Samantha and Kyle’s wedding day was one of those when you look back, you realize how much luck plays into a wedding day- esp for a photographer. It started off so ominous, I thought for sure it would rain all day- and with an outside ceremony, it was not a good plan. But then, as we started family formals, the sun came out so bright, it was perfect. By the time we hit the reception, the big clouds had moved back in, and it didn’t just rain, it poured…but lucky for us, it was after we finished outside!

Kyle and Samantha, in true Gator Graduate fashion, had a fabulously good time from beginning to end! As Samantha said, you cant change the weather, so you have to roll with it, and enjoy it all as it unfolds, and honestly, thats just what these two did. Now I just have to convince them to let me go with them to Australia…

Kyle and Samantha, if your wedding day is any indication, you two are in for a fabulous ride together! I hope that you two have the most amazing of lives together! Thank you for allowing us to be part of your love story!

Their Fabulous Team of Vendors

Ceremony – The Lightner Museum     Reception – The Serenata Beach Club 

Flowers – A Fantasy in Flowers     Caterer – Serenata beach Club

Cake – Sweet Weddings     Coordination – The Wedding Authority & Serenata Beach Club

Dress – Brides by Demetrios     Bridesmaids Dresses – Bill Levkof

Groomswear – Mens Wearhouse     Hair & Makeup – Mane de Leon Salon

Reception Entertainment – i-Photobooth of Jacksonville     Officiant – Bill Young

How did you two meet? Kyle and I met when we were freshmen at the University of Florida in 2006

How did he pop the question?
Kyle proposed on the beach at sunset, while we were on vacation in Maui, Hawaii.

How did you choose your theme? Flowers? and overall wedding design?
We both love to travel!  So it only seemed right to make it the theme for our big day.  We incorporated the theme through our postcard save the dates, named the dinner tables after vacation destinations we have been together, and had luggage tag place cards.

What was the best moment{s} of your wedding day?
The best moment of the big day was our first look.  I loved that we did it and were able to go off and take pictures together before the ceremony.  I think it helped both of us relax a bit before everything got started!  It also gave us much more time to visit with family and friends at the cocktail hour and reception.

How would you describe your overall wedding experience?
The day couldn’t have been any more perfect!  We had the best time getting to visit with all of our family and friends who traveled from all over the US and world (Samantha’s cousin came from Germany!) to help us celebrate the big day.  The sunshine didn’t hurt either 😉

What photography related advice would you offer to a couple??Do your research!  We spent a ton of time looking at all the photographers in the area.  We looked at their websites and asked each of them to send us photos they had taken at our ceremony and reception locations in the past.  It is one thing to like a photographer’s photos that are on the front page of their website, but it’s another to like the photos from your wedding sites.  Luckily, we LOVED all of Kelly’s photos!

How was your experience taking photos/working with me on your wedding day?
Hiring Kelly was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding!  She was there having fun with all of us, but also took stunning pictures.  The “sneak peek” pictures we have received are better than we could have ever imagined.  We also loved that she brought a laptop and ipad to show pictures she had taking throughout the day at the reception.  It was so unique!
??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!
We did a first look and it was perfect!  I know it seems more “story book” to wait until you are walking down the aisle to see each other, but the practical part of me wanted to do the first look.  Seeing each other before hand really helped us relax a bit and take it all in together.  Also, it will give you more time to spend at your cocktail hour and reception vising with family and friends.

Any tips on how to prepare for the wedding photos? ?If you have little kids in the wedding, bring candy!  There were bags of MnMs and Skittles waving behind Kelly while she was shooting to entice our nieces and nephew to smile for all the photos!  We also got them sunglasses, which they loved!
We love to hear about vendors you love. List any vendors here and feel free to share your experience.

Our favorite vendors aside from Kelly:
The Serenata Beach Club:  Cordell and Matt are second to none!  The setup was just what we asked for and the service during the reception was excellent.  They thought of every detail during the day and even sent us back to our hotel with to go boxes of all of the appetizers!
Arlene at Sweet Weddings:  Arlene’s cake designs are beautiful and she is just as sweet as her cakes!
I-Photobooth:  We were going back and forth up until a couple weeks before the wedding as to whether to have a photobooth or not.  We are so glad we did!  Everyone seemed to really have fun with it and we loved getting to see all the pictures online the next day!

Did you find a store/site that had everything you were looking for? Use this space to talk about favorite shops.
Like all brides, I loved looking on Pinterest for wedding ideas.  I also got a lot of the “little extras” off of Etsy and Zazzle! ??Any tips on what to bring??Splurge on the expensive shoes, it’s worth it, but bring a pair of flats or flip flops for dancing!  ??What do you want to always remember from your wedding day?
I will always remember the look on Kyle’s face when he first saw me in my wedding dress!

??”IF I only I knew!” what is one piece of advise you would give to brides planning their wedding day?
Weather reporters are wrong all the time!!!  Have a backup plan if it rains, but don’t dwell on it the day of.  If it rains, it rains, but even the day of reports can be wrong!  Just think good thoughts and buy matching umbrellas, just in case (Thanks, Mom!)

??What was the first song you danced to as husband and wife? Father-daughter dance? Mother-son dance?
1st dance: Jason Mraz – “I’m Yours”
Father/Daughter: Michael Buble – “The way you look tonight”
Mother/Son: “Over the Rainbow”??And where are you going on your honeymoon?
We are going down under to Australia for our honeymoon!