Jenna and Drew
“Our theme was disco meets old Florida. Our last names are Dancey and Hall, like a dance hall, or discoteca in Spanish. Plus, I am a huge fan of disco music, and FloridaRAMA’s vibe fit perfectly with our tastes and wedding theme.
Our ceremony had navy, plum, and mustard colors. The reception was hot pink, disco balls, and neon. We chose colors that complemented each venue.” -The Bride
FEATURING
Jenna and Drew’s disco-meets-old-Florida St. Petersburg wedding was a colorful February celebration with nearly 100 of their closest friends and family. The Tampa couple exchanged vows among blown glass and lush gardens before dancing the night away under disco balls and glowing neon at a whimsical, immersive art venue, complete with a relationship scavenger hunt, a Malört toast, and a stuffed-cat toss in place of a bouquet.
“We live in Tampa, but St. Pete is close to our hearts for the food, drinks, arts, and people. We are pretty unserious people who wanted to throw a fun party to celebrate with our friends and family and dance the night away. Drew is a talented woodworker and built a beautiful arch to be used for the wedding and then installed at home as a permanent part of our landscaping,” the bride shared. “We are huge fans of Malört, which has a very polarized following, so we incorporated it as much as possible. We wanted our guests to explore the amazing spaces at FloridaRAMA, so we created a scavenger hunt with passport stamps based on our relationship. Our table assignments were based on quotes and memes from our favorite TV show, Arrested Development, and we had our guests sign cat playing cards instead of a guestbook.”
The Proposal
“Drew gathered around 30 friends and family at our favorite brewery, Triptych Brewing, in our hometown in Illinois. The menu that night carried a fake variant of their flagship Dank Meme beer called Marry Meme.”
The Bach Party & Honeymoon
“My sister took me to eat and drink around the world at EPCOT. Drew had a joint party where we ate and drank our way around St. Pete.
We’re still waiting on our honeymoon! When Drew finally gets some time off work, we plan on going to Mexico City and Oaxaca.”
The Venue
FloridaRAMA
“We wanted something fun, colorful, unique, and that complemented our personalities. The last thing we wanted was a sterile country club wedding. We attended another event at FloridaRAMA and knew right away that it was the place for us! The fun, quirky experience featured a number of local artists we adore.
The turnkey experience the team provided made the day-of setup and execution a breeze! We had very specific requests, and they helped us bring our vision to life.”
Researching Wedding Vendors
“We browsed Marry Me Tampa Bay for inspiration and ideas. It helped us narrow down our vision for the wedding and see what things were within our budget.”
The Inspiration
“Our theme was disco meets old Florida. Our last names are Dancey and Hall, like a dance hall, or discoteca in Spanish. Plus, I am a huge fan of disco music, and FloridaRAMA’s vibe fit perfectly with our tastes and wedding theme.
Our ceremony had navy, plum, and mustard colors. The reception was hot pink, disco balls, and neon. We chose colors that complemented each venue.”
The Experience
“Signature cocktails, being surrounded by local art, dancing, and throwing a great party with our loved ones were the most important elements of our wedding. We are cocktail snobs, so instead of his and hers cocktails, we wanted drinks that captured our relationship and the vibe of the venue. Our signature cocktails were La Discoteca, Unholy Malörtrimony, and Fancy Dancey Florida Man. Then we danced to disco music and early 2000s hip-hop.
We tossed a stuffed cat instead of a bouquet so that people of all marital statuses could participate. The person who caught the cat will supposedly be the next one to adopt a real cat! In lieu of gifts, we asked our guests to purchase a book from our registry to support Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners, a volunteer-run project that provides free books to incarcerated individuals in Illinois.”
The Most Memorable Moments
“Our most memorable moments were dancing and singing along to some of our favorite songs, like It’s Raining Men, Gasolina, and Mr. Brightside, with all our family and friends.”
Which vendors really exceeded your expectations?
Our DJ, Chris with BASH Entertainment, understood the assignment perfectly! He executed transitions smoothly and kept the party going on the dance floor all night.
Regina as the Photographer helped well beyond photography and brought an amazing eye to angles, ideas, and shots. Vaughn Kimberley created unique, unforgettable cocktails that captured our relationship and the atmosphere of the venue with ingredients and flavors we wanted.
What advice would you give to other St. Pete couples?
Do what you want, not what you think other people want you to do. Make it your day.
Be intentional about what you spend money on. For example, we wanted very specific cocktails with uncommon ingredients, but then we designed our invitations in Canva and DIYed our table decorations.
