Congratulations Raleigh & Aaren!

As the pandemic surges on, many of our brides are still having to face the reality of trying to plan a socially distant, and safe, wedding for themselves and their guests. We absolutely loved Raleigh and Aaren’s pop-up wedding held at Kraft Azalea Garden’s in Winter Park, FL! While it was not their original plans, they got to celebrate their love with the people they love, and the ceremony was just beautiful. Keep reading for more about Raleigh and Aaren’s journey to the aisle, and to see their gorgeous wedding photos captured by Jenna Raad Photography!

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Name: Raleigh

Partner's Name: Aaren

Event Type & Location: Pop-Up Wedding, Kraft Azalea Gardens

Read about another beautiful ceremony held at Kraft Azalea Gardens here.

Event Date: 7-10-2020

Vendors & Their Instagram Handles : 
Planner: Tracy Marini - @eventfullyyoursllc
Florist: Ian Tafoya Designs - @IanTafoyaDesigns
Photos: Jenna Raad Photography - @Jennaraadphotography

How did you & your partner meet?: Aaren and I met over 20 years ago. His little sister was my kindergarten best friend, and Aaren and my brother are the same age and were also friends in elementary school. Our parents are also neighbors, and we all used to ride our bikes to school together. We started dating about 3 years ago when Aaren's sister was in town for the weekend and we all went to brunch together. From then on, we've been inseparable!

Where was your first date?: For our first date, we kept it casual and went to church together and then to Black Rooster for some lunch. Afterward, we watched The Grinch since it was close to Christmas. Our first romantic date was to Prato on Park Avenue, then we walked down the ave to stop at some of our favorite cocktail spots.

How did your partner propose?: Aaren proposed to me at the beautiful Alfond Inn. He told me I was meeting him there for a work event. When I got there, the hostess walked me out to a circle of rose petals and handed me a heartfelt letter from my love. Aaren then came out and got down on one knee to ask me to be his wife. Shortly after, both families and my out of town siblings appeared to congratulate us! We had a big dinner at Hamiltons Kitchen with both families. After dinner, all of our closest friends were waiting for us in the bar area where we danced and celebrated with them! Aaren even coordinated having my best friend come to town to surprise me on our special night. It was perfect!

What was your dress shopping experience like? : My dress shopping experience started out rocky and turned out amazing. I had already been to three other appointments before I went to The Bridal Finery. After having tried on so many dresses, I was feeling discouraged that I hadn't found "the one". I had even FaceTimed with a wedding dress designer who was going to custom make me a dress. I decided to try one last time before committing to the custom dress and I am so glad I did! My experience at The Bridal Finery was top notch.

What did you wish you knew before you started wedding planning?: That COVID-19 was going to ruin everything!

Where was your wedding? What did you decide on that space?: Our wedding was at Kraft Azalea Gardens in Winter Park. We decided on this location for our "Pop Up" wedding because it is so beautiful and we could invite guests to social distance and still attend our ceremony.

What's your favorite memory from your event?: My favorite moment was walking back up the aisle with my husband after our ceremony. Pure joy!

What is a 'must have' for brides on wedding day? : So many things! I couldn't have made it through without my wedding coordinator though. She took so much stress off my plate and handled everything for us so we could enjoy the day.

How would you describe the overall feel of your event?: The overall feel of our event was intimate and romantic.

What wedding planning advice do you have for other brides?: Don't take things too seriously. We were able to plan our ceremony in 11 days and it turned out beautiful! There are things I had planned for our 200+ person wedding that we were not able to do at our Pop Up Wedding and I didn't miss any of it.

Where was your honeymoon?: We took a Mini-Moon to St Petersburg and will go to Antiqua when its safe to travel again.

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