Candis and Doug’s slate blue and blush pink spring wedding is organic elegance and whimsy personified. It would make sense that the couple are both designers – Doug a landscape architect and Candis an interior designer. The couple’s coastal-inspired, botanical wedding was set in romantic a palette of muted spring colors with a focus on soft greens, blues, and blush.
The couple has a background in landscape and horticulture design, which made choosing the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens as their venue an easy decision. “We spent the past couple of years living on an island in the Bahamas and on the Gulf Coast, so water and coastal elements were really important to us,” says Candis. “Our venue and theme was very much representative of who we are and our experiences together with the natural landscapes we love so much.” They worked with Jennifer Matteo Event Planning to create an organic, natural wedding filled with elements of timeless elegance, photographed by Hunter Ryan Photography.
The pair had an intimate celebration, hosting only about 50 guests: “We wanted everyone to know they were each hand selected and special to us in some way.”
We are in love with all these slate blue and blush pink spring wedding details – let’s make our way to the garden!
Slate Blue + Blush Pink Spring Wedding
Love Story: Doug and Candis reunited by chance at a bar in downtown Sarasota and the sparks seemed to fly! Very early into their relationship, Doug accepted a job in the Abacos, Bahamas so the couple vowed to make the relationship work long-distance. Finally, Candis took a leap of faith and decided that if she could find a job in the Abacos, she would move too.
One Christmas, after spending it visiting Doug, Candis missed her return flight home. But, as fate would have it, that very night she got the job offer she was waiting for. Candis still feels it was fate she missed her flight so that they could share this wonderful news together. Early in the new year, Candis moved to be with Doug. Almost one year later, while they were celebrating New Year’s Eve on a nearby island, Doug surprised Candis and proposed atop the Hope Town Lighthouse. She said Yes!
I wore the Mikaella wedding dress, from White Magnolia, made of crepe fabric. I wanted something with very clean lines. I accented my dress with a custom belt from Etsy. I wore my hair in a classic style.
I customed-designed my invitations and had them printed on plantable paper.
Doug’s mom has some of the wildflowers in her garden from her sprouted card!
I chose organic but modern styled florals. Inna Olympiyuk (Still Floral) was really a no brainer for me. I specifically wanted her style. We used a lot of spring florals with eucalyptus.
My maids wore Jenny Yoo dresses in “morning mist”.
Shop looks inspired by this wedding palette:
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Slate Blue + Blush Pink Spring Wedding Ceremony
Doug wore a custom suit by Bruce Julian. It was a medium blue sharkskin fabric. The groomsmen also wore suits from Bruce Julian but in a deeper navy so that Doug stood out a little.
Our ceremony was set in the garden with nature as a backdrop. The aisle was lined with organic white flowers. It all had a very natural but modern classic look.
Our officiant was Doug’s family reverend. He had married his other sisters so it was important to us that he officiated.
Bonsai Tree Unity Ceremony: We chose a Bonsai tree to represent our unity ceremony. With our love for nature, and desire to grow our relationship both physically and metaphorically, it was an easy choice for us. We wanted something we could keep to remind us of our ever-growing relationship.
For the ceremony, we watered the tree from two separate flasks to represent the desire to nurture our unity as one. I am happy to tell you the tree is budding for spring and doing great ?
I surprised Doug with a bagpiper at the end of the ceremony for the recessional. This was a nod towards his Scottish roots (a great idea from his 3 sisters)!
Slate Blue + Blush Pink Spring Wedding Reception
For our outdoor slate blue and blush pink spring wedding reception, we kept the tones subdued. We let the florals be the focus of the design. We decided on feasting tables to allow the guests to have a more intimate feel while dining. We adorned the tables with whimsical centerpieces, candlelight and beautiful linens that really pulled the whole look together!
We had plantable wedding invitations which grew wildflowers – my own design, printed by ForeverFiances.
Each guest was also sent home with a tillandsia (air plant) as a momento. We chose the tillandsia because they are so ‘Florida’ and have an almost sea creature shape to them. We are still receiving notes from guests about how their plants are doing!
We also used eco-friendly straws at our open bar & gave custom reusable cocktail napkins to each guest.
Candis’ mother handmade and embroidered the cotton cocktail napkins for each of the guests.
We had live music throughout the evening. I painstakingly poured over local musicians and could not find the southern folk violin sound that I wanted. It was so important for us to have the ‘right’ sound in the background. We love folk music and bluegrass but wanted a classy sound. My MOH knew a musician in Tennessee who was exactly what we wanted. I went out on a limb and asked her to perform at our wedding – she agreed! We had Lydia Luce, playing all night and that really made the evening special for us.
Wedding Vendors: Planning + Decor Jennifer Matteo Event Planning // Photographer Hunter Ryan Photography.// Venue Marie Selby Gardens // Bridesmaid Dresses Jenny Yoo // Dress Mikaella // Brides Hair + Make Up Emily Apatow // Flowers Still Floral – Inna Olympiyuk // Cake Cakes by Ron // Music Lydia Luce // Stationery Custom design by BClothierinted by ForeverFiances // Shoes Kenneth Cole // Suits Custom by Bruce Julian Clothier, Charlotte NC // Bride’s Belt: Sabina Design