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Fresh, bright & chalk full of wonderfully infused spring spirit, Kimberly Atwater & Jack Finnegan brought a bit of the Irish with them to their destination wedding in Hollywood Florida.  The couple embraced their beach surroundings, adding elements of starfish & sandboxes into their day all while hosting their nuptials pool side at the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort.  Striking green, vibrant fuchsia, & bold yellow hallmarked the event with everything from dresses to lighting to the tulips surrounding them!  Naturally no wedding would be complete without Packer, Kimberly & Jack’s most adorable boxer, who made the trip, walking down the aisle &  hamming it up for photos!  We love the infusion of vibrant hues & Irish spirit, what a fun twist on a destination beach wedding!

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Novella of the Bride…

Wedding Buzzwords ~ DIY, Beach, Irish, Spring, Outdoor, Family, & Celebration

We are currently living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with our dog, Packer, but plan on moving north this summer! Our relationship has traveled all over the country after we met in Sarasota, FL, we moved to Buffalo, NY, and then onward to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  It’s been a great seven years, three apartments, two dogs, and one big love for pizza and chicken wings!

We chose our venue because we did not want the traditional ceremony space or traditional wedding hall for our reception.  Our families are spread all over the country and we thought what would be better than bringing everyone to us in Florida! The Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort was a perfect match for all of us!

We wanted our wedding day to be a reflection of us and a celebration of our friends and family, adding details to almost every aspect of the ceremony and reception to convey those feelings. From the hand painted sign leading guests down the starfish adorned aisle, to the tulip bouquets and starfish boutonnieres, we had a hand (or four) designing and creating all of our wedding decorations. To keep guests cool we made programs fans for the ceremony; to add some fun to the cocktail hour a driftwood destination signpost was constructed, displaying hometown cities of wedding guests.

To help guests find their table, Jack constructed a sandbox to place all starfish escort cards. We used Kim’s great-grandmother’s canning jars as centerpieces and accompanied them with burlap table runners and handmade chalkboards, displaying our favorite places near and far. To get a laugh, we created Mad Lib cards for all guests to complete at dinner and decorated vintage suitcases for all cards to be placed in.

One of the most meaningful pieces was produced because Jack’s grandparents, Jean & John Finnegan were not able to attend the destination wedding. Kim created an embroidered patch, using one of Grandpa Finnegan’s blue shirts, and sewed it to the inside of her dress.

A Little Help From Their Friends ~ Our great friend Shara served as our wedding officiant.  We wanted our ceremony to be very personal and from a person who knows us both very well.  We also did not hire a florist, so all of the bridesmaids and the mothers helped with centerpieces and bouquets! We saved so much money this way and everyone got to spend time together the day before the wedding.  Jack’s grandparents could not attend our destination wedding, so our good friend Matt served as videographer of the ceremony and we were able to send it to them.

Favorite Moments: “There isn’t a favorite moment when you have your entire family and all of your friends together at one time in a room full of green!!! If we really have to decide…it was having our Boxer, Packer walk down the aisle.  He’s such a sweet boy and it was very nice of the hotel to make an exception for him.”

Vendor Love

Photographer: Ricky Stern Photography | Venue: Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort  | Wedding Dress: Wtoo {Belissima Bride}  | Bridesmaid Dresses: Modcloth | Shoes: Enzo Angiolini  | Hair: Michelle London + JoAnn Rodriguez  | Makeup: 17th Street Hair Design  | Groom’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse  | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas  | Baker: Edda’s Cake Design’s  | Music: Bitton Events