A Nautical Wedding at the Naples Yacht Club in Naples, Florida

Sarah Layton (25 and a senior development director for the Southwest Florida division of Susan G. Komen) and Tyler Hawes (27 and a fishing captain at Fine Lines Fishing) got engaged about three years after they met at a bar. Sarah had just won a league championship tennis match when he got down on one knee. Over the next eighteen months, the couple planned a nautical wedding in Naples, Florida. Taking their theme beyond the decor, Sarah and Tyler chose the Naples Yacht Club as their venue. The wedding was decorated in shades of gray and yellow with pops of navy. Overlooking the bay, the couple’s ceremony was accented with white folding chairs, yellow pom poms, a white fabric draped arch and DIY gray wooden signs. To complement the color scheme, Sarah and her bridesmaids carried bouquets of yellow roses up the aisle. “I am the kind of girl that loves running barefoot in a dress, and I wanted the bouquets to reflect that kind of casual elegance,” she says. After the ceremony, the couple and their guests went inside for a reception and cocktail hour filled with personal touches. Each guest found his or her seat on origami boat place cards surrounding a ship wheel. White linen covered tables were accented with yellow runners, pale yellow hydrangea centerpieces made by the Sarah and her family as well as wooden table numbers. The couple also served seafood and tropical fruits during the reception for an added nautical twists. After dinner, Sarah, Tyler and their guests enjoyed a night of dancing to a local band.