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Tropical Chic Surprise Clearwater Wedding | Yacht StarShip

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Ashley and Gaby

YACHT STARSHIP

“Our wedding theme was tropical chic. We wanted tropical floral elements to tie in with being in Florida, but we didn’t want it too over the top, so all of the florals were pretty simple, with mostly whites and tropical greenery with pops of pink. Our colors were green, pale pink, and white. We chose them because Gaby wanted to wear a dark green suit, and we found these awesome light pink loafers, and everything kind of just came together from there.” -The Bride

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FEATURING

Ashley and Gaby’s waterfront Clearwater wedding combined neutral white and green hues with hints of shell pink, befitting Florida’s iconic sandy shores, palms, and sunsets. The couple surprised their guests with a destination wedding, exchanging vows on a yacht overlooking the Bay before hosting an intimate reception filled with tropical flora and greenery, lively music, and breathtaking views of the city skyline.

“Our wedding theme was tropical chic. We wanted tropical floral elements to tie in with being in Florida, but we didn’t want it too over the top, so all of the florals were pretty simple, with mostly whites and tropical greenery with pops of pink,” the bride shared. “Our colors were green, pale pink, and white. We chose them because Gaby wanted to wear a dark green suit, and we found these awesome light pink loafers, and everything kind of just came together from there.”

The Washington D.C.-based couple envisioned a unique locale for their May celebration, seeking an inclusive venue to easily accommodate their 52-guests and simplify the planning process. The distinct location and stellar services offered by the Yacht StarShip immediately impressed the brides, ensuring each detail came together despite their distance from the Sunshine State.

“Since we were planning a destination wedding, we wanted a venue that had an all-inclusive package to make planning easier for us. We wanted something unique, budget-friendly, and all-inclusive, and Yacht StarShip checked all of those boxes,” the bride gushed. “We chose Yacht Starship because we wanted a wedding unlike anything we had ever been to. The service was outstanding! Any time we had a request, Yacht Starship was more than accommodating. Our venue coordinator, Amelia, was great to work with, super communicative, and always answered our millions of questions. All of the waitstaff on the ship were friendly and super nice as well.”

Under the guise of a shared bachelorette vacation to Florida, the pair enticed their friends and family to make travel arrangements for what would turn out to be their surprise nuptials! Little did everyone know that they were in for a wedding weekend that they would never forget.

“Our wedding was unique because it was a surprise to our friends and because it was on a yacht. I don’t know if it gets any more unique than that!” Ashley beamed. “We told all of our friends that they would be coming to Florida for our joint bachelorette party, and they had no idea that we were actually getting married. Our family all knew, and they were in on the surprise. We revealed the surprise on the first night of our bachelorette, and the evening turned into our welcome dinner.”

Seeking a florist who could bring their tropical vision to fruition, Ashley was thrilled to discover Lemon Drops Weddings + Events, reveling in their combined floral design and event planning services. Their planner guided the couple through the process of hosting a surprise event while also ensuring the floral inspiration came together on the big day.

“We specifically wanted to find a florist who fit within our budget and understood our vision. Our floral inspiration was minimalistic tropical flowers with greenery like palms and monstera leaves. For my bouquet, I wanted something unique and minimal, and I found a gorgeous orchid bouquet on Instagram, and that was the inspiration. For Gaby’s pocket square, we wanted something that would tie in the pink from her shoes and act as an accessory to complete the whole look. We chose Lemon Drops because they are a wedding planning service that also does florals. This meant that we had one less vendor to keep track of, which ended up being perfect for us!” the bride raved. “Our planner, Kristine, was incredible in keeping us on track, coordinating with all the vendors, and ensuring that everything for our whole wedding weekend went smoothly. She also totally understood our vision for the florals and offered suggestions for flowers we may not have thought of. She really listened to what we wanted and delivered.”

Surprising their guests with their wedding plans was certainly a memorable experience, but another favorite moment occurred as the pair shared their first kiss.

“One of our favorite moments was when we told all of our friends that they weren’t there for our bachelorette weekend, but we would actually be getting married the next day. They were all so shocked and so happy for us!” the bride reminisced. “Another one of our favorite memories was right after our first kiss when the DJ played Man, I Feel Like A Woman by Shania Twain, and the Yacht StarShip blasted the horn. It was so fun and a moment we wish we could relive forever.”


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How did you incorporate your personalities into the wedding? 
Our entire wedding was exactly us. The first way we incorporated our personalities was by making our wedding something totally unexpected — it was a surprise to all of our friends. We told all of our friends that they would be coming to Florida for our joint bachelorette party, and they had no idea that we were actually getting married. Our family all knew, and they were in on the surprise. We revealed the surprise on the first night of our bachelorette, and the evening turned into our welcome dinner. We are natural hosts and love having activities planned when we host events, so one way we showed our personalities at our welcome dinner was by turning the evening into a karaoke night.

We are also sentimental people, and our friends mean the world to us, so another thing we did to incorporate our personalities into our wedding was to have handwritten notes on everyone’s name cards. Gaby is obsessed with donuts, so we also had mini-donuts for everyone to enjoy. We love a good game night, so our guest book was a deck of custom playing cards for everyone to sign, and since we had 52 guests it worked out perfectly.

Our friends know how much we love cocktails — I am a bourbon girl, and Gaby loves gin, so we made sure that was reflected in our signature cocktails. We also think that our playlist perfectly showed our personalities, and it was a great time on the dance floor. Gaby’s signature look is a pantsuit, so her group of childhood best friends all wore outfits that were a play on a suit. 

