Jodi has been a Florida native all her life, drawn to anything that has to do
with salt water, sun, and bright colors. So she knew when wedding
planning began, she wanted all of those things incorporated into their big
day.
Their pretty as a pineapple wedding portrayed a tropical feel with pineapple centerpieces,
exotic flowers, conch shells, palm fronds, bright colors of pinks, mint,
gold and navy blue, and steel-drums to create the perfect island vibe. Get in on all of the fun ideas in the
full gallery, photographed by
Hunter Ryan Photo.
Burroughs Home & Gardens
The first to-do on the wedding preparation check list was venue. We
immediately fell in love with the Burroughs Home & Gardens. It was
the perfect backdrop for our tropical wedding. The Burroughs Home is one
of Fort Myers’ oldest homes located right on the Caloosahatchee river.
River Sets The Scene
Surrounding the home is a vast array of green foliage, plants, and tall
palm trees, This created the perfect tropical backdrops for our photos.
The home features a beautiful new indoor/outdoor pavilion on the river
for the reception area. I figured we could keep the retractable shutters
open during the reception to allow the breeze off the river to flow
giving life to our island theme. Once the venue was set, the details and
planning began.
Pineapple Inspiration
For whatever reason, at this point in my life
pineapples were a big thing. I loved drawing them, eating them, and
buying pineapple decor– needless to say, adding pineapples to the
wedding was a must! Our invitations had pineapples on them. The
groomsmen gifts included pineapple cuff links and the bridesmaid gifts
included an Alex and Ani pineapple bracelet. Our centerpieces for
cocktail and reception was a cored-out pineapple sitting atop a palm
frond with various colorful flowers in the center along with mercury
glass votives and a gold table number. We also used a whole pineapple
atop a palm frond alongside a conch shell and mercury glass votives on
every other table.
Tropical Flowers
Scattered throughout the wedding were various flower
arrangements with palm fronds and vibrant ginger and banana leaves that
definitely added to the tropical feel. The pink ginger flower was used
as boutonnière’s for the groomsmen on a light navy suit. The
bridesmaid’s each carried a single stem king Protea with gold ribbon
while wearing a light mint green dress. The dresses were chiffon which
flowed nicely in the breeze. The bride’s bouquet was made up of 3 large
king proteas. These flowers are so large, beautiful, and exotic they
really helped in adding to the tropical feel.
Talented Family
I have to give a lot of
credit to my parents. They are so talented and crafty. They played a
huge part in making my visions come to life. My mom and her girlfriend’s
put together the wedding favors which was a sea salt hand scrub made up
of sea salt, coconut oil, and essential oil’s. I thought this would be
fitting as many of our guests were from the north–so every time they
washed their hands they would be reminded of sunny tropical Florida. My
dad is a master woodworker. He made our gorgeous wedding arbor and our
guest signature sign. His talent is incredible.
An Island State Of Mind
For music, we had a guitar player for the ceremony followed by
steel-drum and guitar for the cocktail hour. Listening to the sounds of
the steel-drum really puts you in a island state of mind. At the
Burroughs home, lights wrap the lower half’s of the palm trees. So
picture dancing outside under the moonlight with lights cascading down
from the trees, a cool breeze off the river, and “Somewhere over the
Rainbow” playing in the background. It just doesn’t get any better than
that. Our first dance was to Eric Clapton feat. Wyclef Jean- “Wonderful
Tonight.”
Variety Of Desserts
We had a beautiful
dessert table made up of an old barn door sitting atop two saw horses.
Dessert’s ranged from cake pops, to cookies, to key lime pie
shooters.Wrapping the night up, we finished with a sparkler exit and a
“one more song” chant. The wedding was absolutely perfect! I couldn’t be
more elated that our dream wedding became a reality!
We love the video below, filmed by
Viral Media & Films, sit back and enjoy!
