Charley + John - Wedding on Gasparilla Island

Simple yet modern wish a dash of elegance is how to perfectly describe Charley and John’s wedding day. On our favorite little island of Gasparilla, Charley and John had a wedding day for the books. From kisses shared underneath the Banyan trees lining the streets, to laughs and hugs on the white sand beach, this wedding had so much overflowing warmth. Aside from all the love, Charley and John had stunning details- from gold-rimmed silverware to impeccably white furniture & florals, this wedding exuded elegance to the nth degree. 

Before the wedding, we asked Charley what the most important thing to her is for the day and she said: “I do want to document all the beautiful details we put so much thought into but I care most about the capturing the emotion and experience of the day, particularly the love between John and I, and our family and closest friends. I hope the photos are able to reflect the just as beautiful,  much more intimate and special micro-wedding we're having during this historic time, quirks and all! Like any guests wearing masks, or the maid of honor sitting at her own table during dinner, or having a 12 piece band for 30 guests!  We want to remember the best day of our lives exactly as it is!  :)”

Despite their wedding being in the middle of COVID, they safely and beautifully said their I do’s and we could not be happier to have been a part of capturing such a wonderful and unique wedding day. Scroll down to see their Gasparilla Island wedding.

This wedding made possible by this talented and creative team:

Venue: Gasparilla Inn & Club

Planning: NK Productions

Florals: Botanica Florist

Band: The Rivertown Band

Gown: Monique Lhuillier

Videography: Eli Meyer

Tori + Brady Engagement Session

When you think Florida engagement photo shoot, Tori and Brady’s session is quite literally the picture you’ll envision. A stunning October evening on Fort Desoto Beach, Tori and Brady effortlessly displayed their love for one another. A light-hearted yet passion-filled session amid the backdrop of tall grasses and reflective, calm waters, these two could not have had a more perfect evening to celebrate their upcoming wedding.

Scroll below to see some highlights from Tori and Brady’s session.

We had so much fun spending the day capturing the love of these two. Follow us on Instagram (@justindemutiis) to see more picture-perfect engagement sessions and wedding day moments.

7 Tips for Gifting Experiences

I happen to love beautiful packaging and especially love giving gifts, but the last thing I want is to spend time, energy, and money on something my loved one doesn’t want or will quickly forget about. It pains me to think about all the gift cards I’ve given over the years that might go unused! Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the only thing a family member wants is a gift card to Banana Republic or J.Crew so they can pick out their own clothes, but what about the family members who are notoriously difficult, if not impossible to shop for? The family member who seemingly has everything?

 I hope the following tips will not only be a guide to giving better gifts but a guide to gifting experiences that will turn into lifelong memories.

Something to keep in mind… While I love minimalism/essentialism, if you have a family member/spouse that scores high on the “gifts” love language, you might consider getting them something they have always wanted… But maybe see if you can turn that gift into an experience! (For example, if they love candles and that’s what you usually buy them, try a candle-making class!) So, unless you’re 100% confident that you have the absolute perfect gift for someone, consider gifting an experience.

A few quick ideas of experiences this holiday season before the 7 tips: ice skating, spending an evening talking with no distractions, smooching under the mistletoe, visiting a festival of lights, making a gingerbread house, tickets to see an author speak or a comedian, watching a wintertime sunrise or sunset on the beach (you might have the whole beach to yourselves- bring blankets to make the experience warm and cozy!). For more ideas from The Minimalists, click here

Listen - For me, the process starts with listening… As it gets closer to a birthday or Christmas, this can be a moot point, but I find my best inspiration does not come from Pinterest or Google, but from my loved ones. The last thing I want is to give the impression that I’m fishing for gift ideas because that defeats the purpose, but I always pay extra attention - Listening for ideas and making notes I can reference later. I’m a diligent note-taker, so I trust myself to go back! Setting a reminder on your phone works too!

