A Tropical Keys Wedding with Barefoot Beach Vibes and Ballroom-Level Elegance

By Kevin Harson24 April 2026

White, Sand, Yellow, & Orange

Our dream was to have the feeling of your toes in the sand, but the elegance of a ballroom. Our team was able to bring that dream to life with the most amazing florals, production, accent décor, beachfront venue, and outstanding live band for all aspects of the day. It perfectly married the tropical island vibes of the Keys with the grand feel of an elevated reception.

We met during our time as students at Georgetown University. During one of our annual trips down to D.C. with our friends, we went back to campus, and Drew planned the most amazing proposal right in front of Healy Hall, the main historic building on campus. The surprises didn’t stop there. All of our friends were waiting at our favorite bar from college, Tombs, and surprised me with a full celebration all night!

My dress was from Mira Zwillinger, and I instantly fell in love with the lace as it reminded me of a beautiful tropical backdrop. The flowers had the right amount of sparkle that glistened in the sun, and Mira was able to customize the dress to the exact silhouette I was hoping for! The Wedding Salon of Manhasset made sure it fit me like a glove so I could dance all night! They even were able to sew in a piece of my grandmother’s wedding dress lace and my grandfather’s handkerchiefs, so they could be with me spiritually throughout the night.

Our favorite thing to do together is watch sunsets anytime we can. I always loved the color yellow, and when we decided to get married in the Florida Keys, yellow was the perfect fit, as Islamorada has one of the best sunsets you can imagine. My bridesmaids each wore a different designer they loved and felt most comfortable in, which created depth even when all wearing the same color!

Katherine at Watson Ellis in NYC was able to create a dream custom linen tuxedo for Drew. It matched his vision perfectly, offering a lighter weight and vibe to match the beach feel, but also the chicness and elegance of the tuxedo, which shone under the lighting. She added a custom patch on the inside of the jacket with our wedding monogram for a personal touch.

Our food gave you a little bit of everything that we love! From the raw bar, fresh fish and seafood paella to the live hand-stretched mozzarella from Mimmo’s, the food at our wedding represented our families’ cultures and the location in Islamorada. Chef Stuart Dove from Pierre’s was incredible, and all three main dinner choices were incredible. The whole culinary team made our dreams come true. To add a fun touch to the post-dinner sweets, Cupcake Sushi and Aroma Espresso gave guests an interactive experience to try all different types of desserts and coffee!

The flowers at our wedding brought the entire space to life. We loved how our stage was wrapped in flowers, with the view of the water directly behind us. Lavish Event Design was able to find the most amazing flower variety that provided depth not only in color, but also in unique shapes. Our favorites were the Protea King, White Ginger, and the beautiful white orchids. Together with High Performance Designs, they covered the entire dance floor ceiling with crystal globes and flowers that set the exact mood we were looking for on the dance floor. They really made the elegance on the beach a reality.

Our wedding cake mimicked the waves in the ocean. Maggie recreated our wedding monogram and added flowers that matched the décor of the wedding!

Our wedding band, Good Musicians, was absolutely incredible and truly blew everyone away. They covered an amazing range of music—from pop to timeless classics—bringing to life artists like Olivia Dean, Paramore, Pitbull, Justin Bieber, Chappell Roan, Zac Brown Band, Celine Dion, Bill Withers, and Frank Sinatra, all while featuring stunning violin and bold horn sections that elevated the sound. The jazz band during cocktail hour set the perfect, sophisticated beach club vibe, and the string trio during the ceremony was beautiful and emotional. Guests were constantly coming up to us in awe, saying they’d never seen a wedding band that talented or versatile. They had people on the dancefloor from the second the party started until the end!

KP&Co Design Studio was truly exceptional and brought our entire wedding vision and weekend to life in the most thoughtful, artistic way. She used watercolor to paint our venue with a stunning sunset for our save the dates, then designed wedding invitations featuring watercolor maps, conch-shell–shaped details, exquisite calligraphy, and personalized envelope liners filled with all of our favorite things and places. She went above and beyond for our day-of details as well, creating personalized menus, ceremony fans, cups, and napkins, and a large bar inlays that perfectly matched our invitation liner and monogram. The showstopper was our custom seating chart, complete with the most beautiful hand-painted parasols to match—it was all absolutely unforgettable.

Patricia Malick of Artwave.pdm is an incredibly talented artist who added such beautiful, thoughtful details to our wedding. She created gorgeous hand-painted table numbers, a stunning acrylic card box, and customized drink menu signs that felt both elegant and personal. Every piece was a true work of art and elevated the entire look of our celebration.

Good Times Roll Photobus was such a highlight of the night and brought the best energy to our celebration. Taking photos inside the vintage Volkswagen bus was incredibly fun and added the coolest, most playful vibe to the evening. They provided a beautiful wooden book that guests could put their pictures in and sign as a guestbook, which gave us a super fun way to remember the night. Guests loved the props, everyone got to take home photo keepsakes, and it was so much fun that some of the props even made their way onto the dance floor!