After our wedding church ceremony, we had all of our guests get on buses and take the fifteen minute drive back to the island of Vero Beach, where they pulled up to the beach club in John’s Island, the community where my parents have a home. The club had had cleared out the pool area for our cocktail party, and we had it set up with custom pink and white scalloped cabanas and umbrellas my mom had made, tablecloths featuring our floral wedding print, pillows with our new married monogram embroidered into them, and of course lots of cocktails and champagne awaiting everyone’s arrival. 

The Weather

The best part, however, was the sky above the ocean. All week long the weather had said that it was going to be cold and rainy on the day of the wedding (I went so far as to order dozens of pashminas to hand out to guests if it got chilly), but the day of it turned out to be sunny, warm, and just radiant. Then around five pm at the cocktail hour, the sky turned into these gorgeous shades of pinks and periwinkles, with moody clouds that were giving drama. I loved it. 

Our smart moms also buried a bottle of bourbon exactly one month before our wedding day, on the site of the venue, which supposedly guarantees good weather on your wedding day. We now fully subscribe to this theory because the week before our wedding called for horrible, cold/stormy weather on our wedding day, but it ended up being HOT and sunny until it rained when it mattered the least– when we were all snug in the reception tent.

The Setup

Johnny and I took a few photos with each other along the grassy area between our tent and the pool deck where the cocktail hour was going on, and then we joined all of our guests by the pool for a drink. We also got a chance to see the inside of the tent by ourselves before everyone else got in there, which was really special and a core memory from the day. I cannot even tell you the absolute relief 😂 I felt at seeing the vision that my mom and I had dreamed up, and worked so tirelessly on for a year and a half, in real life and executed even better than we had imagined. 

There were two bars situated around the pool, and our signature cocktails were a spicy margarita (Johnny’s favorite) and the Painkiller (my favorite!). For the food we had passed hors d’oeuvres and opted for crowd-pleasers like mini grilled cheese with tomato, tuna poke, rock shrimp cakes, and pigs in a blanket. Johnny and I didn’t even see an appetizer, but we heard they were delish. 😂

Escort Cards

As for the guests’ escort cards, Johnny and I had written little notes to each couple or person, which shared a personal message about how much they meant to us and how excited we were to have them there. On the outside of each envelope was their table number so they could find their seat inside the tent. The letters were attached to lattice trellises that had some ivy and topiaries planted underneath them. They very much coordinated with our whole garden-party-meets-island-soirée inspiration that we leaned into for the decor for the entire day. 

The color pink was integrated so much into the day because this blog’s original name was “Amy Believes in Pink” (a play off of Audrey Hepburn’s “I believe in pink” quote). While we didn’t have a wedding hashtag, the words “Johnny believes in pink” were said a bunch of times. And our dress code was “formal, pink encouraged.” I’m very lucky to have married a man who embraces my love of pink so much, especially at our wedding, but hey– he knew what he was getting himself into. 😂

Our Wedding Planner

We worked closely with the team at John’s Island Club and also hired Anna Corbin of Anna Caroline Weddings, to be our day-of coordinator and run our church ceremony since we didn’t have that on the John’s Island Club property. Anna was an angel sent from Heaven– calm, incredibly organized, a great communicator, and as kind as could be. As for the majority of the planning and all of the creative design and vision, that was all my mom and me! My mom was the genius ideator and DIY-er behind so much of it and I was just thankful we have the same taste in everything. You should see my inspo/planning deck… but that’s a post for another time. 

Our Wedding Vendors

Church: First Baptist of Vero Beach // Reception Venue: @ji_club // Catering & Cake: @ji_club // Coordination: @annacarolineweddings // Band: @theheadlinersband // String Quartet: @lotusstringquartet // Officiant: @gracespacechristiancoaching // Tent: @sperrytents // Florals: @hutchinsonsfloral // Linens: @nuagedesignsinc, @bbjlatavola // Rentals: @achairaffair, @orlandosparklersse // Photography: @joseph.rogero // Videography: @eriksoncorbin // Dress: @dylanparientyparis // Shoes: Jimmy Choo (wedding) // Jewelry: vintage necklace, Asha earrings (wedding) // Hair & Makeup: @cindygoetzmakeupartist & @lindsaynaffzigerstylist // Stationery: @ashleyd_studio, @emilymccarthyshoppe, @anne_vallette // After Party DJ: @wearetraxxentertainment // Transportation: BTM Motorcoach