The pandemic through a curveball for all the couples planning on getting married during that time. Originally, this couple had planned on getting married at Walt Disney World but then had to shift gears and ended up at the incomparable The Colony Palm Beach. They even had some Disney elements within their day to pay homage to the original plan.
This flexible couple had a stunning micro wedding at The Colony Palm Beach. “We had always said that if we weren’t getting married at Disney, we’d get married at The Colony,” the couple stated. And we are so glad that they did because it is beautiful!
Check out the beautiful details and planning tips from the couple for this intimate Colony Palm Beach micro wedding. You can follow Jayme on Instagram at @thenorthernprepster.
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Married in Palm Beach Family Used
Quick Facts – Colony Palm Beach Wedding
- Guest Count: 40
- Ceremony: Hanging Garden at The Colony Palm Beach
- Reception: Coral Ballroom at The Colony Palm Beach
Wedding Essentials:
Invitations and Stationary:
Our wedding at The Colony we planned in less than 6 months since we cancelled our other wedding plans. The first time around we handmade every invitation. I was so over that by this point, and we ended up ordering invitations from Minted. We were super satisfied with them!
One investment we made with our wedding was getting a commissioned art piece by former Lilly Pulitzer artist Paige Spearin. She was amazing to work with and worth every penny. We used the art in many aspects of our wedding, including the invitation. On top of the actual invitation we had a print out of the art, which included the date and location, and that somewhat served as a “save the date” that everyone could hang on their fridge or somewhere as a reminder. We got so many compliments on it and we got sent the original to keep for ourselves.”
Dessert:
The Colony Palm Beach has a great package that includes almost everything you’d need for your wedding, including a cake. We worked with a local bakery from their recommended list and The Colony package covers pricing. We selected Earth & Sugar, worked directly with them, and the team at The Colony took care of everything else. It made my life so much easier!
When speaking with Earth & Sugar all we had to do was choose the few flavors of cake/icing we wanted to try in our tasting, and they sent us pictures of about 20 cakes that would be included in our price point. We picked from that list, did our tasting to pick our flavor, and that was it! We went with a vanilla chocolate chip cake with vanilla & chocolate mocha fillings. I definitely recommend doing a tasting if you can! We almost didn’t do ours, since we live 1000+ miles away, and the flavor we were going to go with before the tasting we didn’t even end up enjoying. You really never know what you’ll like until you taste it!”
Photographer:
Shea Christine was our photographer. She and her assistant photographer that day were a pleasure to work with! Everything was laid back and fun. Plus, the photographs came out beautifully. I genuinely could not wish for better wedding photos, they were exactly what we wanted. We had Shea until 9pm, our reception started at 7pm.
Our DJ, Adam from Good as Gold Events, recommended that after dinner we dance a bit before our cake cutting, then do the cake cutting right before Shea left. This is what we ended up doing and it worked out perfectly! This allowed the night to be broken up a bit, plus we got some great dance pictures, and I feel like more people ate the cake since they got hungry from dancing.
After Shea left we passed out disposable cameras. This was a last-minute investment we made on our wedding and I am so happy we did! The pictures were so fun, silly, and they’re shots even the most talented photographer couldn’t capture. It’s not the cheapest addition – we only had 18 cameras and at the end of the day it was about $500+ after development – but it was worth every penny.”
Flowers:
Finding a florist was definitely stressful. While we didn’t necessarily have a budget set, we knew we didn’t want to spend our whole budget on flowers for such a small wedding. We ended up going with Dalsimer Atlas and they were amazing to work with! They really took care of us and were willing to work within whatever budget we wanted.
Honestly, we ended up with so many flowers it was overwhelming in the best way possible! Their team exceeded our expectations. They were also great to work with considering we provided our own bowls, vases, votives, etc. The day of, they brought the flowers and placed everything. And between their team and the team at The Colony everything was set up perfectly. We also brought some of our own linens and other decor that The Colony set up for us with no hesitation.”
