Wed: Kasia & Jacob at Plantation on Crystal River

The church in which my husband and I were married was my home church, and is also affiliated with my high school. The church building is only a few years old, but was beautifully architected, and has the traditional feel we were intending for the ceremony. With the church being so amazing by itself, we kept the decor to a minimum. I went for the simple romantic feel with candles, flowers, prayer bench, and an antique table for the union candle.

We also tried to carry our shabby chic theme into every aspect of the day, therefore, we had the littlest flower girl in wagon with her vintage romper and pearl necklace, the ring pillow was made of burlap as well as the wedding programs, and the flower basket was a family heirloom. From the feedback we received, the intimacy we had hoped to achieve was a huge success.

With me being a Florida cracker, I knew the venue for our reception required a body of water to be present! The Plantation has always been a popular wedding site, especially since our town has a limited selection. We played with the idea of having it in Orlando due to the fact we would be having a large amount of guests flying in, however, I have always wanted places in which have meaning to my childhood to be involved. Plus, the Plantation went well with our shabby chic theme due to its white large columns and green shutters, and it also had a peninsula on site which was ideal for our setting.

Beautiful Moments Party Rental did a great job providing a soft feel in the tent by using sheer fabric to drape the top of the tent, and the chandeliers were an amazing accent piece. We left the sides of the tent off so people could enjoy the view and sunset.

Almost all the decor used in our wedding was homemade, including the table numbers, banners, old windows for seating chart, the honey for favors were purchased from local bee keepers, and guest name cards. Also, all furniture used were mostly family heirlooms and we created a new one with the antique cake server and knife in which we had branded with our date, bought off Etsy. We tried to tie in both the southern aspect of Florida plus the laid back tropical feel as well.

The wedding planning was such a joy for me, even though it was hard to plan it from across the country. Coming from a small town, it was not hard to choose vendors due to the fact that my florist, our pastor, who is my best friends father, wedding day coordinator, and dress consultant were all longtime friends. In Florida, it is a risk to attempt an outdoor reception because if it's not smoldering, there's usually a sun shower or two! We originally had planned for just the tent frame, no top, covered in white lights, shear draping on top, and chandeliers. After much input from others, it was decided that the tent may be necessary, however, my main concern was that a tent may cause a circus feel and obstruct the beautiful water view surrounding us. That was not the case though! We were very focused on the details, and made sure not to overlook even the littlest of things. We even ended the wedding weekend with a trip to disney with some of our guests. Overall, our hard work paid off and the day was beautiful!