Summer is just around the corner, meaning it’s time to start planning your beach getaway! Wouldn’t it be nice if the planning were as stress-free as the vacation itself? This month’s giveaway is just that! One lucky Junebug reader will win a dream vacation for two to the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort!
Located just north of Jacksonville, Florida, the Omni Amelia Island Plantation is a luxury resort experience blending the natural beauty of the island with award-winning accommodations. Between the adults-only infinity edge pool, hot tubs, and spectacular Atlantic views, Omni Amelia Island Plantation is the ideal relaxation station for your upcoming vacation.
The Omni Amelia Island Plantation recently underwent an $85 million re-imagination including an impressive range of amenities: 54 holes of championship golf; 23 Har-Tru® tennis courts; award-winning recreation programs; a shopping village with restaurants, boutiques and a nature-inspired signature spa; a state-of-the-art fitness center; ten culinary options ranging from casual to fine dining; kids camps; and numerous activities for adventurers including kayaking, horseback riding, Segway tours and seven miles of paved trails. The Villas of Amelia Island Plantation feature 300 one-, two- and three-bedroom villas with ocean, golf or resort views. The Omni Amelia Island Plantation offers authentic, genuine guest experiences with AAA Four-Diamond service and the expectations of the Omni brand.
The list of what the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort has to offer is really endless, so let’s take a look at what you’re entering to win, shall we?
What You’ll Win:
3 night/4 day oceanfront accommodations (Certificate valid for 12 months; may include traditional blackout dates)
Dinner for 2 at Oceanside ($100 value)
$500 airfare voucher
Official Rules:
You must be 13 years of age or older to enter
You must enter prior to the giveaway close date on June 9 at 11:59 PM Central Time
Winner will be notified via email on June 12
By entering, you agree to the Official Rules and the Junebug Weddings Terms and Conditions
Did you know that the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort also makes for the perfect destination wedding venue? Knowledgeable and detail-oriented planners take the resort’s already amazing accommodations to the next level by creating an unforgettable experience for you and your guests. The on-site chapel and reception sites offer a range of island views, and the resort’s many amenities make for a rich and fun-filled wedding weekend for all of your guests. Click here to find out more about saying “I do” at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort!
Chelsea and Hugues both work closely with the ocean – they’re a marine conservationist and boat captain, respectfully – so they knew they wanted to honor the sea and all its beauty in their wedding. The couple chose to have an intimate destination affair at Cabanes Bartherotte, an eco-boutique venue on the Bay of Arcachon featuring stunning wooden craftwork and gardens. Chelsea and Hugues placed an emphasis on lavender and indigo florals to echo their favorite oceanic details, and kept décor natural and nautical to complement their venue. We are totally captivated by the romantic photographs that Stephen Liberge captured of Chelsea and Hugues’s day, including their intimate dinner party reception!
We really wanted the wedding to reflect who we were, what inspires and represents our relationship, and the people who have helped support us throughout almost 3 years of long distance! Rather than go through generic invitation websites or standard avenues, we really customized it to suit our preferences, down to every little detail. We chose Cabanes Bartherotte for a few reasons. First, we wanted to have a venue that was near the water, and CB is on the literal point of where the Bay of Arcachon feeds into the Atlantic Ocean.
Second, we were looking for something rustic, natural, with a special amount charming whimsy. CB has the most beautiful wooden craftwork throughout the house, unique treasures from all over the world within it and has beautiful surrounding forest and gardens that harbor enchanting light and mystical pathways. Thirdly, we wanted something that was intimate, so as to match our small group of family and friends. As lovely as a chateau may have been, it didn’t suit the vibe we were going for. CB offered a variety of locations for us to have our private ceremony, all of which were incredibly beautiful and appropriate for how we wanted to organize the ceremony.
Lastly, we wanted a venue that was able to house our guests so that we could have everyone housing together, since we had a destination wedding week. We also wouldn’t have to worry about anyone drinking and driving because we were all staying there. Everyone was able to spend time getting to know each other, while also being involved in preparing for the wedding, without having to worry about coordinating meeting times and places- everyone could interact at their own leisure.
My grandmother is an avid gardener and creates the most beautiful arrangements from her garden. We ordered flowers from a supplier we had met at the local farmer’s market. I was inspired by our colors of indigo and lavender, with accents of white and eucalyptus green. Thanks to Pinterest, I had compiled an image for each arrangement, from boutonnieres to the wedding arch, and she recreated them all even better than the image I provided her with! It is possible to do your own flowers and save a great deal of money, but it should not be the couple’s responsibility as they really must be completed on the day of the wedding and bride and groom should have nothing concerning them expect experiencing this most wonderfully special day.
In France, you have to have a civil ceremony at the town hall, but we also chose to have a private ceremony at our own venue and I wrote the entire ceremony. I based it on other home ceremony scripts I had read for the order of the script, but accentuated it with accents that reflected our personalities as a couple whilst paying homage to the individual personalities of our fathers who would both be leading the ceremony.
One of my brothers and Hugues‘ sister shared some readings that we had chosen that were relevant to us and a unity of love. We also included Filipino traditions that involved our friends and family and allowed me to incorporate my heritage into our special day, given that we were getting married in France.
