Equestrian Romance | A Bath Club Wedding

This Bath Club wedding begins with a love almost 10 years in the making. Chelsea and Santos met through horses. They are trainers who own a stable together, while also competing in jumping competitions themselves. Spending half the year in Wellington, the other in New Jersey, and any free time in Europe looking at horses, Chelsea made it clear that they needed my help planning their wedding. Soon after our first meeting, Chelsea quickly fell in love with the Bath Club, a historic and private venue on Miami Beach.

I spent a lot of time learning about all the unique details in their relationship and as individuals. For instance, Chelsea LOVES minions, and Santos enjoys Wood Allen movies and Haribo gummy bears. From there, I began to customize their team of vendors, chosen specifically based on their tastes and personalities. After a few trips to Miami for samplings, tastings, and walk throughs, we were ready for their big day.

Sunday, December 3[line] Chelsea got ready at the Eden Roc, in a beautiful ocean front suite. She spent the morning on the beach, and was super relaxed by the time hair and makeup began. Her mom, aunt, and sister joined in getting ready her while her 2 little dogs made guest appearances as well. The Makeup Artistry by Jessie team dolled up the ladies, then I surprised Chelsea with a fun gift to accent her getting ready attire… minions slippers. You know, in case of cold feet! Chelsea slipped into her stunning Eve of Milady gown. Seriously, this dress was made for her!

    I had the absolute honor of meeting Chelsea’s late grandmother, Marie, during our early planning phases. Chelsea honored her Mama by sewing her pearls on the front of the gown. Chelsea completed her look with draped shoulder pieces and Badgley Mischka heels. Looking like an absolute goddess, Chelsea took her portraits with Unique Design Studios. Santos got ready down the road at Hilton Cabana with his brother. Adorably anxious, like most grooms are, I softened the nerves with a gift to him… a giant 3 pound bag of gummy bears!

Can you say GQ model? Wow.    At the entrance of the Bath Club was an escort card display. Guests were greeted with a welcome drink, “Something Blue” designed by the fabulous team at Bill Hansen Catering. After mingling in the courtyard under a starry sky, the guests were invited to sit for ceremony in the Lounge. For our Bath Club wedding ceremony, we used mahogany chiavari chairs to play off the dark wood beams and accents throughout the venue. Foregoing a first look, Chelsea walked down the aisle to a string trio. Through the most loving eyes, Santos took her hand and the two stood under a custom built orchid and ghostwood wedding structure with cascading greens from Petal Productions. Reverend Eddie Rodriguez gave a ceremony that left the entire room teary-eyed.Chelsea and Santos shared laughs and exchanged vows during a heartfelt message from Reverend Eddie. Guests were then invited back into the courtyard for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The loggia opened to feature a custom ice sculpture and raw bar. Of course, the ice design was a beautiful horse head. The cocktail menu was specifically designed to feature items like skirt steak kabobs with chimmichurri sauce to honor Santos’ Argentinian heritage. While the guests enjoyed the cool weather, Chelsea and Santos got a private reveal of their ballroom. After a lot of “wow”s and “this is beautiful”s, Chelsea laughingly remarked how it looked so much better than the computer floor plan renderings. Santos even commented, “Amazing! Amber, you killed it!” We used a mix of champagne-based linens from Nuage Designs that picked up on the silver and gold hues of the mercury vases. We repurposed the mahogany chairs from ceremony, to again bring out some of the darker tones of the floor and ceiling. Due to our large guest count, we kept dinner in one room and dancing in the other, so all formalities were done after the meals were cleared. Live instrumentalists played between the tables for added entertainment throughout the meal. The wedding cake was a simple butter cream design from Edda’s with dulce de leche filling. Yum! The Father of the Bride gave a short toast, then the cake was cut. While I prepared to begin the first dances, suddenly I heard Chelsea get on the microphone. I had a minor freak out, since she didn’t mention wanting to give a toast before, but quickly had the video and photo teams turn to grab coverage. On the mic, Chelsea and Santos were gushing about how beautiful the night had turned out, and that it was beyond what they could have ever imagined. The next thing I knew, they looked my way and thanked me in front of all their guests, while handing me a giant bouquet of yellow roses.   It’s moments like that, that make my job so worthwhile. With a permanent smile implanted on my face, we moved to first dances. “Forever Young” for the parent dances, “At Last” appropriately for Chelsea and Santos, and then “In My Life”, a Beatles song sweetly dedicated to Chelsea’s “Poppy”, where guests were invited to grab someone they loved onto the dance floor.  After that, the real party began, with a touch screen DJ from EMG, and live percussionist, violist, and sax player! This hybrid/fusion music effect created an interactive entertainment experience that could only be surpassed by the continuous confetti canon! This Bath Club wedding “after party” featured pounds and pounds of confetti floating around the room while guests danced beneath. Above them was a giant disco ball, which was a special addition for the mother of the bride, Maria, who loved the idea of adding something over the top. We offered 3 specialty cocktails: Something Blue, Paloma, and Pineapple Mojito. Around midnight, we passed late night bites: baskets of French fries, hot dogs, and chicken fingers. At 3am, the DJ played “Last Dance” and the remaining guests formed one big dance circle to surround the bride and groom. As my weddings come to an end, I get a sadness in the pit of my stomach, because it’s like I’m saying goodbye to someone/“someones” who’ve been such a huge part of my life for so long. After long hugs and promising to keep in touch, I handed Mr. and Mrs. Lamarca their room key, as they waved goodbye to their dream Bath Club wedding.

 

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