Jill and Mark | The Reach Resort Key West Wedding
When life throws a curve ball - like a global shutdown just months before your wedding - the best response is to adjust and knock it out of the park. Such was the result of the absolutely STUNNING wedding of Jill and Mark, as they said “I Do” on the beautiful dock of the Reach Resort in Key West. It may have taking place one full year after their original wedding date, but that wasn’t going to stop them from having a night to remember!
Press PLAY to relive the beautiful day!
The couple wanted to make everything simple for their guests, so everything took place on the resort grounds. I arrived a little early and visited the bride while she was getting ready with all her friends and family. This gave me time to grab her dress, accessories, shoes, and adorable “Bride” mask to get some detail photos.
We grabbed some candid photos of her with her girls, as they helped her get her dress and her shoes on and get ready for the big day ahead.
With that, it was time to head down to the ceremony site! The Reach Resort is known for its iconic pier. At the end of it is a beautiful ceremony spot overlooking the water. Not only is it beautiful, but functional as well, since it’s one of the few venues in Key West that has a built-in backup plan in case of rain, made possible by the fact that the end of the pier is covered. The altar area was set up with some gorgeous floral arrangements, and the blue skies made the perfect compliment to the colors of the flower arrangement.
I found the groom at the end of the dock, looking out at the water, taking in the beautiful surroundings and thinking about the day ahead. We took a few moments to capture a few photos of him, as the guests came in and began to be seated.
The couple did something that we see more and more destination weddings doing, which is having a pre-ceremony cocktail service, giving people time to mix and mingle before the festivities begin. Jill and Mark had out refreshments served by the Reach staff, and everyone was able to relax and enjoy the atmosphere as they greeted one another.
Finally, it was the moment we’d all been waiting for! The ceremony was underway, and began with Mark, the bridesmaids, and even the couple’s adorable fur-baby were escorted down the aisle. My favorite was seeing that their flower “girl” was actually one of their adult family members, who sprinkled petals on the walkway before the bride made her entrance.
The couple had opted not to have a First Look, waiting instead for the moment the bride walked down the aisle to be the first time Mark would see his beautiful bride on the wedding day. His reaction was priceless! Awe and delight were quickly replaced with a wave of emotion. It was so sweet!
Their officiant began the ceremony, leading the couple through their traditional exchange of readings, vows, and reminders about the significance of this moment and the meanings of love.
In a humorous moment amid the solemnity of the ceremony, the officiant asked for the rings. This is when the best man proceeded to pull out not a shiny gem, but an actual “Ring Pop” candy instead! The bride and groom cracked up laughing, and it made for a very special moment!
At long last, the couple embraced in their first kiss as husband and wife and made their celebratory walk down the aisle, with lots of cheers, applause, and high fives to go around!
The family gathered for group photos, and since I knew they were excited to get to the party, my assistant and I moved through the couple’s list of special requests quickly, moving individuals in and out around the couple quickly and efficiently. This is one of those areas of the wedding day that, while important, I know can get long and tiring for the guests, but I was thankful we were able to take account of everyone on our list, get them into the photos and then off to the party!
With everyone else headed out to cocktail hour, the bride and groom had a few minutes to themselves while we got some photos of just the two of them on the dock with the stunning Atlantic ocean in the background.
The ceremony got underway with a few hugs, a little emotion, and a traditional exchange of vows, rings, and the love of everyone looking on and enjoying the event.
As we headed into the reception, we were greeted by the most beautiful floral arrangements on the tables, complete with glasswear and chargers that gave the entire space a very island wedding feel.
The couple made their entrance onto the reception deck, and went into their first dance as a married couple. Guests looked on while the music played, and the bride and groom enjoyed a romantic moment together, relishing in their newfound status as newlyweds.
After dances, everyone celebrated the remainder of the cocktail hour, and I went around getting candids of the guests and various couples who were in attendance.
After some initial seating and bringing out the salads, Jill went and changed out of her wedding dress as we were getting close to sunset time, so I grabbed the couple to sneak them away for a few minutes. The light was making the sky a beautiful pink and blue, perfect for sunset photos on the beach!
Back under the tiki hut, the couple were greeted by their gorgeous wedding cake and family and friends waiting to celebrate witih them!
Then it was back to the reception, where their beautiful and very humorous cake was waiting to be enjoyed! Funny story - when I had first arrived to the reception, I looked down at the cake and saw that there was a small piece missing! I urged my assistant to go get the wedding planner STAT so we could figure out what to do, only to have her come in and chuckle, calmly saying “no no, it’s the dog eating the cake!”. Ohhh my goodness! We had a good laugh out of that, and of course I had to get a good close up shot…not only of that, but of their comedic cake topper as well, reminiscent of what a typical weekend of hard partying in Key West can definitely do to you! 😜
After some heartfelt speeches, it was time for the couple to close out the evening with a message of thanks to their guests. There were some emotional moments in there full of love and gratitude, wrapping up a beautiful day filled with joy, smiles, laughter, and a lot of fun! Congratulations to Jill and Mark on your long awaited Key West wedding!
Venue: The Reach Resort
Planner: Jennifer Perez with Simply You Weddings
Hair and Makeup: Studio Marie Pierre
Cake: Cakes By Karol
Flowers: Duarte Floral
Entertainment: DJ Nick with Kiss Me Entertainment
Photographer: Karrie Porter