emily & ryne | wedding ceremony and reception at the oxford exchange | downtown tampa wedding photographer

… insight from emily …

what was your favorite moment, or favorite part, of your wedding day?

My favorite moment of the wedding was our first look. I was so nervous all day and having some time completely alone with Ryne took away all of the stress of the day. The rest of the night was completely crazy and we didn’t have any alone time so those few minutes before it all started were perfect.

is there anything you wish you had done differently when planning your wedding?

I wish I would have stressed less about the little things. I don’t think anyone even noticed what the table numbers looked like or that there was a drip of paint on the back of the card box globe, the stuff I was stressed about in the weeks before the wedding didn’t even matter in the end. Everything ended up perfect!

which three vendors were most important to you when planning your wedding?

1. Venue- We are both teachers and it was very important to me that my wedding took place in a venue that a high school prom would not take place in. I plan Prom for the school I work for and I knew immediately I wanted a unique venue. I wanted a venue that on its own was beautiful and that was different than a typical ballroom.

2. Photography- In the end all that is left is the pictures and we knew we wanted to have amazing and timeless pictures that we can use to remember the night.

3. My Dress- The moment when I walked out of the dressing room and looked in the mirror and started to tear up I knew it was my dress. I have heard people buy a dress and end up regretting in, I had the opposite reaction the closer the wedding got the more excited I got to wear my dress. My dress was the exact opposite of everything I thought I wanted in a wedding dress and it was perfect.

what was the best advice you received when planning your wedding? (and did you listen?)

Advice:Take time during the wedding to take it all in.

Everyone I talked to said that the wedding flies by and that you won’t remember any of it when its all over.

Did I listen: Yes! I made sure to take time towards the end of the night to sit on the bench around the fountain alone for a few minutes just to take it all in. The beautiful decorations, the fact that everyone I loved and cared about was in place and the fact that I got to marry the love of my life!

when you look back on your wedding day in 50 years, what do you think you’ll remember most?

Our vows to each other. We decided to write our own vows and not share them with each other until they were read at the ceremony. They were a perfect mix of serious and funny and I think represented the love we have for each other.

… how it all came together …