Right off the bat, I knew I loved Amy and Chad from the moment we spoke. Amy’s go with the flow vibe and Chad’s supportive demeanor, made for such a dynamic, loving duo. Their Don CeSar wedding in St Petersburg, Florida was an intimate celebration among their closest family and friends.
Amy and Chad’s love story actually began before they even knew it would, well actually before Chad did. See, Chad was actually a family friend for 10 years, attending cookouts, get-togethers, and other large family events. However the two only ever said “hello” in passing. In turn, when Amy received a message from Chad on a dating site, she began cracking up as he totally did not recognize her. Since it had been several years that the two had even exchanged the occasional “hello” at a cookout, Amy did understand why he didn’t realize who she was. Mentioning her family, Chad immediately remembered who Amy was and had a good laugh as well.
Connecting online almost didn’t happen actually – Chad logged in to delete his account, and Amy had just reactivated her account that day. Thinking she wouldn’t reply, but giving it a shot, Chad sent Amy a message. Connecting over their laugh of realizing they did know one another, even if it was just in passing, the two decided to meet up on February 4th for a date.
Rather nervous, by the end of the date Amy realized that her nerves had subsided and she had ‘that feeling.’ The feeling where as she explains, “you just know he’s the one.” By the time dinner was over, the two made plans to join Amy and her family to a trip to Hawaii. And less than three weeks later, Amy moved in with Chad after he invited her to live with him since she was moving between places. As Chad put it, “why don’t we just take your stuff to my house… we are eventually going to live together, no sense in doing this twice.” Amy obliged, and and by the end of April Chad had proposed. As they explain, “it is so true, that you know when you know.”
Jumping back to Chad’s proposal, these two soulmates knew they were meant for one another from the moment they reconnected. Celebrating with Amy’s family in Hawaii for her mom defeating breast cancer, it was a momentous occasion and milestone for her family. Feeling like the time was right, Chad asked God to give him a sign – and sure enough he did. As they were traveling to visit a vanilla bean farm, a 6.9 earthquake occurred just 20 minutes after they arrived. That was the sign Chad was looking for and later that night proposed to Amy on the beach at their resort.
It is incredible to think how much love has poured into their hearts in just the last eight months!
Fast forward to their Don CeSar wedding in St Pete, Florida, the two let Amy’s mom take the lead in planning their wedding day. Mom truly took the reins and planned as Amy described it, “the most PERFECT DAY.”
I definitely agree with Amy’d description in their wedding day being absolutely perfect. From the moment we arrived, Amy and her girls were ahead of schedule which gave way for a relaxed time before the ceremony. Ashley, their coordinator, was absolutely ammmmazing in keeping everything on schedule, along with acting as an awesome tour guide throughout the insanely massive hotel. Capturing Amy’s details in the bridal suite, along with her girls’ in their “girl tribe” t’s, everyone was excited to be celebrating. Chad and his best man, who also happened to be his brother, were arriving shortly after fully dressed. Meeting them in the lobby, while the girls finished up last touches before getting into their dresses, we captured our groom and his party.
Heading back over to Amy, getting in the dress, was followed by bridal portraits, and a beautiful father-daughter first look before we were off to the ceremony.
My oh my what a beautiful day it was outside! Cloudy skies helped in creating a cool comfort for guests and diffused the beautiful sunlight shining in. Walking down the aisle, Chad held back tears as he saw Amy for the first time. Amy’s aunt and wedding officiant made a beautiful speech about their love and joined the two together in holy matrimony. With a first kiss shared, they were officially Mr. and Mrs.!
Using the beautiful backdrop of sandy beach at their ceremony location, we circled back with family and friends for formal portraits. After formals were wrapped up with their family and bridal party, we headed closer to the water for newlywed portraits. Amy must have thought I was so silly to have her spin so many times for the perfect shot in her dress, but it was well worth the silliness. Her smile, along with the way Chad looked at her, was so incredible to capture. Each other clearly lit up one another’s soul. Capturing that realization of “oh my gosh we just got married” is truly one of my favorite moments and always will be.
Heading back inside after capturing a soft pastel sunset with my newlyweds, we partied the night away before one last dance goodbye!
Wishing my sweethearts a beautiful forever together!
Venue: Don CeSar
Coordinator: Parties a la Carte
DJ: Elite Entertainment
Cake: Publix
Men’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse
Shoes: Nordstrom
Dress Shop: Wendy’s Bridal Boutique
Comments
Absolutely beautiful. Congratulations to you both💘💘
Beautiful