Cuban-American Fusion Wedding

Photographer Jamie of Mayfly Photography had the immense pleasure of not only watching her younger brother get married, but getting to photograph his very special day. Bride Katie and Groom Jovan spent a year collecting vintage and antique goods for their own wedding day, and have since opened their own vintage rental company, Unearthed Vintage. We love all the goodies they found, and especially their matching stitched blue hearts!

From the bride, Katie: We knew from the start that we didn’t want the typical “Miami” wedding. Every single one (we’ve been to) looks the same. Clean, white lines, very modern, banquet hall, limo, sweetheart table, stiff and rigid traditions, very cookie cutter. Neither Jovan nor I liked the idea of anything that is typical, so we opted for more of a laid back feel. We wanted to make sure that our guests felt comfortable, like they were at a big party, throwing most traditions out the window. At our reception we had a campfire (and s’mores!), a giant movie screen playing Casablanca, and a canoe full of beer!

The “theme” was “vintage, rustic, totally recycled, Cuban-American fusion, DIY” (I have a very hard time deciding on things, and all of those things just worked for us. The only “new” items included my dress and Jovan’s suit, everything else was purchased second hand or made (and maybe just a few things from a select few etsy sellers… we couldn’t resist)! There was technically no color scheme. I asked my bridesmaids to pick their own dresses within a range of colors that included ivory, blush, and peach.

DIY projects included… everything! 7 months of thrifting, antiquing, garage sale-ing, and becoming craigslist experts once we learned that the only vintage rental companies that existed were in California. We collected plateware, silverware, glassware, mason jars, antique sofas, chairs, suitcases, cameras, and anything else we could get our hands on. Our second bedroom looked like it belonged on the show “Hoarders” and it took up every second of free time, but it also inspired us to start our own vintage rental company in Miami, unearthed vintage. Other DIY projects included our ribbon backdrop for our “pre-ceremony drink table”, paper cones to hold the rainbow sprinkles that our guests’ threw at us after we said “I do”, flattening and hand stamping spoons with sayings like Love, Forever, even our favorite song lyrics: “Home is wherever I’m with you”. We also planted succulents in vintage coffee cans and cheese boxes, collected driftwood from the beach and hand painted all of our signs, rolled every napkin and tied it with twine, turned reclaimed windows into chalkboards for our seating chart and all of our menus, bought honey from a local bee farmer in mass quantity and individually jarred each of our favors, and put together each of the bridesmaids bouquets, which were all made of pinwheels, burlap, and buttons.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Use this as a time to grow even closer to your soon to be husband. We made every single decision together, did every single project together… you get the idea. I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Always listen to what your significant other has to say, it’s okay if you disagree, as long as you talk it out. And anti-wedding nights are also key! Ours usually included Netflix and a bottle of wine (wedding budget friendly date night)! And finally, trust your instincts. If a certain tradition, vendor, friend, style, etc. leaves you questioning anything, it’s for a reason. Stay true to yourselves as a couple and your wedding is sure to be perfect.

These silver spoons were stamped using a punch set, a black sharpie and a craft mallet:

See Also

A Vibrant Destination Wedding on Kona Beach in Blue & Gold

From the photographer, Jamie of Mayfly Photography: It was an incredibly wonderful experience photographing my younger brother’s wedding last month. He and his now wife have been collecting antique furniture, lace linens, glass, silver and place ware for the last year or so. All with the intention of designing their wedding day and creating an inventory that can later be rented by other brides and photographers. Jovan & Katie’s wedding was the debut for their company Unearthed Vintage and it was stunning. They chose a campground in North Miami Beach along the Oleta River that houses 8 wooden cabins and a beautiful stone dining hall. Unique elements included a canoe filled with beer, a bonfire for s’mores, White Russians as welcome cocktails, jars filled with local honey, a grooms cake made up of dozens of chocolate chip cookies, pinwheel bouquets and boutonnieres, the movie Casablanca playing on a large movie screen, homemade desserts, a photo booth, matching blue satin hearts sewed on wedding dress and inside suit jacket, coffee cans and cheese boxes filled with succulents, personalized Tibetan Prayer Flags, and a special ring pillow made from our grandfather’s favorite shirt. The main wedding food consisted of American camp-style grub–mac and cheese, corn on the cob, BBQ, mashed potatoes along side some Cuban staples (fried plantains, roast pork) that celebrated the groom’s heritage.

Wedding Music:
Bridal Party’s Processional: David Gray, “This Years Love”
Bride’s Processional: Ray LaMontagne, “Can I Stay?”
Recessional: The Wedding Band (Mumford and Sons), “She Said Yes”
First Dance: Sigur Ros, “The Nothing Song”

Wedding Vendors (Miami Beach, FL):

Wedding Venue: Camp Greynolds / Wedding Photographer: Mayfly Photography / Second Photographer: Peachy Keen Photography / Event Designer: Unearthed Vintage / Makeup: Shannon’s Powder Room / Hair: Diana@1160Hair / Wedding Caterer: Amelia & Carmen / Wedding Cake: Cloud 9 Bakery / Coffee Service: Aroma Espresso / Officiant: Groom’s Aunt / Bride’s Dress: White by Vera Wang “VW351011” / Bride’s Earrings: Groom’s Mother / Bride’s Bracelet: BHLDN / Bride’s Headband: Anthropologie / Bride’s Shoes: Steve Madden / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ASOS, Anthropologie, ModCloth, and Zara / Bridesmaids’ Belts: Delia*s / Groomsmen’s Tie Clips: Spiffing Jewelry / Movie Screen: Twilight Features / Pinwheels: Elizabeth St. / Succulents: Costa Farms / DJ: Dave Medina, DJ Expo ([email protected]) / Wedding Invitations: Robert Cohen of On Advertising and Public Relations / Stationery Printer: Carey of Lasso’d Moon Designs