We're married! The wedding (on May4th) was absolutely perfect - we had beautiful weather and everything went off without a hitch. Here's some info on the awesome vendors who made it all happen:
Venue - Sunset Beach House (
www.mysunsetbeach.com) - A+. This place could not have been any more perfect. We checked in Thursday, had the wedding on the beach and reception for ~80 in the backyard 'til 11 Friday night, had everyone back on Saturday for brunch and beach day and packed up and headed some on Sunday. It truly did take an army of friends and family to make this work in terms of set up and cleanup (as since this is just a rental property, not a "wedding venue" per se, so you have to bring everything you need in yourself and clean it all up yourself before checkout) but it was SO worth it! There's a reason this place is in such high demand -- it truly is a gem and there's nothing else like it in the Tampa Bay area (trust me, I looked!). Highly recommend!
Rentals - Coast to Coast Event Rentals (
http://coasttocoasteventrentals.com/) - A. Like I said, we had to rent everything. We got tables, chairs, linens, benches (for ceremony seating), a stage and a bar from Coast to Coast. They were very easy to work with (I made lots of changes to the order along with way) and very reasonably priced (I did a lot of comparison shopping). Items were delivered and picked up on time and by very professional staff. Definitely recommend.
Rentals - A Tailored Event (
http://www.floridabeachweddingsource.com/) - A. We rented a simple bamboo arch with white fabric draping for our ceremony. I didn't get to meet them in person (I was already in hair & makeup when they arrived) but the arch got set up on time, was beautiful, and got broken down and removed at some point during the reception so stealthily that I didn't even notice! Very easy to work with and communicate with by email as well. Definitely recommend.
Lighting - Tampa Lights (
http://www.tampalights.com/) - A. These guys created a wonderful canopy of lights and lanterns over the reception area - it really made the night! They offer a ton of options and they really do great work. One minor negative would be that the pick-up didn't happen exactly as scheduled which caused me some momentary heartburn when it was time to check out on Sunday and the lights were all still up. But it all worked out! Definitely recommend.
Catering - Love's Artifacts Bar & Grille in Tampa - A+. Full disclosure - owner Lynn Love is a good friend! Lynn and his team did a fantastic job putting together a custom buffet menu for us (with each menu item tied to a place we've traveled to) and executing dinner to perfection. He went above and beyond and continued to feed the crowd for brunch and all day Saturday too. Food was delicious, presentation was awsome, we got so many compliments on everything (especially the prime rib yummmm). Highly recommend!
Photography - K&K Photography (
http://www.kandkphotography.com/) - A+. Again, full disclosure - owners/photogs Jeff & Ana are good friends of ours. But friends or not, their portfolio speaks for itself - these guys do fantastic work! Jeff & second-shooter Caroline were wonderful to work with on wedding day and really got the vision of how we wanted our wedding to feel and be documented. We can't wait to see the final results! Highly recommend!
Band - Matt Winter Band (
http://mattwinterband.com/weddings/) - A+. This band rocks. That's all there is to it. They put on an absolutely incredible show, so incredible that the neighbors came by the next morning and, instead of complaining about the noise, asked us for their card because they wanted to hire them too! Matt and his wife Sarah (who does all the event coordinating) were fantastic to work with from day one - very responsive and professional. We had solo guitar out on the beach for the ceremony music and their 3-piece band setup (guitar, bass, drums) for the reception. The band has a huge songlist, and they even learned a few more special for us! Highly recommend!
Hair & Makeup - Linny Correa, Colours by Linny (
http://cblmakeup.com/) - A+. My initial hair and makeup plan fell apart about two weeks pre-wedding and needless to say, I was freaking out! Linny came recommended by our photographers and definitely saved the day! She was able to squeeze me in on super short notice and was truly a pleasure to work with. She understood the look I was going for and executed it perfectly. A true professional, she was also a great calming prescence with all the wedding day chaos swirling around. Highly recommend!