Wedding Planner:
We opted not to hire an outside event planner. Originally with the Disney wedding, we had a planner assigned to us and it was included with our contract. Thankfully, the Colony Palm Beach has a great team of venue coordinators that are at your disposal. We worked with Elizabeth when signing our contract, and then we moved over with Bronte for the planning process and all the events that weekend.
They were AMAZING and we can’t thank them enough. Bronte was always quick to reply to emails, did tons of research for us, and was always happy to help. Additionally, other team members from The Colony; such as Lucas, who worked with us the day of, truly made us feel at ease. If you tell them “jump” they say “how high?” It was stellar service!”
Reception and Ceremony
Ceremony and Reception Venue:
Our entire wedding took place at The Colony Palm Beach. We had our rehearsal there the night before, along with a casual get together in our Villa and at the Villa pool following. We got ready there, and held all three parts of our wedding there – the ceremony, the cocktail hour, and the reception. And of course, we stayed there for the entire trip! It really made me appreciate venues that can host all parts of the wedding day. It makes everyone’s lives so much easier to just stay on one property – I highly recommend finding a venue that can accommodate that if possible!
The Colony’s team was amazing, as per usual. Not only was the venue and service great, it was nice to have so many picture-perfect backdrops nearby. The Colony’s team drove us around in their beach buggy so we could get pictures on Worth Avenue and by the Clock Tower. Plus, The Colony itself is incredibly photogenic. Just another small thing that made our lives easy!”
Food and Beverage:
All of our food was through The Colony Palm Beach – who has an incredible culinary team! Everything was made on-site and was as fresh as possible. The Colony’s package includes so much and makes everything super simple. We got to choose 4 hand-passed hors d’oeuvres off of an extensive list – we chose the Palm Beach cheese puff, shrimp cocktail, a vegan spring roll, and fried chicken bites. All of them were great and it made sure even our vegetarian and vegan guests had options. My personal favorite was the chicken, I still dream about it.
We had an open bar all night at both cocktail hour and during the reception, plus there was wine service at our plated dinner – which was a nice touch! We got to choose two entrees for guests to choose from beforehand. We chose the beef tenderloin and a salmon. They also included a silent vegan option – we chose a butternut squash ravioli. There was also a kid’s option available. I tried all three adult entrees and they were all fantastic. All of our guests raved about our food!
We added on “late night bites” to be hand-passed around 9:30pm – our reception ended at 11pm. We chose to do this because we had an open bar and wanted to keep people fed, plus there isn’t really anything open after 11pm on the island – we didn’t want people to leave hungry. Most of the late-night options are more “fun” finger foods – which we loved! We picked french fries and grilled cheese sandwiches – both were crowd pleasers!”
Officiant:
Our officiant was my Uncle Andy, who is a Pastor for the Nazarene Church. Uncle Andy also officiated my sister’s wedding ceremony and he sang at my parent’s wedding in the 90’s. I loved having someone we knew and loved be a part of our day in that way.
Plus, he knew exactly what we wanted, stuck to the script, and made the ceremony short, sweet, and to the point. Our ceremony was less than 30 minutes and we were able to go right over to cocktail hour which was held poolside.”
Ceremony and Reception DJ:
We chose to have a DJ and were recommended Adam from Good as Gold Events by our friends who are local to the Palm Beach area. Adam was incredible to work with! He is young, upbeat, willing to work with you, and overall amazing. We knew from the get go we wanted to pick our entire playlist, and he was more than okay with that! Remember – no one knows your guests like you do!
He transitioned songs very well, was a great emcee, and kept everyone dancing all night. I have NEVER seen so many people on the dance floor for such a long period of time at a wedding. Countless people have talked to us after the wedding saying that it was the most fun wedding they had ever been to, and Adam was a huge part of that! Adam also did the music for our ceremony and cocktail hour as well as our lighting (including a monogram light) for our reception. He was a great guy and fairly priced and I highly recommend him! P.S. He’s also ordained so he can marry people as well!”
Attire and Beauty
Bridal and Groom Attire:
My dress was from designer Justin Alexander. I got it custom made in natural silk, which I highly recommend if you want a satin look without the weight/heat. The silk fabric combined with the sheer back kept me super cool! I also opted to get the train extended by 3 feet.
