1. Real Weddings

A Sophisticated, Whimsical Wedding at the Hemingway Home in Key West, Florida

Lona Hall, 31, a professional photographer and owner of Blueye Images Photography, and Bryan Wofsey, 33, general contractor and owner of Barracuda Bui

Lona Hall, 31, a professional photographer and owner of Blueye Images Photography, and Bryan Wofsey, 33, general contractor and owner of Barracuda Builders exchanged vows in an open-air ceremony at the Hemingway Home’s lush garden. “We wanted the wedding to feel like the excitement of New Year’s Eve with the comfortable charm of Old Key West,” Lona says. They pulled off the vision with a cheery color scheme of pink, gold and champagne completed with pops of sequins.

Beacon Lane created gold, white and pink wedding invitations complete with metallic envelopes and a monogrammed gold ribbon. Manayunk Calligraphy addressed the outer envelops in a very funky style of modern calligraphy.
Lona wore her hair half up in loose waves with natural-looking makeup for the ceremony, but pulled her hair up and added a smoky eye for the reception.
“I wanted a loose, organic, natural look for the bouquet,” Lona says. She carried pink peonies, pink ranunculus and white anemones wrapped with ivory satin and decorated with her grandmother's broach.
The groom wore a simple white anemone boutonniere.
The couple's dog, Papa Louie (who was also present for the proposal!), served as a combination of “best dog” and ring bearer. The fury friend donned a vintage navy bowtie and a gold collar both from Etsy.
The ceremony was in the Hemingway Home garden, which was decorated with 115 gold Chiavari chairs and four gold vases filled with peonies, anemones, hydrangea and roses.
The exposed-brick ceremony aisle was decorated with pink and white rose petals in a scroll pattern for a touch of drama and romance.
The ceremony aisle was framed with four gold vases filled with pink roses and peonies and white hydrangeas and anemones.
Lona's father escorted her to the ceremony from a block away, accompanied by a New Orleans' style band, all while holding a white parasol over her head, a twist on an old Italian tradition. “Our musical entrance was a complete surprise to our guests and to Bryan,” she says.
The couple took their first steps to the Beatles “All You Need is Love” performed by the Key West Second Line Band.
“Bryan and I selected Hemingway Home for its history and charm and we loved the idea that it would be exclusively ours for the wedding ceremony and reception,” Lona says.
After the ceremony, guests were escorted to the pool area where they were greeted with the signature drink: mojitos (Lona's favorite!).
The escort card table was decorated with a sign that read, “You can find your seat here, but your place is on the dance floor”, and a gold vase full of hydrangea, ranunculus, anemones, peonies and roses.
The escort cards were a shaped like tiny scrolls and hung from glasses of pink champagne. “I loved these,” Lona says. “I searched long and hard for a unique and fun escort display that wouldn't break the bank.”
The head table was decorated with different sized ivory, pink and gold lanterns in addition to garlands, mercury glass and candles.
Tall candleholders were paired with short mercury glass vases filled with white hydrangea, white anemones and pink peonies.
The freestanding table numbers were painted champagne and were propped up against the mercury glass and tall glass candleholders.
A pink sequined linen spiced up the head table while the other tables wore champagne-colored linens.
Gold beaded glass chargers were paired with bowtie-shaped ivory napkins tied off with a gold ribbon.
The couple kept the evening fun with some “Fun Facts About the Bride & Groom,” letting guests in on some cute tidbits.
Lona and Bryan enjoyed a three-tier fondant cake with a pale pink leaf-textured bottom layer, an antique gold middle layer and an ivory top layer with pink anemone sugar flowers. The couple also had an extra sheet cake to be sure they had enough for everyone.
Lona and Bryan danced to “Can't Take my Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valley. “Surprisingly, our first dance turned out much better than I had anticipated even though we never practiced,” Lona says. “It was perfectly us.”