After They Lost Everything During Hurricane Matthew, This Bride and Groom Planned Their Perfect Blush Wedding

A few weeks before their wedding date, St. Augustine Florida was left devastated by Hurricane Matthew, and this bride and groom lost everything they owned. But they pushed through the planning process and had a super sweet blush wedding captured to perfection by Bethany Walter Photography! Bridesmaids, bouquet, invite, the shoes all in rosy tones— even blush cake pops were severed. The bride, in a gorgeous gown paired with some the most glamorous wedding shoes ever, kissed her groom at their outdoor ceremony in St. Agustine, Florida! Also, we can’t help but swoon over these couple's sweet story and how they raised after tragedy— you can read it all below! Oh, and the FULL GALLERY is just as sweet!

LOVE CONQUERS ALL

From the Photographer… “Juliette and Joseph were victims of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and spent months trying to get back into their home (which happened only weeks before the big day) while planning their wedding. They handled an enormous amount of stress with grace and wonderful attitudes. On their wedding day, their happiness and joy was evident, as was their families and friends. The couple chose the Fountain of Youth for the event and pink, gold, and white as their colors.”

THE PROPOSAL

From the Bride… “Joseph and I met back in 2008 at Pedro Menendez Highschool in Saint Augustine Florida when we were just 14 years old.

Joseph surprised me with a photography session at Washington Oaks in Palm Coast Florida for a Christmas/dating anniversary present. He told me that the only date the photographer had available was the day right before our 8-year anniversary (Somehow I didn't put 2 and 2 together).

We went on all through the park and finally stopped under the cutest little gazebo. We sat for a couple cute laughing photos and that's when he stood up and turned me around. When I turned around, our family and friends were holding up letters that spelled out “Marry Me?” I glanced over and that's when Joseph was down on one knee and asked me to be his wife! It was everything I could ever want and more! Just thinking back to it puts a huge smile on my face. I am so thankful that he was able to arrange our family to share such a special moment with us. and without me knowing!!”

A BLUSH OUTDOOR AFFAIR

“Our wedding was at the Historical Fountain of Youth in Saint Augustine Florida. We set our date and it happened to be Earth Day, so we tried to go for that light and airy feel. Our colors we picked were mostly blushes, whites, lots of greens, and dainty accents of gold throughout the wedding. An outdoor wedding was a must for us- so what better way than to book the fountain of youth was the ceremony and reception could all be outdoors!”

THE LOOK

“Joseph chose a very well tailored grey Egara slim fit suit from Men's Wearhouse. He completed his outfit with brown woven dress shoes.

I fell in love with a very dramatic mermaid style wedding gown by Casablanca Bridal purchased at Debra's Bridal in Jacksonville Florida. The gown had a sweetheart neckline, intricate cap sleeves, and a very detailed bodice of beaded lace with a beautiful underlay pattern. The back was open and the lace formed a heart.”

THE DETAILS

“We really wanted mixes of blushes, whites, and greens. We didn't have any specific flowers in mind so our florist surprised us.

We loved the idea of the dessert table trend, so we had to incorporate that into our special day. We had blush and white rock candy, blush French macaroons with gold dust, over-sized chocolate chip cookies, and mini pink and white chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. We also wanted to keep the tradition of cutting a cake so we had our baker make a mini two-tiered white wedding cake. We loved having a cake to cut into during the reception & also save the top for our one year anniversary.

We enjoy doing DIY projects which made us super excited to do some for the wedding. The table that held all of the sweets was repurposed from an old dresser purchased from the thrift store, along with an old chair. This was our first large project. My husband removed the legs from the chair and dresser and attached the chair legs to the dresser. Finished the project off with some fresh paint and two pink crystal knobs for the two doors.

The next big project was spray painting wine bottle of all sizes and modpodging gold glitter on the smallest ones. These were used on the stairs leading up to the reception pavilion.

The last major project took a couple months due to the hurricane complications but my husband built 30 wooden benches for the guests to sit on for the ceremony. I am still in disbelief and awe that he pushed through to build and stain 30 benches.”

WEDDING PLANNING AFTER THE HURRICANE

“I think personally the most important thing to both of us was to make sure we were having fun. We set a date well in advance to give us plenty of time to plan and not stress. However, during the wedding planning, Hurricane Matthew skirted Florida and my husband and I literally lost everything we owned. However, we kept our cool and pushed through. We had fun planning all the way through the wedding day. If I had to do it all over again, I would as long as we did it together.

My advice is to always have fun, enjoy this time planning such a special event together, always remember to think things through before acting on it and get as much accomplished as you can early in the planning process to relive some stress closer to your day.”