allison & stephen | academy of holy names ceremony and bryan glazer family JCC wedding reception photography | tampa wedding photographer

…insights from allison…

how would you describe your wedding to someone who was not there? what were some of your inspirations? how did you envision the wedding prior to your special day?

I would describe our wedding as classic, romantic, elegant, and a lot of fun! I knew I wanted a timeless feel for our wedding, which is why we chose a color palette of navy blue and white with touches of gold and had gorgeous white and pale blush flowers. We also wanted everyone to be on the dance floor as much as possible, so we picked an amazing band (Phase5) and kept most of the after-dinner focus on dancing. It was such a happy, fun, and perfect day that we never wanted to end!

is there anything you wish you had done differently when planning your wedding?

I wish I had asked guests to write their initials next to their entree choices! We had coded the back of the RSVP cards to know whose response belonged to whom, so that wasn’t an issue. However, a lot of responses just had check marks for entree choices, so we had to spend a significant amount of time tracking down who wanted which meal!

which three vendors were most important to you when planning your wedding?

The three most important vendors to us were our band, photographer, and caterer.

We wanted everyone to have a blast and dance the night away, so we knew that having an amazing band was key. Phase5 totally delivered – the dance floor was packed all night! Guests came up to me throughout the night to say how great the band was and how much fun they were having!

I have long admired Marissa’s photography and knew that her style synced well with my vision and how I wanted us to be able to remember the day. I knew after meeting with her and seeing even more of her work that we had to have her capture our wedding!

Lastly, we are big foodies and wanted to have a great meal and great drinks at our wedding. We also knew that everyone would need to fuel up before hitting the dance floor! The JCC’s kitchen and bar staff were incredible, and the food and drinks were phenomenal.

what was your biggest wedding day savings?

Our cake! I cannot say enough good things about the JCC, and an added bonus is that the wedding package included a beautiful and delicious three-tier cake.

what was your biggest wedding day splurge?

Our biggest wedding day splurge was extra hours of photography and video coverage. Having the memories of the entire day captured on film and video is worth every penny!

what was the best advice you received when planning your wedding?

Someone told me to eat two pieces of cake because it won’t taste the same a year later, which I thought was fabulous advice. Also, lots of people told me that the day will go by in a flash. Because of that, I really tried to enjoy every moment of our wedding and am so glad I did!

was there anything encountered during wedding planning that was unexpected?

I didn’t expect to enjoy wedding planning as much as I did! While I’m a planner by nature, so many people told me that wedding planning was difficult, stressful, and a host of other horrible things. However, I had so much fun picking everything out with my parents and Stephen and getting it all ready for the big day!

was there a moment during your wedding day that surprised you?

It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise as we had the most incredible planner, Lindsay Kenyon, but it was amazing to see just how wonderfully everything came together without any hiccups!

what was your favorite moment, or favorite part, of your wedding day?

The whole day was absolutely perfect, but I especially loved saying our vows and our first dance. Saying our vows was special because it was really the reason for the whole day, and I loved making those promises to each other and becoming husband and wife. Our first dance was also amazing – Stephen and I twirled around the dance floor just laughing, joking, and smiling and enjoying the moment and each other!

when you look back on your wedding day in 50 years, what do you think you’ll remember most?

I’ll remember how much love we felt that day! It was so incredible to have the most important people in our lives in one place celebrating with us.

… how it all came together…