lindsey & andrew | south tampa wedding photography | davis island garden club wedding

…insights from lindsey…

is there anything you wish you had done differently when planning your wedding?
If I could plan everything all over again, I’d plan a longer reception! Our ceremony began at 5pm and the reception ended at 11pm. The night went by so incredibly fast and I wish I had more time to spend with all of our friends and family that were there to celebrate with us!

which three vendors were most important to you when planning your wedding?
Photographer, venue and caterer were the most important to us. We knew soon after we were engaged that we wanted to work with Marissa. We were lucky to find out she was available and we could not wait to have her capture our day! When looking at venues, we were looking for something intimate and on the water. Davis Islands Garden Club was the perfect place for us! Also, we definitely wanted to feed our guests a delicious meal and Olympia exceeded all of our expectations on food, presentation and service. We did not go wrong with any of our vendors!

what was your biggest wedding day savings?
I wish I could say I cut costs somewhere… but, I can’t! We did get some alcohol on sale. Does that count? 🙂

what was your biggest wedding day splurge?
My dress!

what was the best advice you received when planning your wedding?
The best advice I received and the best advice I can give is to stay organized. I created a google docs folder and had detailed spreadsheets with vendor information, payment due dates, etc. and kept a binder with all of my vendor contracts. I brought this to each vendor meeting and had it on the day of the wedding in case anything came up and I needed to verify something.

was there anything encountered during wedding planning that was unexpected?
I was planning my wedding from Chicago and would plan trips to Tampa to tour venues, meet with vendors, etc. I was always so surprised at how far in advance I needed to schedule meetings with vendors– their schedules fill up fast!

was there a moment during your wedding day that surprised you?
I was so pleasantly surprised when I walked into the venue! I was amazed at how beautiful everything turned out! It was exactly how I wanted everything to look and it took my breath away. All the hard work we had done truly paid off!

what was your favorite moment, or favorite part, of your wedding day?
I have a couple favorite moments that really stand out. My bridal party surprised me with the most thoughtful gift- a scrapbook with pictures of us from throughout the years and letters for me to read on my wedding day. There was a page and letter from each member of the bridal party, my parents, brother, grandparents and my then-future husband. This meant so much to me!
I loved being able to have my dad walk me down the aisle. I will never forget those moments before we walked out the door and us trying to stay calm and not cry! Walking out and finally seeing my groom was the best part of the day! I couldn’t believe it was finally here. I loved marrying him in front of our friends and family!

when you look back on your wedding day in 50 years, what do you think you’ll remember most?
All the love that we had on our wedding weekend! We are so lucky to have the best family and friends. So many people traveled to Tampa to celebrate with us and it meant so much.

… how it all came together…

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