Share a trip - One of our first Christmas’ together, I gifted my wife Ashley a trip to Universal Studios to visit the new Harry Potter worlds… As fate would have it, Ashley gifted me the DVD set of Harry Potter! The following year, Ashley’s parents and grandparents gifted a family ski trip… Only my second time ever skiing(and of all the places Ashley’s grandfather has traveled, it remains one of his all-time favorite trips because we were all together)! You might also consider chatting with siblings before Christmas and visiting one of your favorite childhood theme parks together. Or you might consider gifting your spouse a weekend getaway… January is considered off-season in many places, so it is a great time to travel! It doesn’t have to be far or extravagant, the point is to be in the same place with no distractions! Some of my all-time favorite trips have been just sharing a cabin with my closest friends - Simply being together, sharing meals, and making memories! (Below is a photo of a special surprise trip to Savannah that Ashley planned as a Christmas gift to me three years ago!)

Gift according to love languages - If you (and those you know!) have not taken the Love Languages test, I highly recommend it! We all seem to have a habit of gifting according to what WE want and not what the recipient wants… Change the trend this year! When it comes to gifts, there is no tool or cool gadget that my father-in-law doesn’t already have (or that doesn’t cost a fortune), so we always struggle to find the perfect gift. He often puts in overtime, so a perfect gift for him was an act of service - On his past birthday we gave him 4 options of service-oriented gifts (breakfast of his choice, washing his car, cleaning the gutters, or chopping wood), and he chose the breakfast of his choice! We ate like kings :) See below for some gift ideas that relate to each love language!

 Acts of Service - See above! 

Quality Time - Bowling, Painting with a Twist, Date Box, or work through Ancestry.com with your grandparents

Physical Touch - Dance class, snuggly stargazing date, or maybe a couples massage 

Receiving gifts - Project Repat (turn all of those old t-shirts they can’t part with into a blanket!), candle or soap-making class

Words of Affirmation - Journal prompt (this one for my mom was probably her favorite gift of all time), Happy jar (take 100 pieces of paper and write things you love about them or special memories- they can pull one out and read it throughout the year when they need a dose of happy!)

Gift Consumables - This tip pleases my practical and my eco-friendly side - Gift a consumable! Perhaps a limited edition bag of coffee from a local roaster, handmade local chocolates, or a nice bottle of wine or whiskey! Want to weave in an experience? Take it up a notch and visit a nearby distillery together, or host a whiskey/wine tasting at home. (After all, I always feel that Scotch is best appreciated in the presence of your closest comrades. Bonus tip: Enjoy a glass with Nick Offerman AKA Ron Swanson (you're welcome!)

Make it active - Rent jet skis, ATV adventure tour, Tree Hoppers, Goat Yoga, SUP or kayak, or a hay ride

Gift your time - Give a friend a coupon for a night of babysitting, a coffee date to help her work through her goals for the upcoming year, or offer to come over for a couple of hours on a Saturday so she can take that yoga class she never has time for. The gift of time is one of the best we can receive in this day and age of never-ending busyness!!

Give the gift of timelessness - I am biased, but I can never repeat enough the value of portrait sessions and tangible prints. Try an album or wall print from your wedding, or if you are a guy that hates to be in front of the camera… Book a 20-30 minute mini session and your wife will know you love her! You agreeing to something you don’t enjoy is a true act of love, and when it’s all over you’ll have something that increases in value over time. Give the gift of a portrait session or a timeless album - An anniversary session or a family session! Contact me to book your family session and I’ll include a framed gift card that can be wrapped (and then re-use the frame from your family photo prints!) 

We hope your photos will not merely be memory aids but represent what you saw and felt. Your artisan heirloom should increase in value each time you view it over a glass of wine.

What do all of these have in common? Time shared with loved ones. For most of these experiences, the gift will last far longer in your memory and theirs, you’ll move into the near year with a closer bond, and you won’t be stuck with a stack of items to donate!

