Florida-West Coast — The Knot Community

Reply Card Question?

AmandaG225 — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 23:22:21 +0000

Hi Ladies - My wedding is August 13th...when should I have all replies sent by?

THANKS :)

Cake HELP!

MrsPetroske — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:19:32 +0000

We don't have a budget but my Mom flipped when she found out the cake was going to cost $762. We are having a little over 150 guests and already know what kind of cake we want. Anyone know any bakers in the North Port/Venice area other than Publix?!

Please....

We've been blogged!

sweetie1184 — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:01:32 +0000

My photographer finally posted a few pics from our 3/10 wedding. In case any of you are looking for a photographer, I HIGHLY recommend Kristen, she is talented, creative and so very patient!

http://kristenwynnphotography.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-dos-casey-and-rob-married.html

Engagement Pictures

Rhea1115 — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:34:43 +0000

We are getting our engagement pictures done next month and I am trying to figure out some fun and different places to do them in the tampa area.

I was wondering if anyone had some cool ideas.

Thanks!

Testing the Wedding Ticker

ellentravis — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:31:44 +0000

Do I have to paste this in every time?

www.theknot.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Wedding">

klw0022

teachermegs — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:34:41 +0000

YGPM

items for sale!!!!

Tammy? — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:05:31 +0000

Hello Fellow Knotties!!!

I have tons of items for sale....

I will be in Tampa Friday if you would like to purchase any items I will take them with me......

CASH ONLY

CALL / TEXT - 786.768.7993
PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL!

Items Include:

♥ Vase ( 3 tall and 12 short vases)

-3 Tall Clear Vases with Candles
These were used on my hightop tables for my reception. I added a orchid in each one just as the pictures you see as well as some rose petals around the border on the table. Everyone loved them. $ 10.00 each

- 12 Cylindrical "8" Glass Vases LIBBY "8" Glass Vases..
Slender Gathering Vase 8"
8" High x 4" Opening

Can be used for floral arrangements ( pictures below and above), Sparklers Holders, Bridesmaids Bouquets Holders, On sweetheart table, Decorations.. etc.. $ 5.00 each

♥ Bird cage (can be used for card box) $10.00

♥ 14 Garden Votive Holder Lanterns (lamps, candle, white, glass)
37.5 tall white metal offers a classic and sophisticated. This is a highly functional lantern with a hinged door that secures a glowing candle and a stake post that allows you to illuminate any outdoor setting—you can plant it in grass, sand or soil. $15. 00 each

♥ 12 Elegant Luminary Glass Tables Numbers 12 Candlelight Glass Table Numbers with crystal design and brown ribbon edge ( you can change the ribbon to any color you choose) $4.00 each

♥ Mr. and Mrs. Wooden Chair Signs "Mr. and Mrs." bronze wooden chair signs with ivory ribbon ( you can also customize it to your wedding colors) $35.00 (the set)

♥ 2 white 6 ft tall sheppard hooks: Used to hold the chandeliars, can also be used to hold the direction signs. $16 (the set)

♥ Send off items (car banner, car magnet, etc..) $10 (package)

♥ (Alfred Angelo) Piccione Bridal Dress Style 410 ♥
Custom Piccione Dress with Sweetheart Neckline
Org. Price $2500 for sale for only $250.00!!

♥Gorgeous Maggie Sottero Couture Bridal Gown! Style name: Angel. Style number: S5053.♥

NEW with TAGS! (Changed my mind after buying this dress)
Org. price $1500 for sale for only $200!!

Color: Cognac taffeta and Diamond white lace. If you are not familiar with the color Cognac, we suggest you visit the designers website.

Fully lined with built in corset in the bodice. Lace up back for the perfect fit. A line style skirt with train has a built in crinoline for fullness.

Size 10. (Runs small!!!!! Can be altered as well!)

Bust: 37 1/2. / Waist: 29 1/2. / Hips: 40.

Length of gown hollow to front hem line is approximately 60 inches. / Fabric: Taffeta and lace.

Wrap over waist line is accented with embroidered applicae. Applicaes and lace are adorned with clear beading and sequins. Gorgeous gown for formal wedding!

