John & Natalie's destination wedding in Venice Florida

Recently, Dupon Photography got the opportunity to travel down to Venice, Florida. This was for a destination wedding!

The Colorado couple was John & Natalie, but since they love the ocean, they decided to get married on May 18th in Florida.

Tropical destination wedding

I provided a full-service package to John & Natalie for their wedding. This included all-day coverage of their wedding and coverage of their rehearsal.

It was a lot of fun, to say the least, but don't take my word for it. Check out all the pretty photos throughout this blog post!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEDDING! WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR Day?

"We wanted a very casual laid back feel for our wedding and since we both love the ocean, we decided to do a beach wedding! The theme was a mix of rustic and beachy elegance. The color palette was dusty rose with an emphasis on blush pink and gold accents. As we are Christians, we made sure that our ceremony was Christ centered and incorporated a lot of scripture and biblical elements."

How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception?

"We hired a rental company and florist who did a good majority of our decor including our ceremony arch, reception twinkle lights and draping, table centerpieces and candles. In addition, I incorporated some DIY elements including the wood signs for the ceremony and reception, itinerary fans for the ceremony and other printable signs for the reception. Otherwise, we kept the decor very simple."

What were the florals like in your wedding?

"Yes, the florals were the main design elements for the ceremony and reception. All our florals were dusty rose with greenery and we had a bridal bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, and florals for the arch and reception sign. We wanted to keep the decor simple so that the focus would be on the florals."

Did you personalize the day in any way?

"We didn't personalize the day too much other than having all guests walk over to the beach around 8pm to watch the sunset. Im so glad we did this as the sunset was absolutely amazing and it added a unique element to our wedding that a lot of guests enjoyed. Other than that, we had so much fun at our wedding and loved all of the speeches, the food was great and we had a blast dancing with everyone!"

How did you both choose your wedding day look?

"I found my dress online first as I saw it pictured on the beach and once I tried it on in the bridal shop, I felt like it was not only very comfy, but it looked and felt like the perfect beach wedding dress. For the groom and groomsmen, we wanted to do something sand colored and lightweight so we found something that was just that. John wore sand colored linen pants with a white button down long sleeve and a sand colored vest."

How did you meet?

"John and I met on Hinge almost 2 years ago. We are very similar in our interests and beliefs and after our third date, we both felt like we knew we would end up getting married at some point. About a year and a half after meeting, both of our businesses started to grow more and we felt like we were at a good place in our lives to get married. John and I are both very private people so the proposal ended up being at the perfect location. John had been bringing the ring with him for the past week and he was waiting for the right time. So on Sunday, November 20th, we went to breakfast and ended up doing a spontaneous hike up near horse tooth mountain. The hike turned out to take us to a beautiful spot that we had never been before and there was nobody else around. I could tell John was acting different and he seemed nervous so when I asked if he was ready to go back down the mountain, he took a second and then proposed right there."

What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

"There were so many special moments on our wedding day. The first look and reading our vows was definitely one of them. For me, walking down the aisle with my dad was also a very big moment and seeing John up there by the arch as we were about to officially be married. The first dances for myself and my dad and John and his mom were also very special moments. For John and I, taking a few moments to ourself to watch the sunset and soak it all in was also so special since we had been going non-stop all day."

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day?

"As far as wedding planning advice, I would say to get as organized as you can with the wedding planning if you are not hiring a wedding planner. Hiring a DJ was also something I was on the fence about but Im so glad we did as he helped the ceremony and reception to run smoothly and stay on time with everything. Also, my advice is to trust the vendors you hire that they know what they're doing and that everything is going to come together on the day of. I was nervous about how it would all come together, but everything exceeded my expectations and I wish I didn't stress out so much about it all in the planning process."

Are you getting married in Florida?

I love Florida weddings and I provide special packages for them. Contact me today at info@gabrieldupon.com or fill out the wedding interest form to learn more!

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Gabriel Dupon