Ryan and I spent a lot of time on the road this weekend driving from North Carolina to Florida for Krystal and Matt’s wedding. The drive was more than worth it though as we had a great time with some of our very best friends from college and got to witness Krystal and Matt exchange their vows in such an incredibly gorgeous setting.
With soft, white sand and sparkling teal water, the beaches in the Sarasota area along the west coast of Florida are breathtaking! Krystal and Matt’s wedding took place at the Longboat Key Club on Longboat Key, a barrier island located just north of the popular tourist spot, St. Armand’s Key.
(As you can see I did not end up wearing the Rent The Runway dress I previously picked out. It just looked awful on me, so I took advantage of their return policy and immediately shipped it back for a credit to the site and wore a backup baby bump-friendly dress I nabbed from Marshalls late last week.)
Once Ryan and I arrived, we grabbed seats next to our friends and chatted until the music changed and we saw the groom’s parents begin walking down the aisle. Before we knew it, all the bridesmaids were lined up and Krystal’s dad slowly walked the gorgeous bride toward her groom.
Krystal has one of the biggest and brightest smiles of anyone I know, but I have never seen her smile bigger than when she walked down the aisle on Saturday evening. She looked so happy and in love… and also kind of like a movie star, right!? Her dress fit her like a glove and she really was such a stunning bride!
She took Matt’s hand and I loved watching them exchange vows and slip on their wedding bands before it was time for one heck of an awesome wedding kiss!
Let’s just say their kiss was amazing and not nearly as hilariously awkward as the kiss Ryan and I shared on our wedding day. Haha!
Before we knew it, Krystal and Matt were officially husband and wife!
While the bridal party took some pictures, the guests enjoyed a cocktail hour on the lawn.
I was grateful for the extra time with some of my best friends and we all could not get over how fantastic the weather was over the weekend. It is usually HOT in Florida in the beginning of May and we totally lucked out with temperatures in the upper 70s and almost no humidity.
(UCF Kappa Deltas reunited! Love these ladies so darn much!)
After about an hour of social time outside, we were asked to take our seats in the Harborside Ballroom.
We joined our friends at table 6 and had a fun time cheering on the bridal party during their entrance.
After speeches and a toast, it was time for dinner. The highlight of the meal for me was the pasta bar!
Guests filled their bowls with a variety of pasta at one station before moving onto the larger buffet for salad, chicken, pork, fish, potatoes and chicken.
As we finished eating, Krystal and Matt headed out on the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife. Matt sang the words of the song to Krystal as they swayed and dipped which was way too adorable!
And then they motioned to everyone else to join them on the dance floor and it wasn’t hard to want to jump around and dance since their band was incredible!
(I loved it when the bride and groom joined the band on stage! They were clearly having a blast and it was so fun to see!)
The dance floor was hoppin’ the whole night and I spent most of the time dancing and chatting with friends. My voice was rather hoarse the next morning, that’s for sure!
Big congratulations to Krystal and Matt! We had such a wonderful time celebrating your love this weekend and I wish you the very, very best in the future. Thank you for including us in your special day!
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The ever anticipated recap! Love it! Miss you already!
Haha!! I MISS YOU already, too! Can’t wait until next month!!!
My fiance’s parents own a condo in Longboat Key and it is really so gorgeous there, perfect place to get married. This post is giving me the itch to go back soon!
Loved it there!! Hope you can visit soon!
That dress looks great on you! You don’t even look pregnant in most of the pictures!
What a beautiful wedding! And your dress decision was just perfect. I love Southwest Florida beaches and boy did you luck out with the weather! Happy Monday, Julie! 🙂
Wow, what an absolutely gorgeous venue for a wedding and gorgeous weather to match! Seriously, I can’t imagine a more beautiful day for a wedding. It looks picturesque!
Destination weddings are the best!
I LOVE the Longboat Key Club! My family owned a place there for years, and we spent so many summers there where I would watch weddings from our balcony all the time. So many good memories there – it’s so beautiful! What a wonderful weekend!
Looks lovely! Weddings are always so much fun!
I was in Longboat Key this weekend too! Enjoyed a much needed girls weekend! Love your dress choice, and what a beautiful wedding!
Looks like a really fun time! Those were our wedding colors almost 15 years ago. 🙂
What a beautiful wedding!! I love the dress you wore!
That beach looks to die for! The wedding cake looked absolutely delicious! That dress is a GREAT find – Love it!
Looks like so much fun!! Perfect location for a wedding!
