noel & shayne | downtown tampa wedding photography | the westin harbour island wedding reception

… insight from noel …

how would you describe your wedding to someone who was not there? what were some of your inspirations? how did you envision the wedding prior to your special day?
Soft and romantic with a little bling. And fun activities

is there anything you wish you had done differently when planning your wedding?
Really researching the event coordinator that comes along with the venue. Very hard to get a hold of, didn’t respond to emails in a timely manner, hidden costs in the wedding. We hired a day of coordinator and she saved us a million times leading up to the wedding and the day of!

which three vendors were most important to you when planning your wedding?
Photographer, day of coordinator, and the dj

what was your biggest wedding day savings?
Booking the wedding during a promotional time and doing it on a Friday. And researching multiple companies in each field to find the best deal without jeopardizing the feel and look we wanted for the wedding.

what was your biggest wedding day splurge?
We each picked one item we really wanted and didn’t want to budge on, and the rest we compromised and found deals on. Mine was the photographer to capture all of our moments and his was the open bar.

what was the best advice you received when planning your wedding?
Number the back of your rsvp/food choice envelopes and coordinate it with the names on the invitation list. Some people won’t sign their names, and you never know who is attending the wedding and who is having what dish. It made it so much easier for us, we had a bigger wedding.

was there anything encountered during wedding planning that was unexpected?
Hidden fees from the venue that showed up 6 days before the wedding that were in the thousands. But we kept record of every meeting and email sent between us and the venue coordinator and they were able to fix it.

was there a moment during your wedding day that surprised you?
Yes, how unorganized my venue coordinator was. My day of coordinator was a blessing in disguise. Literally saved my wedding day countless times.

what was your favorite moment, or favorite part, of your wedding day?
Saying my vows with my husband in front of our family and friends 🙂 and then dancing with them all with our awesome dj!

when you look back on your wedding day in 50 years, what do you think you’ll remember most?
Taking photos with friends and the amazing marissa! Going to places downtown to take photos was amazing! Also dancing the night away with Shayne and everyone 🙂

… how it all came together …