Allie & Mark {June Wedding at Carillon Beach}

Over the years, it has been so much fun watching brides come from all over the world to celebrate their destination weddings with us in Florida.  This year we were honored to coordinate 4 of our own Carillon Beach homeowner’s weddings!  We got to hear stories of them growing up and visiting their Carillon homes for family vacations.  We also got to hear them mention how they would bring friends along, and would sneak through our wedding events, hoping one day they would also get married in Carillon Beach.  One of our gorgeous brides, Allie, was able to do just that…


Allie now lives in Charleston, SC, but was happy to be back in Florida for her wedding. Another plus side to getting ready in her family home, was being calm and collected throughout the entire day!  It was nice to get ready in a familiar home with well known surroundings. When we walked into the house, Allie was getting pampered by Two Fishes Artistry, and should couldn’t have looked more relaxed. Her beautiful bouquet of pink peonies, tulips, garden roses and freesia was to-die for!

You can tell Mark fell in love with that infectious laugh! You could tell her excitement as she finished up some of her last minute details. Allie and Mark chose to have a small bridal party with only a matron of honor and a best man. It was decided that it would be the least stressful and simple choice for their intimate celebration.

When we first met Allie & her mother Nancy to sit and plan her dream wedding, we joked that having retired General as a father, Allie would never marry a military guy… She seemed to prove herself wrong as her handsome ‘Major Oberson’ waited for her at the end of the aisle. You could tell just how proud her father was as he walked down his only daughter.

With Ret. military chaplain, Rev. Harry Houseman as the officiant, the Meeting House was filled with proud members of the US military that evening.

As soon as the ceremony was over, we took the newlyweds into the Promenade for a few quick photos. I just love this shot of Allie and Mark! Plus, who doesn’t love those ‘something blue’ Badgley Mischka’s?!

A timeless organically elegant look was captured throughout their reception.

Nouveau’s pergolas and mahogany chiavari chairs brought such a perfect sense of romance to Allie’s tented reception.

The cake was perfectly paired with the decor of the wedding. It complimented every aspect of her event. The lounge area was illuminated by Nouveau’s bottle chandelier and accented by a bold, damask print.

For the reception, Allie removed her veil and replaced it with a whimsical, white flower. The guests also enjoyed passed champagne with chambord and a fresh raspberry garnish. Now that’s what I call a HAPPY BRIDE! 🙂

Delicious details from Townsend Catering. Mark & Allie chose to go with a station menu to encourage their guests to stroll around and enjoy the great company.

Allie’s proud parents toasted the new couple to kick off the evening. Everyone danced the night away as Meet the Press band wow’d the crowd! Congratulations to Allie & Mark! We can’t wait to see you on your visits to Carillon!

{CREDITS}

Venues & Coordination:  Carillon Beach Meeting House & The Village Green (exclusive to Carillon Weddings)
Photography: Paul & Mecheal Johnson of Paul Johnson Photography; Allie’s full BLOG
Floral/Event Design:  Christina Springfield of Events by Nouveau Flowers
Officiant: Rev. Harry Houseman
Catering: Townsend Catering
Cake:  Confections on the Coast
Ceremony Music: Bay Arts Trio + Trumpet (WMP)
Reception Music: Meet the Press band (Gulf Talent Services)
Hair & Makeup: Renee Armour of Two Fishes Artistry

Southern Weddings Magazine Features Carillon Weddings

We were put on hold for “blogging” this beautiful wedding until the V3 issues of highly-acclaimed, Southern Weddings Magazine hit the stands!  We just had to post the beautiful featured wedding of Kiley & Tim!  Thank you, Paul Johnson Photography for your always-phenomenal images.  It was truly a gorgeous day with some of our favorite accents and lighting.  Stay tuned for their fully-blogged wedding and pick up your copy of Southern Weddings Magazine V3 for some Southern inspirations!  Because SW Mag is an annually printed magazine, you can be assure an entire year’s worth of eye catching and perfectly planned details!  All you, 2011 brides: this is a must-see magazine!

Ashley & Mike {November Wedding at Carillon Beach}

We will always remember Ashley and Mike for their whirlwind year!  Not only did they get to end the year with the excitement of marriage, but Mike also celebrated being traded from the Cubs to the WORLD SERIES-winning Giants team!  I remember Rose Marie (Ashley’s mother) emailing us every week with: “Well, we thought they’d be finished with the season by now. We hope he can make the next bridal shower!”  Every week got pushed back from October 22nd, to the final WIN on November 1st!  Victoria and I, who ((guiltily)) don’t pay much attention to baseball, were GLUED to the TV!  We couldn’t have been more excited for them and their big win!  We knew it was a stressful process from being traded and moving cross-country mid-way through the season, but Ashley handled it beautifully!  Once they were in town for the wedding, the handsome groom said, “This is all about Ashley.” (awwwww!)  He was very set on making this a week for them to share together and to push the celebrating from the World Series aside for a new celebration!  We couldn’t have agreed more!

First, I have to post a few of Ashley’s AMAZING bridal portraits in Alys Beach with Paul & Mecheal Johnson.  She was able to come to Florida a week before the wedding to finalize details and to get some breath-taking images to display at the wedding.  This was the first chance she was able to get away!  Enjoy 🙂

Ashley in her beautiful, Vera Wang wedding gown.

LOVE these in Alys Beach 🙂

Gorgeous smile!

Let the wedding pictures begin!

Perfect little details. There were handmade flowers tied to every welcome bag that was delivered to their guests. There was a nice little note to have every lady wear her flower for their welcome dinner on Friday night! Ashley also provided coordinating flip flops at the reception so everyone could kick off their shoes and dance!

