Stacia and Kaden are so great together – we had so much fun with them for their engagement shoot out in the woods. Even got to them to juggle lemons! We can’t wait for their wedding in November planned by Kaden’s mother and our amazing friend Courtney Ford Event Design! xo
From Stacia:We were in high school and we met through mutual friends, we were just friends for about a year before we started dating in 2014. I love that Kaden has always shown so much love and care for me – anything I need he’s always there, and I love that no matter what we are doing we always have a good time. He’s pretty great ?
On Thanksgiving Day in 2012, Jimmy and Sara were both at Skydive DeLand for the annual dinner in the packing hangar. Sara was with her family when she spotted Jimmy across the hangar, taste-testing the smoked turkey he’d brought. They didn’t meet then, not until several days later when they both happened to be attending a concert in downtown DeLand at Cafe DaVinci. Sara recognized Jimmy from the Thanksgiving dinner and decided to introduce herself. After speaking for a few minutes, they found they had many mutual acquaintances (including Sara’s parents!).
While Sara grew up spending weekends at her mother’s drop zone, Skydive Palatka, she had no interest in skydiving until years later, choosing instead to study music in high school and college. Jimmy, on the other hand, earned his private pilot’s license when he was 17 and later moved from Maryland to Florida to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which is where he discovered skydiving. It was at Embry-Riddle that Jimmy met Sara’s dad (who also works in the aviation industry), nearly a decade before Jimmy and Sara met. In that time, Jimmy also met and got to know Sara’s stepfather, who was one of Skydive DeLand’s jump pilots.
After their first date (dinner at Oudom’s in downtown DeLand), for their second date Jimmy offered to fly the two of them to Jacksonville for dinner. After an eventful flight (it was an unusually foggy night, which led to a very exciting landing!), they both knew this relationship was something special. Aviation has continued to be an important part of their lives, as they both enjoy skydiving and both of their families are in some way connected to the aviation industry. Since the DeLand Airport is where they first crossed paths, it’s an especially meaningful location to them.?
Mary and Peter’s beautiful wedding was at The Estate on the Halifax with so many friends and family to celebrate with them. I love that Mary’s daughters were her bridesmaids and her sons walked her down the aisle. There was a lot of laughing and dancing at this wedding – we had so much fun. Thank you to Courtney Ford Event Design for making the day even better! Congratulations Mary and Peter! xo
You know when someone talks about a person whose smile lights up a room? That’s Adrienne. She and John just got married and it was such a fun party. (see their engagement photo shoot here) The intimate ceremony and reception was at Cafe DaVinci’s in Deland (Courtney and I got married there too, almost 10 years ago!) and was wonderfully planned by Courtney Ford Event Design. Since they were unable to attend, John’s parents watched the ceremony through Skype. I especially loved their First Look, next to a wall that had just been tagged with “LOVE” and heart graffiti all over it. They read their vows only to each other and it was so sweet. We were so happy to be a part of it. xo
From Adrienne: Describe your wedding day style in one sentence Classic and comfortable. Describe your wedding planning process We were really fortunate to work with Courtney Ford Hamil of Courtney Ford Events. I knew we didn’t a long engagement, so the first thing I did was meet with Courtney to pick a date that would work with her schedule. She helped us line up the rest of our vendors which was a huge relief. What advice would you give to future brides for their wedding day? First, that people are more important than details. So we kept everything very simple so we could afford to feed a lot of people. Also, not to sound cynical, but a lot of the wedding industry is about comparison. Don’t even let yourself go there, and don’t buy the magazines! Make choices that are meaningful to you, whether that means your wedding is super elaborate or barefoot on the beach. Don’t stress too much, enjoy yourself, and dont forget to eat! Anything you would have done differently? Not really, all the things I was worried about ended up not mattering in the end. Most memorable moment during the planning process When we first started planning I asked John if he had any wishes for the wedding. He’s not that into party planning, so I had the feeling he wouldnt care about many of the details. I was surprised when he said “I want a weenie cart.” He was half joking, but I thought it was a fun and affordable idea! So he got his weenie cart, with a cute red and white striped umbrella. Also, about 3 weeks before the wedding we took an extended weekend in North Carolina, it was amazing. I recommend stepping back from the planning to remember why you’re doing this in the first place. Which moment are you the most excited to see in photos? Our favorite moment of the day was the first look when we share our vows. Everything during the day was such a blur, but I remember that moment very clearly. What was your wedding inspiration? From the very beginning I knew I wanted our wedding to feel like a family reunion. John and I are pretty laid back, and informal people. We were inspired by all of the years where we found ourselves hanging out with friends at Cafe da Vinci on a weekend afternoon. Describe some of your favorite wedding details and how you came up with them Courtney put together simple clear vases with greenery (no flowers). I love the way it looked so simple and modern. Our venue is very colorful with lots of detail, so I think the low key decor honored that vibe. John wore a suit with no tie which was SO handsome. We didnt have official an official bridal party, though we did invite some close friends to get ready with us. That was really special, especially at the moment when I realized I didn’t know how to apply my fake eye lashes. Last, John has two god daughters who are in their early teens, and I have a 1 year old niece. We really wanted to include all 3 of them in the ceremony, so Elle and Wyatt (the goddaughters) walked Avery (my niece) down the aisle. I couldnt see it, but John said it was adorable. What are you most looking forward to as a married couple? We’re excited to continue working on our house, settle in a bit, and start a family.
