Here at Joy, we’ve shared the stories of some of our favorite vendors. Now we are get to start sharing some other really special stories – the stories of real Joy couples. We can’t wait to share some of our favorite weddings with you! If you’ve used Joy and want your wedding featured on this blog, send us an email! We’d love to tell your love story to the world.
To kick things off, we’re going to whisk you away on a tropical getaway. Meet Vanessa, a middle-school teacher, and Joe, an active member of the AirForce Reserves. These two California residents met in Seattle and planned a Florida destination wedding in Palm Beach, Florida on May 29 for 60 of their friends and family. Meet the lovebirds, sigh over their incredible pictures, and find out how Joy made planning an out-of-state wedding so much easier.
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF. HOW DID YOU MEET?
It took the internet to bring us together – we met on match.com – but once we exchanged a few messages, we realized that we lived two blocks away from each other. Once we met, we discovered that we weren’t only neighbors, but we shared a mutual love for cooking, camping, traveling and exploring. The rest is history.
California love
HOW DID JOE PROPOSE?
Cooking dinner together and trying out new recipes had always been our thing since we first started dating. So he [Joe] proposed to me [Vanessa] one night while we were cooking dinner together. I was sautéing broccoli when I turned around and saw Joe down on his knee. It was perfect – a special, relaxed and intimate setting. He knew I would have hated being proposed to in public with a bunch of strangers ruining the moment.
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR WEDDING?
We knew we wanted a bohemian wedding, so we did bohemian at the beach! Besides my bohemian-inspired dress and tropical hairpiece, we had the guys wear casual, suits with rolled up sleeves and bow ties, and the bridesmaids wore mismatched grey dresses.
WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF WEDDING PLANNING?
Getting everyone situated on arrival to Florida was the most challenging. It made the actual wedding-planning seem easy in comparison! As soon as we told people we were having a destination wedding, they started asking what to do, where to stay, and how to get around – thankfully, Joy’s schedule feature made that so much easier.
WHY DID YOU USE JOY AT YOUR WEDDING?
We knew that planning a destination wedding for 60 people from across the country wasn’t going to be easy. Our friend Justin told us about Joy, and since so many of our guests were traveling for the wedding, it was a perfect way to get everyone organized.
Joe and Vanessa’s guests used Joy to organize group beach trips before the wedding
HOW DID JOY MAKE WEDDING PLANNING EASIER?
We really enjoyed the Schedule of Events. We were able to put the address in so that people could use GPS to find their way. It saved us so many texts!
WHAT WAS THE MOST UNIQUE PART OF YOUR WEDDING?
Oooh – tough call. Probably the newlywed plunge – we jumped into the ocean in our wedding clothes! We also had our guests learn and dance to a Cueca – a traditional Bolivian dance.
HOW DID YOU DIVIDE UP WEDDING PLANNING RESPONSIBILITIES?
I [Vanessa] did most of the decor and smaller details while Joe arranged the bigger things like transportation, videography, photography, etc.
WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER COUPLES PLANNING THEIR WEDDING?
If you have several events going on, definitely use Joy! It was super helpful for guests to see the timeline and also gave them a way to share photos, comment on them, and interact with each other.
Joy made it easier for wedding guests to meet up and celebrate before and after the wedding
TELL US MORE
Planning a destination wedding? Whether you’re getting hitched in Florida or Iceland, Joy can make it so much easier to plan from afar, manage your guest list, and collect guest photos. Create your Joy wedding here!
VENDORS THEY LOVED
- Catering: Crystal Hill, Hammock Dunes Club
- Wedding planner: Heather Canada, First Coast Weddings & Events
- Videographer: Christian Harris, Aqueous Films LLC
- Photographer: Stephanie DiFormato