Description: Maggie Sottero has some of the most beautiful Wedding Dresses in the World. This Maggie Sottero wedding dress features a One-piece, strapless, A-line gown with corset back. Rhapsody taffeta is richly ornamented with scalloped lace creating a stunning sweetheart neckline, accenting the asymmetrical side wrap and lace appliqué are delicately placed at the back of the skirt in a caught up design. Gown features a sweep train.

♥ Brides Maid

Think I might have a venue

tampabayRN — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:16:56 +0000

My fiance and I went and visited a few venues today: Clearwater Rec Center, the Clearwater Sailing Center, and the St. Pt. Beach Rec Center. I really think we are going to go witht the St. Pete Beach Rec Center, the room was nicer and I liked the outdoor area the best.

Thank you!

M1ssJ — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:14:33 +0000

FI and I won the photography contest! Thank you so much to those who voted.

M1ssJ

Bre2Be — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:25:53 +0000

You have a PM :)

out of towners

futureMRSDarling2012 — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:56:00 +0000

Ok so were from Michigan and at inner tonight we came across the idea of a florida beach wedding because we absolutely love the ocean an are consiering moving ther with the next few years. The more I think about having a huge gathering here the more I don't want to... most of our family we only see during the hollidays. What is everyones thoughts on having the people we care about most (parents, siblings close friends) come to the gulf coast for a small gathering? I'm unsure how people would feel about it...if they would care about paying for a plane ticket an hotel for the night...

has anyone been in this boat before and if so what do you reccomend? We have been together for 9 years and cannot wait to be married!! =) We are just really unsure about spending a fortune on a reception here at home for people we only see during the hollidays.

Are we required to pay for people rooms/plane tickets? Obviously we would provie food! OPINIONS PLEASE =) thx!

Lion's Club Sunset Beach

mandalyn328 — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:25:25 +0000

Anyone know anything about this venue, like pricing? I'm looking for something reasonable to get married AND have my reception. Trying to stick to a $5,000 - 6,000 budget and that seems really hard here in St. Pete. Everything is so expensive!! Our guest list is at 100. The cheapest caterer I've found is $20 a head. We really want to have an open bar, so were leaning towards a place that lets you bring in your own stuff and then we can just hire a bartender that's licensed. Any ideas??? Thank you!

Bringing in our own drinks

nikkig1284 — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:54:59 +0000

Hello ladies!

Looking for advice? We are getting married in 18 days (eeeek!) but one of the last things we have to do is buy the alcohol. We are only allowed beer, wine and 2 signature drinks (that I have down already), but what I am wondering is if anyone else had to buy their own beer/wine for their venue and if so, where did you get it from? I used an evite drink calculator but not sure if I should buy more/less or about what it suggests? Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with this?

Thanks!!!

Tampa Venues Downtown, Westshore, Channelside

financialdiva — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:44:12 +0000

Hi Ladies! It's been a long long time since I've been on this board but I thought I would pop in and see if any of you ladies could help a former WCF Knottie out. My BFF is currently living in CA and has enlisted me to help her find a location for her wedding. She is looking for a venue in the downtown Tampa, Westshore or Channelside area that could accommodate (gasp!) 350 people. We've been looking at places like the Hyatt, A La Carte, UT, Tampa Convention Center, Marriott, Tampa Club. So any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

TIA!

Location for E-session?

slinky0422 — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:10:11 +0000

Any good ideas for a location for my engagement session??? I can't think of anything unique....

Ideas and suggestion would be greatly appreciated! I just don't want to have it at the beach...seems like a lot of couples do that.

Sand Petal Weddings

aross23 — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:04:20 +0000

Hi Girls!
So my fiance and I are most likely going with Sand Petal Weddings to plan our wedding. I figured I'd post on here because I know a lot of you girls mentioned that you used them. We are trying to decide between the tented, tiki, or pavilion reception. We like the idea of the tented, however I was caught off guard by the whole condo rental thing. (If you have a tented reception on the beach you have to rent out so many condos nearby.) Also, there is no public restroom for the tented receptions, so someones condo needs to be the "public bathroom" for all guests. Does anyone have any advice on this? Anyone that has done this? Those of you that used Sand Petal Weddings.....which reception site did you use?
Thanks so much!

