Molly and Ahmy's romantic Ybor City wedding featured an outdoor ceremony and tented reception, wooden decor elements, and natural hues of greens and blues with pops of citrus accents.
The Tampa couple was fortunate to host 150 of their closest friends and family, just before the onset of COVID-19, in a beautiful and historic outdoor setting in the city where their love story began.
“Ybor City is very special to us since it is where we met and spent a lot of our time in the first year of our relationship. Ahmy was living in Ybor and working at Crowbar, a music venue on 8th Avenue. I was working at the Buffalo Wild Wings on 7th Avenue and met Ahmy when he came in to watch NFL on a Sunday afternoon,” the bride shared.
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Steel and marine blue bridesmaids dresses and groomsmen in navy suits with blue ties and pocket squares added to the bride and groom's elegant courtyard wedding.
“Our goal was to complement the venue with romantic roses, elegant greenery, and soft string lighting. The flowers were white roses, astrantia, and ranunculus with a lot of greenery in the form of eucalyptus, Italian ruscus, and nagi. My bouquet had a few beautiful hot pink peonies that stole the show!” the bride revealed. “We loved that we were married outdoors and had our first dance on a chilly March evening.”
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During the planning process, the bride consulted Marry Me Tampa Bay for style ideas and vendor recommendations.
“I used Marry Me Tampa Bay for advice on vendors, planning, and inspiration. The website is very user friendly and has tons of good information for planning a wedding,” Molly beamed.
Citric elements graced the event from the bright orange peonies accenting the bridal bouquet to the lemon fruit tucked among centerpieces to the unique and unconventional wedding cake, which wasn't really a cake at all.
“Instead of the traditional wedding cake, we decided to have our good friend and phenomenal baker make us a key lime pie. It was to die for!” the bride gushed.
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The couple searched for a florist who could understand their vision for a classic and natural style and were referred to Monarch Events and Designs. From the moment they were greeted by the owner, Jean, they were sold.
“When I met Jean from Monarch Events, she asked me all the right questions and really listened to my ideas and improved on them. She met me at the venue to make sure we had all the elements we needed for the space, then she sent me a quote with every element of my vision detailed line by line. Jean listed the flowers and greenery that would go into each bouquet, garland, aisle marker, urns, and vases. The quote also had pictures of each flower and plant that would be used, which I thought was a really great way to visualize the whole picture,” the bride raved. “Monarch Events went above and beyond for our wedding. They showed up on time and helped to set up the venue, then came back before midnight to breakdown the pieces that were rented. I absolutely adored my bouquet and got so many compliments on it and the rest of the floral arrangements around the venue. Jean must be a psychic because she brought an extra arrangement that was needed last minute to hide an unexpected eyesore on our “Welcome to the Wedding” sign and didn’t charge us for it! I highly recommend Jean and Monarch Events.”
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With the entire day coming together more beautifully than she had ever imagined, Molly shared the most memorable part involved pausing to savor the experience.
“One of my favorite moments of the whole day was one that our incredible day-of coordinator suggested. Just after the officiant pronounced us husband and wife and we turned to face our family and friends, we stood there for a few seconds and took in the moment,” the bride recalled. “It was truly awesome to see all our family and friends there to support us as we made our commitment to each other as husband and wife. I’ll never forget the love and happiness I felt in that moment!”
The Proposal:
Ahmy proposed at sunset on a dock on Little Lake, a small harbor off Lake Superior. This is also where the sand for our sand ceremony came from.
How did you incorporate you and your spouse's personalities into the wedding?
Our wedding ceremony included a sand ceremony that held a lot of meaning to us. My sand was from a beach on Lake Superior where my family vacations every year, and Ahmy’s sand was from St. Pete Beach, close to where he was born. We love that we have a physical representation of our commitment to each other from our wedding day.
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
Our goal was to complement the venue with romantic roses, elegant greenery, and soft string lighting.
What were your colors?
The bridesmaid dresses were steel blue and my matron of honor wore marine blue. The groom and his groomsmen wore navy suits with blue ties and pocket squares. The flowers were white roses, astrantia, and ranunculus with a lot of greenery in the form of eucalyptus, Italian ruscus, and nagi. My bouquet had a few beautiful hot pink peonies that stole the show!
What did you look for in a wedding florist?
I wanted a florist that was experienced and worked with the style I liked. When I met Jean from Monarch Events and Design, she asked all the right questions and really listened to my ideas and improved on them. She met me at the venue to make sure we had all the elements we needed for space, then sent me a quote with every element of my vision detailed line by line. She listed the flowers and greenery that would go into each bouquet, garland, aisle marker, urns, and vases. The quote also had pictures of each flower and plant that would be used. I shared my Pinterest page with her that showed some of my inspiration ideas for the wedding, and she used the photos for reference, which I thought was a really great way to visualize the whole picture.
Monarch Events went above and beyond for our wedding. They showed up on time and helped to set up the venue, then came back before midnight to breakdown the pieces that were rented. I absolutely adored my bouquet and got so many compliments on it and the rest of the floral arrangements around the venue. Jean must be a psychic because she brought an extra arrangement that was needed last minute to hide an unexpected eyesore on our “Welcome to the Wedding” sign and didn’t charge us for it! I highly recommend Jean and Monarch Events and Design.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Set a realistic budget and know that you will have to go over it on some elements that mean more to you. I would seriously consider going to an all-inclusive wedding venue. Even though it can seem pricey, doing everything a la carte adds up more quickly than you expect, and it’s so much work to plan! Also, you have to make sure to eat something substantial for breakfast. Getting hangry on your wedding day is not ideal!
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Ybor City State Museum
Photographer and Videographer: Rad Red Creative
Planner: Bonnie McSharry and Holly Pritchard Marshall
Florist: Monarch Events and Design *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Caterer: Catered by Vesh
Rentals: Fiesta Solutions
Cake: Winnie Stewart
DJ: Exclusive Sounds, Tony Cepeda
Officiant: Andrew Hudgins
Invitations: Shutterfly
Dress: CC's Bridal Boutique
Bridesmaid Dress Shop: David’s Bridal
Hair & Makeup: Megan Arata and Heather Linero
Favors: Totally Promotional
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.
