Planning a wedding takes a lot of time, work and organization. Many couples have a vision but don’t know where to begin or how to bring it all together. Gathering advice from other couples who have successfully planned their weddings is a huge help!
We are excited to continue our Real Wedding Series with this next couple who held their romantic, rustic wedding ceremony at one of our favorite Orlando Wedding Venues, Paradise Cove, followed by an amazing reception at one of Orlando’s hottest nightclubs Room 22.
As this couple explains, “It is easy to get caught up in the fanfare when planning a wedding… From making sure that you didn’t leave anyone off the guest list, to wanting the most extravagant decor and ceremony, and the best entertainment.” Our goal is to help you with all those big decisions by providing this real wedding experience for you to learn from!
Special thanks to Sydney Morman Photography for providing the beautiful images you’ll see throughout this article!
Quick Facts:
- Guest Count: 50
- Ceremony: Paradise Cove Orlando
- Reception: Room 22
- Theme: Rustic Elegance
So much goes into planning a wedding, and this beautiful couple was willing to share the details of their special day, and explains how important it is to be “reminded of the real reason for the event and that is to celebrate our love in the most special way possible!”
This couple had a few special circumstances that factored into their wedding planning and along with that, like many other couples getting married during the pandemic, experienced delays and hiccups along the way.
“Seeing that we are a couple that were going through the K-1 Visa (Fiance Visa) things were uncertain for us with delays during the pandemic season. Our process took much longer than originally projected and our original wedding plans were derailed. After finally getting our approval, with only 90 days to get married, we decided whatever shape our wedding was going to take, we would have to take up the mantle to do it ourselves. In 6 weeks we spent much of our time sorting through our original plans to see what could be salvaged while simultaneously trying to fit the other pieces of the puzzle together.”
Throughout the article we will share more quotes, tips and ideas from this fun & elegant Orlando wedding!
Wedding Essentials
Ceremony Venue
“The instagram algorithm works! Somehow, after searching wedding venues so often, Paradise Cove popped up. After a few weeks of searching we went to go see in in person, and it was perfect for what we wanted – a beautiful outdoor ceremony space with a picturesque backdrop of tropical greenery and lake. What really sold us though is that we dreamt of having a venue that overlooked water, which we thought was going to be difficult to find nearby to us and Paradise Cove provided that, all while being centrally located for our guests, and also within our budget. The aesthetic of the venue helped to inspire the other smaller details of our ceremony, such as the color of our suits, the cake, and even smaller add-ons like the serving truck, guest book and wedding favors. The venue’s team was delightful, and were extremely accommodating in helping us to perfect the details to match our budget, and fill in the missing gaps in terms of vendors.”
Invitations:
“Being on borrowed time [searching online for invitations] was a quick and effective way for us to produce all our stationary needs in one place. We had used Zazzle initially when doing our save the dates, and with quick turn around times to be satisfied when we replanned our event we went back to them for invitations and our welcome Signage.”
Photographer:
“During the preliminary stages of planning our wedding, we started looking at the photographers tagged on photos of different wedding venues in the Orlando area. When we saw the work of Sydney Morman we instantly fell in love! More than anything her eye for color is what really captivated us. We reached out to her via DM on Instagram and there started what we know will be a lifelong relationship. We had grand plans for an aviation themed wedding as travel holds a special place in our hearts, and she went above and beyond to find us a plane to use as a prop for our engagement photos. Those photos would not only serve as dear memories but were instrumental in us coming out publicly as gay men in our respective countries. Again she went above and beyond, when our wedding was delayed because of Alec’s immigration process. When we were finally approved for the Fiance Visa (months after our initially planned wedding date), we had 6 weeks to revamp all our plans. She cleared her schedule to ensure that she was able to capture our special day. Within a day of the wedding she was able to send us fully edited sneak peak of the album. She is efficient, extremely professional, goes the extra mile for her clients, and committed to her craft of producing excellent work and capturing priceless moments in time.”
Videographer:
“At first we were a little overwhelmed trying to fit small pieces of the puzzle together for the vendors. Luckily Paradise cove has a collective of partnered vendors that they were able to send us for us to review and then choose from. Castaldo Studio stood out as we appreciated their cinematic style of shooting and how they paid attention to small, special details in their videos. On the day they were very easy to work with, and did so very quickly. We are looking forward to seeing the end product.”
