Margo and Patrick wanted their wedding to feel like a step back into the glamorous, colorful world of vintage Palm Beach, complete with playful citrus details, tropical florals, and just enough kitsch to keep things interesting.
At the Pelican Club in Florida, the couple and The Golden Pineapple Event Company brought that vision to life with bold patterns, lush greenery, and an atmosphere inspired by retro coastal style. Photographed by Sunny Lee Photography, the celebration balanced a traditional Catholic ceremony with a reception that felt anything but conventional, including a live band that kept the dance floor so busy the newlyweds nearly forgot to eat.
But their story began years earlier, during the kind of summer vacation that would eventually change both of their lives.
A Martha’s Vineyard summer brought them together
Margo and Patrick first crossed paths during a summer on Martha’s Vineyard, where Margo’s family regularly vacationed with close family friends.
One year, those friends brought Patrick along.
At the time, Margo was eighteen and preparing to leave for college, so a potential romance wasn’t exactly at the top of her mind.
A few years later, Patrick joined the annual Vineyard trip again, and the timing couldn’t have been more different.
By then, Patrick was living in New York City, and the two immediately connected.
Not long after the trip, they arranged their first official date in New York.
Throughout Margo’s final year of school, they traveled back and forth to spend time together before making their relationship official after graduation.
What had begun as a chance encounter on a family vacation eventually became a lasting relationship.
A last-minute Cabo trip turned into a beach proposal
Although Margo and Patrick had discussed getting engaged, the actual proposal came together during an unexpected family vacation.
Margo decided at the last minute to join her family on a trip to Cabo and invited Patrick to come along.
Work commitments meant Patrick would arrive a few days later, giving him just enough time to arrange a surprise.
With help from Margo’s family, he planned a beach proposal at the same destination where the couple had taken their first vacation together.
The weather wasn’t particularly cooperative, so getting Margo down to the beach required some elaborate convincing from her family.
But the plan worked.
Patrick proposed beside the water, bringing their relationship back to a place already filled with memories.
Vintage Palm Beach glamour inspired a colorful Florida wedding
When it came time to plan their wedding, Margo and Patrick wanted to celebrate the charm of old Florida while bringing plenty of their own personality into the design.
Their inspiration came from vintage Palm Beach style, retro coastal glamour, and the playful details associated with classic Florida entertaining.
They chose the Pelican Club for their celebration, embracing a tropical aesthetic that felt elevated without becoming overly formal.
“While many aspects of our wedding were rooted in tradition, we intentionally wanted the overall design to feel anything but typical,” the couple shared.
That philosophy guided their design choices, from the stationery to the florals.
Instead of relying on a restrained palette or conventional wedding motifs, they welcomed vibrant colors, bold patterns, and unexpected decorative touches.
Citrus motifs and playful patterns brought the stationery to life
The couple’s custom stationery by Wildwood Calligraphy + Post helped establish the wedding’s visual identity.
Citrus elements, lively patterns, and kitschy details brought a distinctly Floridian personality to the design.
The stationery also created a cohesive thread throughout the celebration, allowing the same playful aesthetic to appear across different wedding details.
Rather than feeling overly themed, the combination of patterns and citrus motifs reflected the couple’s appreciation for retro Florida charm.
The result was a wedding aesthetic that felt cheerful, distinctive, and unmistakably personal.
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A traditional Catholic ceremony honored their faith
While the reception embraced a colorful, unconventional design, Margo and Patrick chose to honor their faith and family traditions through a traditional Catholic ceremony.
They exchanged vows at St. Christopher Catholic Church, creating a meaningful foundation for the celebration.
The ceremony reflected the importance of tradition in their lives, while the festivities that followed allowed them to express their more playful side.
Tropical palms and bold flowers transformed the Pelican Club
Following the ceremony, guests gathered at the Pelican Club for a reception filled with tropical color and personality.
Palm greenery and bold floral arrangements from Kaleidoscope Floral brought the vintage Florida inspiration into the celebration, creating a lively contrast with the venue’s elegant atmosphere.
The lush botanical details reinforced the coastal aesthetic while introducing an abundance of color and texture.
Together with the custom stationery and playful decorative elements, the flowers helped establish a cohesive visual experience.
The design captured the couple’s interpretation of old Palm Beach glamour, balancing sophistication with a sense of fun.
Dance lessons prepared them for a memorable first dance
Before the wedding, Margo and Patrick spent time taking dance lessons to prepare for their first dance.
One of their biggest concerns was navigating the choreography while Margo wore her dramatic ballgown.
The gown’s volume added an extra challenge, and the couple wanted to feel comfortable once they stepped onto the dance floor.
Despite their nerves, the moment unfolded exactly as they had hoped.
Once they began dancing, the anxiety faded, allowing them to enjoy the experience together.
It became one of the memorable moments of an evening filled with music and celebration.
The dance floor was so good they almost missed dinner
For Margo and Patrick, one of the reception’s biggest priorities was the music.
They chose a live band that performed songs they genuinely loved rather than relying exclusively on traditional wedding hits.
The approach paid off.
The dance floor quickly became the center of the celebration, with guests joining the couple for an energetic evening.
In fact, the newlyweds were having so much fun that their wedding planner eventually had to pull them aside and encourage them to eat dinner.
It was exactly the kind of atmosphere they had hoped to create: lively, relaxed, and filled with people enjoying themselves.
The music became as important to the experience as the colorful design, giving the reception a personality that reflected the couple.
An Irish family celebration and a Palm Beach mini-moon
The wedding festivities continued beyond the reception.
In honor of Patrick’s Irish heritage, the couple gathered with both of their families on Sunday to continue celebrating.
The additional time together provided an opportunity to enjoy the company of their loved ones after the excitement of the wedding day.
Following the weekend, Margo and Patrick enjoyed a mini-moon at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, extending their time in the Florida setting that had inspired so much of their celebration.
Their wedding brought together several meaningful parts of their story, from the family vacations that first connected them to the traditions and personal tastes that shaped their wedding day.
The traditional Catholic ceremony honored their faith, while the tropical florals, citrus details, and retro-inspired design reflected their shared sense of style.
And with a dance floor that kept everyone moving well into the evening, Margo and Patrick proved that a classic wedding can still have plenty of personality.
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