Maria and I have worked together over the years – she is DJ Maria – the famous DJ from The Celebration Expert! We hit it off right away and are so honored that she choose us to photograph her wedding from all of the amazing Orlando wedding photographers in our industry.
Mike proposed to Maria while he was a contestant on the Jeopardy Show! It made national news and hit all the talk shows (See Jeffrey Stoner’s video of their reveal here) #Whatisyes
Courtney and I had a wonderful time at Maria and Mike’s sweet Sunday Brunch wedding at the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs. All about love, friends and family.
Day-Of Coordinator Juniper Events Melissa Burtram
Venue Garden Villa FFGC
Caterer Arthur’s
Florist Flowers by Leslie
Chairs Orlando Wedding and Party Rentals
Ceremony Music Christine MacPhail
Video Jeff Stoner
Hair and Makeup Danielle Arias
Words from Maria:
Describe your wedding day style in one sentence – I’d call it “Sunday Brunch”…we wanted simple, classic…a touch vintage.
Favorite memory of the day – There were a few…our “first look”…my Maid of Honor’s toast…but mostly, the few moments I took just to look at our families blending together. In 11 years, we’ve never had that happen before that day. And the absolutely amazing gift my Matron of Honor gave me just before walking down the aisle…a little framed photo of my sister who died several years ago, to attach to my bouquet. I am tearing up again just thinking about it!
What songs? – Because we did a simple brunch, we opted to use our own playlist. This was Mike’s job, and not only did he include songs that meant a lot to the two of us, but also included favorites that were part of family memories.
Wedding day color scheme – Mostly pinks and purples…we left it up to the florist. I just want it to be “spring.”
Describe your wedding planning process – I work in the wedding industry, and so one of the first things I did was contact a planner to help me with the process (Melissa with Juniper Events!). I knew which vendors I wanted, and she helped with the rest. The little details like table numbers and seating charts were found by doing online searches for ideas based on things we like, and things that brought us together.
What advice would you give to future brides for their wedding day? Get a planner – I see too many brides, groom’s and families going crazy over all the last minute details and set up. I knew it was important, and it was one of the smartest things I did.
Anything you would have done differently? Eaten more!
Most memorable moment during the planning process – The absolutely hilarious conversations with my Matron of Honor.
What are you most looking forward to as a married couple? We’ve already been together 11 years, so not too much would be different. But I do love that I am now an even more “official” member of his family!
Which moment are you the most excited to see in photos? Hard to say…I am not a patient person with photos. But Kelly and Courtney are great…and I guess I am most excited to see what they saw through the lens. The photos I’ve seen so far are wonderful!
What was your wedding inspiration? For colors, just spring. Overall…everything was done with family in mind.
Describe some of your favorite wedding details and how you came up with them. Mike proposed to me during an episode of Jeopardy! and I wanted to give a few nods to the show without making it all about it. We used a Jeopardy! font for our seating chart, our hashtag (#whatisyes) came from the show, and we had a photo of Mike and Alex Trabek. One of my favorite details that day was the photo wall – there was a wall with shelves and ivy in the cocktail area, and we used it to put photos in different frames, including each and every family member. It was so much fun picking out the photos, and we shed more than one happy tear looking through them all.