Looks like SUCH a fun wedding, and I love the back of her wedding dress. Know what you mean about the heat, too…it may not be near as humid in CA, but it’s been consistently hitting 90°F for the past week. Not my favorite haha
What a gorgeous wedding! And omg haha I just looked at your wedding kiss, too funny! At least it left you guys with a memory that makes you smile and laugh 🙂
This looks like so much fun! I just got married 2 weekends ago and this makes me so happy 🙂
Kim
http://trendkeeper.me .. REALITY
I love her dress, it’s so sassy! Also – I will forever be obsessed with how you’ve perfected that curl/wave. So jealous!
I love the dress you wore, that bright color is awesome!
This wedding looks like so much fun and her dress is GORGEOUS! As always, you look amazing Julie!
That dress color is perfect for you. Looks like y’all lucked out with beautiful weather for such a gorgeous wedding!
That wedding dress is amazing! And yours is super cute as well!!!! Congratulations!
Wow, what a beautiful & fun time!! The bride totally looked gorgeous–as did you all. You all have pretty friends! 🙂 And what a beautiful place for such a lovely event?
Dancing on the dance floor all evening sounds so amazing. I love dancing with my husband & friends!
This weekend we had it ‘off’ for a bit as our daughter went to grandma’s so we could celebrate our 5th year wedding anniversary. It was a fun time & then lovely to see her again!
And now I’m cracking up at y’alls wedding kiss. Too funny!
Love the hot pink dress! And pasta bar? Yes, please!
Gorgeous bride!
I love your backup dress! The color looks great on you. Looks like a wonderful weekend!
WOW … stunning bride. I literally said WOW out loud when I saw the photo. (But how do you dance in a dress like that???)
There was an article in the Globe and Mail abt first kisses being awkward and horrible … fun to read though. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/a-kiss-to-build-a-dream-and-iconic-wedding-photo-on/article24191243/
I know! She was so beautiful!! Off to check out that article…
Oh my goodness, her dress is beyond amazing. And your dress is adorable! Sad to hear your ren the runway dress was no good, but the one you ended up with was great!! Also, pasta bar sounds beyond amazing. Wow.
Love weddings – I went to one this weekend too! Also that pink dress is gorgeous!
Love your gorgeous dress! A pop of color 🙂 I love weddings, especially when a pasta bar is involved 😉
Her dress is beautiful! I love your pink dress too. Glad you had a good time. I miss my girlfriends. Once everyone gets married and has kids it’s rare you get together like you used to.
I mean…could that wedding venue be anymore gorgeous?! Look at that water! AH!
That dress is gorgeous and flattering. You look great, and the wedding looked wonderful! 🙂
I feel for you!! Shift dresses are key for me right now! I’ve had decent luck at Marshalls and TJMaxx (the one I bought above is Cynthia Rowley) and White Plum.
Love that dress on you! I’m 16 weeks right now and have 4 weddings this summer, finding dresses is giving me much more anxiety than it should!
I love your dress! You look stunning!!! 🙂 That wedding looks amazing too! Congrats to the happy couple!!
I NEVER would have guessed that you recently bought your dress! It looks like something you’ve worn before; hopefully you’ll wear it even after the baby is born. I absolutely LOVE that color on you!
I hope so, too!! It was really comfy! I just bought a dress that was a few sizes bigger than usual and it ended up working out well (thank goodness)!
How beautiful! I love the color of your dress and the bride’s dress is AMAZING!
Love this post on wedding recap at Longboat Key Resort! My hubby and I were married there 4 years ago (next week) and I’m very excited to go back there next week to celebrate our anniv & have a mini-babymoon. Love that place!!!
That’s where I got married in 2005. We had sunset wedding on the beach and it was amazing! We also had our rehearsal dinner at Columbia. Our room at the LBK club was amazing!
aw!! the Columbia is one of my all-time favorite restaurants! that’s where my sister had her rehearsal dinner as well (but in st. Augustine). 🙂
Beautiful wedding and an even more beautiful bride! Her dress is gorgeous! 🙂
I absolutely love your loose curls in these photos!! How did you do them? They look fantastic!
Thank you! I wrap my hair around the outside of a curling iron and then hairspray the heck out of my hair before brushing it out!
Ahh just catching up on the weekend posts after being out of town and LOVED seeing the LBK Club on the blog! My husband and I had our wedding reception at the Harbourside Dining Room last April! This post brought back such great memories. Glad y’all had such beautiful weather this weekend!
Wow, Julie, are you sure you’re pregnant?! You look INCREDIBLE! Can’t see a bump at all!! 🙂
A pasta bar?! YUMMO!!! Love the pink dress, and the brides dress is quite the statement! Fits her perfectly.