License, Non-FL resident

ellentravis — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:03:03 +0000

Hi, there.

We live in Chicago. We're getting married on a Sunday. We are trying to make arrangements for flights/hotels (when to come down) in the days before our wedding, and would like to come down on Friday.

Any idea if the courts are open Fri and what kind of advance appointment you need to get your marriage license? I can/will call them, but I'd love to hear from those who have experience if this is a hellish or straightfoward experience.:D

Sand Petal Wedding..

jenafear123 — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:50:32 +0000

Hi!
My fiancee and I are looking into the tented mother of pearl luau for 10/8/11. The only concern so far that I have is that there are no bathrooms & that we have to rent a condo. I tried to contact the condo choices today, Saturday, but they were all closed already. Has anyone done the tented mother of pearl luau? Pros/Cons? How was the photographer, videographer, live music player? Was there anything price wise that you were side tracked with? How did you like it being tented? What condo did you use? Did you like it? Why or why not?

I live in NJ so trying to communicate with them can sometimes be difficult.. Has anyone personally met them? Also, the vendors they use, has anyone met them? What are your thoughts? They want a pretty large non refundable deposit, & I'm nervous, especially cause I haven't met them or seen anything other than a wesbsite.

Any info shared will be greatly appreciated!

Some pictures

tracynmaria — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:59:07 +0000

Need help with Wedding Activity Books please!

kmf218 — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:25:13 +0000

I want to make an activity book for the kids at the wedding. There will be a lot and I know how boring weddings can be for children, especially ones that are too shy to dance. I have a general layout with puzzles, coloring pages and draw your own picture pages. I finished one today and I dont really like it... Here is a picture of the front page

I have three issues with it

1. there are bubbles in the front and back cover bc i glued regular printer paper to construction paper. (first dumb mistake)

2. the coloring pages and puzzles are visible through the printer paper

3. Kevin thinks there too much ribbon but I had to cover up the staples....

I dont know what to do... Kevin thinks I should just scrap the whole thing but I really want to do something nice for the kids. I know if I went to a wedding when I was younger and I had an activity book made just for me, waiting at my seat, I would feel really special. I know if I changed the paper it would solve 2 of my 3 problems but I dont know what kind to use. Any suggestions? Have any of you ladies made your own activity books? Please help! I want to prove Kevin wrong lol

TIA,

Kim

Who is your videographer

tammyhector77 — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:52:40 +0000

Looking for a videographer, need your advice please

Cost:
Time spent day of the wedding:
If you have your trailer, do you mind sharing?

TIA

Tammy

babybchbum

Bre2Be — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:26:46 +0000

It's been a bit. I just wanted to check in and see how the pregnancy was coming along? Did you find out the sex? Any MS? Any names picked out yet?

Living vicariously through you for now...

Catering

Laurap1733 — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:20:55 +0000

Any Catering recommendations?? I am getting married in the Tampa area!

Vendor Reviews from March 12th wedding (everything!)

mbathey — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:55:22 +0000

Ceremony Site/Coordinator
Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles Catholic Church/Cathy A+
Beautiful church, super friendly staff…..could not have asked for a better place. Since we were out of towners, I thought it would much more difficult to be married in this church. However I met with Father Jim 6 months before the wedding, and he was very helpful and understanding to the situation my Fiance and I had (military training, etc). They were so easy to work with and friendly!!!

Reception Site/Coordinator-
Sandbar Restaurant/Patti- A+

AMAZING location. If you are looking for a unique wedding reception...this is your place. We had 85 friends and family fly in from Boston, and they just had never experienced a wedding like this before. Feet in the sand, laid back but beautiful and professional. The food was outstanding (INCREDIBLY huge scallops), and the wait-staff and bartender were fun and efficient. Patti (the coordinator), I just do not have enough time to write about her.....she loves her job and it shows...she is just amazing. And her laid back attitude is just what I was looking for. I honestly do not have one bad thing to say about the Sandbar.....they gave us the wedding we wanted and people are still saying it was the best one they have been to yet!

