Thy and Dominick’s South Tampa wedding featured vibrant flora in shades of pink and orange, a waterfront garden ceremony, elegant metallic gold accents, and global cuisine in honor of their cultural roots.
“Our wedding theme was a mix of botanical/garden and traditional. Since we were having a garden wedding, I wanted to incorporate vibrant, rich colors in our florals to contrast the greenery of the garden. We complemented those bright florals with traditional, gold, and minimalist décor,” the bride shared. “Our florals were bold fuchsias, orange tones like coral and peach, with a little burgundy. Bridesmaids wore forest green dresses which contrasted with the bold florals.”
The bride relied on Marry Me Tampa Bay’s expertise, looking to the publication for inspiration, vendor selection, and even to personally answer her questions.
“Using Instagram accounts like Marry Me Tampa Bay to see featured weddings really helped expose us to vendors in our area and narrow down the ones we liked. Along with providing inspiration and introducing various vendors by featuring them in their posts, Marry Me Tampa Bay helped answer many questions I had throughout the process. They were always a quick DM away,” Thy revealed.
The Pinellas pair planned to host their February wedding in Tampa to pay homage to where they met and also got engaged. They envisioned a venue with views of the city they loved, and ample space for their 150 guests.
“We primarily wanted a venue that gave us the freedom to use outside vendors and not restrict us to their preferred vendor’s list. We fell in love with the view and location of Tampa Garden Club. Being able to do our ceremony out in the garden and reception inside the ballroom was also what sold us. Bridget was so wonderful throughout the whole process. We booked our venue before we knew of COVID and she was so transparent with us regarding their policies and what they were doing to stay compliant with the city’s COVID mandates.”
The couple created an Asian-inspired wedding menu reflective of their Vietnamese heritage.
When asked what elements made their wedding so unique, Thy assured, “Definitely the people and the food! It was important for us to have traditional Vietnamese wedding fare. Many of our guests have never had Vietnamese wedding food and everyone really loved the food!”
After their original wedding florist disappeared with their payment in full just two months before the wedding, Thy scrambled to find an affordable and reliable florist with the skills to manifest her wedding vision.
“Budget was extremely important as we got very differing quotes from various florists. Communication was also important as well. We wanted a florist that really understood what we wanted. Thankfully we found Jean from Monarch Events and Design who was so wonderful and reassuring that she understood my vision and our insane circumstances booking her so last minute. She hands down exceeded our expectations. Our florals were one of my favorite details of the day.” Thy raved. “Jean did such an amazing job, and I’d recommend her over and over again. She went above and beyond what we discussed in our planning phone calls. I call her my wedding angel because she saved our wedding!”
For the reception, the bride rented boxwood walls to continue the greenery theme indoors, enhanced the room with wall draping, and elevated her tablescapes with gold chargers.
“We looked for a rental company that was professional and communicative. Kate Ryan Event Rentals‘ team was so helpful in allowing me to come to their studio to see what they had in person and to help me build my table setting,” the bride shared. “The visuals and décor for the wedding were important to me and when you’re planning so many details for a wedding (imagine having 10,000,000 tabs open in your head) it’s so helpful to be able to see and build your tangible table setting instead of looking at pictures.
After all of the months of planning and the uncertainty of the pandemic, Thy credits the reception reveal as one of the most special memories of the entire day.
“Walking in to see our reception space before everyone entered was one of my favorite moments. I loved getting to see our wedding vision come to life. I definitely cried,” the bride recalled. “But overall I just loved having all of the people we love and care about around us to celebrate with us. Especially with the craziness of the world and being so uncertain if we would even have a wedding at all.”
The Proposal:
Dominick and I lived in downtown Tampa. We frequently would walk our dog down the riverwalk to Curtis Hixon Park and at the time they had the Winter Village set up with ice skating, faux snow, Christmas lights, the works. Dom knows how much I love the holidays and asked if I wanted to walk the dog to the Christmas Tree Lighting they were having that night. When we got there I was on a mission to get funnel cake except he was insisting we get a “good spot” for the tree lighting. When we found our spot he got down on one knee and I swear I blacked out! He also had our families and my best friends be there for the proposal.
Where did you host your bachelorette party?
We did a beach house rental in Longboat Key! We wanted to stay relatively local and low-key.
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
We primarily wanted a venue that gave us the freedom to use outside vendors and not restrict us to their preferred vendors’ list.
We fell in love with the view and location of Tampa Garden Club. Being able to do our ceremony out in the garden and reception inside the ballroom was also what sold us. Bridget was so wonderful throughout the whole process. We booked our venue before we knew of COVID, and she was so transparent with us regarding their policies and what they were doing to stay compliant with the city’s COVID mandates.
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
Our wedding theme was a mix of botanical/garden and traditional. Since we were having a garden wedding, I wanted to incorporate vibrant, rich colors in our florals to contrast the greenery of the garden. We complimented those bright florals with traditional, gold, and minimalist décor.
What were your colors?
Our florals were bold fuchsias, orange tones like coral and peach, with a little burgundy. Bridesmaids wore forest green dresses which contrasted with the bold florals. We wanted the focus to be on the florals so the décor was very minimal touches of gold.
What did you look for in a rental company?
We looked for a company that was professional and communicative.
Kate Ryan Event Rentals’ team was so helpful in allowing me to come to their studio to see what they had in person and to help me build my table setting. We rented our charger plates, boxwood walls, and draping from them. The visuals and décor for the wedding were important to me and when you’re planning so many details for a wedding (imagine having 10,000,000 tabs open in your head) it’s so helpful to be able to see and build your tangible table setting instead of looking at pictures.
What did you look for in a wedding florist?
The budget was extremely important as we got very differing quotes from various florists. Communication was also important as well. We wanted a florist that really understood what we wanted.
We had an awful experience with our initial florist where we paid them in full and never heard from them again. Two months before our wedding we thought we weren’t going to have florals. But thankfully we found Jean from Monarch Events and Design who was so wonderful and reassuring that she understood my vision and our insane circumstances booking her so last minute. She hands down exceeded our expectations. Our florals were one of my favorite details of the day. She did such an amazing job, and I’d recommend her over and over again. She went above and beyond what we discussed in our planning phone calls. I call her my wedding angel because she saved our wedding!
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
You’ll get a lot of unsolicited advice and opinions from anyone and everyone. Don’t let it bother you. Have your select few people who you can consult or bounce ideas off of. You don’t need to add any unnecessary stress to an already stressful process.
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Tampa Garden Club *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Venue
Photographer: Shawna Meadors Photography
Videographer: Sunshine City Films
Planner: Flawless Fetes
Florist: Monarch Events and Design *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Caterer: Hao Wah Catering
Rentals: Kate Ryan Event Rentals *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
DJ: DJ Cory Barron & Co.
Officiant: Peyton Johnson
Invitations: Etsy, Minty Paperie Shop
Dress: Justin Alexander Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Dear Cleo
Hair & Makeup: Ashlee Ann Hair and Makeup
Rehearsal Dinner: Malio’s Prime Steakhouse
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.