Inspired by the Bride’s Love of Scandinavian Interior Design With a Florida Twist

[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]pink, green, yellow[/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]

FROM SBS WEDDINGS (wedding planner and event designer) The inspiration for this wedding design was heavily influenced by Jillian’s love for Scandinavian interior design, with an emphasis on clean lines, functionality, and a neutral palette with bold, colorful florals and natural textures coming into play as accent pieces. The design felt refined, intentional, and approachable, while striking a perfect balance between minimalism and elevated sophistication. From Jillian (Bride) It was very important to us that guest experience be the number one priority when choosing a venue and wedding location. I grew up in Southwest Florida and Nick grew up in NYC, where we currently live. We knew no matter what, friends and family would have to travel. We wanted the weekend’s logistics to be smooth, which we felt we could achieve if everything was on one property. Our goal was for our guests to feel like our wedding weekend could be a mini vacation, too. We felt like a hotel in Southwest Florida (especially in the winter) would check all those boxes. Given we also got engaged shortly after Hurricane Ian, many venues were still closed with unclear sightlines into reopening dates. Luckily, the Hyatt Regency in Bonita Springs was open and able to accommodate a full weekend of wedding events! We wanted our aesthetic to be warm and inviting while taking advantage of the wide range of colors and opportunities that a Florida wedding affords.

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[field title=”Proposal Story”]On Thursday, Nick sent me flowers telling me we were going on a trip and to pack my bags. On Friday, we jumped in the car and drove to a surprise location (with our dog Libby in the backseat), which ended up being Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI. After walking Libby on Saturday morning, Nick told me we were going on yet another walk, at which point we took a small stroll before he got on a knee on a beautiful lawn overlooking the ocean.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]I wanted to look stylish but also comfortable. For my wedding dress, I picked a Mira Zwillinger gown which was actually one of the first I tried on. I knew the a-line silhouette was one I typically felt comfortable in and I loved all of the floral details Mira is known for, which I felt really fit the Florida vibe. My parents had also gifted me vintage earrings for my 30th birthday that I chose to wear. For my after party dress, I had seen the Stella dress by Alexandra Pijut on Instagram but was worried about the fit. I was able to go to her home studio in NYC to try it on and fell in love with it – plus she was able to make adjustments to ensure the perfect fit!

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[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]My bridal party was all family – my two sisters, Nick’s sister, and my cousin. I wanted everyone to pick a dress they’d feel comfortable wearing but would still fit the fun and colorful aesthetic of our Florida wedding. After talking to everyone, we came up with a range of colors that could work and everyone picked a dress within that color palette. My sister’s dresses were from Cult Gaia and Saloni, my cousin’s green dress was from Rachel Gilbert, and my sister in law’s yellow dress was from Paris Georgia [/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Nick wore a Corneliani tuxedo, complimented by his grandfather’s watch. Nick did not have groomsmen but did get ready for the wedding with our dads and his closest friends. The wedding was black tie, so Nick’s friends all wore tuxedos. He did not have groomsmen.

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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]Guests enjoyed an array of tray-passed hors d’oeuvres at cocktail hour, including jumbo shrimp cocktail, pot stickers, spanakopita, and tuna tartare, accompanied by a fresh sushi and sashimi bar and large charcuterie display featuring cured meats, international cheeses, and grilled vegetables.

Signature drinks: Bride – Grapefruit Cosmo, Groom – Negroni

During the reception guests were served a heart of palm and Florida citrus salad as the starter, followed by a choice of grilled filet with gratin potato, seared Florida grouper with herbed risotto, or mushroom ravioli atop cauliflower steak as the main entree.

After the reception, guests transitioned to an after-party where with a DJ and catering from the couple’s favorite Italian market, Mario’s, in Fort Myers. The party continued, everyone danced the night away, and enjoyed the best chicken parm and caprese sliders!
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[field title=”Florals & Decor”]From Sean Stevenson of Kaleidoscope Floral: “Our approach to the floral design was to create a bright and colorful happy and celebratory feeling through the flowers. We wanted to incorporate bright colors to fit the tropical locale of Florida while using softer garden varieties of flowers to keep the feeling romantic. We used coral charm peonies, poppies, ranunculus, butterfly ranunculus, garden roses, and sweet pea. A personal favorite variety we were able to use were Japanese ranunculus Charlotte. While designing the ceremony and reception we wanted everything to feel lush and complete without going over the top and putting flowers everywhere we could. We had intentional restraint while designing to create a feeling of quiet luxury. Above the dance floor we created suspended palm trees as a nod to the father of the bride’s previous venture of owning a palm tree farm. Our original plan was to bring in 30 + foot palm trees, but when the logistics of the weekend made it preventative we came up with the fun idea of suspending “palm trees” from the ceiling.

From SBS Weddings: The foundation of the reception space, including the walls, flooring, chairs and larger decor elements, mostly consisted of clean white, natural tan and black. As a nod to Florida, the floral color palette was made up of cream, yellow, peach, blush, bright and light pinks, coral and orange tones, while incorporating subtle citrus details throughout and a suspended palm tree installation over the dance floor. From the ivory carpet installation, to banquette seating, stage backdrop and unexpected floral moments in the reception space, every detail harmonized to create an unforgettable guest experience that married sophistication and joyful celebration.
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[field title=”Wedding Cake”]The four-tier buttercream cake was was created by Hyatt Regency pastry chef and adorned with fresh, colorful florals. It featured a combination of Jillian and Nick’s favorite flavors – lemon cake with raspberry Bavarian filling and red velvet cake with cream cheese filling. [/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]We had a modern, Reform Jewish ceremony, with all of the aspects that entails. Anne Robin created ceremony programs with illustrations that explained what each element meant. It was one of my favorite details of the wedding. We also chose to write our own vows which we shared during the ceremony. The weather was perfect, the flowers were wonderful and the ceremony itself was lovely. It was so special to look into the audience and see all of our friends and family together.

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[field title=”Special Detail #1″]We are very attached to our dog Libby, a black lab, and wanted to include her in the wedding. We worked with Eve’s custom cookes to create custom black lab cookies that were given as favors at the end of the night. I can’t believe how cute they were! We also featured Libby on the cocktail napkins with a darling illustration by our stationery designer, Anne Robin. [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #2″]From the planner SBS Weddings: We originally come up with the idea of bringing in massive palm trees to frame up the dance floor and provide a focal point for the room. However there were so many unknowns about the logistics, pricing that we hadn’t yet committed to the idea. Then Jillian’s mother told us that the FOB had actually investedin a palm tree farm and we knew we had to make it happen. We realized we would never be able to get them upstairs or roll them across the fresh white carpet. So, that’s when Sean from Kaleidoscope had the idea to suspend them from the ceiling. When her mom first walked into the room at the reveal, she said her favorite part of the room was in fact the trees. [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]Photography was really important to us so we looked beyond the local options and searched nationally for a photographer that would capture our weekend. We were blown away by Liz’s highly artful photographs. She shot many different cameras throughout the day, including some film cameras. Liz made the whole process feel effortless to us. [/field]
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