Cari and Phillip

Cari and Phil were married in St. Augustine in May. They did an amazing job of making their ceremony and reception extremely personal by incorporating bits and pieces of themselves throughout the day. After living in places all over the world together, the pair is now settled down and living in Florida. We are happy to have been a part of their very exciting lives!

Wedding Day Elements...


Ceremony Location

St. Augustine Oldest House Gardens

Reception Location
The Casa Monica Flagler Ballroom

Photography
Photography by Nikki

Flowers
Flowers by Shirley


Because a day as important as one's wedding day can only truly be explained by the bride, we had Cari retell the story herself!

May 2nd was a sunny, picture perfect spring day for Phil and me to get married. Our ceremony was at the lovely Oldest House and Gardens, followed by a dream reception at the Casa Monica.

Phil grew up in Atlantic Beach, not far from St. Augustine, but for the last ten years we’ve lived together all over the world, from Boston to Spain to Ireland to Japan and most recently, Australia. The first time Phil brought me to Florida to meet his family over seven years ago, he took me on a romantic date to St. Augustine. When we were deciding on a location for our wedding, St. Auggie was number one on our list. We couldn’t have made a better choice! Every single vendor we worked with went above and beyond to make our day extra special, and Megan and Erin at the Casa Monica made sure our reception was a fairytale. We were even pampered by perfect strangers – while the photographer was shooting pictures of us outside of the Casa Monica, a man approached us, handed us a fifty dollar bill, and wished us luck in our new life together. Now, where else in the world would you encounter that sort of generosity?!

Our love of travel and my passion for food influenced many of the details at the reception, and the staff at the Casa Monica were more than willing to help incorporate these themes into our reception. Aside from the excellent food served by the Casa, they allowed me to cater my own desserts. Phil and I don’t particularly like cake, so I decided to make my favorite dessert from each of the countries we have lived together over the course of our relationship. The desserts were displayed beautifully and much appreciated by the guests. Also a big hit were the cookbooks I created as wedding gifts. The cookbook included stories and recipes for food that we had shared with each of the guests, or that reminded us of them for some reason. These personal touches were what made our day uniquely our own.

We couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect, fun-filled day, shared with all the people we love most in the world. And we thank the Casa Monica for making it all possible! You can read more about our wedding day and see lots of photos at my blog, http://www.cari-vicarious.com/2009/05/life-is-busy-and-delicious.html.

Cari & Phil