Intimate St Augustine Wedding

You guys, I am beside myself to share this wedding with you all today. Not only are the images from Shipra Panosian nothing short of perfection, but the groom is one of our favorites, Ben Sasso (you can see his features on Ruffled here). This Florida wedding is full of so much love and Southern style, we’ll just have to get right down to it:

From the groom, Ben: We knew that most of all, we wanted a wedding with character. Something that let our guests know that it wasn’t going to be a formal affair. As a wedding photographer, I have been to too many weddings to count and the weddings that always stick out for me are the ones that step out side of the traditional wedding box and step into a place of intimacy. We wanted our guest to feel like they were part of the family and we wanted to welcome them in with party! Visually, we had a beautiful venue that gave us most of the character that we wanted. We spruced up the place with some beautiful flowers and decor (thanks to the amazing team at The Conservatorie). To keep our guests entertained we had lawn games, folk music, and a s’mores station (among other things).

I would describe our wedding as casual, intimate, rustic, and personal. We didn’t have a theme set out but we did have a very rough color scheme of pastels and softer colors. The wood wall that we had as an entrance and backdrop to the wedding was built from scratch by me (the groom) and my groomsmen. The painting that hung behind us during the ceremony was my wife and I’s wedding gift to each other and was painted by our good friend (and amazing artist), Andy Luce.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Be personal. Try to steer away from including wedding traditions just for the sake of having them. Instead, find something that actually means something to you and include that. Not only will it hold more value for you but your guests will enjoy seeing a ceremony that best represents the people that they came to see get married instead of a cookie cutter ceremony. Aside from that, hire a videographer for the ceremony (at least). We didn’t and wish that we had. We had one of our best friends marry us and we wish we could hear and see what he wrote for our wedding again.

From the photographer, Shipra: I have never seen a couple more in love than I did that day with Ben & Veronica. This was one wedding that truly was about the bride and groom and their union while reflecting their personalities and tastes. This event was full of warmth, laughter and love. At the same time there were so many sweet details most of which were are DIY by the bride, groom and their wedding party. Ben Sasso’s photography has always been incredible… being able to photograph his and Veronica’s special event… it’s beyond words.

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Yellow,” Coldplay (Played live by Matt Armstrong)
Recessional: “All I Want is You,” Barry Louis Polisar (Played live by Matt Armstrong)
First Dance: “Sea of Love,” Cat Power

Wedding Location: St. Augustine, FL / Photographer: Shipra Panosian / Event and Floral Design: The Conservatorie Design / Venue: St. Augustine Rod and Gun Club / Wedding Dress: Mori Lee / Wedding Caterer: A Step Above / Desserts: Bride’s Mom / Ceremony and Cocktail Hour Musician: Matt Armstrong / Wedding Invitations: Tony Sasso and Michelle McCallister