50 years is a lifetime of memories, joy, family and most of all, love! Evelyn + Jose invited us to be a part of their anniversary celebration at Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club and we were thrilled to accept! This family of incredibly talented individuals came together to celebrate these two special people and served as their bridal party.

July is pretty sticky hot here in Tampa/St Petersburg. So when we have a wedding that is indoors and has beautiful options for photographs like the Vinoy Renaissance St Petersburg Resort & Golf Club we do a happy dance.

Both of them got ready upstairs at The Vinoy Renaissance. Morgan Ellis and Cat Baxter worked their magic on hair and makeup. Natalie looked stunning as she surprised her dad in her dress followed by a quick first look with Ryan downstairs by the gorgeous fountain. This was pretty much the only time we ventured outside that day. Fortunately there was a ballroom open with stunning light a great air conditioning for family and bridal party portraits. Definitely something to consider when you are choosing your venue for the hot time of the year.

You may have seen Nancy and Bill’s gorgeous Streamsong Resort wedding we posted a few weeks ago. But, on 2.20.22 is when they actually got married with just their families and closest friends on a beautiful boardwalk.

Attention sports fans! This post of Emily + Eric, the grand champions of WWE wrestling details and killer arena style wedding venue, Tampa River Center, is for you! These two had so much fun and so did we especially when Eric rolled out custom champion belt cuffs for his groomsmen with a hand carved box. And you know he had to surprise Emily wearing his belt at their first look and his best man presented her with a white one just for her. Oooh yeah!

When Sara was showing me her inspo photos for their engagement session it had a light and airy open space with white balloons and I was like, hmm that looks like my living room:-) So, they brought a bunch of balloons and the white along with the light blue curtains in the background turned out perfectly! These 2 are just the absolutely sweetest. We did something really fun for their save the date that I’ll be sharing later so keep your eyes out for that! March 2023 they’re getting married and we get to be there!

We love sharing fun and unique ideas and these are some great ones for your groom and groomsmen gifts, as well as some tips for making your guys happy and thanking them for standing by your side:

Carrie and Jimmy’s beautiful family is so full of life and fun with these handsome little guys they have!! Mason is 6, James is 2, and Callan had just turned 8 months. I love seeing how their little personalities are so different and totally shows. I had the honor of doing Carrie and Jimmy’s wedding a few years ago and it’s my favorite to get to see them grow together and the love they have for these 3 sweet boys.

Sometimes life brings you full circle. Lynda + Walt have known each other for 30+ years, but re-connected at the rooftop bar of Cambria Madeira Beach Hotel while Lynda was there on a girl’s weekend with her daughter. The venue therefore was the obvious choice for their wedding with her daughter Kyla as her maid of honor.

Megan and Bill live in Arizona and are doing their destination wedding on the beach in Clearwater this coming December. Whenever our couples are destination, if we can plan to do their engagement session when they happen to be here visiting at some point before the wedding we always try to! They were here for just a couple of days and we had a sunset session at Cypress Point planned.

We so loved being part of Natasha + Matt’s wedding at the Florida Aquarium. Events at this venue are always something special.

We started the day with Natasha and her girls at the Westin Tampa Waterside where the beauty team from Michele Renee The Studio did a gorgeous job with hair and makeup. The girls toasted their BFF in mimosa cups Natasha made for all of them. The getting ready tradition is always one of our favorites and reminds us of fun slumber parties back in the day.

It was such an honor to be a part of Nancy and Bill’s May wedding at Streamsong Resort, a golf resort 90 minutes southeast of Tampa. It’s hard to believe we have known Nancy for almost 15 years as she is a local wedding planner and officiant that not only have we gotten to work with, but also is a dear friend. She planned the most gorgeous wedding at this super super unique venue. Her original date was 2.20.22 but she actually fell and broke her knee several months before. If you know Nancy, you know she LOVES to dance and her dream was to dance the night away on her wedding night so she and Bill had an intimate wedding (With me too! Stay tuned for a separate post) on 2.20.22, but moved the dream wedding to May so that she could be mobile enough to dance, and boy did she dance the night away!

