Never did I think I would be planning two weddings but 2020 had many other plans for not only all 2020 weddings but many other things! I am beyond aware that having two weddings is a privilege, especially having one at all during a pandemic. This and my other wedding related blog posts are filled with so much appreciation that my husband and I could still honor our original wedding date with a small [immediate family, bridal party that felt safe coming to FL, & our close friends that live in FL (AKA our COVID circle)] outside ceremony as many other couples have had to indefinitely postpone their big days. So if reading these blog posts are too triggering, I understand. If you do read the wedding related blog posts, I hope you find value in them as I am writing them to share my own experience and help guide whomever is reading them throughout the wedding planning process, the day of process, and maybe even give you so some inspiration!

Photos by Emily Mathewson Photography

I wrote an entire blog piece on how to plan a wedding while living with celiac disease [venue, caterers, etc]. This specific blog post will go over how I prepared the day or two before the big day and the big day itself!

Everyone always tells you to take it all in as the wedding weekend, but specifically the wedding day, as it just flies by. I am guilty of getting caught up in those fly by moments and not truly soaking everything in, so I made sure to take the two days leading up to the wedding day off from work and treat myself to some pre-wedding treatments. Again, I understand that I am lucky enough to be able to do these things, but want to share incase others need ideas for self-care whether it is your wedding day coming up or not.

I started off by making sure to treat my nails to a gel manicure and and my toe nails to a pedicure. I went with a very subtle light pink color [Frenchie Likes to Kiss - OPI] as I wanted some color on my big day, but nothing too bold. Perfect for a Floridian, Summer Beach wedding.

I then made sure to get myself extra hydrated and some extra vitamins into my self. I utilize IV therapy as a way to combat living with an auto immune disease since my celiac disease went many years untreated, has lead to malnutrition, as well as, vitamin and mineral decencies. Plus, when those with celiac eat gluten, our bodies have an immune response. This response leads to damage on the villi, small fingerlike projections that line the small intestine, that promote nutrient absorption. Basically, my body and possibly others have a hard time absorbing nutrients our body needs. The IV therapy helps me make up from some of what I am not getting on a daily basis. Prior to my wedding, the IV I received gave me a boost in hydration, energy, and vitamins! Huge thank you to InVigorate for being a part of “my team”.

Our skin is the first thing to show signs of stress, food intolerances, etc.. Also, with celiac disease, your skin can react in many different ways, but the most common way is called "Dermatitis herpetiformis” (DH). This is a severe chronic skin rash. As you can imagine my skin has been a little bit of a mess from wedding stress, COVID stress, and now having a mask as a permanent accessory when going out in public.

Thank goodness for MaisonGlo and the wonderful ladies that work there for taking care of not only my skin, but me as well. All the products they used on me are gluten free and safe for my skin. Two weeks prior I had my first facial with them and added on their dermaglo, which got rid of peach fuzz and dead skin! So when I went back in the day before the wedding I got the signature facial plus the “Peel Me” and “Get Lit” facial enhancements. My face was glowing after my treatment and my skin felt great for not only the rehearsal dinner and the big day, but for the following week as well!

Also, they went above and beyond in making sure I felt celebrated and gifted us a beautiful and thoughtful ornament. You can say their customer service is A+.

To wrap up my two days of self-care before the big day, I went to my favorite blow dry bar to get a blow out for the rehearsal dinner and start to get my hair ready for the next day. I love the Sip & Dry team as they always make you feel welcomed, special, and beautiful.

After all the pre-wedding self-care was done, I had to get ready for the rehearsal dinner, which we had at Sea Salt St. Pete. We chose this restaurant for our rehearsal for a few reasons:

Their COVID guidelines and protocols made everyone comfortable.
Their food and drinks are amazing!
Their gluten-free options are top notch.
Their wait and kitchen staffs understand what celiac disease, which made me extremely comfortable and allowed me to enjoy my own rehearsal dinner.

I do not have any pictures of the food, drinks, and/or the homemade cotton candy they bring out with the desserts, but do have some photos of the amazing humans in attendance.

I know this is the part you all have been waiting for… all the details about THE Big Day! I woke up at 5:00AM extremely anxious/nervous/excited about the day, which was not what I was expecting. I knew I would experience those emotions, but not at 5AM. I started the day with some quiet time and journaling then got coffee with one of my bridesmaids and sisters, which we enjoyed while walking on the beach to get some movement in and keep my anxiety at a minimum. I knew the day would be busy and I wanted to keep myself as calm as possible.

Hair and makeup started at 11:30AM at Sip & Dry , where I enjoyed a smoothie from SoHo Juice [had to get something good in my stomach] and two of my friends decided a CBD shot was necessary to help with my anxiety and nerves. The Sip & Dry team plus the bridal party that were able to be in Florida for this wedding along with some of my close friends and family made the getting ready part of the day so memorable - champagne, lots of laughs, some happy tears, fun music, and more!

The most memorable part had to be when Blair [the owner of Sip & Dry] came out with a bottle of campaign with a sparkler on it [compliments to my Matron of Honor who was not able to be there in person], which then my bridesmaids shared a video they created of the bridesmaids that couldn’t be there in person that was filled with well wishes and love for Mikey & I. Let’s just say the tears came out extremely hard during this - so many emotions at all once and thank goodness they did this before I got my makeup applied.

Everyone had an amazing experience and everyone looked absolutely gorgeous for the wedding festivities.

I did not have too much time from hair & makeup to putting on my wedding dress to first looks to pictures to the ceremony and reception. Like I said, it flies by! One of my amazing friends made me a goodie basket filled with some of my favorite gluten free snacks to make sure I had food I could safely consume amongst the craziness. I am thankful for those snacks as I would have had a growling stomach walking down the aisle.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, but I can 100% say that is was imperfectly perfect. We have continuously said that even though it was not how we originally thought our big day would look and/or happen, we couldn’t be more appreciative and happy with how it turned out. It was filled with so much love, support, smiles, and wedding bliss!

Mike and I knew that postponing our big celebrations was the best and right decision for ourselves, our families, and our friends. We made sure to follow all CDC guidelines with our small beach wedding, as well as, taking extra precautions and steps to make sure our guests felt safe & comfortable while helping to celebrate our love.

After postponing our big celebrations, we brainstormed ways for us to still honor our original date if we could, which as you can see, ended up happening; a huge shout out to all of our vendors… :

Photos by Emily Mathewson Photography

Venue + Food: PostCard Inn on the Beach [They had plenty of celiac safe options for me to enjoy and were very accommodating with other food restrictions. They were a huge part in helping make our beach wedding possible; huge shout to Deborah for all her hard work.]

Cake: Alessia Bakeries [They were very careful with me having celiac disease. The top tier was celiac safe! Everyone loved the cake as well.]
Photographer: Emily Mathewson Photography [we can’t say enough amazing things about Emily; we highly recommend her for your engagement and wedding photos. She travels for work! ]
DJ: DJ L MO [fantastic DJ; did way more than just a “normal DJ”. We highly recommend him and his team for any event you may have.]
Dress: The Dressing Room St. Pete / Lillian West
Hair & Makeup: Sip & Dry [100% recommend for your day to day and/or event needs.]
Flowers: My aunt my made my bouquet for me out of fake flowers
Wooden Sign: Events by Nicole Ann [She has an Etsy shop as well!]
Guest Book: Board & Brush Wellington

…for helping us create, organize, and pull off a small beach wedding in a safe manner for not only Mike & I, but those who were able to celebrate with us. Mike and I will forever hold this day and year close to our hearts. We appreciate all the support from family, friends, and the TSC community.