The bridesmaids before the wedding, looking absolutely fabulous!

While the girls were getting ready my awesome assistant Jenna went with the boys to the UF Stadium for some groomsmen photos.

Just before the ceremony- Jessica trying to calm her nerves. Doesn’t she make a gorgeous bride?

With her father walking down the aisle.

Sam trying to get a look at his bride.

And the beautiful couple.

Jessica and Sam chose to incorporate a sand ceremony to represent the joining of their two lives into one.

The groom.

This little one was so enthralled with tossing her flowers, she kept doing it al through the ceremony!

The groomsmen “lost” Jessica’s ring. Here is one looking in his shoe for it. The ring had found itself a great hiding spot around his toe.

Exchanging of rings, toe jam and all.

Some quick photos after the ceremony before the formal pictures took place.

You have got to love these candid moments. Thank’s to Jenna for capturing this great shot!

And here are some fun shots with the bridal party.

And some more of Sam and Jessica as husband and wife.

Welcome to the reception- where this couple certainly knew how to have FUN! Here they are dancing their way in as their grand entrance.

First dance.

And a little cake on the face never hurt anyone, but certainly makes for a good time!

All the lovely single ladies looking to catch the bouquet.

Congratulations Jessica and Sam! Hope you had a fabulous time on your honeymoon. Thank you for inviting me to be there to capture your wedding day, and I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek!

The bride wore a dress from Brides by Demetrios. The bridesmaids wore dresses designed by Democracy Clothing.

Jessica and Dee chose to be married on St. Pete Beach at the beautiful Grand Plaza Resort.

Dee surprised Jessica with a gift before the wedding.

This stunning and very delicious cake was designed by Chocolate Specialities by Joe, a local St. Pete Beach vendor.
I LOVE when brides choose flowers to adorn their cake- the beauty and simplicity of it is amazing. I also absolutely love the trend of using the couple’s first letter of their new last name as a cake topper- there is something just so elegant and understated about it.

Keeping up with the theme of beach simplicity, Jessica chose calla lilies for her bouquet. Her florist, Irene from For Better For Less Wedding Flowers, also from the Tampa/ St. Pete area was such a help on the day of the wedding making sure that everything was coordinated the way that it should be.

Jessica’s father could not wait to see his daughter when we got off of the elevator, and still could not take his eyes off her. Here he is stealing a look just before he walked Jessica down the aisle.

They also planned their wedding specifically so that we could get a series of beach sunset photos. Unfortunately the weather was not as cooperative as we hoped, but we still managed to get some amazing shots. Those will come in another blog posting, along with their ceremony and reception photos.