There are times it can be so scary to put your dreams out there, but man when they come to fruition it is the most incredible feeling!! That was this wedding for me. It has been a dream from the get go of mine to have a wedding in Florida (and truth be told I’d love to make that a 3x a year deal) the sunshine state has my heart and always will. So when these two, who I love so much together, emailed and said they were getting married (yay!) in Florida (wahoo!) and wanted me to photograph (wait…what?!) I couldn’t ever believe it! I was so fortunate to meet these two when Katie emailed me for a couples session two years ago and KNEW the way Josh looked at her this was it. (pssst check out their engagements too!)

Katie planned the most incredible intimate wedding along with the help of her sweet momma at the gorgeous Safety Harbor Hotel & Spa in Safety Harbor, just outside Tampa. Her dad said at the reception, Kate & Josh wanted an intimate wedding surrounded by their closest friends and family and that’s exactly what they got. When I got to the bridal suite, Katie and her girls were relaxing with harry Potter quotes and french fries!! #bridegoals for real. She was nervous but the buzz of happy friends, a blend of her growing up in Florida, her college life and her VA life made it an exciting room to be in! It says so much about the kind of person she is that all these women from such different periods in Katie’s life can come together and you would have thought they all knew each other their whole lives too!

While we let them finish getting ready, we headed over to the guys and Josh was so cool too! He was really excited and when I told him they were hedging bets on his reaction to seeing Katie in her dress, he told me man I really don’t know how I’m going to react. His groomsmen were HILARIOUS and again friends from all walks of Josh’s life who all were hanging out like they had grown up together.

At the ceremony, they had a reading that said these two were destined to be together. They could not have made it happen sooner and could not have slowed it down, the timing of that Facebook message happened exactly when it needed to. Oh and as you can tell, Josh had the sweetest reaction to seeing his gorgeous wife! We were able to power through portraits as the sun was slipping away and this party went right into the late hours! I’d say the only thing I regret? Missing out on Josh’s sweet rap skills he’s so proudly known for 😉

K&J, thank you SO much for sharing your little slice of Florida with me. For being two people so genuinely in love, so authentic with each other and for letting me get to see all the incredible people who have made you who you are so far! I am so excited for your future and can’t wait to see all you accomplish together!

 

Venue: Safety Harbor Resort & Spa

Dress: Elise by WTOO from The White Magnolia, Tampa Florida 

HMA: Sheila Carlson

Bridesmaids Dresses: Badgley Mischka Award Winner Gown- Rent the Runway

Mens Attire: Men’s Warehouse

Florist: Hassell Florist

DJ: APE Entertainment

Videographer: 38 Films

Cake: Corey‘s Bakery