Botanical Garden Wedding with Dusty Rose Hues
Juleah + Taylor are one heck of an adorable couple – and they’ve got some pretty amazing taste too. From his snazzy floral groom attire to their handmade succulent favors, their botanical garden wedding is GOALS to say the least. We love the way they made each element personable to their story, and are equally as obsessed with their decision to make a Mexican food truck their catering king. Let’s dive in!
The way Everence Photography captures that Florida glow has us feeling some type of way! And combined with the mesmerizing florals from from Ms. Scarlett’s Flowers & Gifts, we’re smitten, plain and simple. Catch that billowing amaranthus yet?
Coordinated by Megpie’s Events, the setup was a b-r-e-e-z-e, leaving Juleah and her gals to “press more for champagne” and forget the rest.
From the bride, Juleah: Taylor and I grew up in the same small town, and had many mutual friends throughout high school, despite graduating from different schools the same year as one another. A couple years passed, and at one of those mutual friend’s house, our paths crossed at a casual weekend get together. By the end of the night, it was just the two of us, deep in conversation and laughter. We almost immediately began dating and fast forward to a little over 4 years later, he proposed during a road trip to Greenville, South Carolina at Falls Park on the Reedy.
Anyone close to me can tell you that I have been wedding obsessed since before I could even actually read the words in all of those big beautiful magazines I was cutting pictures out of. So naturally, I had so many visions of how our special day would be, and we began planning right away. Between the two of us, we love to be hands-on with anything we can in our lives, and the wedding was no exception. I had my heart set on conquering this without the help of a professional planner…
I did the unthinkable, the one thing that every single wedding planning book tells you NOT to do…I chose the very first venue we went and looked at. To be fair, we had been going to Palma Sola Botanical Park for years for relaxing strolls through the beautiful grounds, and we were fully aware of how gorgeous it all is in person. Upon meeting with the management team there, and speaking to them about all my ideas and visions for the wedding, it was very clear that this was the perfect place for us. I really wanted the whole feel of the wedding to be natural, and simplistically romantic. It was important to us to have a venue that could accommodate both the ceremony and reception all outside in the open and allow us to pick out all of our own vendors for every aspect of the wedding. Palma Sola Botanical Park was just that.
The morning of the wedding was a complete whirlwind, and luckily for me, our venue had an on-site bridal suite for all of my bridesmaids and myself to get ready in. Some of my favorite moments of the entire day were during the actual set up of the wedding and spending that whole morning laughing, crying, and sipping on mimosas with my very best friends, as we got ready for the biggest day of my life. I oversaw everything for the setup, helped pick out the placement of each table, chair, and vase of flowers. It meant so much to me to be able to really make it everything we wanted it to be. In between those moments of me out on the garden lawn unpacking all of our decor, Taylor was making last-minute trips and deliveries, and it ended up being a game of “hide the bride” throughout the entire morning, which added even more anticipation to our big first look reveal with our photographers, Jess and Jordan of Everence Photography.
We wanted our guests to be able to sense all the love we put into every detail from the moment they arrived. They were greeted and seated to a hand-picked playlist from us, including all of our favorite songs. The entrance sign was cut, stained, designed and assembled all by Taylor and myself. The same goes for the classic ceremony arch. With the park being so naturally stunning, there wasn’t a lot of actual decorations needed, but the arch, with the adorning flower arrangement that mimicked my bouquet, was the perfect focal point for the ceremony.
I have always known how lucky I am to be with someone who truly loves all the same things I love and it truly made wedding planning infinitely simpler. When we both agreed on wanting the entire wedding outdoors, we also agreed that a more casual groomsmen look would be the right fit, keeping it clean and simple with khakis, vintage maroon suspenders, and floral bowties to tie in with the garden feel of the wedding itself. Taylor’s suit was found by total surprise one night out shopping at Express Men’s Clothing in our local mall. It was almost too easy!
When it came to the bridesmaid dresses, I loved the idea of mixed styles, so each girl picked out their own style from Azazie, all in the matching shade of dusty rose. With my dress, all it took was one stop at one boutique, The White Magnolia in Tampa, Florida. I tried on about 6 dresses, and fell head over heels in love with a Wtoo by Watters gown with a sweetheart lace bodice and flowing layers of tulle with a 2-foot train.
The venue has a beautiful banquet room that leads out onto a spacious deck that overlooked the entire reception. On the deck itself we had high top tables with flowing mint cucumber linens to tie into the tables down below. The deck also made the picture-perfect spot for our Polaroid guestbook table. We had a custom guestbook made for the guests to fill with fun Polaroids of themselves with adorable props. It made the for perfect time passer during cocktail hour as Taylor and I had the rest of our portraits done.
PSA: If you’re a fan of botanical details like his bow tie and dapper pinted shirt, check out this past botanical wedding inspiration here!
One of our favorite parts of the wedding was the food (of course!) From the beginning of planning, choosing a caterer was our most difficult decision. We eventually put it on the back burner after getting so frustrated, and then one night out, at our favorite local brewery, we stumbled upon the most AMAZING authentic modern Mexican food truck. We fell in love with not only the food, but the owners as well. We instantly knew they were the ones for us.
My top absolute must-have for the wedding was strands of romantic string lights over the wood dance floor and guest tables. It was the perfect touch to make everyone feel comfortable, and definitely made the dance floor itself more inviting. Another favorite personal touch of the wedding was our favors. It’s safe to say that at home we have different types of succulents in every single room, not to mention a garden bed full of them. So when it came time to pick out what to gift to all of our loved ones, I didn’t even have to think about it. We did a wholesale order from SayIDoSucculents in California and had them shipped to us. Upon arriving about a week before the wedding, one of my bridesmaids, Clara, and I hand painted over 100 terra cotta pots blush, gold, and maroon for them to be repotted in. This was hands down one of the most tedious and time-consuming projects we tackled, but the final product was beyond worth it.
If I could give one piece of advice to all of the brides out there, it’s to really choose a photographer that has the same vision for your big day as you do. We had an absolutely magical wedding day, and to remember it all, we have insanely gorgeous photos, that without a doubt capture every single aspect of the wedding. We were so comfortable with Jess and Jordan, and it shows in all of the pictures. We owe every memory we can physically look back on, to the two of them.
Wedding Vendors:
Photography: Everence Photography
Coordination: Megpie’s Events
Floral Design: Ms. Scarlett’s Flowers & Gifts
Venue: Palma Sola Botanical Park
Event Rentals & Lighting: US Tent Rental
Cake: Publix
Dress: Wtoo by Watters
Bridal Boutique: The White Magnolia Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie
Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Express Men’s Clothing
Catering: Smokin’ Bowls
Film Lab: Photovision Prints
DJ: Exclusive Sounds