Emily + George’s story will make you believe in true love again. Their meet-cute is made for the rom-com treatment, Emily having gone to a different dog park than usual and George approaching her for a charmingly dorky first conversation about her Formula1 hat. They exchanged numbers, and proceeded to stay in touch for weeks while both traveled out of state. When they finally did get an actual first date, both of them knew this love was going to be a big one.

Maybe I love this story all the more because I love Emily, and have for nearly 20 years - we met in sixth grade English class, and have been sister-soulmates ever since. I pitched “mystical swamp meets Rivendell from Lord of the Rings”, to pay homage to our favorite movie trilogy of childhood as well as E+G’s stunning South Florida venue. It was a treat to source rare-to-me goodies at the Miami flower market, paired with foraged coastal elements like snake plants and ferns.

Instead of competing with the grand and sprawling tree beneath which they held their ceremony, I opted for a mossy, moody ground installation growing about their feet. Emily’s bouquet got the princess treatment, with trailing amaranth and lux blooms like orchids and hellebores. The reception tables mixed bud vases and petite arrangements to keep the decor feeling breezy and light. Mossy boutonnieres looked like miniature swamp ecosystems. The ceremony meadow pieces were repurposed in front of the head table.

venue: The Lake House // photographer: Danielle Love Photography