Rebecca and Kevin's rustic garden Tampa Bay wedding featured shades of white and deep red, paired with greenery amidst a lush garden setting. The bride and groom chose a light and relaxing atmosphere for their fall nuptials.
“It was really important to both of us to create a beautiful but fun atmosphere for the reception, almost like a backyard party kind-of-feel where people could hang out and talk or dance, but in a nicer setting. I have always loved the outdoors and flowers, so the theme and design we chose were perfect to accommodate our collective vision,” Rebecca shared. “Our colors were white, sage/eucalyptus green, gold, and oxblood. I have no idea why we chose those other than I found a floral arrangement with those colors that I thought were beautiful, and they were nice, clean colors that would work for a fall wedding, so we went with it.”
The Safety Harbor couple wanted a wedding venue that would allow them to select their own team of vendors, along with an extended rental period to accommodate hosting their rehearsal dinner and wedding in one space. When they found Paradise Spring and toured the lush garden setting and spacious on-site accommodations, Rebecca and Kevin knew it was ideal for hosting their family on property and creating a beautiful event for their 140 guests.
“Paradise Spring perfectly fit our vision for what we wanted for our day. We were able to stay on the property with our immediate family for the entire duration of the wedding weekend, we could use whichever vendors we wanted to use, and we could utilize the venue for the rehearsal dinner, the wedding ceremony, reception, and the after-party,” the bride explained. “The main house was amazing, and the attached mother-in-law suite was great for my family to have their own private space. The garden area where the ceremony was held was beautiful with large oak trees, an archway that you can really get creative with, and was really well maintained.”
To document their most cherished moments, Rebecca wanted a wedding photographer who had a keen eye for natural beauty without being too trendy or overly edited, while Kevin wanted to find someone who would also fit within their budget. Upon finding Amber McWhorter Photography they knew she was the best of both worlds.
“It took me a long time and research to find Amber McWhorter Photography, and we are so glad we did. Amber’s photos were beautiful and captured natural beauty, both with the individual subjects and in the outdoor settings. We didn’t see any awkward posing in Amber’s photos, and she had a ton of great reviews,” Rebecca beamed. “Amber was great to work with, very friendly, accommodating, and she made two people who are awkward in front of a camera look like naturals. We were especially impressed on our wedding day how she went above and beyond to get beautiful photos for us, including getting in the middle of tall, bushy grass that was full of stickers. The end results turned out amazing and we are forever grateful.”
Having their families stay on the property during the duration of the wedding weekend is what Rebecca attributes as the most special aspect of their celebration.
“Our wedding was unique in large part due to the venue, which was so beautiful and accommodating. Being able to blend all of the family together under one roof for an entire weekend was really special,” the bride reminisced. “Our families really got to know each other and spend a lot of downtime together just relaxing before and after the big event. The ceremony and reception were beautiful, and we were really able to cater it to what we were looking for.”
According to the couple, spending the entire weekend celebrating with their closest friends and family made for the most memorable wedding experience, especially compared to a typical single-evening celebration.
“Some of the most memorable moments were the ones we weren’t expecting and came from the time spent with loved ones before and after the main events. Our venue allowed us to have friends and family over to get ready with us before the rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony and allowed us to have after-parties both nights as well. It really is true that your wedding night flies by so quickly, and it was so nice to have that extra quality time with people we wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Rebecca beamed.
The Proposal:
One Friday morning in August, I was rushing to get ready for work. Kevin had the engagement ring for about a month and kept waiting for the right moment, which kept getting ruined by unforeseen circumstances. As I was in the kitchen that morning, he got down on one knee. At first I didn’t believe him and wouldn’t even look at him, and I just kept telling him to stop playing around and get up. Then I heard the seriousness in his voice and looked down, and there he was with a ring! He wasn’t joking this time. Of course, I said yes, and we shared a few special minutes celebrating together before I ran into work.
What was your wedding floral inspiration?
We chose our wedding colors based on a floral arrangement I saw. The flowers that we chose were largely based on how they fit into that color scheme and our budget.
Brides N' Blooms Designs came highly recommended by our wedding planner who used them for a number of other events. We were very happy with their service and our bouquets came out beautiful.
What did you look for in a wedding photographer?
Photography has always been very important to me, especially for capturing something as significant as our wedding day. As anybody who has been on the hunt for a wedding photographer knows, there are countless photographers out there to choose from. This was something my husband didn’t too care much about, except for the price, so fortunately this decision was mainly left up to me. One thing we knew we didn’t want for our wedding was traditional, cheesy, posed-looking photos from the wedding. On the other hand, we also didn’t want a photographer who was going to go so artsy with the photos that it distracted from the photo’s natural beauty. We wanted someone who appreciated nature as much as we did and also had a good eye for editing photos without making the pictures look too edited.
It took me a long time and research to find Amber McWhorter Photography, and we are so glad we did. Amber’s photos were beautiful and captured natural beauty, both with the individual subjects and in the outdoor settings. We didn’t see any awkward posing in her photos, and she had a ton of great reviews. We scoped out her packages, felt they were all reasonably priced, and we found a package that had exactly what we were looking for.
