Featured Wedding– Katy & Tyler

Fall has been a recurring theme in Katy and Tyler’s relationship—they met in the fall, got engaged in the fall and got married in the fall.  College sweethearts, they first met at a Halloween party, so when it came time to propose, Tyler felt including a Halloween element was more than fitting.  To surprise Katy, Tyler arranged to have a jack-o-lantern carved with the phrase, Will You Marry Me?” left lit in a pumpkin patch.  That evening he took Katy out to find their annual Halloween pumpkin and after a thorough search, he pointed her towards the special pumpkin.  After getting down on one knee, Katy joyfully said “Yes!”.

Planning a fall wedding, Katy gave herself 13 months to pull off the elegant southern themed event.  The focus of her planning was, “wanting our guests to feel really welcomed.  While we knew that this was an important day for us, we also recognized that this was a day to honor our family and friends who had come from near and far.”  Katy and Tyler faced a major challenge in planning their wedding—they were living in separate cities.  Tyler drove to Tallahassee on weekends and they would schedule vendor meetings and planning activities back to back so he could be involved in the process.

The day of the wedding, Katy and her bridesmaids gathered at the Governor’s Inn for their preparations.  The girls took over the Chiles suite with their makeup artist, dresses and yummy brunch.  Once ready, the girls headed to the streets for a quick portrait session.

Breaking with tradition, the couple chose to see each other before the ceremony and have some quiet time together.  Their photographer, Terri Smith, was assisted by fellow photographer Linda Long, and the two arranged for the couple to have the big reveal at the site of their first date, Andrew’s restaurant  in downtown Tallahassee.

“Our favorite part of the day was meeting each other before the ceremony for pictures. It was so meaningful to get to see each other just by ourselves and with the photographers. We got some nice shots and it helped calm our nerves. It meant more to us than seeing each other for the first time in front of 200+ people.”

After spending some time with the couple in downtown, the entire bridal party hopped on a trolley and headed for FSU’s Westcott fountain for more photos.

Once finished with portraits, it was time to head to the church—St. Paul’s Methodist. The church was decked out in amazing floral designs by their florist, Missy Gunnels.  The sweet, simple ceremony was a true reflection of the couple’s intimate devotion for one another.

After the ceremony, the party moved to the FSU Alumni Center for a candlelit reception.  The couple stopped outside for a few romantic nighttime portraits before heading in for their first dance.

“We served heavy hors’doeuvres and drinks, hoping that this would create more of a party atmosphere, which it did! Guests were out of their seats and on the dance floor.”  DJ, Steve Christian definitely helped with Katy’s wish, supplying a variety of great music that kept the party moving all evening!

Looking back, Katy says she would not change a thing and advises future brides, “Probably the most important thing to remember is to be patient when choosing vendors.  We met with many different people and found the best that we felt would suit our style and make the wedding day all that we had hoped for.”

TAWP Vendors:

Florist: Missy Gunnels Flowers

Photographers: Terri Smith Photo, Terri Smith

Long’s Photography, Linda Long

DJ: Steve Christian, Steve’s Party Mix