Southern Weddings

Pete may have used the most clever and original proposal we’ve seen. What did he do? Read on to hear about it but it involves a puppy, oh so cute! This wedding took place at Bicentennial Beach on the Indian Harbor Beach right before sunset.  With Becca and Nate from {Studio222 Photography} there to capture these amazing details and all the fun, we knew we had to showcase it on our SW Blog.  Katie + Pete took care of all the planning which included bridesmaids dresses from {J.Crew}, a wedding cake from {Publix} and catering by their favorite place, {The Yellow Dog Cafe}.  To see all the shots check out Studio222’s {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? My friend and I stopped by a local English Pub on our way home from a baseball game. We were talking to the doorman at the entrance to the pub when Pete walked out and also began talking to the doorman. After they talked for a second, he sat down outside  to relax and get out of the smoke. I thought he was cute and looked very familiar. I actually met him briefly a year before so I walked over and said, “you look familiar”. We talked for a while but got interrupted when friends of his arrived. I went back to talking with my friends when about 20 minutes later a girl friend of his came up to me and asked if she could talk to me for a second. She told me, “Pete is upstairs and won’t stop talking about you. He asked if I would come down here and bring you upstairs to talk with him more”. Of course I said “Yes!”. We talked for an hour and half upstairs then he asked for my phone number and the rest is history.
Describe the proposal: Katie had been looking at a Malti-Poo puppy online for a month or so and really wanted it bad. I kept telling her there is no way. It was too expensive, and we didn’t need a dog at the time. Understand that she is very hard to fool or surprise and figures everything out. Because of that I had been trying to figure out a way to propose without her having a clue. I also tried to think of a way that it would be hard for her to say no. She kept asking, and I kept shooting her down making her think there was no way we were getting a dog. I called the girl that she was emailing about the puppy and asked her to tell Katie someone had already bought the dog. She did, and Katie was very sad when she found out. I had the puppy flown in on a Saturday morning, and my sister picked her up. I told Katie I was going surfing and afterwords we would go to lunch in Cocoa Village, a place where people take their dogs, and there are many places to eat outside. So I went surfing and when I got back I asked her to get ready to go eat. While this was going on our families and close friends were at the restaurant with the puppy waiting for us to show up. She still had no clue. We finally got to the restaurant and sat down outside. I wasn’t aware that the whole place knew what was going on because my family told everyone before we arrived. So we were sitting outside, and I had a friend of my niece sitting across the street holding the puppy while family and friends hid in the bushes. As soon as we sat down Katie noticed her holding the dog and immediately started saying there was a girl holding a puppy just like the one she wanted. She tried to get up and go over to the girl which would have ruined my plan so I had to make her sit back down by telling her not to bother her at least twice. The girl started walking over towards us, and Katie started going crazy asking her all kinds of questions that the girl had no clue about. Her part was to just walk over with the dog and ask us to hold her while she went to the bathroom. She finally asked, and Katie jumped up to grab the puppy but the girl was told to hand her to me first no matter what. So I grabbed the dog and sat down. Katie was so upset I took the dog first and started scolding me for doing so. I had to make sure the ring was on the dogs collar so she couldn’t see it right away. I finally handed her the dog and she didn’t see the ring for at least 2 or 3 minutes. I thought to myself, you’ve got to be kidding. She finally saw it and said ‘”Oh my gosh Pete, this girl has her diamond ring on the dog’s collar'” still clueless it was her engagement ring. I was trying my hardest not to start laughing. I gave her a funny look and finally she started screaming, “No way, is it mine? Is it really for me?” So finally the time had come to get down on my knee and propose. There was no way she could say no. It was the cutest puppy she had ever seen and the ring wasn’t half bad either. My plan was a success.
Why do you love your husband? I love my husband because his first love is Jesus Christ, he doesn’t take life too seriously, doesn’t hold resentment or anger for more then 5 minutes and because he shows me on a daily basis how much he loves me.
What attracted me to my wife was: The first time I laid eyes on her I thought she was beautiful with a very athletic figure. Just my type. Then after we started talking I realized she was more than just pleasing to the eyes, she was intelligent and made me laugh a lot. She was very witty and had many of the same interests as me. Most important was the fact that she went to church and was a Christ follower.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our first date we went out for what I thought was only dinner at a sushi restaurant then home, but he surprised me by taking me an hour away to an indoor sky diving wind tunnel. It was super fun.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? Yes, we wrote our own vows. My vow to Pete, “Everyone has a definition of perfect, what in their eyes they see as the person that compliments them in every way, you are the most kind, laid back, and patient person. You are perfect for me. You are my perfect.”
The weather on our wedding day was: Sunny and very beautiful. There was a cold front coming in which was supposed to bring heavy rain, but there was not a drop of rain and as the day went on it got nice and cool.
Favorite design element of your big day: The beach
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I really wanted the Melissa Sweet “Lia” more then anything but did not want to pay the money for a new one so I bought a used one online. It was the perfect simple but elegant dress for the type of wedding I was having. One of my favorite elements of my wedding.
Describe your wedding flowers: I was going for a simple, chic look so I thought Gerbera Daisy’s were perfect to keep the simplicity. The pink was chosen because it stands out against the blue water at the beach.
Describe your wedding cake: It was a vanilla cake with chocolate pudding filling and butter cream frosting from Publix. I got so many compliments on it and everyone loved it.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Making sure the wedding was what I wanted, not what everyone told me I should have.
Hardest decision you made in planning? The reception place was very hard to decide. I wanted quality food with a laid back atmosphere. I definitely picked the right place. The Yellow Dog Cafe surpassed my expectations.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Simple, relaxed, and fun.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Remember your initial vision for your wedding and don’t compromise.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? I can’t narrow it down to one, but I really appreciated the guests who traveled long distances to come to our wedding.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Traveling and being best friends.
Any DIY items? The entire reception decor was envisioned by me and put into reality by my mother and her two friends.

Congratulations to Katie + Pete. We wish you the best as you enjoy being best friends!

Written with love by Lara Casey