What are some of your favorite experiences that you have gifted? I can tend to be old school, so if there are any cool apps or websites that you use that help you to find experiences, please share!

Three Tips for having a No 'First Look' Wedding

One of the things I will forever love about our job is how unique each and every couple is. From learning the story of how they met, to learning the friends and family most important to them, all the way down to the wedding day details they decide to choose, we love getting to know the couples we serve :) That said, one major detail that we find varies from couple-to-couple is whether or not to have a first look. While many feel they have to have one, others prefer not to and feel it’s just not their style. 

Today’s blog is for the couples in camp no first look!  Rather than try to convince you of the reasons I think you might love a first look (I already wrote a blog on that here!) today I’m going to walk you through three must have tips for a relaxed wedding day timeline WITH the traditional “aisle moment”. By the end of this blog, you’ll be more prepared to make an informed decision that is best for you and your significant other.

1) Take all possible photos before the ceremony

Most people know that you might take photos with your bridesmaids pre-ceremony, but something many don’t consider is taking individuals with family, too! Any images you want of just you with parents, siblings, and grandparents can be taken before the ceremony along with bridal party and individual bridal portraits. This way, your post ceremony to-dos can look a bit like this:

5:00- Ceremony begins 

5:30- Ceremony ends > Recessional > Cocktail hour begins 

5:35- Immediate family photos 

5:55- Full bridal party together 

6:05- Bride and groom portraits 

6:25- Portraits end > Get bustled and ready for introductions 

6:30- Cocktail hour ends 

2) HIGHLY consider a 75-90 minute cocktail hour

After reading the prior timeline if you are thinking, “20 minutes? That doesn’t seem like much!”, you are totally right! Compared to an engagement session that lasts one to two hours, 20 minutes is a super fast window. We can make magic happen in 20 minutes if we need to for sure, but if you like the idea of a more relaxed and enjoyable portrait time with your hubs-to-be, a longer cocktail hour is just the ticket. This allows you to have more variety in locations, posing, and simply more bride and groom portraits to choose from in your final gallery! BONUS: With 90 minute cocktail hours, you can even sneak a drink or two in at the end with your guests! 

3) Make sure your ceremony start time leaves light for photos

Often we’ll hear people say they don’t want a first look, and that they also want their ceremony just before sunset so their guests can enjoy the view while at cocktail hour. Now, you can absolutely take all of your photos in the dark (and we have all the most up-to-date flashes and equipment to do so ;) ). But if you find yourself liking the the images you see showcased on our portfolio/Instagram then having sunlight is an absolute key ingredient. Let’s say the sun sets on your wedding day at 6:00. In a perfect “no first look” timeline world, the timeline would look like this:

4:00- Ceremony begins 

4:30- Ceremony ends > Recessional > Cocktail hour begins 

4:35- Immediate family photos 

4:55- Full bridal party together 

5:05- Bride and groom portraits 

5:40- Portraits end > Bride and groom grab a cocktail with guests 

6:00- Sun sets > Cocktail hour ends 

This way all of your photos are in daylight and your guests can still see a gorgeous sunset before they head into the reception. 

There you have it- our three must do tips to use when not doing a first look. I hope this provided you a visual of what a “no first look” wedding could look like in an ideal world to get both your traditional aisle moment AND dreamy photos! That all said… check in with yourself to see if you are having one of these thoughts now:

• But this is still not enough time for portraits of just me and my groom/bride

• I would like to be able to fully attend & enjoy my cocktail hour with friends & family

• I get nervous at the idea of not seeing my person until 4:00 or 5:00 pm on a day that’s supposed to be about the two of us

 If this is you, be sure to check out our blog that specifically focuses on why you might love having a first look. After reading both, you can compare the pros and cons to see which feels right for you. But please remember this- no matter what you decide in the end, your wedding is sure to be one of the best days of your entire life. And when you get down to it, celebrating your love is all that really truly matters.

Happy Planning!

Ashley