Grab a cup of coffee for this blog post because this is a post packed full of info! I’m sharing every vendor we used for our wedding day, from the venues we chose to the boutique I got my dress from. I’m going to cover how we found each vendor, why we specifically chose to go with them for the specific product//service, + my honest opinions about the product//services provided. All pictures in this blog post were shot by our wedding photographers mentioned below!
Wedding Location + Background Info
Before we get into the nitty gritty of this post, I think it’s important to share with you the location of the wedding + where we lived at the time. It will be important when reading this post. Although my husband + I lived in (+ currently still live in) Richmond, VA, we knew we wanted to have our wedding in Florida. A majority of both of our families live there so we picked Florida from the beginning of wedding planning. We wanted a location that was within driving distance from both families + approximately in the middle. Our choices were narrowed down to Tampa, Orlando, or Jacksonville. + after looking around at the Catholic churches in the areas, my heart was settled on Tampa. So yes, we practically built our wedding day around the church we had our ceremony at + I wouldn’t have pictured anything more perfect! Let’s get into each vendor now!
Wedding Vendors: The Venues
Ceremony Venue
Who: Sacred Heart Catholic Church – Tampa, FL (downtown)
My husband is Catholic + I am Methodist, so getting married in a church was a must for us. I’ve always had a very deep respect for the Catholic church + if I’m being honest, they are typically SO beautiful too! Once we narrowed down our locations in Florida, I looked at the Catholic churches in each of them + Sacred Heart instantly won me over. The church itself was absolutely stunning in pictures + even better in person when we were able to visit in the Summer of 2020.
I’m not going to lie, the process of planning our ceremony in Sacred Heart was quite a roller coaster. The church does not provide a priest for wedding ceremonies due to the overwhelming amount of requests they get for weddings (I can’t blame them!). This meant we had to find our own priest + living in VA added an extra layer to sift through. The coordinator was great throughout our time of planning + was super helpful during our rehearsal the night before the wedding. There are certain requirements the Catholic church requires in order to hold a ceremony, which I plan to include in a future blog post because there is so much info to cover on that!
Reception Venue
Who: Lakewood Ranch Golf + Country Club – Lakewood Ranch, FL
I had my heart set on a ballroom reception from the beginning of wedding planning but my husband + I also realllly wanted to have an outdoor component. As much as I would have loved to hold the entire reception outdoors, the thought of weather potentially changing plans at the last minute did not settle well with me. So we were able to get the best of both worlds with this venue because cocktail hour was held on the outdoor patio + guests could mingle between the ballroom + the outdoor patio for the reception. One of my favorite spots of the venue was the Ivy Tunnel just off of the ballroom. We took our bridal party pictures + immediate family portraits at the tunnel because it embodies the elegance of the venue.
This space had everything I could have hoped for and the best part was that it was an all-inclusive venue. The food + drinks, tables, linens, silverware, drinkware, + chairs were all provided by the venue. We took my parents for a food tasting to pick out which entrees we wanted to be served. The club had such a great variety of dishes to choose from! There is a minimum cost for wedding receptions, but it is well worth it! My in-laws also hosted the rehearsal dinner in the wine room on the first floor, which is an incredible space on its own. The rental fee for the rehearsal dinner space was waived since the wedding was in the ballroom the next day.
What stood out to us: the service was absolutely incredible down to the last detail. The coordinator was fantastic + worked with the wedding planner to ensure the day was absolutely perfect. The venue is set on a golf course so the views were fantastic from the outdoor patio + many guests continued to talk about the venue long after the wedding! My bridal party + I got ready there in the morning, as well as the groomsmen + brunch was available for all of us. They truly took great care of everyone that day.
Wedding Vendors: People
Priest
Who: Saint Benedict Catholic Church – Richmond, VA
As mentioned earlier in this post, we had to find a priest to marry us, as Sacred Heart would not provide one to marry us. We considered finding a priest in Tampa, but knew that we would not have a very close connection with the priest since we did not live there. We had just moved to Richmond so we were still looking for a church to call home. Our apartment at the time, was zoned for Saint Benedict Catholic Church. The priest at this church is Father John Ramsey. After meeting Father Ramsey for the first time, I knew that God could not have chosen anyone more perfect to marry us. Father Ramsey is a former pastor in the Methodist church. So he understood first hand both of our religious beliefs + could help guide us through our marriage preparation.
We went through a few months of preparation including pre-marital counseling with a married couple in the church, an 8-hour pre-marital course that focused our conversations on a few topics my husband + I had not discussed yet, + multiple meetings to discuss the ceremony itself. We paid for the flights, transportation, + lodging for our priest so that he could be part of our day. While it involved a lot of moving parts, I could not have asked for a better priest to marry us. Father Ramsey was truly one of God’s blessings throughout this process.
Wedding Planner
Who: Taylored Affairs – Sarasota, FL
I personally know the owner of Taylored Affairs + she was one of my sorority sisters in college! When she announced that she was starting her own business, I jumped on her opening promotion because I knew it would be critical to have someone that was familiar with the area we were looking into. She was absolutely one of the BEST vendors we hired. Everything down to the specific detail looked better than I had envisioned! She was there for our entire day, coordinating our timelines + vendor timelines. The process of planning a wedding is stressful. But having her there to guide us helped to ease a little bit of the stress.
