Brianna and John's Sunset Beach Elopement at St. Petersburg Lion's Club

As the rain clouds cleared, a bright and bold sunset peeked through for Brianna and John’s beach elopement at the St. Petersburg Lion’s Club. We just love it when everything comes together to create such a magical experience for our couples! There wasn’t a dry eye on the beach as Brianna walked down the aisle, and her and John exchanged their vows. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s more from the bride and groom:

WHAT WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING?

Perfect and an absolute dream!

THE PROPOSAL:

It was 2019, and John and I were celebrating our five year anniversary. He told me he had a surprise on his computer. He had made a cover to one of our favorite love songs. He had me sit at his computer desk and told me to listen to the entire song and to not turn around until after it was finished because he was too nervous for me to hear it. He made me wear earphones and everything. At the end of the song, he started talking and told me how much these five years meant to him and how much he loved me. Then he said, “Oh I have something to ask you. Go ahead and turn around.” And when I did, there he was on his knee. It was amazing. The song he did a cover of ended up being our first dance song.

THE VISION:

We knew we wanted a beach wedding before we even got engaged. We also knew it had to be in St. Petersburg. We went on vacation there in 2019 and saw a wedding on the beach, and we said “Yep, that’s what we want.” We also knew we wanted it to be really small and only have our parents and my best friend.

THE PLANNING PROCESS:

It was so easy. After we found you guys [Elope Tampa Bay], everything was so smooth. Honestly, the questionnaires were so simple and it ensured we got everything we wanted. We just had to plan our flight and hotel, and that was it.

YOUR OUTFITS AND ACCESSORIES:

I wore this beautiful dress from David’s Bridal and John wore a tuxedo from Men’s Wearhouse. I was also wearing the necklace John had given me seven years ago as a Valentine’s Day present.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM THE DAY:

The weather was absolutely awful that entire day. Literally the only day that week where it was supposed to rain. I remember getting my makeup and hair done, and as I was looking out at my balcony, the rain was pouring and the sky was black. I thought we weren’t going to have the beach wedding we had dreamed of. I remember bombarding Catie with tons of messages asking what we were going to do. I was freaking out and Catie told me everything would be okay and we’d make it work. But, it had let up just long enough for us to have our dream wedding in front of this beautiful sunset. Then, it started raining as soon as we got back into the limo. It was a perfect day and we couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Keep scrolling to see more from Brianna and John’s special day captured by Caroline Thomas Photography, plus their elopement highlight video!