What’s better than the wedding of your dreams? TWO! Of course! Janet + Leslie had their small intimate ceremony last fall where they live in Charlotte, NC. They then planned a “Happily Ever After” party at gorgeous NOVA 535 wedding and event venue in St Petersburg, FL. Janet is originally from the area so it just made sense to celebrate here with friends and family.

Joe and Dale live in Safety Harbor and are getting married this weekend at Harborside Chapel and Safety Harbor Resort & Spa! It was perfectly fitting that we did their engagement session at the gorgeous Philippe Park along with their sweet pup BJ in his custom bandana of course. I love that green flowy dress Dale chose along with Joe’s casual look was perfect for their waterfront location. And her shoes! They are super cute, she told me they were from Amazon so I ordered myself a pair in navy. They are just the cutest couple and we are so looking forward to their wedding this weekend!

Living in a tropical paradise means we get the honor of photographing people who come to town from far flung places to get married because the area either means something to them or their families or they just want to go somewhere magical. Bonnie + Mike and the rest of their guests traveled from Maryland for a destination wedding at Opal Sands Resort on Clearwater Beach with their ceremony at nearby St Brendan’s Catholic Church.

Tampa says goodbye to spectacular couple Ashton + Chris as they make a big move back to Chris’ home state of Ohio after their recent wedding at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and reception at Centre Club.

Ashton’s traditional long-sleeved dress from The Dressing Room was so elegant. The train just looked gorgeous going up the aisle of Sacred Heart which is one of our favorite churches. The balcony in the back is a perfect hideout for one of us to get these aerial views of the ceremony. And those blue shoes!

Down home weddings are some of our favorite. Everything about them seals future family memories into the home because family got married there. Samantha + Max’s wedding at Max’s parents home in Seminole, FL was so perfect because these two love being out on the water. The property sits right along the river bank so the view was spectacular!

Samantha got ready in one part of the house with Destiny and Light doing an amazing job with hair and makeup. We were struck how unique Samantha’s ring is! It’s designed by her favorite jeweler Jennie Kwon Designs. Samantha’s dress was a labor of love made by her mom Mary Jo.

It’s rare in Florida, especially in spring that there are entire days with rain where you can’t go outside for wedding photos at all. But, Kevin and Logan’s wedding day was one of those days! They were suppose to get married on the waterfront deck at Oyster Catchers and then have their reception at Armani’s with cocktail hour and sunset outside. The weather had different plans that day, but thankfully the Grand Hyatt has a lot of gorgeous inside locations.

Meet little miss Madison Rose! In 2019, I had the honor of photographing Jenna and Kevin’s gorgeous wedding and there’s nothing that makes me happier than getting to photograph their next stage in life. This little one was very alert, already has so many expressions, and didn’t want to miss out on anything! Her nursery is decked out in pink and I love that custom wood sign they had made above her crib.

One of the things that we take as a huge compliment is when another vendor in the industry recommends us for an event for their family or friends. When Two Sisters Events & Design told one of their dear family friends to give us a call, we knew it was going to be a very special wedding. Megan + Parker held their wedding at the Junior League Sorosis Building on Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL. The historic Italian Renaissance style building built in 1927 embraces the look so popular at the time, but was then a novelty in Lakeland. The grand architecture was a big decor feature in the Two Sisters’ design. A stunning floral arrangement adorned the main fireplace and the tables with their gold chargers had an Old World feel to them.

Christine and Rob live in Texas but are getting married here in Florida next May! I love when couples have a location for their engagement session that is sentimental and this location is an extra special one. Rob’s family lives in the Sarasota area and they have this really cool beach cabana where his family has always come to relax and enjoy the gorgeous beach. There was no one there but us and the turquoise blue water.