Watercolor Lakeside Wedding at Mission Inn

About the Wedding:

Christina and Chris celebrated their love with a beautiful watercolor wedding at the gorgeous Marina Del Rey at Mission Inn Resort. Lake Harris was the perfect backdrop for their outdoor ceremony. Lake Harris is the largest lake on the Harris Chain of Lakes, which plays a significant role in their lives. Christina and Chris chose Lake County as their current home because of the picturesque lake views and historic quaint cities. They were so excited to share the beautiful setting with their family and friends on their special day.

Why did they choose February for the big day? February is a very special month for Christina and Chris. February is the month to celebrate the beauty of love, and they met on February 19th, 2014, after a “swipe to the right”. The couple also found their first home together in February of 2016 in charming Mount Dora, Florida, on the Harris Chain of Lakes. Who would have known at the time that a trending dating app called “Tinder” would lead this couple to their happily ever after?

The Proposal:

Chris made Christina’s favorite holiday even more magical. Chris proposed on Christmas morning at the couples new home the purchased earlier that year.

What They’re Looking Forward To:

We are looking forward to having all our favorite people all in one spot to celebrate love! We just want everyone to have a heck of a lot of fun and parttttttyyyyyyyyy!

The Wedding Dress:

The dress I selected I have loved for years! Hayley Paige released the “Comet” dress in 2016. I knew that beauty would one day be my wedding dress. Chris popped the question end of December and by early January I had already said yes to the dress, but it wasn’t that simple. After calling every Hayley retailer in Florida, I almost gave up on the dress. Finally, I convinced a store to fly in a sample and as soon as I put it on, it lived up to all my expectations. The hand placed intricate detailed beading was my favorite part. The mixture of opal, clear and iridescent crystals caught my eye and swept me off my feet. I had never seen anything quite like it and knew it was special enough to be mine.

Watercolor Wedding Decor:

That’s simple. I love art and creativity and Chris loves nature. Our wedding was simply an elegant blend of who we are and what we love. A live wedding artist was one of the things that made our day so special. And believe me it was so worth it. Wedding painters are traditionally acrylic painters, but I wanted the softness and authenticity of watercolor and I didn’t stop searching until I found Caryn Dahm. The soft hues like those found in a watercolor painting are things I have always been drawn to.

I knew wanted a juxtaposition of soft ethereal colors against the greenery and trees. We custom made our invitations through eleven note to also incorporate that watercolor wedding feel with blushes and light blue hues. Chris has always loved nature and water. And that has become a large part of our relationship. We wanted to incorporate his love for both by selecting a venue with a backdrop of old Florida oaks and the Harris chain of lakes. We also mixed our styles with our florals and decor. When planning the entire wedding we really just tried to stay true to what we love and create a day that represented who we are.

Favorite Moments:

Christina – the whole evening was truly flawless. It went by so fast and felt like a fairytale. The part that stands out to me was seeing the venue for the first time during our private reveal. I mean I had a feeling it would be beautiful, but never in my life did I think my wedding would look like a storybook. The space was completely transformed and all of our planning and hard work payed off. It was everything I had ever dreamed and so much more.

Chris – Chris loved our surprise from DJ Gaby with Our DJ Rocks. After hearing that both of our families are from up north, she mentioned she had the perfect song for us, but we didn’t know what it was! After all the formalities it was time to dance and DJ Gaby knew just how to get the entire room up out of their seats. Before we knew it we were all in a circle, arms locked, singing “when the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie…that’s amore”. We looked around the room and every single person was having a genuine blast!

Favorite Decor Piece:

Such a hard answer. It’s a tie between our lush round floral arch created by Lesley and our masterpiece of a desert table created by Le Petit Sweet Both blew our minds and were intentional focal points for our big day.

Advice:

Stay true to who you are. We picked everything at our wedding simply because we liked it. We didn’t really care about what our guests would think or would like, instead we went with our gut. I remember walking into the Mission Inn for our tasting and Jessica had the linen options laid out for our sweetheart table. Chris saw the iridescent pink sequence table cloth and was like oh goodness, I know which one you are going to pick….and boy was he right 😂. For all those perfectionist brides that aren’t sure if they want to relinquish control to a planner or day of planner….all I have to say is DO IT! Katie and team are just as much as a perfectionist as you. She took my vision and knocked it out of the park. Her organization and knowledge is invaluable.

Regrets:

I’ve been thinking about this a lot because I regret it still! I wish I would have gone with my gut and hired my favorite local singer for cocktail hour and my favorite local coffee cart, Pups and Cups Coffee, for pre-ceremony treats and lattes. I came so close to pulling the trigger days before the event but was trying to be budget-conscious. Live music and craft coffees are both things we love so much. Looking back, the cost wouldn’t have been drastic in the grand scheme of things and would have shown so much more of our personality and things we love.

Kind Words:

“Hiring Katie and team was the best thing we did for our special day! At first, I was unsure if I should make the investment. I am pretty organized and like things a particular way. I was worried about having someone else take that over and execute it on the big day. After meeting Katie, all my worries went away and I knew she was the perfect person to make sure all my hard work fell into place perfectly. We trusted her instantly and she completely understood the vision.

Katie is so attentive, responsive and knows the industry. She was SO MUCH MORE than a day of planner. She answered every question along the way and created the most well thought through schedule for our day and all our vendors. On our actual wedding I had not ONE THING to worry about. The wedding night was flawless….Not one glitch and I truly owe it to Katie and BDC! Thank for sharing your talent with us!”

Christina and Chris, your wedding was absolutely MAGICAL. The watercolor details were flawless. The colors were gorgeous! The venue was perfect! I could go on and on and on…It was such a pleasure working with you and I wish we could do it all over again! xoxo, Katie