Colorful watercolor garden wedding in a historic Miami mansion

colorful garden wedding

Chris and Carolina met in December 2015 when the two were ultimately brought together by the magic of December in the City, a.k.a. the annual citywide SantaCon pub crawl! Carolina and her friend, Saige, had gotten an early start to the day before finding themselves crammed into Duke’s. While Saige set her sights on the next round, Carolina had her eyes on a nearby Santa who looked so familiar. Saige abandoned the drinks and tapped the familiar stranger on the shoulder to make the college connection – We Are. Penn State! Having never crossed paths at a school of 45,000, it took a sea of Santas in a city of 8 million for these two to meet. Their New York minute turned into two, which turned into last call, and the rest, as they say, was history! Keep scrolling to see their gorgeous Miami garden wedding created from bold, vibrant, colorful, happy, and whimsical inspo.

watercolor invitations

feather trimmed suit

flamingo pajama sets

pink bouquet ribbons colorful garden-inspired bouquets

dusty rose bridesmaid dresses

Your bridesmaid color palette: Dessert rose, blush, and cinnamon rose

To get ready, Carolina wanted her bridesmaids to wear something fun, colorful, and whimsical. She picked out a fun tropical flamingo print from Print Fresh, and she wore the double feather party pajamas from Sleeper. For the bridesmaids' formal attire, Carolina knew she wanted the mismatched bridesmaid style courtesy of Revelry, so her girlfriends got to choose from a variety of styles in satin, as well as from three different colors: dessert rose, blush, and cinnamon rose. The groomsmen wore the Hamilton Sharskin Navy Suit from Indochino.

Carrie Bradshaw shoes

How to have a Carrie Bradshaw moment

After seeing this style on Wedding Chicks, Carolina fell in love with all of Alexandra Grecco's dresses as soon as she saw them! She wanted something modern, elegant, whimsical, and most importantly, timeless. She knew the "Cecelia" was "the one" the moment she tried it on. It felt bridal yet still authentic to her own sense of style. She also had to have her Carrie Bradshaw moment with the classic Manolo Blahnik Hangisi pumps. Carolina knew, however, that she didn't want white shoes, so she opted for the fuchsia to match her color palette and complement the florals and decor throughout the event. Her hair and makeup focused on elegant, timeless, and naturally glowy, featuring a Marika bobby pin - the perfect complement for a garden theme!

colorful boutonniere

Creating a luxe vibrant garden theme

The couple's vision for the wedding theme was "vibrant garden," and the weather couldn't have been more perfect to put this plan into action with the help of Summer Nicole Events. The bride had come across Villa Woodbine a few years before and had fallen in love with its Mediterranean architecture and the feeling of being in Spain or Italy. After a ceremony officiated by the bride's best friend, the couple and their guests dined al fresco under the beautiful tree and lights, while the cocktail hour was in the courtyard for a truly magical experience. Photographer Ellen with The Light + Color captured each and every moment of this in a way that felt natural without being overly edited or styled, while videographer Love 'N Pixels created what the bride and groom described as a "wedding film" that captured their story in a cinematic way.

watercolor seating cards

garden cocktail hour floating flowers for fountain

Watercolors: A timeless option!

There's no better garden inspo than watercolors, and this came through in many elements of the day. The stationery was vibrant and whimsical with watercolor elements throughout, including an image of their venue! From the place cards to the dinner and cocktail menus, each tied together colorful florals. Hook & Harbor Co. created custom talavera tiles in their color scheme and theme for the table numbers, and there was even the live illustrator - Ksenia Craven Illustration - drawing guests in a 1920's watercolor style. The flowers by Simple Florals, however, stole the show! Designs throughout featured the bride's favorites: marigolds and ranunculus.

floral and string light installation

v-neck garden wedding dress low-back wedding dress

floral tree installation

Unique option: A floral tree installation

For the ceremony, Carolina and Chris wanted something a little different than traditional aisle flowers or a ceremony arch, so they opted to outfit Villa Woodbine's iconic Florida oak tree with a gorgeous floral installation that also doubled as their sweetheart table backdrop throughout the night. A violin player played "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heep as the bride walked down the aisle, while the recessional was to "Yellow" by Coldplay. During the ceremony, they also included a special candle lighting for the bride's late stepfather.

candlelit outdoor reception

How the bride used inspo from Wedding Chicks!

For reception florals, the couple featured bud vases throughout the high-boy tables during cocktail hour and main centerpieces on the dinner tables during the reception - each one slightly different than the other. Simple Florals used a mix of taper and tealight candles in glass-pleated and terracotta vessels to really evoke that garden vibe. The bride herself shared that she was inspired by quite a few design elements that she got from Wedding Chicks!

tile table numbers

There's no detail too small to customize

During the reception, the bride and groom had a live cigar roller courtesy of Cigars Love Show creating cigars featuring custom stickers of their initials, the location, and the wedding date. For the guest book, Carolina and Chris had a Polaroid station and book where guests could take photos of themselves and add them to the book with a message for the couple. It was also important to the couple to have an "In Loving Memory" area filled with taper candles and an assortment of photos of loved ones who had passed away.

cigar roller

watercolor portraits

Go ahead - play those guilty pleasure songs!

Because great music is so important, DJ Leeor from LR Entertainment played everything from oldies to throwbacks, EDM hits, and Jonas Brothers. For the cocktail hour the couple hired a sax player to really help set the mood before having their first dance to "Holocene" by Bon Iver, the father-daughter dance to "Your Song" by Elton John, and the mother-son dance to "The Prayer" by Celine Dion ft. Andrea Bocelli.

colorful floral wedding cake

Creating the perfect custom menu

Chris and Carolina made sure to highlight dishes and ingredients from both of their heritages - Cuban and Italian - while also including some vegetarian options and fan favorite dishes they knew everyone would love. They served items such as a Peruvian style market ceviche, jalapeno corn muffins with short rib ropa vieja, arancini, stuffed mushrooms, and ricotta pizzette. Their four-tier wedding cake by Earth + Sugar was adorned with colorful flowers and consisted of layers of chocolate, vanilla with dulce de leche, and vanilla with buttercream. In addition to the cake, they also included a dessert station with bite-sized key lime tarts, chocolate hazelnut almond tortes, deconstructed tiramisu, creme brulee, and panna cotta.

elevated custom cocktails

Elevate your favorite cocktails

Drinks were an important element of the evening, as well, through the signature cocktails and the favors. Signature cocktails courtesy of Bill Hansen Catering included elevated versions of the Miami mojito and a personal cocktail created by the bride's stepfather: Moose Juice. Mini bottles of Coquito (a Puerto Rican drink) with custom stickers featuring an illustration of the couple were handed out to guests as their wedding favor. The drink - consisting of rum, coconut cream, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and a touch of cinnamon - was even made by the bride's aunt and uncle!

garden reception entrance

reception string lights wraparound tree lights

outdoor garden wedding reception

Their advice to other couples

"Try not to stress over the little things, and remember this day is about you and your fiancé - you can't please everyone! Live in the moment and enjoy every single part of the process, and if there's something you really want, just do it. You can't go back and do it again. Every single detail will be worth it in the end because there is no other time where you'll have every single person you love in one place celebrating you. It's pretty amazing!"

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