The Lee House in downtown Pensacola is now Oyster Bay Boutique Hotel, and their GORGEOUS renovations had us dreaming of Apalachicola, which made us think… why don’t we do a styled wedding shoot that celebrates those “Old Florida” roots while showing off their beautiful, all-white decor? So, as soon as the paint dried, we brought that vision to life, thanks to the help of our fabulous vendor friends!
One of the things that we were most obsessed with at Oyster Bay is how they took those rustic Florida elements, like driftwood and the heartier swamp plants, and incorporated them into an impossibly chic and elegant design. We decided to follow their lead with this shoot and created a color palette that was mostly neutrals with pops of seaglass, reminiscent of the old glass fishing floats, and gold and blush accents. We wanted our colors to make you think of the gulf shoreline right at sunset… shimmery and pristine with a touch of wild. That idea also inspired our choice of wedding dress!
Because oysters are such an important part of the North Florida ecosystem, and feature right there in the venue name, we had to make sure they played a role in our overall scheme. We loved the opportunity to take the noble oyster and show off its unique beauty in this shoot. We even had little oyster ornaments for our “guests” to take home to remember the day by. The shell theme was also reflected in the incredible white lantern that Luxe Event Rentals brought to hang over our sweetheart table!
Our bride for this shoot was actually one of our own, fabulous photographers, Savannah! We loved getting to put her on the OTHER side of the camera, for a change, and unleashing our glam squad on her! VolumeOne and Weber and Weekley transformed her into our Gulf Coast Golden Girl, while Jeweler’s Trade added the perfect accessories to complete our chic bridal look. We also had three adorable littles (one of the fur variety) keeping things light and fun on set. Our sweet flower girl, Violet, looked just like a little princess in her dress from Bella Bridesmaids and her oyster crown from Fiore. And our little ring bearer, Tate, kept us giggling while he was showing off his best Spiderman moves in that adorable suit from Randall’s Formal Wear. The sweet little pup in the bowtie was Gus, whose fur mama, Heather, made our stunning cake!
Our signature cocktail, The Bee’s Knees, was created by Dannon at Tap the Coast and paid homage to another Florida staple – Tupelo Honey! Fiore did an amazing job of blending the wild with the traditional, with painted oyster shells acting as a focal point of the bouquet alongside roses and eucalyptus. (And don’t even get us started on that golden wicker arbor! Obsessed!) Our lovely tablescape came courtesy of Duh for Home and Garden, and featured a very stylish (and topical!) oyster and grey-blue scheme accented with gold flatware and raffia placemats.
Thank you to all of our fabulous vendors who worked so hard to help us create this beautiful shoot!
