A Tropical St. Petersburg Beach Wedding

Posted on 17 Sep 2019

St. Petersburg Beach Wedding Andrejka Photography

Brenna and Mitch were married in a relaxed, tropical St. Petersburg wedding on April 27^th with a ceremony on Pass-a-Grille Beach and a reception at Hotel Zamora in St. Petersburg, FL. Brenna and Mitch created a destination wedding right here in Florida and I was so happy to be their wedding photographer. I loved the gorgeous, yet laid-back vibe of this wedding!

Beach Wedding Photography in St. Petersburg

I love photographing weddings and engagements in St. Petersburg. Part of what I love about being both a Michigan wedding photographer and Florida wedding photographer is the diversity in the weddings I am invited to capture. When it comes to St. Pete Beach weddings, there are just so many amazing photo opportunities. Whether on the gorgeous beach in St. Pete or in one of the many nearby resorts, there is tropical beauty around every corner!

Brenna and Mitch’s St. Petersburg Wedding

Brenna and Mitch have such a fun love story! They met during their freshman year of college in 2010. But when Mitch initially asked Brenna to be his girlfriend… she said no. With some patience, persistence, and carefully planned dates, it was clear that they were falling in love. When Mitch asked her a second time, she said yes!

Brenna had always dreamed of a barefoot, beachfront wedding ceremony. She and Mitch toured the elegant Hotel Zamora in St. Petersburg, and they knew right away it would be the perfect venue for their wedding reception. In order to realize Brenna’s beachy wedding dreams, they planned their wedding ceremony down the road at their favorite beach, Pass-a-Grille Beach. Pass-a-Grille is an absolutely stunning beach at the southernmost end of St. Pete’s Beach. It was even voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the country! Pass-a-Grille is its own little corner of paradise. It was the perfect backdrop for Brenna’s dream ceremony.

A Relaxed Beachfront Ceremony

On the day of their wedding, Brenna and Mitch exchanged vows right on the beach. Instead of wearing fancy wedding shoes, the bride wore two shell anklets. To embrace the beachy feel of the ceremony, guests were encouraged to shed their own shoes. They had such a cute sign to instruct guests on where to leave their shoes! I loved how Brenna wore a garland of flowers instead of a traditional veil. It kept her hair from blowing in her face—a very real problem when it comes to breezy beachfront weddings!

Brenna and Mitch truly embraced the idea of a St. Petersburg beach wedding, using it as an inspiration for their entire ceremony. They said their “I do’s” under a beautiful beachy bamboo arbor, draped in gauzy ivory fabric. Then, they made up their own version of a “sand ceremony.” In the middle of the ceremony, the bride and groom each bent down and grabbed a handful of sand from the beach to place in a small container. Now, they will always have these tiny grains of sand from this special spot and moment. At the end of the ceremony, each guest went down to the water’s edge and threw a stone for “good luck” along with a blessing performed by the officiant.

I loved the way that the wedding was imbued with that laid-back, boho tropical feel. The tone was set ahead of the wedding with their custom invitations and signage. Then, Mitch and Brenna used a handful of subtle touches to carry their tropical theme into their reception with Birds of paradise and hot pink flowers, a special palm printed ring box, and pineapples and palm fronds as centerpieces. Later on, they had more fun moments including a trolley from the beach to the reception, hand-painted cornhole games, and dancing on the rooftop of The Hotel Zamora.

Breana + Mitch | Happily Ever After

I was super honored to have Brenna and Mitch’s modern St. Petersburg beach wedding published in Contemporary Weddings Magazine. I loved the details of their gorgeous wedding. To read more about their tropical beachfront wedding, please read the article on the Contemporary Weddings Magazine blog!

But for now, take a step into paradise. Please enjoy some of my favorite photographs from this tropical beachfront wedding in St. Pete. It was such a pleasure to photograph this wedding and I hope you love these images as much as I do!