1. Real Weddings

An Outdoor Wedding in Ponte Vedra, FL

Jennifer played very hard to get when she first met Kelvi -- she must have turned down his request to dance at least 10 times! Jennifer wasn’t looking

Jennifer played very hard to get when she first met Kelvi -- she must have turned down his request to dance at least 10 times! Jennifer wasn’t looking to meet anyone, but Kelvi was persistent and eventually convinced her to swap numbers at the end of the night. “We were inseparable from that point on,” laughs Jennifer. Five months into their relationship, Kelvi received orders to move to Florida and asked Jennifer to go with him. She did, and four months later, he proposed on her birthday on a bridge over a koi pond at the Jacksonville Zoo. Some friends were there to cheer them on -- as well as a handful of random zoo-goers. The Bride Jennifer Clark, 27, a guest services and event planner The Groom Kelvi Bonano, 22, a rescue swimmer in the U.S. Navy The Date June 20 Faced with a deadline (the couple thought they were going to have to move again), they planned their wedding in less than two and a half months. Jennifer, who thankfully has experience in wedding planning, and her stellar bridesmaids pulled it all together for a natural affair decked out in greens, browns, yellows, and creams.

At half past six in the evening the couple exchanged vows beneath a beautiful oak tree. Their initials were made out of white carnations and hung high on the trunk. The couple incorporated a sand ceremony.
Jennifer’s seven bridesmaids can actually wear their dresses again! They were allowed to select any style they wanted as long as it was black. Yellow parasols added a pop of color and protected the girls from the very hot sun. (There was a record high heat index of 110°F on their wedding day!)
To protect their friends and family from any pesky uninvited guests the couple offered a dish of insect repellant wipes at the entryway to the ceremony.
Wicker cones, filled with a single stem of green hydrangea, were tied with a wide satin bow and hung on every other aisle seat. The brown, green, yellow and cream color palette blended well with the earthy surroundings of the venue.
Jennifer walked down the aisle with a variety of garden blooms including hydrangea, peonies, garden roses, confederate jasmine, scented geranium, and ranunculus. A midori clover-and-cream striped ribbon added the finishing touch.
Green hydrangea, dusty miller, and brown fiddlehead fern shoots were arranged in mini rustic urns that complemented the lush, natural setting.