Rustic, Tampa Destination Wedding | The Barn at Crescent Lake at Old McMicky’s Farm

Valerie and Andy’s rustic, destination Tampa Bay wedding featured an outdoor, lakefront wedding ceremony, barn reception and fire pit complete with homemade s’mores.

“Our wedding was unique because we planned everything together. We are both very creative, which is why we decided to hand make our wedding invitations and a lot of our wedding décor,” the bride explained. “My husband and I are both dental hygienists and met through Colgate Oral Health Advisors (COHA). Since we met through Colgate, we custom made props for our photo booth with Colgate toothpaste and various other dental instruments.”

The Georgia couple planned a destination Florida wedding because the the bride is from Lakeland, and the pair knew they wanted an outdoor barn wedding in the Tampa Bay area.

“We did a lot of research for wedding venues, and we stumbled across the Barn at Crescent Lake at Old McMicky’s Farm in Odessa. We absolutely fell in love because it had everything we wanted in a venue – a barn to have our reception in, a beautiful property and a gorgeous lake for the backdrop of our ceremony,” Valerie gushed. “The staff did an amazing job setting up for our wedding and making sure everything was in its place and exactly where we wanted it to be. We were very impressed by how well organized they were on our wedding day.”

Since they were planning an out-of-state wedding, Valerie and Andy hired Tampa wedding planner Blue Skies Events to keep them on track.

“We really wanted a wedding planner who was able to help us coordinate our vendors, payments and make sure everything ran smoothly on our wedding day,” the bride explained. “The day of wedding coordination that Blue Skies Events provided for us was invaluable. We were very pleased with how smoothly our wedding day went and were happy that we chose to have a coordinator for the day of our wedding.”

The Proposal:
We were engaged on April 28, in Central Park in New York City. Andy hired a professional photographer to capture our engagement. We were sitting on a park bench taking a selfie, and the photographer was sitting across from us and asked if we would like her to take a picture for us. Before I knew it, Andy was down on one knee asking me to marry him, and the photographer was snapping pictures! Immediately after the proposal, the photographer took us all over Central Park to take photos. It was a magical day!

What did you look for in a venue?
We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding with a barn to have our reception in. We absolutely fell in love with the Barn at Crescent Lake at Old McMicky’s Farm because it had everything we wanted in a venue – a barn to have our reception in, a beautiful property and a gorgeous lake for the backdrop of our ceremony.

Old McMicky’s Farm had everything we were looking for in our wedding venue. The barn itself is a mixture of rustic/chic/elegance, which was the theme of our wedding. We absolutely loved the lake, the grounds are gorgeous and the property is very well maintained. The staff did an amazing job setting up for our wedding and making sure everything was in its place and exactly where we wanted it to be. We were very impressed by how well organized they were on our wedding day.

What did you look for in a wedding planner?
Since we were living in Georgia and planning a Florida wedding, we really wanted a wedding planner who was able to help us coordinate our vendors, payments and make sure everything ran smoothly on our wedding day.

Blue Skies Events is the preferred wedding planner for weddings at Old McMicky’s Farm. The day of wedding coordination that they provided for us was invaluable. We were very pleased with how smoothly our wedding day went and were happy that we chose to have a coordinator for the day of our wedding.

How would you describe your theme?
Our theme was a mixture of rustic, chic and elegance. We knew very early on in our wedding planning that we wanted to create and hand make a lot of our décor for the wedding. We incorporated chalkboards, handmade invitations, a custom-made wooden guest book, stained windows with photos, photo booth props, name tags, etc. for our wedding day.

What were your colors?
Blush, ivory and coral. We were very drawn to the light pink and neutral colors. I really loved the way the colors complimented each other.

A lot of our colors and flower inspirations came from Pinterest.  My wedding bouquet was a hand-tied bouquet that was a mix of hydrangeas, garden roses and football mums, and the stems were wrapped in burlap with lace overlay.

What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay Brides?
Don’t sweat the small stuff! I am definitely a perfectionist, which made it extremely difficult when planning a wedding. You want everything to be perfect, but the truth is, nothing is perfect! My wedding day went by so fast, and a lot of the little details that I stressed out about were not a big deal at all. So just relax and enjoy your big day!

This is your day, and it should be the happiest day of your life, because you are marrying the love of your life!

Make sure all of the final details are completed about a week before the wedding, so you can truly enjoy your time with your soon-to-be-husband.

Plan on several guests to not show up to the wedding even if they didn’t RSVP.

Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Barn at Crescent Lake at Old McMicky’s Farm
Photographer: Life Long Studios
Videographer: Trinity Wedding Cinema
Planner: Blue Skies Events
Florist: 2Birds Events
Caterer: Amici’s Catering *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Cake: Chantilly Cakes
DJ: Celebrations 24
Officiant: Sensational Ceremonies
Dress Shop and Designer: Albert Griffin Bridal – Stella York
Bridesmaid Dress Shop and Designer: David’s Bridal
Hair & Makeup: Michele Renee Studio – Indira *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro