Jordi and Matt's waterfront South Tampa wedding featured a neutral color palette, lush greenery, and a few nods to their mutual love of travel. The couple exchanged vows in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by an alfresco dinner and dancing overlooking a waterfront marina.
“We always dreamed of an outdoor reception. We loved the idea of being by the water with palm trees overlooking the sunset. We enjoy weekends on the water, boating with our family, and going to the beach,” the bride shared. “We wanted a very neutral wedding with lots of greenery so we chose taupe bridesmaid dresses, slate blue suits for the guys, and white roses.”
The Tampa bride and groom sought an elegant wedding venue that could provide their 115 guests with ample outdoor space that embodied their love of the water.
“We opted for a fall wedding so we could take advantage of the ideal weather in Tampa. Westshore Yacht Club made for the perfect waterfront venue. We loved the nautical vibe, the palm trees, and the market lights. We knew this would be the perfect venue for us,” Jordi gushed. “We couldn’t be happier with the service at Westshore Yacht Club, especially Amy. The staff was very attentive to the details we wanted to incorporate and able to accommodate all of our requests. The venue speaks for itself, but the service was top-notch. No detail was overlooked.”
A unique but personalized request from the couple was to serve pizza instead of wedding cake! The Westshore Yacht Club gladly obliged and created a three-layer pizza for the bride and groom to ceremoniously cut, and then served piping hot pizzas to all their guests as a late-night snack.
“The most unique aspects of our wedding were the steel drum player that played during cocktail hour rather than the DJ, serving pizza instead of a traditional wedding cake, and our guestbook globe,” Jordi recalled.
Planning all of those wedding details was no simple task, so when it came time to choose a wedding photographer, Jordi and Matt wanted a seasoned team who could put their minds at ease on the wedding day.
“Our main goal when looking for a photographer was someone who could take the reins. Since we were planning everything ourselves, we wanted to entrust our photographer with choosing poses, backdrops, and the flow of the photos for the day,” the bride revealed. “We fell in love with Dewitt for Love Photography‘s style, and after meeting them, we knew we had one less thing to worry about on our wedding day. We loved how much attention to detail Dewitt for Love gave us. They were there for us every step of the way and captured the most incredible wedding pictures. We will always cherish what they were able to give us and would absolutely recommend them to anyone.”
The pair wanted the focus of their celebration to be on their guests, and one of their fondest wedding day memories involved a special dance with the bride's grandparents.
“We included an anniversary dance in addition to the bouquet toss so we could involve married couples as well as the single ladies. We knew this would be special because Jordi's grandparents have been married for 62 years. We didn't know if they would be able to participate or if we would give them a shout-out from their table. But sure enough, they were out on the dance floor and the last ones standing,” the groom reminisced. “It was a very special moment as they shared a piece of advice on how to have a successful marriage. Jordi's grandma answered, ‘Yes, Dear,' and we all shared a laugh. We thought it was a special way to incorporate them into our day as they embody the type of marriage we are striving to have.”
The Proposal:
The proposal happened on a family vacation to Folly Beach, South Carolina during Christmas. Matt had identified a few places that he thought would be perfect to visit in and around Charleston, but after three days of rain that kept us inside for most of the day, he had to improvise. On Christmas morning the weather finally turned around, and the family rented golf carts so we could explore Folly Beach. As most of the family started to head back, there was a brief moment when it was just Matt and me. That's when Matt asked me to take a picture with him down by the pier on the beach, to which I reluctantly obliged as it was a bit of a hike across the beach.
Little did I know what was about to happen! Matt popped the question while my sister was taking a picture of us. Neither of us had any idea it was coming. After taking it all in, we met up with the rest of our family to celebrate the big news!
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
Getting married in a Catholic church was always important to us, and we loved the idea of having an outdoor reception. We are parishioners at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and love its historic architecture and beauty. We opted for a fall wedding so we could take advantage of the ideal weather in Tampa.
Westshore Yacht Club made for the perfect waterfront venue. We loved the nautical vibe, the palm trees, and the market lights. We knew this would be the perfect venue for us. We couldn’t be happier with the service at Westshore Yacht Club, especially Amy. The staff was very attentive to the details we wanted to incorporate and able to accommodate all of our requests. The venue speaks for itself, but the service was top-notch. No detail was overlooked.
What did you look for in a wedding photographer?
Our main goal when looking for a photographer was someone who could take the reins. Since we were planning everything ourselves, we wanted to entrust our photographer with choosing poses, backdrops, and the flow of the photos for the day.
We fell in love with Dewitt for Love Photography‘s style and after meeting them, we knew we had one less thing to worry about on our wedding day. We loved how much attention to detail they gave us. To be honest, they were almost our pseudo wedding planners. They had so much knowledge of how the day of the wedding goes; they broke down our wedding day in way more detail than we had even thought of. They were there for us every step of the way and captured the most incredible wedding pictures. Dewitt for Love really took the extra time to understand who we are and who our family and friends are. We will always cherish what they were able to give us and would absolutely recommend them to anyone.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
After such a long and stressful 2020, we wanted to disconnect, decompress, and spend quality time together. COVID greatly limited our options for honeymoon destinations. We had originally booked our honeymoon for Bali but had to cancel in August due to announcements that foreigners would not be allowed to enter Indonesia until at least 2021. We started researching other destinations that allowed U.S. citizens to visit.
Both the Maldives and Dubai were open and requiring negative COVID tests to enter. The Maldives was always a bucket-list destination, so we decided to splurge because it was our honeymoon, after all. We stopped over in Dubai before heading home and had a great time experiencing the more adventurous side of traveling.
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
We always dreamed of an outdoor reception. We loved the idea of being by the water with palm trees overlooking the sunset. We enjoy weekends on the water, boating with our family, or going to the beach. We really loved the nautical vibe at Westshore Yacht Club.
What were your colors?
We wanted a very neutral wedding with lots of greenery so we chose taupe bridesmaid dresses, slate blue suits for the guys, and white roses.
What did you look for in a wedding DJ?
We wanted our wedding DJ to be flexible and fun.
Grant Hemond & Associates was always on our radar, as we have a family friend who DJs for them. They took time to get to know what type of music we wanted, and they delivered. We had a few random requests that were fulfilled, an impromptu karaoke performance, and a very special tribute to our grandparents. Without that bias, they were an easy 10/10! They made our wedding day so much fun and we highly recommend James King.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
The day of the wedding flies by, so take time to soak in some of the special moments you share with your spouse, family, and friends. Also, incorporate your unique personalities into your special day. We had so much fun just letting loose and being ourselves.
Ceremony Venue: Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Reception Venue & Caterer: Westshore Yacht Club *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Venue Photographer: Dewitt for Love Photography *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Florist: The JillTed Florist and Sam's Club
Dance Floor: Fiesta Solutions
Desserts: Publix
DJ: Grant Hemond & Associates – James King *Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pro
Officiant: Father Zachary Elliott
Invitations: Etsy template
Transportation: Shoop Express
Dress Shop: Maria's Bridal Connection
Shoe Designer: Lulu's
Bridesmaid Dress Shop: Azazie
Hair & Makeup: Destiny & Light
Steel Drum for Cocktail Hour: Steel Pan Jam
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.