Amber was great to work with, very friendly, accommodating, and she made two people who are awkward in front of a camera look like naturals. She did both our engagement sessions and the actual wedding day photos, and we are so in love with them! he went out of her way to make sure she got beautiful shots for us. We had a large crowd, and Amber managed them like a true professional. We were especially impressed on our wedding day how she went above and beyond to get beautiful photos for us, including getting in the middle of tall, bushy grass that was full of stickers. The end results turned out amazing and we are forever grateful.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
We went to Hawaii. We stayed one night in Oahu and six nights in Kauai. We chose this location because travel was mainly restricted to the United States due to COVID-19, and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck in another country. My husband’s second cousin gifted us a timeshare rental for our wedding to use for our honeymoon, which was great. One of my bucket list places has always been Pearl Harbor, and our honeymoon was the week of Veteran’s Day, so we thought it would be fitting to visit the memorial and check Hawaii off both of our bucket lists for our honeymoon. We wanted somewhere we could relax but also go exploring beautiful scenery when we felt like it. Kauai is truly a beautiful place and we are so happy we went.
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
Kevin and I really wanted a venue that wasn’t going to require that we use specific vendors, that would accommodate our entire family and friends, and that we could potentially utilize for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, to cut down on costs. Although we are Christian, we didn’t feel comfortable getting married in any particular church because we don’t belong to any specific church, and we preferred an outdoor setting for the actual ceremony.
Paradise Spring perfectly fit our vision for what we wanted for our day. We were able to stay on the property with our immediate family for the entire duration of the wedding weekend, we could use whichever vendors we wanted to use, and we could utilize the venue for the rehearsal dinner, the wedding ceremony, reception, and the after-party. This allowed us to have everything we needed or wanted already on-site and cut down on costs by purchasing a lot of our own products and being able to prep for the events ourselves (with the help of the family of course).
The main house was amazing, and the attached mother-in-law suite was great for my family to have their own private space. The garden area where the ceremony was held was beautiful with large oak trees, an archway that you can really get creative with, and was really well maintained. The ceremony and reception were beautiful, and we were really able to cater it to what we were looking for, We loved Paradise Spring for our wedding and especially with the service. Ashley was incredibly accommodating, patient, and really went above and beyond to make sure we had a wonderful experience. We were really impressed with how professional and accommodating she was even when we (mistakenly) thought we had an emergency late at night. We are very grateful for her and everything she did to make sure the entire weekend went smoothly.
Our wedding was unique in large part due to the venue, which was so beautiful and accommodating. Being able to blend all of the family together under one roof for an entire weekend was really special. Our families really got to know each other and spend a lot of downtime together just relaxing before and after the big event. Some of the most memorable moments were the ones we weren’t expecting and came from the time spent with loved ones before and after the main events. Paradise Spring allowed us to have friends and family over to get ready with us before the rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony and allowed us to have after-parties both nights as well. It really is true that your wedding night flies by so quickly, and it was so nice to have that extra quality time with people we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
We were going for an elegant but rustic-garden-chic type of wedding. It was really important to both of us to create a beautiful but fun atmosphere for the reception, almost like a backyard party kind-of-feel where people could hang out and talk or dance, but in a nicer setting. Kevin has a large, Latino family who loves to dance and most of our friends love to have a good time on the dance floor as well, so ensuring we had a dance floor large enough to accommodate everyone and throwing in some Latin songs throughout the night was an absolute must. I have always loved the outdoors and flowers, so the theme and design we chose was perfect to accommodate our collective vision.
What were your colors?
Our colors were white, sage/eucalyptus green, gold, and oxblood. I have no idea why we chose those other than I found a floral arrangement with those colors that I thought was beautiful and they were nice, clean colors that would work for a fall wedding, so we went with it.
What did you look for in a wedding DJ?
We wanted a DJ who wasn’t going to be cheesy and that would take our suggestions and understand the vibe we were going for. Of course, we also wanted someone reasonably priced.
We chose Grant Hemond & Associates because of their reputation and because we had several friends who recommended them. Our DJ Steve was wonderful! He listed to us and nailed the kind of music we wanted for our wedding. He was able to improvise when necessary and was overall just great to work with.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Remember that the wedding is a celebration of your marriage, which of course is a lifelong commitment, and the actual wedding itself is really created with the guests in mind. However, do not let your desire to make guests happy take away from your experience and what you want for the day. Most people won’t even remember the little details you’ll spend hours stressing over, and you don’t want to drive yourself crazy or break the budget for what would turn out to be really insignificant issues. For local couples, always remember that Florida heat is real, and the weather is unpredictable for most of the year.
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Paradise Spring *Marry Me Tampa Bay Preferred Wedding Venue
Photographer: Amber McWhorter Photography *Marry Me Tampa Bay Preferred Wedding Pro
Planner: Moments Matter Event Planning
Florist: Brides N Blooms Designs *Marry Me Tampa Bay Preferred Wedding Pro
Caterer: Tampa Bay Food Trucks
Rentals: Traditions Rentals
DJ: Grant Hemond & Associates *Marry Me Tampa Bay Preferred Wedding Pro
Officiant: Cousin of the Bride
Invitations: PLS Print
Dress Shop: The Perfect Dress Sarasota
Shoe Designer: Loeffler Randall
Hair: Hair Design by Katerina
Makeup: Bridal Beauty By Tara
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.
