As she walked to see him for the first time, you could feel his anticipation, see his smile. His love for her radiated, and together, when they kissed, you knew this was that forever kind of love.

Richard and Rina said I do inside the Lightner Museum, and then partied with friends and family till the wee hours of the night. These two had more fun together, and enjoyed every moment of their day. Rina wore two fabulous gowns, and looked stunning in her cathedral length veil. These two planned one fabulous party- well, after ten years together, they deserved it! These two high school sweet hearts glowed together, and I know there wedding day will be one they will never forget!

Richard and Rina, thank you for allowing us to be part of your day. You two were beyond fun, and reminded us how good young love can be. I hope that the next 50 are as good as the first 10! And Rina, congrats {almost} on that law degree! UM is lucky to have you!

 

Their Fabulous team of Vendors

Ceremony Venue   Lightner Museum         Reception Venue Casa Monica

Dresses Davids Bridal and Alfred Angelo    Grooms Wear Mens Wearhouse

Hair and Makeup  Amanda Hopcraft of Mon Petit Chou Spa

Flowers  The Conservatorie     Cake Sweet Weddings

Ceremony Music Wehner Weddings   Reception Music DJ Joey

Wedding Coordinator The Wedding Authority

 

And

 

And the love story in their words-

 

How did you two meet?
High school sweethearts! We met and started dating 10 years ago. My sophomore year of high school and his senior year.

How did he pop the question?
He brought our closest family to our favorite little spot on the beach for a “family photoshoot,” took me out on the pier and got down on one knee 🙂

How did you choose your theme? Flowers? and overall wedding design?
We loved the color purple and thought that it went beautifully with out location. We realized we are both not too organized, so we decided our wedding should reflect that. We went with different shades of purple for the bridesmaids dresses and an assortment of different size vases with different flowers for the tables.
What was the best moment{s} of your wedding day?
Reading our own vows was amazing. It was just us promising to love each other forever.  We both also loved our first dance. It was such a blast and funny how much of our choreography we messed up. My favorite part of that was the lift at the end. Finally, we absolutely loved our last dance alone. It was romantic and done to a song that we first listened to 10 years ago when we said we would get married.

How would you describe your overall wedding experience?
Amazing.

What photography related advice would you offer to a couple?
Make a promise to one another that you will not let anything that goes wrong take away from the magic that is your wedding day.

Tell me about your dress. Where did you find it, how did you choose it, how did you know it was the one?
I went to a lot of fancy boutiques and everything just felt wrong. My sister in law suggested going to David’s Bridal for fun. They had a cancelled appointment and took me. I explained to my stylist that I wanted something magical and stunning, but not a ball gown. The first gown he brought me was horrendous. I’m a tiny person (5’1 to be exact) and I looked like a walking poof ball. I was ready to leave when he showed up with a stunning Vera Wang gown. I tried it on and fell in love. Everyone with me cried. I called my mom in the room and she told me we would make the price work. Little did I know the dress was actually half of my budget! It left me the funds to buy a second lighter dress for after the first dance. Best. Decision. Ever. The second dress was much easier to dance in!

How was your experience taking photos/working with me on your wedding day?
Amazing! I’m scatter brained and not the most organized person, but I am good at taking directions. You told me where to stand, where to look and had everything planned to a T. It went flawlessly in my opinion.

Did you see each other before the wedding? If not, did you like waiting or would you have rather done it differently? Tell me why or why not!
I loved seeing Richard before the ceremony. He is not too emotional and seeing his eyes well up made it perfect!
Any tips on how to prepare for the wedding photos?
Be prepared to take directions! And remember that your photographer is the professional!

 

Thank you guys! Congratulations!