Kaitlyn and Eric’s Opal Sands wedding on Clearwater Beach was AMAZING!!! These two have been together for 9 years and since Eric is in the Air Force, a majority of their time together has been spent apart. So their wedding day has been LONG awaited!! Everything went incredibly smooth and since it was a morning wedding, we had plenty of light ALL day! What a dream! Kaitlyn and her Mama designed so many pieces of their day, themselves! The invitations, the signs, the seating chart and so much more. It really brought everything together.

Their ceremony was held on the beach, with the rocks and the ocean behind, the colors of the water made it look like we were in the Caribbean! It was breathtaking! Their reception was SUCH a blast!! At once point Katelyn pulled me onto the dance floor and next thing you know, Eric (the groom) and a guest had our cameras and insisted Jon and I dance together!! Eric was literally on a chair and then on the ground, getting epic angles!! It was HILARIOUS. One of those moments for us that won’t be forgotten!

Then… at the end of their reception, you could see huge rain bands coming our way!! We had planned on doing sunset portraits later that day, but with the rain, there was no way it would happen, so we quickly decided to do them right after their reception, on the beach, with the storm in the back drop!! Just wait till you see the very last photos taken on my camera before the storm hit! The sky was DARK. Two minutes after we were finished came POURING RAIN, insane winds, you would have thought it was a hurricane!!! PTL for the valet🙌🏼😂

After we left, we were in a complete stand still traffic on Clearwater beach for over an hour!! Literally, no movement guys! Everyone was trying to leave at once and I’d never seen it so packed. The drive to the wedding venue that morning took us 20 min, the drive back to my parents Took us 2 hours and 20 min. 😬🤷🏼‍♀️

But what could ya do?! We didn’t mind the extra time in the car together but you better believe after an 1.5 hrs of being stuck, I jumped out of the car and ran into one of the random hotels to use their bathroom 😂(while it was pouring rain!) Jon had only moved up one space when I ran back out! What an adventure it was after such a fantastic wedding day!

All that being said, their wedding was absolutely stunning and the vendors we got to work with were incredible!! Kaitlyn and Eric, Happy 1 Month of Marriage💛 We loved celebrating you two!!

A special thanks to their fantastic vendors!

Venue & Catering: @opalsandsresort
Makeup: @destinyandlightsalonandspa
Hair: Esther Gatlin
Florals: @2birdsevents
Day of Coordinator: Melanie with @elopetampabay
Dj: Kevin Kramer
Cake: @sweet.divas.cakery
Band: @caladesisteelband
Wedding Dress: @mariasbridal