The men looked dashing in their classic, black tuxedos.

While we were waiting for the mothers to be seated, Ashley had a little time to be silly with her adorable flower girls. You could just tell how much the little girls adored her!

It melts our hearts when we have adorable flower girls and ring bearers who act like mini-bride and groom!

It was a special touch to have Edwin Caraballo, the chaplain for the Chicago Cubs, perform their wedding ceremony here in Florida.

Mike & Ashley's time away for sunset pictures was perfect! You couldn't have asked for better weather.

Rhonda wow-ed us with another awesome cake. This was a clear compliment to the flowing layers of Ashley's beautiful wedding dress.

The martini bar was their signature drink station. Donna made it look phenomenal and this was THE ONLY mention or "nod" to Mike's career - "Love Potion #14"!

Not only is this a classic, Louisiana-wedding shot, but it's also a cool view of the tent. The lights and table-scapes were awesome!

I remember watching Paul (photographer) get down on the ground while Robert (videographer) was lighting and filming Ashley's feet! Paul was really able to capture Ashley and her boogie shoes. Who doesn't love a good, customized pair of converse?!

After a nice evening of fun, dancing AND SINGING (check out their wedding video trailer!), Mike and Ashley ended with a bang! What a wonderful way to wrap up not only their baseball season, but our wedding season! It was surely a night to remember. Congrats, Mr. & Mrs. Fontenot! We can't wait to watch the Giants in the upcoming season!

{CREDITS}

Venues:  Carillon Beach Meeting House & Village Green Reception (exclusive to Carillon Weddings)

Photography: Paul & Mecheal Johnson of Paul Johnson Photography;

Ashley’s bridal portrait blog & wedding blog

Cinematography: Joanna & Robert Banks-Morgan of Diva Productions

Floral/Event Design:  Christina Springfield of Events by Nouveau Flowers

Officiant: Edwin Caraballo

Catering:  Donna & David Townsend of Townsend Catering

Cake:  Rhonda Joodi of Confections on the Coast

Ceremony Music: String Quartet & Trumpet (Wedding Music Plus)

Reception Music: Meet the Press band (GTS)

Lauren & Drew {November Wedding at Carillon Beach}

Living and working in Panama City, Lauren didn’t know much about Carillon Beach.  Once she came to visit, she fell in love!  I will always remember the first time we met Lauren.  She was so incredibly excited to be marrying Drew; you could just see it in her eyes!  She literally couldn’t stop smiling and giggling!  It’s so refreshing to see such a happy, in-love bride who is thrilled to be planning her wedding to the man of her dreams.  Throughout all of her planning, and all the way to the wedding day, that spark never left her eyes.  At one point, her father even warned her that she won’t always be this animated about the wedding…  not true!  She was thrilled the entire time. A self-proclaimed work-a-holic, Lauren, was able to take a break and enjoy getting married!

lauren and drew at carillon beach

We love watching the guys getting themselves ready for the BIG DAY! We know they want to look just as great as the ladies do.

lauren and drew at carillon beach

A gorgeous, Wintery bouquet. Lauren opted to have a softly colored palette with a lot of awesome textures.

lauren and drew at carillon beach

A perfect moment. Because sunsets so early in the Winter, we wanted to make her ceremony a bit earlier (3:30pm) in order to get this phenomenal natural light! Making that final walk through the Promenade is such a special time for fathers.

lauren and drew at carillon beach

A very clean, simple ceremony is just what Lauren wanted. The arrangements that lined the aisle seats helped bring some of the red into the Meeting House.  Lauren had her own officiant from her Panama City church.  Originally, we thought Lauren might have her ceremony in the big, Presbyterian church in town, then travel to Carillon for her reception.  We are glad she chose to have everything held in Carillon so that her guests did not have to travel.  Everything was perfect – down to the weather!

lauren and drew at carillon beach

The newlyweds were just glowing 🙂

lauren and drew at carillon beach

Drew’s last name is Applegate, so subtle touches of red and green apples were used throughout the reception decor. Each table was named a different type of apple. The drapery, chandeliers, and the mahogany chiavari chairs brought elegance to the outdoor tent.

lauren and drew at carillon beach

Another gorgeous cake by Confections on the Coast! Lauren & Drew even incorporated apples into their favor. There were mini-jars of both apple and peach butter for that sweet, Southern touch.

lauren and drew at carillon beach

At her vendor appointment at Townsend Catering, Lauren made sure we knew that she liked cucumber water, not lemon water 🙂  “Crab Apple” was just one of the cute, apple-names that Lauren named each table.

lauren and drew at carillon beach

We love a great dress change! Once the dancing with Meet the Press got underway, Lauren changed into a beautiful short, BCBG dress. Aren’t they just adorable??!

lauren and drew at carillon beach

Lauren and her aunt were just so adorable together. We loved working with them both! As you can see, they both have infectious laughs that light up the room! Congrats, Lauren & Drew!

{CREDITS}

Venues:  Carillon Beach Meeting House & Village Green Reception (exclusive to Carillon Weddings)

Photography: Paul & Mecheal Johnson of Paul Johnson Photography; Lauren’s wedding blog

Floral/Event Design:  Christina Springfield of Events by Nouveau Flowers

Minister: own – Rev. John Richardson

Catering:  Donna & David Townsend of Townsend Catering

Cake:  Rhonda Joodi of Confections on the Coast

Ceremony Music: String Quartet (Wedding Music Plus)

Reception Music: Meet the Press band (GTS)