“When Katherine and Rob pulled up at Pass-a-Grille beach they had Katherine’s white and aqua beach cruiser strapped to the back of their car! It’s been on my “list o’ fun” as I call it, to shoot with a bike and it just happened to be Katherine’s birthday present from Rob! As you can see we had some fun with it on the streets in the little town nearby. It was one of those evenings with the beautiful light pink sky.. and someone had even built a pretty fantastic sand castle for us. Sweet and happy love!” – Carrie Wildes Photography

“After stalking (hahaha!) reading through multiple blogs online one particular design kept catching my eye, Carrie’s flower logo! After talking about it with a few friends I realized that many people knew Carrie and she came highly recommended! I knew that she booked up fast and so we decide at the last minute (just two months before our wedding) to take engagement photos with her! I asked her for a good beach photo location and she recommended Pass-a-grill, I knew it was perfect! My family has been going there my whole life, it’s one of my favorite beaches in the St. Pete area!

..We are DIY-ing just a few things with the help and inspiration of Pinterest and Etsy. The favors for our guests are mini champagne bottles. My bridesmaids and I will be personalizing each tag and tying them off with striped paper straw and a bow of tulle. Our weekend welcome bags will have homemade (by my mother and I) Coconut bath scrub and also homemade chocolate chip cookies from my sister! Our seating chart, table numbers, welcome and menu boards will all be chalk boards handwritten by the maid of honor and the groom’s sister. The guests place cards will be written in calligraphy and close-pinned to each napkin. Another bridesmaid will be making a “Thank You” banner for Rob and I to hold in a picture. We hope to use that on the cover of our thank you cards! It is so wonderful to have helpful bridesmaids with such gorgeous handwriting!

..Rob and I are getting married in Tampa, Florida. I grew up in Tampa, and Rob attended college here – we were lucky enough for Tampa to be his first Air Force station. We wanted all of our guests to get the true feel of all things Tampa. From the rehearsal dinner on the beach, to the gorgeous cathedral church downtown, to the urban historic feel of Ybor City for the reception. We have friends and family coming from just about everywhere; California to New York. The best man is even traveling from Alaska! So I am most looking forward to spending time with the wonderful friends and family who are coming from near and far to help celebrate our big day and the beginning of our adventurous lives!” – Katherine, the bride-to-be