On top of everything she provided on the day of, the package we chose also included help with the selection of 3 vendors. She helped us secure our florist, videographer, + chair rentals all at great rates that we couldn’t have found without her! A few more services she provided for us included: budget management, monthly checklists to stay on track with planning, attending the ceremony rehearsal, + providing design elements such as our seating chart + name cards (the seating chart was one of my favorite details of the night – I mean look at how perfect it turned out!!!).
Wedding Vendors: Memories
Photography
Who: Sugar + Spice Weddings – Richmond, VA
I found this company at a bridal expo in Richmond, VA as I was taking my mom through just to see if we could get some ideas for the wedding. This was about one year prior to the wedding so there was still plenty of time to plan. + oddly enough, I had no intention of hiring vendors from VA but I knew they were the perfect couple to capture our special day! I talk more in this blog post about everything that was included in our photography package, one of which was travel. We didn’t have to pay a single penny more for the travel expenses, which was the major selling point for me.
I was completely in awe of their work, + I loved that we had 2 photographers instead of 1. Looking back, that is one of the best deals we got! 2 photographers for full day coverage, no added expenses for travel or hotel accommodations, a complimentary pre-wedding shoot that we did on the night of the rehearsal dinner, + rights to the images for our personal use. They were very good at controlling our big family for pictures (my husband’s family is huge + they can get a little loud sometimes ha) + they were very efficient with the timing of all of the photos. They captured every photo I had on my must have list + were so fun to spend the day with!
Videography
Who: Iyrus Weddings – Tampa Bay, FL
At the beginning of wedding planning, I told our wedding planner that capturing memories was a top priority for me. We agreed that video was most likely out of the question due to the budget but a few months prior to the wedding, I told her I was willing to make whatever work to get a videographer. I have heard time + time again that video can capture moments that photos can’t. It captures the full feeling instead of one second. + my gosh I am so happy she was able to find Iyrus Weddings.
I can promise you, the videographers were one of the best vendors we hired! We had 10 hours of coverage + 2 videographers. They were gracious enough to split up the time for us, so any travel time was not taken from our coverage. They were able to capture the entire day + the 10 minute film we received after the wedding was worth every penny. I cry every time I watch the video because they were able to capture exactly what we had hoped our wedding would be – elegant, classy, + fun! Family means a lot to us + I am forever grateful to have this incredible video of our first day as husband + wife! If you want to see our video, you can click here!
Wedding Vendors: Guest Experience
DJ
Who: Grant Hemond + Associates – Trinity, FL
A great DJ was another priority for our wedding because we love to dance! We specifically requested a DJ familiar with latin music, so that we could have a variety of styles of music throughout the night. If I could give 20 out of 10 stars for this company, I would! Our DJ was incredible + played all of our favorite styles of music in the best way possible. He called us the week prior to the wedding to go over all of the songs we had in mind for specific dances (first dance, father//daughter, mother//son, cake cutting, etc.) + kept our guests dancing all night! I’m not sure I ever left the dance floor.
The DJ was very affordable considering he was with us from the beginning of cocktail hour at 5:00pm until the end of the reception at 10:00pm. He also provided uplights for the ballroom that set the ambiance for the room. When we were up + dancing, the uplights changed colors, which I thought added to the overall feeling of the wedding!
Photo Booth
Who: White Tie Photo Booths – Sarasota, FL
We wanted an extra treat for our guests but also a way to make sure we had multiple pictures of all of our guests on the night of our wedding. This photo booth was such a hit! We rented the air booth for 2 hours, which was perfect for our event, but the owner stayed until the end of the reception, which was an added bonus for us. We opened the booth after dinner + let guests mingle over to the booth – but the kids really took advantage! The pictures turned out amazing with the Kardashian style photos (white backdrop). I would absolutely recommend a photo booth for a fun time but a way to have memories after!
Wedding Vendors: Getting Pretty
Hair + Makeup
Who: Adore Bridal – Tampa, FL
When I had a phone call with the owner of the company, I instantly knew it was a match made in Heaven. I met with the company for my first hair and makeup trial a few months before the wedding. I loved that they were so easy to get along. + I felt like an absolute princess throughout the entire process. There were a few things that I was not committed to with my hair trial. They offered me a complimentary second trial to make sure I was 100% going into my wedding day! The day of the wedding, they executed the look perfectly! I felt so beautiful that day!
We had a full party including myself, 6 bridesmaids, 2 mothers, and 2 flower girls. Everyone was happy with the services they received + I felt stunning! The owner created a schedule to have enough buffer time between each girl. They worked very well to ensure everyone was done on time for our pictures. The team worked very well together and I would absolutely hire them again and again!
