When I got engaged 2 years ago, I knew I did not want a traditional wedding, and knew I did not want to look like a "princess".  DH and I debated from July 2007-February 2008 on whether or not to have the wedding in Michigan or Florida.  Ultimately as you can see, we decided on an initimate wedding on Sanibel Island.  We knew by doing this that many family and friends would not be able to come, but it really meant a lot to the both of us to have our wedding in a beautiful beach setting surrounded by close family and friends.  The wedding day really turned into the perfect day we both wished for.  That morning while at breakfast, it started pouring but the sun was still out and shining....it actually made me happy to see rain as they say it is good luck, and this was the only time it rained the entire time we were in Florida.  On our wedding day, I was so calm and relaxed knowing that we had so many great people surrounding us and making sure our day would be perfect.  I spent the day in our suite with my 6 bridesmaids, Darla Stafford (hair/makeup), Lori (friend that also does manicures/pedicures), photographer, videographer, and both mothers.  It was a great day, the groomsmen brought us sandwiches, and a fruit platter to lunch on.  One of my bridesmaids brought over some Sangria to keep the mood fun, overall I had a great time preparing for the wedding.  Our ceremony was even more beautiful then I imagined, I was so overcome with excitement to be married during the entire ceremony that it kept me from getting too emotional.  The reception was everything and more, it really turned into a beautiful intimate candlelight dinner (45 guests...5 guest tables, 1 sweetheart table).  The guests dined on seared snapper, and thick new york strip steaks....everyone raved about the food, and dance the night away.  We were truly blessed to be surrounded by loving family and friends on our wedding day, I could not have imagined it any different.

When planning our special day, I was fortunate to have parents that offered to fund the majority of the expenses (with a set budget of course) and leave the planning part up to me.  At times I found it overwhelming, and stressful.....I have to admit I did not love the entire planning process, and I should have delegated some of the responsibilities, but I am an anxious control freak I realized.  I think the only thing my mother did was order the yalmukas, and accompany me dress shopping, otherwise the details of the wedding day was a surprise to them.  I didn't have my bridesmaids do anything other then order their dresses, shoes, and get to Florida.  I did have a bridesmaid already in Florida that offered to help me put somethings together, so grateful to her!  I guess my mantra during the planning process was "Nobody will be as excited about planning the wedding, then the bride" so I didn't want anyone to feel bogged down by helping with the planning, luckily I had 2 years to plan.  I did not have a organized wedding binder, instead I had a binder of things shoved into it, I did not have a timeline/checklist to work off of....those things freak me out, I left alot of the ordering of things until the last 2 months, but in the end everything came together and things got done. If you are not as talented like other knotties who DIY, I can relate.  I didn't even dare try DIY on anything, as I know myself......I am not crafty, never will be, so don't feel bad if you source things out to talented vendors who can do it in a price range that will fit your budget and time frame. I knew that if I attempted to DIY on all of the paper products, I would have ended up wasting a lot of $, time, and causing FI a lot of stress seeing me freak out. The majority of our budget went towards the food/drink (spared no expense as this is the thing guests will remember most at a reception).  The entertainment is also another important factor as the mood is set by the music.  We kept the flower arrangments low as the ceiling are standard size, and we wanted all of the guests to be able to see one another.  Be true to yourself when planning your day, and only spend $ on what is important to you and your FI.  The things I learned along the way were, you will learn who your true friends are when planning a wedding and weird situations will arise.  We had some really weird situations when it came to people RSVP'ing, and found out a groomsmen had to drop out 2 days before the wedding (I knew he would flake out, so I surprisngly did not freak out).  There are some things you really can't control, unexpected things will happen! 

We picked Casa Ybel since this has been a vaction destination for DH's family for the past 20+ years, and the Thistle Lodge (Awesome restaurant on Sanibel) at Casa Ybel is also known as "The Wedding House" since it was originally built as a wedding gift.  This place is sooo charming and cute.  Jennifer Dube, the wedding coordinator at Casa Ybel was a pleasure to work with.  The majority of the time we communicated via email and she was great at responding/answering any questions I had.  We scheduled our food tasting one year prior to the wedding, and everything was amazing.....awesome food and service. They also will provide you with a bottle of wine compliments of Thistle Lodge.  The day of the wedding, Jennifer met at our room and took all of the wedding related items with her, and set everything up perfectly!  She also worked with us at the last minute to provide a lemonade/water station at the ceremony site as one of our guests was unable to make it.  I would highly recommend Casa Ybel/Thistle Lodge, everything came out better then expected...the food, the service, the look...perfect!!

