A Preppy Seaside Wedding at the Ritz Carlton Beach Club in Sarasota, Florida

High school sweethearts Jessica Giles (26 and a pediatric nurse) and Alex Weber (26 and a fixed income trader) headed south from their home in Virginia to host 160 guests in an unforgettable destination wedding overlooking Sarasota Bay. “We wanted a design that felt both laid-back and extravagant,” Jessica says. Shades of green and blue were used throughout the open-air reception, where guests dined at farm tables arranged under floral chandeliers.  “We came up with the idea of using chandeliers to cover up the hotel’s existing ceiling fans,” Jessica says. “I never imagined everything would turn out so beautifully.” Jessica and her parents arrived at the ceremony in a vintage ’55 Bentley, while guests were transported to the festivities via trolley. Guests sipped signature John Daly cocktails and flutes of champagne garnished with sugar flowers at the cocktail hour, which included a live steel drum performance. “Everything had an elegant coastal feel to it,” Jessica says. For their first dance as a newly married pair, Jessica and Alex swayed to the Arctic Monkeys’s version of “Baby I’m Yours.”