Wedding Dress + Accessories
Who: Brides of Florida – Miami Lakes, FL | Olive + Piper
I wrote an entire post on wedding dress shopping but I am completely in love with my wedding dress! They took my inspiration photos + pulled the best dresses within my given budget + this was the winner! I initially pictured a long train but I also knew that I wanted to be able to dance with no restrictions. I decided to go for a longer veil instead. The veil I found was also from Brides of Florida + it was on sale! It looks like it was made for the dress. It gave me the option for the elegance in the ceremony but the fun at the reception.
I purchased my jewelry from an online boutique, Olive + Piper. They offer affordable, quality jewelry for any occasion. I had my eyes on a specific set of earrings that I was constantly comparing other jewelry to. So I eventually purchased them! I also purchased a few hair pins for me, + all of the earrings for my bridal party!
TIP: Purchase bridal party gifts during a sale – I purchased mine on Black Friday. It’s more bang for your buck!
Wedding Vendors: Statements
Florals
Who: Ivy + Vine Floral Design – Sarasota, FL
Who knew florals could be such a huge portion of a wedding budget?! I sure as heck didn’t until I started inquiring with a few different companies. This was an area I asked our wedding planner to help with. I didn’t care about what flowers were used, as long as the colors + concept looked as though I had pictured. I was blown away with how gorgeous our florals turned out to be!!! We had quite a hefty order of florals + she put the perfect attention into each + every piece.
To give you an idea of what we asked for – 1 bridal bouquet, 6 bridesmaids bouquets, 6 corsages, 13 boutonnieres, florals for the cake, 12 centerpieces, a garland for the sweetheart table, + 3 wrap around garlands for the cocktail tables. That’s a tall order. I felt as though we got a steal of a deal! And just for reference we spent around 6% of our wedding cost on florals. According to The Knot, 8% is the average for florals. So I was thrilled that we could allocate that money to a different area!
Baker
Who: Kristen Marie Cake – Gulfport, FL
This vendor was one I initially didn’t anticipate. Originally, I wanted to go with a dessert table because of the variety of options of desserts. But when I found out that 3-4 bite size pieces for our guest list of 125 would be between $1500-$2000, I made a quick pivot! As I shared in this blog post about wedding planning, if it’s not on your priority list, you may have to compromise. However, I didn’t feel like I had to compromise because I was extremely impressed with Kristen!
Kristen has the cutest studio in Gulfport + gosh she is just the sweetest soul. Her presentation of the tasting was incredible + the cake itself was really the icing on top! I included a picture of the tasting presentation in this blog post. We tried 5 different combinations of flavors (flavors we chose from her list)! We were able to have a 4 layer cake (the bottom tier was fake so it took off a lot of the $$$). The cake was 2 different flavors + there was plenty left over after the wedding! I really hope we can go back every year + ask her to make us a small cake for our anniversary! We loved her work so much that we asked her to make our welcome bag cookies for our guests.
Wedding Vendors: Transportation + Hotel
Transportation
Who: Siesta Trolley – Sarasota, FL
Finding a vendor for transportation was a bit tricky. This was because our reception venue was 45 minutes away from our ceremony venue. Siesta Trolley was willing to create a plan specifically for our needs, so we weren’t wasting money or time. We rented a mini bus for the bridal party to ride from the reception venue to the church + back. We also rented an SUV for my dad + I to get to the church.
I felt guilty for asking guests to drive 45 minutes to the ceremony + back to the hotel. So to allow them to party the fullest, we rented a trolley for the night! The trolley took guests from the hotel to the reception + back at the end of the night. Guests to this day continue to talk about how easy it was for them to catch the trolley to the reception. Plus, most of our guests didn’t have to worry about driving or finding a ride back. We had 2 trolleys shuttle guests to the reception + 1 trolley was available throughout the reception. After the reception, the trolley took trips shuttling guests back to the hotel. I was very impressed with the professionalism, the affordability of the rentals, + their ability to accommodate such a wide range of requests.
Hotel
Who: Courtyard by Marriott – Lakewood Ranch
The staff at the Courtyard were incredibly hospitable for all of our guests + family during the week of our wedding. We wanted a hotel close enough to the reception so we could take advantage of the trolley to shuttle guests to//from the reception. The room blocks were affordable + very easy to coordinate with our guests – we just included the link on our online RSVP website. We practically lived in the hotel for a week + they were always willing to assist with any requests! They even gave out our wedding guest bags as guests checked in for their stay.
Wedding Vendors: Rentals
Chiavari Chair Rentals
Who: On the Move Productions – Thonotosassa, FL
Rentals are hard to write about because I never directly interacted with those who provided rentals. I will say that the chiavari chairs added an extra element to the reception! I wasn’t impressed with the chairs provided by Lakewood Ranch Golf + Country Club, so chiavari chairs were added to our list of vendors early on in the planning process.
White Draping
Who: Swanky Soiree – Sarasota, FL
Similar to above, I never directly interacted with the owner of Swanky Soiree. However, the backdrop looked incredible behind our sweetheart table + it definitely completed the space!
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WOO!! What a blog post! I do plan on sharing a few more posts about our bridal party dresses + tuxes + a details post about all of the small things I haven’t touched on yet! Comment below with some wedding content you would like to see!
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