Spring is certainly in the air here in Florida, and as the thermometer begins to rise above 80 degrees again and we shake off those last gasps of Winter, we also get into the peak of beach wedding season. In fact, I can’t remember the last time we went to the beach to watch the sunset and DIDN’T see a beach wedding.
Thousands of couples from all over the U.S. and elsewhere travel to Florida each year to get married on our beautiful beaches.
I thought this would be a great time to interview Jeff Copeland, owner of Simple Weddings, an award-winning local company specializing in Florida beach wedding packages, to gain some insider knowledge and tips for my readers who may be thinking about tying the knot in Florida.
Jeff has been advertising on my web site Beachhunter.net for several years and also employs the talents of a very dear friend of mine who is a long-time florist and wedding planner.
I’m always “wowed” by the quality of their work and am happy to be able to share some of their photos below.
Jeff, what services do you offer?
We literally offer “complete wedding packages”. We offer everything from photography to the ceremony itself, as well as bamboo arches and canopies, decor, music, sound, and wedding coordination. We are a “one stop shop” for brides and grooms planning a wedding.
What geographical areas do you serve?
We cover from Tampa Bay to Naples on the West Coast, and we have a partner in the Miami area that we refer to for the East Coast. Some of our most popular spots are Sand Key near Clearwater Beach, Sunset Beach on Treasure Island, Pass-a-Grille on St Pete Beach, and Sanibel Island near Fort Myers. The great thing about this area is most of our beaches face West, which makes for stunning sunsets over the water.
What are your prospective clients typically looking for when they contact you?
Everything! In all seriousness, they usually don’t even know where to start. They’ve just decided on a Florida wedding and they need someone to talk them through it and guide them through the planning. We are a great resource, and we hold their hands every step of the way – we help them choose a specific beach or other venue for their wedding, help them figure out what type of decor and music suits their tastes, advise them on where to stay and where to hold their reception, and of course we handle all of the details for the wedding itself, so there is literally nothing for the bride and groom to worry about!
Are there any challenges unique to beach weddings or beach photography that people should be aware of? How can you help with those challenges?
Absolutely. Two things some to mind – the weather, and the lighting. Anytime you’re planning an outdoor event, you are subject to Mother Nature’s whims, and we always work with our clients to make sure they have a backup plan in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. With regards to the lighting for photography, this is a huge challenge because the lighting on the beach during that hour or two before sunset is constantly changing. I’ve seen some very experienced (and very expensive!) wedding photographers really struggle when you take them out of the studio, the church, or the ballroom, and ask them to shoot a wedding on the beach at sunset. My advice to couples for whom photography is a high priority is to make sure you have seen your photographer’s work from the same type of setting where your wedding will be held, and make sure you have seen their work from a complete wedding, not just a slide show of their best work.
I have to put a plug in for our photographers here – we have some of the best in the business shooting our weddings. We started out as a photography company, and my wife, Claire, who is still our lead photographer, is very particular about who she lets shoot our weddings on their own. For new photographers, there is a whole process where they second-shoot with her and she makes sure they have both the technical skills and the “people skills” to represent Simple Weddings. And it really shows – you can see samples of our photographers’ work at www.simpleweddingsflorida.com/viewing .
What has been the most challenging beach wedding situation you’ve dealt with?
That’s a good question! A few things come to mind.
One day there were two weddings taking place within a few blocks of each other down on Pass-a-Grille. Both sets of guests were showing up to the wrong wedding, but thinking they were at the right wedding, and so they were telling the “other” guests (who were actually at the right wedding) to go to the other one…It was very confusing, and we ended up having to send someone to lead the “right” guests from one wedding to the other. Some of those poor folks walked back and forth several times and passed each other more than once along the way! It all worked out in the end though, and I opened the ceremony with “If you are not here for Joshua and Audrey’s wedding, speak now or forever hold your peace!”
We’ve also had technical problems a couple of times, namely with iPods! Once we suddenly realized that a particular song the bride had requested was missing from the playlist, and once we had an iPod just freeze up and stop working altogether. Both times we managed to fix the problem just on the nick of time and the wedding didn’t miss a beat – but now we always carry a spare iPod just in case!
Finally, we also had a Groom get in a traffic accident on his way to the airport to fly down from Chicago on his wedding day and miss his flight. We ended up picking him up from the airport ourselves and delivering him to his own wedding! We really do go the extra mile when needed!
What has been your most rewarding experience?
It is always a pleasure to see the Bride’s face light up when she finally walks out and sees her “dream wedding” for the first time. And we particularly love all the feedback we get from our clients – we were named “Best of 2009” and “Best of 2010” by OneWed.com . This award is based solely on validated written reviews from our actual customers, so we’re very proud of that, and we’re working on our “three-peat” in 2011!
Do you offer any other services besides beach weddings that people might not be aware of?
Many people don’t realize that we can actually put a wedding together just about anywhere – after the beach, everything else is actually pretty easy! We have some unique venues that are off the beaten path like the Snell Isle Gazebo in St Pete and the Seminole Heights Garden Center in Tampa, and we also love venues like Sunken Gardens, Ruth Eckerd Hall, and the waterfront parks in downtown St Petersburg.
We have partnerships with local hotels and caterers that enable us to provide the wedding and reception all in on place, and we can also provide wedding photography, wedding planning, and other services on an a-la-carte basis for more traditional weddings that are taking place in a church, hotel, or just about anywhere.
We also offer portrait photography. My wife does family portraits, high school senior portraits, and other types of photography on our beaches and on location throughout the Tampa Bay area. Claire’s style is very relaxed and natural – she really puts her clients at ease and gets them to loosen up and have fun during their photo shoot, and it really comes through in her work. You can learn more at www.simpletreasuresflorida.com .
How can people find out more details about what you offer? What are the best ways to contact you?
The best way to learn about our services is through our website at www.simpleweddingsflorida.com . There are also tons of pictures from real weddings and lots of useful planning info on our blog at www.simpleweddingsblog.com . And you can always call us at 727-537-9331 or email us at info@simpleweddingsflorida.com .
Be sure to visit Jeff Copeland’s YouTube channel to see some great video of the kinds of beach wedding experiences Jeff and Claire can create for you. Below is a sample of what you’ll find:
