The golden retriever pup at this Florida farm wedding is just too cute!

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Everyone get your heart-eyes ready for a dreamy Florida wedding, with gilded, sparkling bridesmaids and an absolutely adorable golden retriever pup celebrating beneath waving Spanish moss.

Kara and Ricky chose their rustic farm venue for it’s expansive outdoor property and so they could celebrate becoming a family with their little love, Captain the Goldie. So smart, they hired sitters to take care of their pup through out the wedding and take him home when the party started.

And to stick to the theme, the bridesmaids absolutely glimmered under the golden, Florida sunset. Kara’s best girls all chose their own favorite embellished gown in gold and champagne from Adrianna Papell, and we are envious! All this gilded glory was captured so gorgeously by Lauren Galloway.

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Photo by Lauren Galloway Photography via Bridal Musings

Our Love Story

Ricky and I have known each other since we were 13 years old. We both grew up in Tampa, Florida and did our after-school activities (baseball & softball) at the same park and had a lot of mutual friends – many of whom we are still friendly with today.

We spent a lot of time flirting through high school and college before we ever officially dated. We were so different – I was very conservative and Ricky more rebellious – so we never crossed that line.

Towards the end of college, out with friends one night, someone came up to me to let me know Ricky was there and encouraged me to find him since everyone knew we always had eyes for each other. I didn’t find him that night but we agreed to meet up the following weekend. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

After dating for 5 years, Ricky asked my parents for their blessing to marry me on their 30^th anniversary. He proposed on Christmas evening in front of my entire family.

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Getting Ready

We prepared for the day at SaddleBrook Resort and Spa. The boys went out for a round of golf on the Arnold Palmer designed course while the girls were pampered with hair, makeup, and nails in one of the resort’s suites.

Our hair and makeup company, Lasting Luxe, is owned by a very close friend of mine so it was easy to trust her and her team to pamper us all day. Because she was a guest at the wedding as well she even pulled my hair into a quick up-do for the reception and ran around touching up the girl’s lipstick all night.

Our paper goods were all provided by The Tampa Type who is owned by one of my closest friends and bridesmaid. She sat with me in her studio for hours picking sizes and fonts to create the perfect table numbers, escort cards, menus, and thank you’s.

She happens to be very involved with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital’s Tampa division so we opted to give a donation to her fundraising team in lieu of traditional favors.

The Venue

We knew we wanted to get married outside, so The Lange Farm was an easy choice for its gorgeous 80 acres grounds and working horse farm. We were married under a chuppah to honor my father’s jewish heritage adorned with a chandelier, white linens, and green garland.

I love how everything outside in Florida is green year-round and I used that for style inspiration. The rest of the space was decorated with additional garland with white flowers and oversized lanterns filled with candles.

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Special Moments

Our 3½ year old Golden Retriever is the love of our lives and we couldn’t have become a family without him. I specifically picked a venue that would allow him to be part of our day. His entrance was one of the highlights of the day!

We hired FairyTail Pets to pamper our baby all day and bring him to the venue. He got to spend the day exploring the area and meeting new people. He even came to visit me while I was getting ready – some of my favorite pictures of the day.

My cousin had asked to walk Captain down the aisle and we happily agreed. No one could have anticipated the excitement Captain would feel upon walking down the aisle and seeing everyone he knows and loves. He made it a point to say hi to everyone he saw, dragging my cousin down the aisle with him. Captain was definitely the one doing the walking & running! He made his way to his dad and down the line of groomsmen getting some love from each one before enjoying a few more pictures, treats, and heading home to relax.

We chose to write our own vows and incorporate Jewish traditions into our ceremony. It was so unique and special to us. Ricky enjoyed getting to break the glass!

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The Photography

My photographer, Lauren Galloway, was recommended to me by a coworker. She insisted I pull up the website on the spot and I knew instantly I had to book her. Lauren’s style is classic.

Her photographs are light and romantic. She had a tremendous amount of experience capturing outside weddings which we were having so I was impressed with how she is able to show off the surroundings as much as the people. She captures every detail with classic style. As soon as I saw her work I knew that’s how I wanted my pictures and memories to look.

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The Videography

Chad Clegg of Photo Guy Oh My, was recommended to me by one of my closest friends and bridesmaids who had used him at her own wedding about a year prior to mine.

Chad is a talented young professional who was willing to go above and beyond in order to build up his portfolio. He asked if he could do some drone work because the wedding would be outside and I am so happy we have footage from such a unique angle. He even built a custom SnapChat filter for the day as a surprise! He focused on the candid moments that I was too busy to notice and really conveyed the love and warmth of the day.

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Photo by Lauren Galloway Photography via Bridal Musings

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The Dinner

Ricky and I are both foodies so we knew we wanted to focus on a unique meal. We chose Olympia for their long standing history in Tampa as well as their expertise in large weddings. They delivered with exceptional hors d’oeuvres such as candied bacon-wrapped almonds and fried Florida gator tail as well as a dual entrée dinner that included a Merlot pomegranate reduction over filet and citrus glazed herbed chicken with truffle potatoes and grilled vegetables.

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The Dessert

We had an incredible cake made by Elise’s Pieces. We chose an almond cake with strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. Elise also made a dessert bar with different flavor combinations – such as red velvet and limoncello – mini cupcakes and cake pops.

Ricky loves Bananas Foster so much that he requested it instead of cake. Our catering company was able to set up a beautiful bar decorated with bananas and garnishments. Two chefs flambeed bananas live in front of our guest as they made their way down the line and created their own treat. It was so fun to see everyone step back and widen their eyes as fire filled pans lit up the room and bananas flipped in the air.

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The Takeaway

Getting ready and pulling the last minute details together was stressful – like when the boys lost their ties and had to go running around the resort looking for them – but from the moment I stepped on to the aisle it was calm and warm.

When I walked into the reception I knew everyone who worked so tirelessly on this day had truly made our vision come to life. We ate, we danced, we toasted, hugged, and laughed all night. Having everyone you know and love in one place to celebrate with you is an overwhelming feeling and I am so humbled by the entire day and everyone who was part of it.