Libby and Scotty are the sweetest couple, she actually said of her wedding photos, ” I want photos of my friends having fun, not of me.” Their wedding was nothing but fun, with a live band, special beer bottle vases and wonderful family and friends. Thank you Libby and Scotty for including us xo
Karly definitely looked like a vintage-glam Bohemian Princes on her wedding day! Such a beautiful wedding surrounded by art at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. Karly and Kyle had all their wonderful friends and family there to celebrate. Check out Karly’s own words about her wedding below. Thank you Karly and Kyle for including us!
My wedding day style was romantic vintage glam, bohemian princess.
Wedding day color scheme: Plethora of blues, green and gold.
My wedding planning process was to get at least one thing done every day. I used a check list from RealSimple.com and it was perfect. Also, my manager was getting married the day before me, so we basically planned our entire weddings together. It made it so easy because we could bounce ideas off of each other, vent, and give each other ideas. We would also time-check each other and make sure we were on track.
My advice for future brides on their wedding day would be to HAVE FUN!! Every one kept telling me to make sure to go slow and take it all in, which is great advice, but having fun will not only make it memorable for you, but your friends and family too. I would not have done anything differently. 🙂
My most memorable moment during the planning process was laying in bed with my fiance, going over our playlist, which was about 50 songs too many.
We are most looking forward to every day. Being together makes every day the best day.
The photos I am most excited to see the pictures of the ceremony. I kept my eyes on Kyle, so I am excited to see the pictures of everyone watching.
My wedding inspiration was my personal style of how I like things to look. I love vintage, like cameos and pearls. I love natural beauty, i.e. plants, sunsets, art, I love shiny things!! Sparkles and jewels and overall pretty things. Simplicity and cohesion.
My favorite wedding details were all of the personal art work done by friends and family. Kyle’s mom, dad and sister spend so much time and energy making all of the succulent boxes to give out as party favors. They turned out beautiful and perfect, just how I envisioned them. Kyle’s bother’s girlfriend Brenna painted pretty much all the the signs and made everything so colorful. And my mom’s handmade brooch bouquets blew me away how well they turned out. They were gorgeous and brought the whole look together. As I saw different things and styles I liked, I chose them, and threw them all together. I love how everything turned out and it was everything I wanted it to be.
We couldn’t wait to share our First Favorite images from Karly and Kyle’s romantic, vintage glam wedding at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. Beautiful personal art, succulent boxes party favors (made by Kyle’s family!) and handmade brooch bouquets (made by Karly’s mother!) were some highlights of this amazing wedding. Stay tuned for more to come!
We loved Sarah and Sean’s wedding so much! A lot of love, beauty and DIY. They made so many beautiful elements themselves, including boutonnieres made from buttons, the ceremony pews and their bar. We knew when we photographed their amazing Hippie-inspired engagement shoot that they were our kind of couple, and they treated us like friends right away. My favorite part of this day was when they read their handwritten vows to each other – just the two of them – during their first look. So sweet and romantic. Love to you both Sarah and Sean – cheers to a wonderful life together xo
Describe your wedding day style in one sentence– I think our style is relaxed, eclectic and vintage, our personalities showing through.
Wedding day color scheme– Red and Mint for the bridesmaids but generally no color scheme for the rest of the wedding, I wanted it to be a collections of colors with the flowers to complement our beautiful surroundings of the farm. I didn’t want things to be too “matchy matchy”.
What advice would you give to future brides for their wedding day? To take your time the day of to take it all in. Enjoy every moment even if things don’t go as planned, embrace it. It’s just a party, the important thing is that you realize why you’re having this special party and that you are spending the rest of your life with someone you love and want to party with forever.
Anything you would have done differently? Ordered less cupcakes and more alcohol. We had to send someone on a liquor run because we were running out. Our friends must love to drink =)
Most memorable moment during the planning process– My most memorable moment would be our awesome Bohemian engagement photo shoot. They really showed our personalities and it was so much fun!
What are you most looking forward to as a married couple? To continue experiencing life and adventures together.
Which moment are you the most excited to see in photos?ALL OF THEM!!! It will be neat to see a lot of the candids but I can’t wait to see some of our couple shots together too.
What was your wedding inspiration? We basically wanted the wedding to be fun, energetic, and less traditional. We wanted the decor to be eclectic with vintage collectibles while incorporating the rustic backdrop of the farm. Most of the wedding vendors and set up was provided by friends. This made our wedding day even more special because the people we care about and who care about us were in charge of all the important details. Our wedding planner is a close friend and we used her family’s farm. We borrowed all of our vintage antiques from friends, had a cookie bar with cookies from local family and friends, our food was provided by our close friends that own a BBQ food truck, our music was even from a Band that we know from Jacksonville and we had a surprise band at the end of our wedding by our close friends.
Describe some of your favorite wedding details and how you came up with them. I loved all of the vintage collectibles that our friends let us borrow. They brought so much character to our wedding. I collect buttons so I used them in the groomsmen’ boutonnieres. My husband and his close friend built the ceremony benches and the rustic bar. Another sentimental touch. We used our old couch as the center for the Photo Booth with the backdrop of the farm. at one point before all of the music the horses would walk up.
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