Getting Ready
Suits:
“For our suits we wanted it to fit the theme of our wedding and at the same time fulfill our requirements of having a very modern cut and feel to them. We tried shopping in different stores but didn’t find the exact color that we were going for. We decided to redirect our search to online sources and finally found the suits we had imagined at ASOS. For our reception suits, we wanted a flashier look with sparkle, and found that in Vercini. Having a physical location right here at the Florida Mall, it was easily accessible for us to be able to try them on to have the perfect fit.”
Ties & Shoes:
“We found the ties for us and all our groomsmen at ASOS as well. It became somewhat of a one stop shop for us, having the colors that matched the exact shades that we were looking for. For options that may not fit the conventional feel it is a great place to peruse. For the shoes, we saw excellent options to choose from at Men’s Wearhouse. It is a great go to for everything wedding for men in particular.”
The Details
Planner/Coordinator:
“Much of the finer details were handled by us, or family and friends, and much of the details of the ceremony in particular were handled by the amazing Tabitha Morales of Paradise Cove. In a very short period of time she lent her experienced hand to give us a beautiful, elegant, yet cost effective day to remember. What started out as quite a bit of stress was all worth it in the end.”
Flowers:
“We went into the experience knowing the color scheme we wanted but were open to options for the exact flowers that were needed. Blossoms Orlando was able to suggest beautiful florals for us that fit the setting of our wedding perfectly.”
The Reception
Reception Venue:
“For our reception we really wanted it to be a complete 180 from the vibe of our ceremony. We wanted it to be a party, blending both our cultures as American and Jamaican people, and also being a space to celebrate our queerness. The brightly colored Room 22 is decorated with inflections of Neon colored paint and lighting is what captured our eyes. Seeing as though our reception/party was pretty early in the day (from 2 PM – 7 pm) the location allowed for the party to continue elsewhere if so desired. The party we envisioned was to have most people up on their feet dancing and having a great time and that’s exactly what the environment prompted.”
Food & Beverage:
“When planning this part of our what was our wedding experience, we wanted it to be extremely personal to us. Pink was the main color for our day and so it was fitting that we had bubbly Rose´ for all our toasting needs. House Wine, who are supporters of championing the cause of LGBTQ+ rights, was our main provider for our Pride themed bottles that were used throughout the day. Seeing as though we did have our reception at a club any other beverage need was covered by the venue. Gitto’s is most popularly known for being that go to spot in downtown Orlando for late night eats after a good night out on the town. We wanted to be able to recreate that feel of clubbing late night for our party and mixed that into our menu, with Italian pasta favorites, salads, wings and other options available.”
Music:
“This was one of the most important requirements for us to truly have the reception experience that we wanted. For the ceremony we really had the music we wanted played already picked out. For the reception though we wanted to bring the feel of a Caribbean dance mixed in with that of American party. We knew that it wouldn’t be an easy feat to find a DJ that would be able to tick all the boxes seamlessly in their set list. After many suggestions and reviews of mixes we were confident we made the right choice with DJ Krush Sunami. We were pretty easy going with most other aspects of the wedding but we were very picky when it came to music. He was able to put us at ease after a conversation answering questions, before we could even ask them, and even invited us to listen to him play at another event in the downtown Orlando area. To this day people still talk about how great the party/reception was and it would not have been possible without the playing style of our DJ.”
Dessert:
“After much consideration we decided to go with a rustic styled wedding cake with summery flavors (Lemon and Raspberry) which was provided by Frosting on the Cake. They were found by looking through an inspiration catalogue that Paradise Cove provided. As a baker myself (Alec), I also wanted to have a hand in providing treats made with love for our friends and family at our reception. The baked goods that we had on the day reflected both our favorite sweets (such as snicker doodles, and cheesecake).”
Additional Advice from the Couple
“Remember it is about you and your partner, so don’t feel pressured by any other factors. On the big day, be present, soak up the moment, put aside the stress and enjoy the moment!”
Special thanks to Sydney Morman Photography for providing the beautiful images used in this article!