My pearl-soaked veil was made by my sister. I got so many compliments on it and I loved it. I also wore a pearl necklace from Tiffany’s that my husband gifted me on our wedding day. My earrings were sapphires with a halo – think Princess Diana. My shoes were a navy suede block heel with mesh from Sarah Flint. They were incredibly comfortable and I didn’t even break them in, I had zero blisters!
The guys had rented suits from Men’s Warehouse. We had groomsmen living out of state and using a chain allowed them to go to their own fittings as needed. Plus, since the wedding was a destination we needed somewhere that had locations in Florida. The policy is to rent the suits for no more than three days. My sister also custom made the men’s bow ties since Men’s Wearhouse didn’t offer the colors we were interested in.”
Hair and Makeup:
Our family friends – who I’ve known since I was a baby – have a teenage daughter, Eden, who is currently in cosmetology school. While she is only 16 I’ve known her since she was born, she lives near me so I know we could do test runs, and she’d cost significantly less than a hairdresser in Palm Beach. The last thing I wanted to do is spend a significant amount of money, do a run through the day before, and hate it but have no other choice. Eden did a great job and my hair stayed in place all night! I gave my bridesmaids the choice to do their own hair or have Eden do it – some of them did it themselves while others did not.
As for makeup, my close friend attending the wedding did my makeup for me. She doesn’t do it professionally but she’s very talented and I knew I could trust her! We did a test run a few days before and everything went flawlessly the day of. I’m very picky about my makeup, so I wanted someone I knew personally and knew that I could critique without insulting them. And again, she ended up being cheaper than makeup artists in the area. If you have people in your life you know you can trust doing your hair/makeup – I suggest asking them! It’ll save you money and the stress of not knowing if the professionals will do it to your liking!”
Other Costs
Welcome Bags:
Since our wedding was a destination wedding, we did “welcome bags” rather than regular favors. Our guests loved them and it was so fun putting them together! Each family got a large Lilly Pulitzer tote and it was filled with tons of goodies.
We had a folder with a letter from us as well as a schedule of events, local recommendations, etc. We also had his favorite/her favorite snacks – we each did one sweet and one savory. We created a mini first aid kid with bandaids, Advil, hand sanitizer, Tic Tacs, Shout Wipes, and more. Plus, each person in the wedding party a travel pillow for the airplane.”
Wedding Favors:
Our wedding favors were a custom decks of playing cards made with our art from Paige Spearin on it. These were a huge hit! It was great because it gave everyone something to do on their trip whether it was in their room or on the beach, and it’s something they’ll use for years to come and remember our wedding day!
Even months later I still get text messages from our guests when they use them for family game night. (P.S. I have an unboxing of one of our welcome bags on IGTV on my Instagram @thenorthernprepster if anyone is curious!).
During the reception, we also had color pages and crayon packs for the kids at their table setting, and we gave them bubble guns once the dancing started. It was something little that helped them enjoy their time more.”
Additional Advice from the Couple
First Look:
One thing I’d recommend couples to consider when planning is to do a first look. I had no opinion for or against them when originally planning our wedding, but I am so glad we did one! Doing a first look made our day so much more enjoyable in our opinion.
It allowed us to get basically all of our pictures done before our wedding, with the exception of family photos. So after our ceremony we took the family photos and then we were able to attend our own cocktail hour!
Attending cocktail hour allowed us to talk to our guests, take photos with everyone, etc – all of which you’d normally do during the reception. It allowed us to be able to enjoy our reception guilt free! A bonus is that my hair and makeup was super fresh for all of our photos, and we weren’t too hot and sweaty yet either. Highly recommend a first look!”
Thank you so much to the AMAZING couple for sharing their stunning Colony Palm Beach wedding. Also, huge thanks to Shea Christine Photography for the beautiful images.
If you’re currently working on planning your Palm Beach wedding, make sure to read through our other articles featuring real Palm Beach weddings and wedding cost breakdowns.