It’s impossible to choose just one memorable moment, but I would say one of my favorite memories was during our private ceremony, with Hugues‘ father leading the closing phase of ‘I do’s’, and he started to choke up and eventually cried – which of course caused Hugues to start crying and I was already in tears, so I started crying more – but they were all tears of pure happiness.
Our colors were indigo and lavender, because they represent the mystical majesty of the ocean, which is the force that brought us together, and continues to inspire our lives each and every day. I am a marine conservationist and dive master, while Hugues is a boat captain, so to include the ocean and water in every way we could was definitely a priority for us.
I would recommend planning everything as much in advance as you can so that the closer to the day you can relax more knowing that everything is set. That way you can also ensure that you are able to get your first choices of venue, caterers, etc, because you are so far in advance to your ‘special day’. I would also make sure that you organize the wedding exactly as the two of you want it. There will be many helpful voices and opinions, but you need to stay true to how you two operate and what you want this day to look like. It won’t all be a walk in the park, there will be disagreements, so have a manageable way to handle discrepancies when making wedding planning decisions.
Ever since Alissa was 10 years old, she dreamed of getting married in the gorgeous meadow on her family’s Portland, Oregon property. Years later, she and Michael were able to make that dream come true! The couple’s Portland wedding at home channeled natural elegance, outdoorsy vibes, and totally personal touches with DIY projects and an attention on the stunning floral design by Olive & June Floral Co. We are so in love with how Dawn Charles photographed the couple’s day, including their romantic couple portraits where they’re literally suspended in mid-air!
The Couple:
Alissa and Michael
The Wedding:
Private Residence, Portland, Oregon
My bridesmaids all wore white flowing dresses with small lace detail, that ended up matching the detail on my wedding dress, they also wore light brown heels, and pearl earrings. My Matron and Maid of Honor wore flower crowns to help them stand out, since all of my girls wore the same dress.
My wedding day beauty look, similar to my overall look of our wedding, was very simple yet elegant. I wanted my hair to be natural and my makeup to accentuate my natural beauty. The moment I slipped into my dress for the first time in the store, tears were falling on all of our faces. I knew it was the perfect dress. I loved how detailed and flowing my wedding dress was. It was comfortable and light for a summers wedding, but definitely made me feel like a bride.
As for my hair piece, I originally had wanted to wear a flower crown, but looking ahead, I was worried I might regret my decision. So I had my florist create a flower clip, which she placed right in the back of my braid at the top of my veil and I couldn’t have possibly loved it more. It had a dainty and feminine touch, but it wasn’t distracting and accentuated the natural beauty.
The overall look I was going for in our wedding was simple and natural elegance. I wanted a Kinfolk feel to our wedding that really exemplified the natural beauty around us.
We saved our first look for down the aisle, but we met up behind the barn doors and held hands, cried, exchanged gifts, and prayed before we said ‘I do’. It was at that moment when he grabbed my hand from around the corner, and the moment that I heard his voice that the reality that we were about to get married set in.
When I had known that Michael was going to be my husband someday, I wrote him a journal and on our wedding day I gave that journal to him. I also gave him a Skagen watch. He gave me a painting which played a significance in our relationship.
Everything at our wedding was DIY by my mom and I. We planned and set everything up for our special day. All of the signs were hand drawn with canvas and black canvas paint, then hung with fishing wire to a stick. The sign our ring bearers held, was made with some plywood. I stained the plywood the desired color and then used white paint to create the sign. Once everything was dry, I drilled a hole in both sides of the top of the sign and tied some rope to each end for the little boys to carry down the aisle.
When I was 10 years old I walked through the lower meadow on the property which I grew up on and knew that someday that was where I would get married. And sure enough, that is exactly where we said ‘I do’ years later.
Our ceremony was very personal to the two of us, from a time singing worship songs, to writing and reciting personal vows as well as traditional. We also had the parents of the bride and the parents of the groom come and pray for us as a symbol of two families joining together.
My photographer was amazing, she helped me to feel natural and comfortable in front of the camera. She made everything light hearted and ensured that I was getting all of the photos that I had wanted from our big day. Dawn is very professional and is amazing and what she does.
In planning your wedding, I would have to say that the best advice I could give, would be to find out what is most important for you and your husband to be, and make those things your priority. Also to not get so overwhelmed by all of the planning that you lose the joy of planning your special day.
My favorite photo taken by Dawn, would have to be the photo of Michael and I sitting on the nets in the trees and Michael holding my face. We shared our first kiss (we were both each others’ first kiss) on those nets and it was such a special moment to share again, but now as husband and wife.
The most important thing to me in planning my wedding, was to make sure the day was special and unique to Michael and I. We wanted every single detail to have a significance and be special to the two of us. So many girls spend too much time focusing on what will please the guests at the wedding, and lose focus that it is their day; the special day for you and your husband to enjoy. We also wanted our day to be a celebration and to enjoy all of our family and friends.
Our wedding colors were white and navy, tones of natural greens, soft pinks, maroons, oranges, and light brown. Just as our overall look, I wanted a very natural look to our wedding. I wanted the beauty around us to stand out and not be hidden by the bridesmaids dresses, or our decorations. I wanted it simple and natural, and my colors to compliment the natural beauty around us.
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