Photographer
Island Photography/Dara Caudill- A+

Dara really was amazing at our wedding last weekend on Anna Maria Island. My husband as adamant about not having a "cheesy" photog who would spend our entire cocktail hour taking pics. Well, we chose wisely! Dara was enthusiastic and willing to work with us all night long. She was laid back but always worked hard to get the best shot. We were able to enjoy the night because of her. We had a lot of military at our wedding, and she loved taking all the Sword Arch shots. My husband is deploying in about a week, and Dara worked hard and edited our sunset pictures in a week’s time so he could see them before he left. Normally this takes her about 3 months!!!! I am just so so so happy we chose Dara....her sunset pictures turned out STUNNING!!!!
DJ
Chuck Caudill- A
Chuck was an amazing DJ. He played live music for our cocktail hour which people loved and then switched to DJ for the dancing. I gave him quite a list of must plays (husband and I have a love for music) and I think I heard them all! Very easy to work with and great attitude. We must have mis-communicated at some point, because he didn't realize I wanted live music at the beginning. But he offered to "run home" and grab his guitar! He lives on the island, 5 min from the Sandbar, so it was perfect! His laid back but professional attitude was what we were looking for.
Flowers
Flower Girls of Sarasota – B
My bouquets turned out gorgeous, and the centerpieces were awesome. The only thing that didn’t turn out like I expected was the flower piece for the church. I was under the impression it was going to be this large candelabra flower presentation, but as I sat on the altar, all I saw was a smaller arrangement. It was really low to the ground, and just not what I pictured. There was a little confusion with some communication between them and my mom about some extra stuff.   However that being said, I was really happy with the final product.

Transportation (wedding Party)
Kings Executive Limo- B+
Super friendly and quick to respond during the reservation process. I thought the rates were reasonable as well. We used them to transport the wedding party from hotel to church to reception site. Our driver was late (20 min) but it was honestly out of his control (horrible accident involving a medivac...etc). However we planned for extra time so all in all the ceremony started I believe 8 minutes behind schedule. He was SUPER apologetic and professional. The limo was clean, beautiful, and he was flexible with our stops along the way (beer, atm, etc). Would recommend this company for your wedding!!!

Transportation (Shuttle for guests to reception)
Sarasota Coach Lines- B+
They were very easy to deal with over the phone and quick to respond to emails. We rented a bus to transport our guests from the hotel to the reception site and back. Bus was clean and on time. The only negative was apparently, the driver was not 100% as to how to get to the reception site. I was not on the bus, but one of my guests said he seemed to be lost.   They were only a few minutes late, but I think they should know where they going before they leave! I would recommend them, just make sure they know the location well and maybe even a suggested route.
Hair/Make Up
Cari from KyleLynn weddings- A+
HIRE HER!!!! I absolutely loved Cari from KyleLynn Weddings. She was fun, professional, and my hair and makeup was amazing. I love that she travels to you. She did my hair and makeup and the hair of 3 of my girls. Even my girls asked if she would travel to Maine to do their weddings! I can't say enough about her, except that she is amazing and hire her quicky!
Rehearsal Dinner Location
Mattison’s Riverside- A
Really good choice for rehearsal dinner. The location is AMAZING, on the waterfront. The service was great, and we had our own private room. The food was absolutely delicious!   The events coordinator that I dealt with was professional and easy to work with. She always got back to me within a few days, if not the same day. The only real downfall was that many guests had a hard time finding the location. Apparently it doesn’t show up on some GPS systems. Other than that, it was great!!
Hotel Block
Holiday Inn Express West Bradenton (off Cortez)- A
Staff at the hotel were super friendly and easy to work with. Even though we came during a busy spring break time, they were flexible about room additions and changes. They even passed out our OOT bags (some with very specific instructions) with no problem. The rooms were clean, and the pool area is beautiful (just wish it were bigger!).
Pre-Wedding Sailboat Trip
Kathleen D/ Sailing Catamaran- A+
We decided to do a fun activity with some of our friends the Friday before the wedding.   At first I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, since the weather is hard to predict. However I am SO glad I did it. We rented the boat for two hours for 15 of our guests. It was a bit windy but besides that, it was perfect! The crew was awesome, really knowledgeable and friendly. If you are looking for something fun and different to do for your guests….rent the Kathleen D!

