BOWING OAKS WEDDING | HELENA AND THEO | JACKSONVILLE, FL | Jacksonville Florida Wedding Photography

HELENA + THEO WEDDING PHOTOS

(Wedding Vendor information from the bride and groom)

Hotel accommodations for guests: Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa , Aloft Hotel
Rehearsal Dinner Location: North Beach Fish Camp
Ceremony Location: Bowing Oaks Plantation
Reception Location: Bowing Oaks Plantation
Caterer: 4Rivers
Wedding Coordinator: Coastal Coordinating
Photographer: Tonya Beaver
Videographer: none
Cake: Publix
Florist: A Happily Ever After Floral
Officiate: Reverend Michael Basden
Hair: Studio Bride
Make-up: Studio Bride
Entertainment: Rivertown Entertainment – Joel Bryant
Transportation: Barr’s Transportation
Wedding Dress: Watters – The White Magnolia Bridal Collection
Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids
Groom and Groomsmen Wear: Jos. A. Bank

Any other vendors who contributed that we need to mention?

Not vendors, but my parents! They were AMAZING!

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Love Story:

How did you two meet?

Theo and I met in the spring of 2011 at University of Central Florida (our alma mater).We were introduced to each other at a college bar by mutual friends from my sorority and his fraternity. For the next two years we remained social friends, going out to the same places and hanging out with similar friend groups.

It wasn’t until January 2013 that we really started spending time together. I was fostering a puppy at the time and needed to find a good home for him. Theo happened to have a friend that was interested in getting a dog, so he set up a meeting to make it all happen. After taking the dog to his friend’s house, Theo and I spent the whole night talking and getting to know each other. And as cheesy as it sounds, we have been inseparable since then!

How did he propose?

We had planned a huge skiing trip up to Big Sky, Montana at the end of February (2016). One of Theo’s close friends from college was working up there and had (very easily) convinced us to come for a week of snow and relaxation. Theo is big into snowboarding so he was of course ecstatic to go, but I had not been skiing since I was 10 years old so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

On the third night of our trip, we took a trip in a snowcat up the mountain to a yurt for dinner. We went sledding, played in the snow, and had an amazing dinner. After dinner, we were standing outside by the fire and it began to snow. I was trying to put on my hat, so I handed my gloves to Theo.

After situating myself, I asked for them back and he said there was something he wanted me to put on before my gloves. He pulled the ring out his pocket, dropped to his knee, and asked me to marry him. I was in complete shock! There I was standing on the side of a mountain, taking in the beautiful scenery and the fresh snow, and he was proposing! I immediately began to cry and of course said “yes!”

Wedding planning:

How did you decide on your color scheme, flowers, and cake?

Once we had decided on our date and venue, the color scheme came very easily. Winter/Christmas time is my absolute favorite time of year, so having Christmas colors seemed like an obvious choice. I didn’t want loud colors though so I went with cranberry, evergreen, champagne, and ivory.

The flowers were a cinch as well. I met with Kristin from A Happily Ever After Floral and we decided on all the flowers in that one meeting. I told her the colors and she helped me pick the types of flowers based on what I liked/what was in season. She made it very easy for us to incorporate some personal touches as well, like shotgun shells for the boutonnieres (we love hunting and shooting) and urns that my godfather had made for my christening were used for large ceremony arrangements.

As far as the cake, I have been in love with Publix cake since I was a little girl. I knew I wanted a naked cake and they were able to deliver exactly what I wanted.

How did you decide on your invitations, and who did you use?

For the invitations, we used The Paper Merchant in Naples, FL. My parents have used them for years for all of their party invitations, graduation announcements, stationary, and even for my two oldest sister’s wedding save the dates/invitations.

I knew I wanted something to tie in with the Christmas theme, so I began browsing all of their inventory until I found one that I liked. It took me maybe 20 minutes and once I saw it, I didn’t look at any others. It was called a “French Garden” invitation because of the greenery around the edges, but we quickly transformed that. We changed the font color and my sweet mother drew little red berries onto each invitation, turning the greenery into Christmas greenery.

What was the most fun part of wedding planning?

Well, I know Theo’s favorite part was the food tasting. (That was a favorite of mine as well!) But I think the most fun part of wedding planning was seeing everything come together. Sure, I loved trying on wedding dresses, picking flower arrangements, and taking engagement pictures; but when all of the details finally fell into place, that was definitely the best part.

My parents were a huge help during the entire process and they made sure my dream wedding vision became a reality. We picked out every single detail, and to see it all come together on the day of, that made us all feel very successful/happy knowing our hard work had paid off.

Which part did you not like as much?

The part I didn’t enjoy as much was the stress of trying to make everyone happy. From the very beginning, both of my older sisters made a point to say “you will never make everyone happy, so do what you want to do.” They were absolutely right. Now, we did not have a lot of situations like this, but the few that we did have made me so uncomfortable!

You are trying to plan a wedding that you and your future husband want, but then your parents have their own opinions and so do his, and so do your friends, and other family members…the list goes on. In short, my advice to anyone else planning a wedding would be exactly what my sisters said to me! Plan the day that the two of you want, because in the end, nobody is going to (or should) ruin your big day because of the decorations, cake choice, or color scheme.

What are the biggest pieces of advice you wish you would have known before the wedding day?

The best piece of advice I received was before our wedding day. We had been seeing our officiate for some pre-marital counseling and he ended our last session with (something along the lines of) “A wedding does not make a marriage, the two of you do.”

It was exactly what I needed to hear just one week before our wedding. Many people get caught up in the planning process and the idea of it just being a big party, but it is so much more than that. Our wedding will not determine our marriage. We may have gotten some amazing memories from it, but it will not be the defining factor in our marriage, we will.

What was the high point of your wedding day that you hope to remember forever?

The high point of our wedding day that I hope to remember forever has to be when we were announced Mr. and Mrs. Perry, and we turned around the see faces of our loved ones. Some were smiling from ear to ear, some were crying, and others were clapping and cheering us on.

It really is something special, to have so many people love you and all be together to celebrate one of the biggest days of your life. I hope that the way I felt not only right then, but throughout the entire wedding day, is something I will forever be able to hold onto.

Tonya Beaver Photography Studio Location: Jacksonville Beach, FL

318 First Ave N

Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250

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Hi, I’m Tonya, a Jacksonville Florida Photographer. I specialize in photographing weddings, families, and babies. I would love to hear all about your photography needs to see if we’re a right fit for each other. As a photographer, I get to capture the most exciting and life changing experiences in people’s lives.

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