodate all our requests while also making great suggestions to make the most out of our night!
We told Keith that my husband and I have a running joke about him being a Backstreet Boys fan and me being a diehard *NSYNC fan. We talked to Keith about doing a Backstreet Boys vs. *NSYNC ‘battle’ on the dance floor, and he totally understood the assignment and ran with it! Ultimately, I even had a joke about not being sure if things would initially work out between my now husband and I because of this difference of opinion in my wedding vows!
The song battle Keith had for us later in the night totally brought everything full circle, and Charles and I—and our guests—absolutely loved it! It became a core memory!”
The Photo Booth
The Gala Photobooth
“I had been to weddings with photo booths and thought they were not only fun in the moment, but also provided a great takeaway for guests. I had some photo strips from friends’ weddings, and they always made me smile! I also loved the idea of using the photos in a guest book—it was a fun way to encourage more people to sign the photobook and see the photos taken throughout the night. The photos alongside their heartfelt messages felt more personal and special.
The Gala Photobooth was a recommended vendor by The Vault, and they were wonderful to work with! We brought extra props and used theirs as well as their ivy backdrop, with a personalized ‘The Marvels’ neon sign we had made for the backdrop. The photos themselves were of great quality and so fun! They helped our guests put the guest book together beautifully and were great communicators throughout the process! I also loved that we got an online album of all the photos taken throughout the night!”
Which vendors really exceeded your expectations?
We hit the lottery with all of our vendors—I would hire each and every one of them again. Our wedding would not be nearly what it was without the vision, collaboration, and dedication of our planner, John Campbell! He was such a support throughout the entire process, an excellent communicator, always so patient with my millions of questions, and his level of expertise and knowledge of the industry is top-notch. His creative vision and attention to detail are incredibly impressive, and I love that no two events of his are ever the same. John became a friend, and we are so grateful for him!
Jean of Monarch Events and Design completely exceeded my high expectations and did a phenomenal job!
Autumn and Jendry made us comfortable minutes into meeting them for our engagement photoshoot, so having them at the wedding felt like friends who were making sure our big and small moments were captured! Jordan and Andres of Namesake Creative were also incredibly sweet, and both photography and videography teams had a way of being very present without ever being intrusive or feeling like cameras were competing with each other, which meant they could capture us in our element. The resulting photos and wedding video came out better than we anticipated and captured Charles and me, and our wedding so beautifully!
The Vault’s event planner, Norma, and culinary team were so approachable and kind, and the Chef and her team created the most delicious food!
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Do your research! Invest in the quality of your vendors—they are worth every penny. Do not do it without a wedding planner—it’s not only all the zillion details leading up to the big day, but they will make recommendations that will save you money, help you stay organized, on time, and on budget. They also manage all of the last-minute things, the things that pop up that weren’t anticipated or went wrong, and having a planner takes that stress off your plate day-of. You shouldn’t worry about making decisions and fixing things; just worry about getting ready and marrying the love of your life!
Invest in your photographers and videographers—pick the upgraded options that give you more time with them, because what may seem like a lot of hours of coverage goes by so fast. You won’t regret having them there for all the big and small moments, start to finish!
Glue yourself to your new spouse as much as possible! That might seem like a no-brainer, but it can be easy to get separated, seeing different friends/family members and getting pulled in different directions. Everyone tells you how fast your wedding will go—it will be faster than you can imagine! By spending as many moments side by side with your spouse, you create the same memories!
At the end of our wedding night, once we were back in our hotel room, Charles and I recorded a quick video reflecting on how magical everything was and sharing our favorite moments. We plan to watch it every year on our anniversary to always remember how in love we felt—and how deeply loved we felt by our family and friends in attendance!
