Waterfront Tampa Garden Wedding | Davis Islands Garden Club Wedding
Brandi and Mike's romantic, outdoor Tampa garden wedding featured a travel inspired theme and a sophisticated color palette of plum, lilac, gold and greenery.
“We wanted our wedding to reflect our love of travel and our theme to be closely linked to the traveling we’ve done together as a couple,” the bride explained. “In the beginning of our relationship, most of our travel was domestic, but a few years into dating, we started traveling to other countries and now we have a goal of traveling to another country at least once a year.
MORE: TRAVEL INSPIRED WEDDINGS
The Apollo Beach couple knew that having their wedding in Tampa, the city in which they fell in love, and incorporating their dog into their wedding day were musts!
“We wanted to be able to include our dog in the entire day since she’s part of our family,” the bride gushed. “We made sure that we stayed and got ready at a dog-friendly hotel. Katie (our dog) was there and part of our first look, our ceremony and she stayed throughout the reception, even stealing a quick dance with us!”
To capture all of the memories and puppy snuggles throughout the day, Brandi researched Tampa Bay wedding photographers and fell in love with Rad Red Creative.
“We wanted someone whose pictures almost looked like a fairytale and who could capture all the moments and emotions of our day. We weren’t used to being in front of a camera, so we needed someone who could help us feel more comfortable, without all the awkward poses, the bride explained. “Meeting Brittany and Leo of Rad Red Creative over coffee, we could tell they really have a passion for what they do, and they’re fun people, so we knew they would be perfect! The day of our wedding, everything was so stress-free! They had us laughing most of the time, it was perfect!”
Looking back, the bride's most cherished memory was seeing her groom for the first time.
“The most memorable moment of the day was out first look. We did a first look so that moment of first seeing each other was just between the two of us (and our dog), without being watched by everyone. It also helped with my nerves and made me so happy to be able to spend time with him before the ceremony,” Brandi reminisced.
The Proposal:
One of our favorite places to go is the top of the parking garage at Tampa International Airport. We’ll make a date night out of it, watching the planes land and take off, while we talk about where we would like to travel to. One night, while we were watching the planes, Mike got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. After a bunch of “huh’s” and “what’s?,” he asked again and I said, “Yes!” He was trying to throw me off for the last month before he asked so I was really confused. Looking back, he made it way too obvious that he was about to ask!
What did you look for in a wedding photographer?
We wanted someone whose pictures almost looked like a fairytale and who could capture all the moments and emotions of our day. We weren’t used to being in front of a camera so we needed someone who could help us feel more comfortable, without all the awkward poses.
I found Rad Red Creative on Instagram and after checking out their website, I knew we had to have them! We met Brittany and Leo over coffee, and they showed us photos from a wedding they had done at our venue and photos from a first look at a hotel we were considering getting ready at. Meeting them, we could tell they really have a passion for what they do, and they’re fun people so we knew they would be perfect! The day of our wedding, everything was so stress-free, they had us laughing most of the time, it was perfect!
How would you describe your theme?
We wanted our wedding to reflect our love of travel and our theme to be closely linked to the traveling we’ve done together as a couple. In the beginning of our relationship, most of our travel was domestic, but a few years into dating, we started traveling to other countries and now we have a goal of traveling to another country at least once a year.
What were your colors?
Lilac, plum, gold, and some greenery. We started with dark purple (plum) because that’s Mike’s favorite color, but since we were getting married in the spring, I wanted colors that complemented the season, so lilac was the perfect color. I wanted to have pops of gold because I’ve been obsessing with that color. The greenery ended up in there after talking with our florists about wanting to include succulents in my bouquet and for the guys’ boutonnieres. Plus, green is my favorite color!
What did you look for in a wedding DJ?
We wanted to have someone that we could tell them a few songs we wanted played, and they’d know what else to play that we would enjoy. There were also a few songs that are played at lots of weddings that we didn’t want played at ours, so we needed someone who would understand and stick to not playing them.
Our caterer had suggested Grant Hemond & Associates and after reading reviews and contacting them, we decided to use them. We talked to James King about a week before our wedding over the phone. He asked us a few questions, some songs we wanted to play and what songs we didn’t want played. When we told him we still hadn’t picked ceremony music but what we were looking for, he pointed us in the right direction with exactly what I had envisioned but couldn’t quite pin down! James was professional and fun; we had an amazing night out on the dance floor!
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Ask your vendors for advice and recommendations. They’ve worked with and formed relationships with other vendors. Planning a wedding gets stressful but once your big day arrives, you want to just enjoy it and take everything in because it goes by so fast. Putting together an awesome team of vendors will help ensure your day goes perfectly!
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Davis Islands Garden Club
Photographer: Rad Red Creative
Videographer: The Portos
Planner: Oh So Classy Events
Florist: Andrea Layne for Events in Bloom
Caterer: Puff n Stuff
Cake: Publix
DJ: Grant Hemond & Associates – James King *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Officiant: Jason Sowell
Invitations: DIY
Transportation: Tesla Model X
Dress Shop and Designer: CC’s Bridal Boutique – Maggie Sottero
Bridesmaid Dress Shop and Designer: CC’s Bridal Boutique – Bill Levkoff
Hair & Makeup: Style Hair and Makeup
Groomsmen Wooden Bowties: TV Head Co
Lighting: Tampa Lights
