• Real Weddings

Jodi has been a Florida native all her life, drawn to anything that has to do with salt water, sun, and bright colors. So she knew when wedding planning began, she wanted all of those things incorporated into their big day.

Their pretty as a pineapple wedding portrayed a tropical feel with pineapple centerpieces, exotic flowers, conch shells, palm fronds, bright colors of pinks, mint, gold and navy blue, and steel-drums to create the perfect island vibe. Get in on all of the fun ideas in the full gallery, photographed by Hunter Ryan Photo.

Burroughs Home & Gardens

The first to-do on the wedding preparation check list was venue. We immediately fell in love with the Burroughs Home & Gardens. It was the perfect backdrop for our tropical wedding. The Burroughs Home is one of Fort Myers' oldest homes located right on the Caloosahatchee river.

River Sets The Scene

Surrounding the home is a vast array of green foliage, plants, and tall palm trees, This created the perfect tropical backdrops for our photos. The home features a beautiful new indoor/outdoor pavilion on the river for the reception area. I figured we could keep the retractable shutters open during the reception to allow the breeze off the river to flow giving life to our island theme. Once the venue was set, the details and planning began.

Pineapple Inspiration

For whatever reason, at this point in my life pineapples were a big thing. I loved drawing them, eating them, and buying pineapple decor-- needless to say, adding pineapples to the wedding was a must! Our invitations had pineapples on them. The groomsmen gifts included pineapple cuff links and the bridesmaid gifts included an Alex and Ani pineapple bracelet. Our centerpieces for cocktail and reception was a cored-out pineapple sitting atop a palm frond with various colorful flowers in the center along with mercury glass votives and a gold table number. We also used a whole pineapple atop a palm frond alongside a conch shell and mercury glass votives on every other table.

Tropical Flowers

Scattered throughout the wedding were various flower arrangements with palm fronds and vibrant ginger and banana leaves that definitely added to the tropical feel. The pink ginger flower was used as boutonnière's for the groomsmen on a light navy suit. The bridesmaid's each carried a single stem king Protea with gold ribbon while wearing a light mint green dress. The dresses were chiffon which flowed nicely in the breeze. The bride's bouquet was made up of 3 large king proteas. These flowers are so large, beautiful, and exotic they really helped in adding to the tropical feel.

Talented Family

I have to give a lot of credit to my parents. They are so talented and crafty. They played a huge part in making my visions come to life. My mom and her girlfriend's put together the wedding favors which was a sea salt hand scrub made up of sea salt, coconut oil, and essential oil's. I thought this would be fitting as many of our guests were from the north--so every time they washed their hands they would be reminded of sunny tropical Florida. My dad is a master woodworker. He made our gorgeous wedding arbor and our guest signature sign. His talent is incredible.

An Island State Of Mind

For music, we had a guitar player for the ceremony followed by steel-drum and guitar for the cocktail hour. Listening to the sounds of the steel-drum really puts you in a island state of mind. At the Burroughs home, lights wrap the lower half's of the palm trees. So picture dancing outside under the moonlight with lights cascading down from the trees, a cool breeze off the river, and "Somewhere over the Rainbow" playing in the background. It just doesn't get any better than that. Our first dance was to Eric Clapton feat. Wyclef Jean- "Wonderful Tonight."

Variety Of Desserts

We had a beautiful dessert table made up of an old barn door sitting atop two saw horses. Dessert's ranged from cake pops, to cookies, to key lime pie shooters.Wrapping the night up, we finished with a sparkler exit and a "one more song" chant. The wedding was absolutely perfect! I couldn't be more elated that our dream wedding became a reality!

We love the video below, filmed by Viral Media & Films, sit back and enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/163460688

• Dress & Apparel: Pronovias
• Wedding Photographers: Hunter Ryan Photo
• Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff
• Cakes & Catering: Jordan Webster Catering
• Cakes and Desserts: Show Me Love Confections
• Cigar Bar: World Famous Cigars
• Fashion: Atlanta Bride Couture
• Favors & Gifts: Naturally Chic
• Flowers: Planned Perfection Inc.
• Groom's Socks: Freaker Socks
• Hair: Karen Tucker via Hello Gorgeous Salon
• Lighting & Entertainment: Jim Gable via Stereophonic DJ's
• Makeup: Rubio Artistry
• Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Paper Whites
• Venues & Officiants: Burroughs Home & Gardens
• Wedding Films: Viral Media & Films