We had a horrible experience with our first rehearsal dinner venue.  Matzalunas had us pick our 5 entrees for a short menu back in February, then in early June they decided they needed the headcout for the steak entree.  Then the day before the rehearsal dinner (day we arrived on Sanibel....so busy) they said they needed the headcount for all of the entrees (35).  This furiated DH, so he called Matzaluans to try and talk with them since we picked out a short menu and didn't have the time to contact all of our guests.  In short, we ended up dropping Matzalunas since their manager was very rude.  Luckily, The Green Flash on Captiva was able to take our large party on July 4th at the last minute.....phew! The Green Flash turned out to be better anyways as it is right on the water (so scenic), the menu is much better, we were able to have our guests order off the regular menu, and they had the drinks flow all night. The Green Flash was amazing at handling our large party on the 4th of July, book them for your next event!

Rabbi Cohen was wonderful to work with. He was great at directing our wedding party during the rehearsal.  Todd and I both recommend him as he provided us with a wonderful and memorable service.

Sharyn at Floral Artistry was awesome!  Our first meeting with her was a breeze as she had albums of pictures which came in very handy.  She was very budget conscious, and gave us helpful ways to stay within our price range.  We went with shells stuffed with green orchids for the ceremony, 6 bmaid bouquets, my bouquet, 5 low centerpieces with cream roses and blue hydrangea, and 1 smaller sweetheart centerpiece.  They also made our card box, a box wrapped like a present.  Everything came out so beautiful!

Dan was really great and patient with us.  We had no idea what kind of songs we wanted.  Finally a week before the wedding we emailed him, "This will be"-Natalie Cole for the entrance song for wedding party and us, "L-O-V-E" french version-Nat King Cole, songs to play during dinner Frank Sinatra, "Say" John Mayer, "Little Wonders" Rob Thomas, "Realize" Colbie Callaiet, Nora Jones.  A day before the wedding we emailed him "Home" Michael Buble for our first dance, "Isn't She Lovely"-Stevie Wonder for the father/daughter dance, and "For Once In My Life"-Stevie Wonder as our last dance song to leave things on a fun note.  The morning of the wedding we had no idea for the mother/daughter dance so we emailed him "Somwhere Over The Rainbow".....made for a halarious dance as both DH and his mother hate dancing, let alone in front of a group of people.  He played steel drums during the cocktail hour (we thought it was very Floridian).  We also emailed him a few songs to play during the reception, and he was great at figuring out our style.  We emailed him 5 or 6 Michael Jackson songs, Madonna, and a few others.....he nailed it on the head. We weren't sure if people would dance since the reception ended at midnight, and the dance floor was on the modest side, but he had EVERYONE up and dancing all night long, made for a great time!

Entrance Song for parents, wedding party, bride & groom: "This Will Be"-Natalie Cole
First Dance: "Home"-Michael Buble
Father/Daughter Dance: "Isn't she lovely"-Stevie Wonder
Mother/Son Dance: "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"
Cake Cutting: "L-O-V-E" french version-Nat King Cole
Last Dance of the Night: "For Once In My Life"-Stevie Wonder

Detroit Hour Magazine got it right, Tappers Jewelry really is the best!  Rosemary at Tappers was soooo helpful.  I knew exactly what I wanted, a shared prong eternity band.  Since we had to buy what was on hand instead of ordering since the wedding was 3 weeks away, I had to have my ring sized from a size 10 to a 4 1/4.  Since this meant taking out 2 diamonds, she had the awesome idea of mounting one of my diamonds inside Todd's ring.....turned out great, it's our secret diamond.  Rosemary threw in the sizing and mounting the diamond in for free.  We would definitely go back to Rosemary for our jewelry needs. 

We originally wanted the cake to be cream and light blue, rather then cream and light pink (as the picture that was sent), but the look was still beautiful and now overwhelming for the cake topper.  We also wanted one layer to be carrot cake, but both layers ended up being strawberries and cream.  Since we didn't communicate with the bakery directly, since the catering department at Casa Ybel does, I am not sure who's fault these minor mishaps were.  The cake still turned out beautiful, and tasty.