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 The Proposal: 
Gaby proposed in a vineyard outside of D.C. I thought we were meeting up with some friends who wanted to taste some local wines for their own wedding. Shortly after arriving at the winery, Gaby got down on one knee and popped the question. Immediately after, our friends and family came running down the hill to congratulate us and celebrate with us for the day. It was truly so special! 

A few months later, we had booked Miranda to be our wedding photographer, and we wanted to do an engagement shoot with her. We had planned a week-long vacation in Treasure Island and St. Pete, and one of the days would be our hair/makeup trial and engagement shoot. I had been chatting with our hair and makeup artist and photographer behind the scenes to let them know that I would be surprising Gaby with her own proposal. Miranda found a perfect spot outside the Don CeSar hotel, and I proposed to Gaby during the engagement photoshoot. 

White Orchid and Wisteria and Greenery Palm Garland Altar Decor Ideas | Clearwater Wedding Venue Yacht StarShip | LGBTQ+ Friendly Florida Wedding Venue

What was your floral inspiration? What did you look for in a wedding florist?
We specifically wanted to find a florist who fit within our budget and understood our vision. Our floral inspiration was minimalistic tropical flowers with greenery like palms and monstera leaves. For my bouquet, I wanted something unique and minimal, and I found a gorgeous orchid bouquet on Instagram, and that was the inspiration. For Gaby’s pocket square, we wanted something that would tie in the pink from her shoes and act as an accessory to complete the whole look. 

We chose Lemon Drops Weddings + Events because they are a wedding planning service that also does florals. This meant that we had one less vendor to keep track of, which ended up being perfect for us! Our planner, Kristine, was incredible in keeping us on track, coordinating with all the vendors, and ensuring that everything for our whole wedding weekend went smoothly. She also totally understood our vision for the florals and offered suggestions for flowers we may not have thought of. She really listened to what we wanted and delivered.

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What did you look for in a wedding venue?
Since we were planning a destination wedding, we wanted a venue that had an all-inclusive package to make planning easier for us. We wanted something unique, budget-friendly, and all-inclusive, and Yacht StarShip checked all of those boxes.

We chose Yacht Starship because we wanted a wedding unlike anything we had ever been to. The service was outstanding! Any time we had a request, Yacht Starship was more than accommodating. Our venue coordinator, Amelia, was great to work with, super communicative, and always answered our millions of questions. All of the waitstaff on the ship were friendly and super nice as well.

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Clearwater Wedding Venue Yacht StarShip
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How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
Our wedding theme was tropical chic. We wanted tropical floral elements to tie in with being in Florida, but we didn’t want it too over the top, so all of the florals were pretty simple, with mostly whites and tropical greenery with pops of pink.

What were your colors?
Our colors were green, pale pink, and white. We chose them because Gaby wanted to wear a dark green suit, and we found these awesome light pink loafers, and everything kind of just came together from there.

Natural Light Woven Rattan Chargers with White Menu Cards on White Linen Inspiration | Green Depression Glass Inspiration | Palms with White Wisteria Garland Wedding Reception Decor Ideas
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What elements of your wedding were the most important? 
We wanted to ensure that our guests had good transportation to and from the event, great food, and cocktails, and we wanted our photos to capture the feeling of the day and include lots of candids. It was also important to us to find LGBTQ+-friendly vendors, so ensuring that they had representation on their social media and websites was vital for us when we were searching. The most important thing to us was feeling loved and comfortable on our special day.

Which vendors really exceeded your expectations? 
Yacht StarShip was so helpful throughout the process, the food was incredible, and the staff was great. Everyone raved about the food for the rest of the weekend.

Lemon Drops Weddings + Events was so organized and helpful throughout the planning process.

Miranda, our photographer, did our engagement and wedding photos and we are so happy with how everything turned out. She was totally on board with our surprise wedding, and she captured every moment perfectly. Lindsay Travis, our hair and makeup artist, was awesome.! Our personalities just meshed, and she really took the time to understand what we both wanted to look like for our big day. She nailed it. 

What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Take advantage of all the fun things that the Tampa and St. Pete area have to offer. We loved getting married on the water and having our after-party at a local LGBTQ+ bar during drag night. 

Where did you host your bach party? 
Our bachelorette was combined with our wedding weekend. After a vacation in Anna Maria Island, we fell in love with it and wanted our friends to experience all the relaxation and fun that AMI has to offer. We hosted it at the Rod n Reel resort in Anna Maria Island because it could accommodate all of our friends, and we could rent out the entire resort just for us. 


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Feature Credits

Vendors and venues marked with

are Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pros and have been personally vetted by our editor.

Ceremony/Reception Venue and Caterer:Yacht StarShip
Rehearsal Dinner CatererCatering by the Family
Cakes & DessertPublix
Cakes & DessertLocal Mini Donut Co.
DJ/Band & Live EntertainmentDJ Edwin
Invitations & StationeryCDC Design Studio
Limo and TransportationL3 Limo
Dress and Bridesmaid AttireBella Bridal Outlet
ShoesNina
Suit AccessoriesKirrin Finch

About the Author

Anna Coats

Marry Me Tampa Bay editor Anna Coats created Marry Me Tampa Bay in 2012 to showcase the area’s best local weddings and vendors. She has been featured as a wedding expert on the national talk show Daytime, Fox13, ABC Action News, Great Day Tampa Bay, and Bay News 9 (now Spectrum).

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