A Vibrant Emerald-and-Coral Wedding at The Vinoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg, Florida

Rachel and Eric's wedding at The Vinoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg, Florida, was bold and beautiful. The couple selected a vibrant emerald-and-coral color palette that informed much of the big day's aesthetic. "Our wedding day was amazing," recalls Rachel. "I had always envisioned an elegant black-tie wedding with family, friends and great music. I wanted my wedding to be a huge celebration where everyone had fun!" 

Flowers were central to the design of Rachel and Eric's vibrant wedding. "I love flowers so they were incorporated into every aspect of our wedding," says Rachel. "One of my favorite pieces was the flower wall behind the chuppah. It was breathtaking! Our invitations incorporated florals and my bouquet was solely bougainvillea which was beautiful. The bridesmaids wore emerald green and had bouquets consisting of bright florals. At the reception, the long tables had cherry blossom trees, flowers and candles. The round tables had floral centerpieces and candles. We had large floral pieces behind our sweetheart table. The cake even had hand-made bougainvillea!" Rachel goes on to explain that "I love bright florals and wanted pink, reds, oranges and emerald green to be our wedding colors."

The couple's wedding ceremony was not only beautiful, but it also represented a blending of cultures. An ornate lace-like chuppah was a nod to Eric's Jewish heritage while the leis worn by the couple during their recessional nodded to Rachel's ties to Hawaii. Rachel explains that since she is a "Methodist and my husband being Jewish we wanted to have an intimate private ceremony space that could incorporate both religions. We had many cultural and religious traditions that really made our wedding unique like having a rabbi and pastor both officiating. We had our ceremony under a beautiful chuppah and glass breaking at the end of the ceremony paying respect to my husband’s religion. I walked down the aisle to a ukulele playing 'Over the Rainbow' and we both received leis at the end of the ceremony representing the Hawaiian side of my family that was not able to be present. We also honored our moms with white roses during the ceremony." 

The outdoor wedding ceremony was stunning on its own, but guests were greeted by yet another burst of dramatic details upon entering the reception space. The bar boasted a floral backdrop while the dance floor showcased the couple's monogram. "We were planning to have our wedding in the fall of 2020 and we knew flowers would be in short supply so we incorporated large printed floral elements like the dance floor and bar backdrop," explains Rachel. "After moving our wedding date to May 2021 we decided to keep those larger elements anyway! We had our ceremony in a tea garden outside and we decorated the chuppah with flowers and had an aisle runner with our monogram. The reception was in a large ballroom with a beautiful chandelier. We kept our dance floor and custom stage for the band in the center."

Not only was the decor of the reception amazing, but the evening's entertainment was just as spectacular. "The most anticipated moments of the wedding day were the choreographed first dance and father-daughter dance," recalls Rachel. "I had so much fun doing these. Eric and I really surprised our guests when huge sparklers went off in the middle of our dance! We performed right after our grand entrance. The father-daughter dance was also a lot of fun! We surprised everyone with a song that transitioned to fast salsa and invited everyone to join us on the dance floor. Those moments were really special! We spent the rest of the night on the dance floor."