The infamous cake topper!  I wasn't planning on having a cake topper until I came across this seller on Etsy.  I really wanted a way to incorporate our dog in the wedding, and thought this was the perfect way!  The 3 peggies and stand all painted and glossed came to about $50.  This was a huge hit at the wedding.  The turn around time for this item was only a couple weeks, great seller!

Jason and his wife are truly a pleasure to work with. Jason met us one year prior for our engagment pictures which turned out AWESOME!  The day of the wedding he was a little stressed as his wife was almost 2 weeks overdue, and they live about 3 hours away.......totally understandable! (They delivered their beautiful daughter a few days after)  Jason however was still a delight to work with, the images he posted on his blog are amazing......so excited to see the rest!!!

Ian at Movie Magic Productions was so easy to work with.  Very responsive to his emails, and was a great all around vendor to book.  You just can't beat the quality and prices.  Ian came with an assistant, I barely noticed either of them once the ceremony started.  We can't wait to see and share our video!

AMAZING...book her now!!  I was a little nervous as I was unable to meet with her prior to the wedding for a trial run, but she exceeded my expectations!  She was actually on vacation visiting family in Ft.Myers when she came to Sanibel for hair and makeup, meaning she took about 8 hours of her vacation to come for our wedding.  She came to Casa Ybel at 10:45am, and stayed until about 7:30pm for hair, makeup, and touchups after the ceremony.  Since she was on vacation, she was unable to have her assistant join her which meant hair for 6 bridemaids, myself, and makeup application for 3.  She even curled the hair of a friend for free, as my friend was in the room with all of the girls all day doing the girls nails and toenails.  Darla was such a pleasure to work with, and ALL of the girls loved their hair and makeup.....we could not have been happier!! :)

Do not go here on a Saturday, it is a mad house.  Maria's was the only place I went, and I only tried on 2 other dresses before picking out my dress from designer Watters.  They day we picked out the dress, my Mom and Sister were basically my sales assistant as no one was available.  The only thing positive that day was that I was able to get it for 15% off as they were having a sale if you ordered it brand new.  It only took about 4 1/2 months for the dress to come in.  My first fitting took forever to get a seamstress to come and measure, mark the dress.  The second fitting went well, they did suggest sewing in cups, and adding a few more points to the bustle (6 points total) for an additional $140.  I guess I can justify the extra $140 as the dress fit perfectly without adding a bra, and the bustle stayed in all night long.  The third fitting was a breeze as I booked it for a Thursday afternoon, and I had the place to myself.  Maria's is a great place to order your dress, but beware that you may need to bring a trusy friend to assist you the entire time ( I saw another bride go through this at my 2nd fitting).  Also, be prepared to pay a little extra if you go with the "free alterations" if you add cups ($20/each) and a bustle. 

Kathleen was great to work with, and very patient!  I basically had an idea of how I already wanted things, and she put my thoughts to paper.  I had many last minute changes, and she was very accomodating.  We were so happy with the results, all of the added paper products added a special touch to the day!

Kate was great to work with, the invitations came out beautiful.  I was a little nervous at first since we started connecting about the design 3 1/2 weeks before I needed them mailed out.  She was a little slow at sending the proofs, but everything came together great.  She even put together all of the invites since I was on such a time crunch.  All of our guests loved our invites!

I decided on the program fans about a month before the wedding.  I was going to have Kathleen design them, but her prices were a little steeper then I wanted to spend on something our guests were going to use for 25 minutes.  I was then going to try and DIY, but was getting anxiety about getting them done and shipping them down to FL.  I then found Anita on Etsy (2bquared designs), her prices are very reasonable and she even put everything together herself and shipped them down.  The starfish image is a tad blurred, but I guess only to my own critical eye.  I would highly recommend her services though if you are not a DIY'er. 

Meghan from Dream Day Productions was another incredible vendor we had the pleasure to book.  I had an extremly hard time finding a reasonably priced chuppah in the Ft.Myers/Sanibel/Captiva area.  I found Meghan through another knottie, and I am sooo thankful!  The price for the chuppah and delivery was much more affordable then any other alternative in the Ft.Myers area that I could find.  The chuppah came out beautiful!  Meghan also emailed me pictures a week before the wedding which was really nice.  I just wish I could have thanked her again for coming all the way out to Sanibel, very nice lady!

