Lauren and Kurt were so much fun for our Jennifer Matteo Event Planning Team to work with. Their wedding was about family, food, fun, bursts of color and cute details.
 
Their wedding story started with adorable wedding invitations filled with colorful flowers, a theme that repeated itself throughout the wedding.
 
Their Sarasota wedding began at the Lido Beach Resort with the ladies getting ready and sharing a toast. We love their matching palm leaf robes and the stemless monogrammed champagne glasses.
 
The fun details continued with matching Mickey and Minnie ears, a brightly colored bridal bouquet with pink peonies, orange and fuchsia colored roses and Lauren’s gift to her dad. She gave him a sweet tie bar that read “forever your little girl.”
 
Kurt spent the morning with his groomsmen and we love his polka dot pocket square and some fun boutonnieres with roses, seeded eucalyptus and succulents.
 
Lauren and Kurt did not let some rain dampen the fun; they had their first look and the wedding ceremony was moved to an indoor space. Floor to ceiling windows and a dark wood wedding structure with floral swag helped bring the outdoors inside. 
 
The couple and their wedding guests made their way to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium for a fun evening of dinner and dancing.
 
Their cocktail hour included awesome caricature arts and fun twists on Deviled Eggs, Smoked Brisket Grilled Cheese and Shrimp Escabeche and Plantain Chip.
 
After some wedding photos on the beach and at the aquarium, everyone joined the couple for dinner and dancing.  The brilliantly colored theming was carried though the centerpieces, custom menu cards and the colorful bands of the charger plates.
 
Guests danced under a canopy of crystal chandeliers and dined on inventive food stations that included Wagyu Beef Sliders, an Artisan Mac and Cheese Bar and a Taco “Truck” Bar with local Grouper and Chicken Tacos and all of the fixings.
 
Lauren and Kurt had an incredible evening and it was absolutely a wedding that reflected their personalities!

Our Jennifer Matteo Event Planning clients Christian and Robert began their days separately with their wedding parties. 
 
The ladies began earlier in the morning with hair and makeup followed by detail photos of Christian’s fabulous shoes, wedding gown, jewelry and their wedding invitation.
 
The gentlemen began a little later, dressing and preparing for some portraits and their departure to the Courtyard at Sarasota’s Ringling Museum of Art. 
 
Later in the afternoon the couple and their wedding parties were transported to the Ringling where Christian and Robert had their First Look, some photos with their wedding party and some portraits at sunset.
 
Christian carried a brilliantly colored cascading bouquet of roses ranging from white to bright magenta, some in pale pink with darker tips. The bouquet was infused with seeded eucalyptus and garden ivy trailing down the sides.
 
They spent some time together to freshen up prior to the wedding ceremony. As the sun set wedding guests gathered for a beautiful evening ceremony. Christian and Robert exchanged their wedding vows in front of a dark wood arch draped in a rope of thick greenery; that allowed the uplight trees and shimmering lights to be their backdrop.
 
An adjoining space in the courtyard welcomed guests for Cocktail Hour, that included a display of charcuterie and cheeses before making their way to the outdoor dinner under the stars.
 
The lawn was surrounded by a hedge of trees draped in shimmering light.   Round tables draped in light colored linen were layered with gold charger plates, knotted napkins and gold toned containers filled with colorful flowers that reflected the light.
 
A long rectangular black and white checked dance floor filled the center of the courtyard with a unique modern wedding cake at one end. 
 
The four-tiered wedding cake sat on a gold stand.  The top and bottom layers were draped in white.  The second tier was a naked layer dotted in gold leaf.  The third tier was brushed with gold and fuchsia. A rope of hot pink spray roses cascaded around the wedding cake.
 
Cheers to Christian and Robert! We wish you a life as bright and colorful as your wedding day.

As 2018 came to a close our Jennifer Matteo Event Planning team was excited to bring Joy and Craig’s blush and gold beach wedding vision to life.
 
Their Lido Beach Resort wedding on Sarasota’s Lido Key was an amazing reflection of their love for each other. 
 
Joy and Craig chose not to see each other prior to their wedding ceremony on the resort’s private white sand beach. 
 
Joy took some time in her suite for some wedding portraits and to take in the gulf views and their wedding ceremony space below.
 
The bride carried a handtied bridal bouquet of white peonies, roses and ranunculus accented by dusty miller; the perfect accent to her white lace wedding gown.
 
Joy, escorted by her youngest son, made her way to the waterfront wedding ceremony where Craig and their guests waited for her arrival.
 
The ceremony space was marked with a blond wood wedding structure with a covering of flowers in white and shades of pale pink. The ground in front of the structure had two large gold tone garden urns filled with filled with flowers, which was repurposed after the wedding ceremony to flank the sweetheart table.
 
After exchanging their wedding vows the couple exited to “Marry You” by Bruno Mars and spent some time together taking some beautiful wedding portraits on the Sarasota beach.
 
The couple and their wedding guests made their way to the resorts’ Royal Palm Ballroom. The space was dressed in soft lighting with gold ballroom chairs, gold rimmed charger plates and gold votive candles.
 
The room was accented in in soft pink linen with matching napkins and centerpieces of pink and white flowers.
 
One of our favorite details was their sweetheart table with an asymmetric floral centerpiece, fabric chair treatments and lighting that made it appear to be floating.
 
The reception included some touching speeches, amazing food and dancing and the night ended with delicious wedding cake, desserts and chocolate dipped strawberries.
 

Casey and Matthew were awesome for our Jennifer Matteo Event Planning team to work with. Early in the planning of their Sarasota wedding we asked each of them about some of their favorite things.
 
We love doing this as it gives us a lot of insight into the couples and personality and often gives us details that inspire design elements.
 
Imagine our surprise when Casey responded that she loved Florida oranges, so we took that idea and ran with it.
 
The day began with breakfast and then hair and makeup for the ladies.  The guys relaxed and started getting ready a little later in the morning. All of the special details were arranged to be photographed prior to the couple heading to the Ringling for their first look while our Jennifer Matteo Event Planning team worked with the wedding professionals on preparations for the wedding ceremony and reception.
 
Casey wore a beautiful form fitting gown with a sweetheart neckline and a little touch of shimmer.  Matthew wore a light grey suit with an open collared white shirt. His boutonniere was made with floral details found in Casey’s bouquet.
 
Casey carried a loose, textural bouquet of succulents, dusty miller, and dramatic bursts of orange and white.
 
Their uniquely designed waterfront wedding ceremony combined unlikely elements for a beach wedding. The combination of sunshine, sand, water and rattan fans were balanced against a random selection of dark wood dining room chairs, a wispy curly willow arch to mark the aisleway and a dark wood wedding arbor swagged with lush greenery and white hydrangea and roses.
 
Their waterside wedding ceremony incorporated a sand ceremony and an exchange of vows witnessed by family and friends. The ceremony was followed by a cocktail hour and an outdoor reception in a grove of palms, under a canopy of market lights.
 
The reception repurposed the incredible wooden farmhouse dining chairs paired with a soft creamy linen, wicker charger plates and a light sage colored napkin. The focal point of the table were beautiful low centerpieces in wooden boxes that overflowed with greenery, white flowers and Florida oranges.
 
The orange theme continued into their wedding cake which combines white, orange and blush flowers with brightly colored oranges.