Laura and Nick traveled from Maryland to get married at sunset on the beach at the Postcard Inn in St. Petersburg! The venue is already overflowing with Florida charm and unique details, and Laura made it even more special with her own DIY décor. They embraced the beach completely with a beach ball recessional, and luckily, the rain held off until after everyone enjoyed their dinner in the lantern-lit garden courtyard. Ashlee Hamon Photography, Inc. captured their amazing celebration!
A whimsical destination DIY beach wedding at sunset in St. Petersburg, FL
Our wedding day was a big deal to me. I wasn’t the type of girl that had dreamed of it my whole life; however, when we booked our venue a year in advance, that’s when it all began. Over the year leading up to the wedding day I poured my sweat and tears into planning the perfect day for us. We were having a destination wedding, I planned a Florida wedding from Maryland. The process was so exciting yet annoying and frustrating at times. I obsessed over the details, the smallest things that many people wouldn’t even notice, I cared the most about. From making all of the table runners, to beading the barefoot sandals, to making the flower crowns for our nieces, to sewing the ring bearer’s pillows, to making the succulent boutonnieres, down to the night before the wedding – putting together all the centerpieces and making the bouquets. Looking back now, I realize that maybe I took on too much, but I simply couldn’t help myself! I also ordered some pieces from wonderful Etsy merchants. Our chair signs (I belong with you & you belong with me) from Host and Toast Studio. The custom signs (welcome sign, thank you, and candy buffet watercolor prints) were from Buffy Weddings. And our programs were from Darling Sailor Designs. Otherwise it was all me; I remember spending hours one day just painting little clothespins (that held the beach balls to the programs) half gold!
Five days before the wedding we received BIG news: our reception, which was planned for the ballroom, was now going to be outside in the garden. I was shocked, but I also knew the garden was such a beautiful space. I was worried that all of the decor I had spent a year crafting would go to waste. Thank goodness this was the least of my worries and all the details still worked! The wedding day finally arrived and I was surprisingly very calm, it was surreal. The day started with hair and make-up and seemed to be moving slowly. Once I put on my dress and headed over to see my handsome groom for our first look, the day flew by in the blink of an eye! We had lovely blue skies (and Florida humidity that melted me!) for our beach ceremony. I feel so lucky that we had the most amazing sunset that evening!!! Throughout the day plenty of things went wrong, but I just rolled with it. I mean really what other option do you have? One of the biggest obstacles that was thrown our way was rain, a massive storm rolled in without warning and forced everyone to run inside!! So our wedding day was no where near perfect but you know what, it was our wedding day, it’s a once in a life time kind of thing, and for us, it was so amazing! – Laura
Artists
- Photographer: Ashlee Hamon Photography, Inc.
- Cake Designer: A Piece of Cake Tampa
- Dress Designer: Alfred Angelo
- DJ: Inspire Entertainment
- Makeup Artist: Moore Makeup Artistry
- Event Venue: Postcard Inn on the Beach
- Chair Signs: Host and Toast Studio
- Custom Signs: Buffy Weddings
- Programs: Darling Sailor Designs