Awesome find!  Since I had 6 bridesmaids to buy for, I wanted to keep the price per bridesmaid reasonable.  The jewelry rolls are all silk dupioni and look sooo lux, they look better in person then on the website.  You can custom each jewelry roll to the colors your girls like, these were a huge hit!  I gave each girl a jewelry roll (to travel back to MI with), and a set of faux pearls to wear the day of (bought from Macys). 

The groomsmen outfits were very basic....linen pants, white dress shirt, leather thong sandals, brown belt, and tie.  We took pictures of the outfits and sku #s, and emailed all of the guys.  I think with the ever going Macy's sale, and savings pass, the outfits came to less then $50.  We gave each groomsmen the tie as part of their gift (Nautica).  We would highly recommend this as its inexpensive then a tux, and they get to keep the outfit.  With guys, you have to remember to keep it simple! 

 I found the bmaids earrings in the jewelry department at Macy's, all Charter Club faux pearl hypoallergenic earrings. 

Great vendor to work with.  I realized DH had no idea what to get the guys about 3 1/2 weeks before the wedding, so I found these online.  After I placed the order, they called me right away to let me know that they only had 4 on hand and that 2 more should be arriving in about a week and 1/2.  They made sure to keep me updated, and even offered to come to our place to drop them off since they took longer then expected.  Since we needed them in FL, they shipped them to Ft.Myers via UPS for no charge.  Great customer service!!!!!  These were a huge hit with the guys.  We also supplied each of the guys with the tie they wore during the wedding (Macys). 

I knew I wanted a sash with a little more pizzaz then the plain sash my dress originally came with.  I wanted to find a embellished belt, but everything I found was over $500, so I decided to look on Etsy.  I came across seller 5eizen as she had a silver sash with a pearl design, and fell in love.  I had her custom make me an Ivory Satin sash with pearl details, and it came out perfect.  I think the total was about $170 including shipping.

I decided I wanted to add a flower to my hair for a more tropical look.  Since it's usually 90 degrees and humid during July in Sanibel, I opted for a fabric flower.  I wanted to make sure I had a flower that looked natural, and lucked out when I found ButterflyEnchantress on Etsy.  Each piece is made to order, so it took about 3 weeks from order to receive.  My girlfriend in Florida actually saw it first since I shipped it directly to her, and she mistook it for a real flower.  I would highly recommend this product as it stayed securey in my hair all day/night, and looked perfect!

I decided on ordering seat signs for my parents, DH's parents and grandmother since this seller had them for so reasonably priced on Etsy.  I decided on the same design in the picture, but with navy blue writing, and and a navy blue written.  They were put together beautifully with the layred look, but the printing quality is not great (could have done better with my inkjet at home).  If you need fast/cheap chair signs, these are great (5 signs for under $20).

Our reception space has a large mirror right by the dance floor, and so I thought it needed a little something extra.  I ordered the "Jocelyn Monogram" in size medium in a light blue "S", and our names in navy blue.  Everyone loved this detail, and it also looks great in all of the wedding pictures.  Great way to incoporate your monogram.  I forgot to have this shipped to FL, so I had to pack it in my suitecase all rolled up, and it survived!  Our on site wedding coordinator applied the monogram, so I am not sure on how easy it is to apply.  I would recommend Wonderful Graffiti, turned out great and shipping was fast.

The sand dollar cookies were sooo delicious, everyone loved them!  We ordered them in the lemon flavor.  Make sure you order extras as they are only packed in the packing peanuts and a few broke (we ordered 10 extra for snacking on :)  I thought the package needed a little something more, so I ordered the monogram stickers from beau-coup.com in both light blue and navy blue.  Great idea for a beach wedding!

I wanted to have my 10 year old brother hold the rings, and found this cute bowl that can be used as a collective momento.  DH gave this to me as a valentine's day gift this past year.  Very cute, and great for photo ops.

I thought this was a great way to showcase our epics during the wedding.  We had everyone pen their messages with a blue fine tip sharpie, came out great.  Everyone loved looking through the album.  I would give the print quality a 8.5 out of 10, as the colors are a little bright in some areas.  The program on mypublisher.com is VERY easy to use, and it arrived fairly quick.