We were blogged!

frozenxthoughts — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:25:05 +0000

Hey Ladies,

I have since moved on to The Nest since our wedding on Feb. 27, 2011. I sure miss it on The Knot. I normally frequented this board and the Central Florida board quite a bit. Thought I'd post the link here as well!

I had two photographers at my wedding, and one of them posted a great sneak peek of our wedding day. Take a look: http://ktcrabbphotography.com/blog/?p=92

By: KT Crabb Photography (www.ktcrabbphotography.com)

She is amazing. Seriously.

Our venue was Town Manor on the Lake, and I can honestly say that nothing went wrong. I had some awesome vendors. Happy planning brides-to-be!

Sharing some of my beach wedding decor pictures!

mbathey — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:54:57 +0000

Just wanted to share some of my wedding decor pics. It was awesome to see all the little details come together. We used the starfish as placecards, postcards as our guest book, alternating lanterns and flower arrangements. It all turned out awesome. I got a lot of my ideas from other brides so I thought Id share incase any of you needed ideas!

Our Welcome Table with escort cards:

Our Guest book......Postcards from Paradise!!

Tables in the sand!

Tables with Lanterns

Tables with Flowers

We ordered personalized cornhole games...they were a huge hit!!!! Our friends played them on the beach during cocktail hour.

The coordinator at our reception site loved these lanterns so much she bought them off of us! One less thing to cart back from Florida. We got them at JCPenny. They were really cute and protected the candle from the beach breeze.

We Need Help Finding a Wedding Venue!

Ryan&Katy — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:23:20 +0000

We're planning our wedding for Mid 2012, but we just can't seem to find a venue! We're estimating that we will have approximately 75 guests. We don't want the traditional beach or country club wedding because they're both really common in Florida. Since we're paying for most of the wedding ourselves, we don't have very much to spend. We've checked out quite a few places, and perhaps this will give you an idea of what we're looking for:

The Lange Farm - This was the first place that we looked at, and we thought it was very nice and peaceful. We fell in love with the classy southern vibe of the place, but it was just too expensive.

Palm Harbor White Chapel & Hall - We thought that this place was great as well. We loved that it was a cute traditional chapel. Our favorite thing was the wood floors and the industrial ceiling in the hall. We also liked that the place was a sort of blank slate that we could decorate however we wanted. However, it cost about $1,600 just to rent the place, which made a wedding there too expensive once all the other costs were factored in.

Tampa Museum of Art - I'm an artist, so I absolutely loved the modern artsy feel of this venue. However, it was entirely too expensive.

I am feeling very hopeless when it comes to finding a venue for this wedding. Do you have any ideas of venues that woud work for us?

Wedding Photos Blogged!

KrystalsKitsch — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:08:58 +0000

I'm so excited! Here is my sneak peek of my wedding photos. CSE Photography did a great job capturing my random details. =)
http://csephotography.blogspot.com/2011/03/krystal-scott-sand-key-beach-wedding.html

Introduction

kkmcnear — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:32:00 +0000

Hello, Ladies. I wanted to introduce myself. My fiance and I are from Indiana and having a destination wedding on Anna Maria Island. We are getting married June 21, 2011 on the beach and then reception at the Gulf Drive Cafe Tiki Hut. It's a new venue, so we're a little nervous about that, but I'm sure it will be great. We are using Sand Petal Weddings for all the planning details. We are so excited and cannot wait!

I've loved checking out everyone's planning bios and have gotten a lot of great ideas already. Thanks, everyone!

Sand Petal Tiki vs. Pavilion

aross23 — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 01:01:15 +0000

Hi girls!

I am pretty close to securing a date and decided to go with Sand Petal Weddings. I am looking forward to this because I won't have to do much planning! Anyways, I have a question for those of you who went with Sand Petals. Did you decide on the tiki reception or the pavilion? We decided against the tented due to the fact that you had to use a hotel/condo room as the guest bathroom. But I am having a hard time deciding between the other two! HELP! Any suggestions? I think there are pros and cons of each.

Thanks!