Sunken Gardens Florida Wedding

A Valentine’s Day wedding – what could be sweeter? Lynne and Alex wanted their wedding to reflect the holiday without going overboard, focusing instead on their vision of an enchanted jungle wedding at midnight. Are you sold yet? Let’s jump into the pretty from By the Robinsons, Laura Helm of Ashton Events, and Shawna Carpenter of 2 Sisters Events & Design:

From the bride, Lynne: Alex and I met while we were living on the Big Island of Hawaii our first house together was a treehouse in the middle of the jungle. We envisioned an enchanted jungle at night, and because it was Valentine’s Day, we tried to add some flirty hearts and red and pink elements (without going overboard).

Bouquet recipe: Peonies, garden roses, freesia and helleborus.

I think a theme for the wedding was “Midnight in the Garden.” Our color scheme was different blush pink shades with pops of poppy, aqua and marigold. We wanted our wedding to be fun, floral and full of sparkle and great lighting. The most important thing to us was that our guests danced and had a great time. Alex is a graphic designer and illustrator; all of our print materials and decorative signage were designed and executed by him. Our wedding planning, Laura Helm of Ashton Events was handcrafted many of the decorative/interactive elements, such as glitter hair-clips and heart-shaped tie clips so that guests could wear a flower when they entered the ceremony.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? For me, having a creative planner was key. I would definitely advise couples to let someone else share your stress and remove a few things from the to-do list. Even with a wedding planner, there are still a lot of decisions for the bride and groom to make. I would also advise couples that are planning a wedding to take one night off a week from wedding planning to go on a date and talk about other things. Keep the process as fun as possible.

See Also

A Bold Berry-Colored Vallejo Wedding

Wedding Music:
Bridal Party Processional: “1, 2, 3, 4,” Feist
Bride’s Processional: “Cosmic Love,” Florence + the Machine
Recessional: “You and I,” Ingrid Michaelson
First Dance: “Heartbeats,” Jose Gonzalez
Cake Cutting: “Treasure,” Bruno Mars

Wedding Location: St. Petersburg, FL / Photographer: By the Robinsons / Event Planner: Laura Helm of Ashton Events / Florist: Shawna Carpenter of 2 Sisters Events & Design / Venue: Sunken Gardens / Wedding Dress: Pronovias “Alcanar” / Bridesmaid Dress: A one-of-a-kind gown by Camilyn Beth / Groom’s Suit: Black by Vera Wang / Wedding Caterer: Good Food Catering / Wedding Cake: Hands on Sweets / Musicians: Allyson Hurndon and Alafia String Quartet / DJ: Grant Hemond / Rentals: Wish Vintage Rentals / Wedding Invitations: Alex Foster and Lynne Klasko (I painted the flowers, Alex designed the invitation)