John Hecker & Natalie House got married in Venice Florida on May 18th, 2023. They both live in Northern Colorado and decided to marry on the beach since they love the ocean.

The overall vibe of the wedding day was very laid-back but very memorable! The theme was a mix of rustic and beachy elegance. The colors that they focused on with this theme included dusty rose, blush pink, and gold accents.

They had their 2 pm first look at Casperson Beach. The photographer, Gabriel Dupon found a hidden little spot within the trees for John & Natalie to share this special moment together. After that, they spent some time getting a lot of portraits before their ceremony.

Dupon Photography

The 5 pm ceremony was held on the Beach near Sharky’s On The Pier and had a big emphasis on Christian values. It was beautiful and a highlight of the ceremony was when an Egret landed in the sandy aisle to say hello!

From 6 pm-10 pm, the reception was held at Maxine Barritt Park Pavilion. This pavilion was a perfect wedding venue and all of the guests loved it! The sunset was at 8:15 pm and the couple invited everyone to enjoy the sunset together on the beach.

Dupon Photography

Dupon Photography

Dupon Photography

John & Natalie had their grand exit at 10 pm as they left to enjoy their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

INTERVIEW WITH NATALIE HECKER

Q1: Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

“For our wedding, we envisioned a relaxed and laid-back atmosphere, reflecting our love for the ocean. With that in mind, we made the exciting decision to have a beautiful beach wedding! The theme was a mix of rustic and beachy elegance. The color palette was dusty rose with an emphasis on blush pink and gold accents. As we are Christians, we made sure that our ceremony was Christ-centered and incorporated a lot of scripture and biblical elements.”

Dupon Photography

Dupon Photography

Dupon Photography

Q2: Let’s talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

“To bring our vision to life, we enlisted the expertise of a rental company and a talented florist who took charge of a significant portion of our wedding decor. They skillfully crafted our stunning ceremony arch, adorned the reception area with twinkling lights and elegant draping, and created exquisite table centerpieces adorned with candles. In addition, I incorporated some DIY elements including the wood signs for the ceremony and reception, itinerary fans for the ceremony and other printable signs for the reception. Otherwise, we kept the decor very simple.”

Q3: What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?

“Floral arrangements took center stage as the primary design elements for both our ceremony and reception. All our florals were dusty rose with greenery and we had a bridal bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, and florals for the arch and reception sign. We wanted to keep the decor simple so that the focus would be on the florals.”

Dupon Photography

Dupon Photography

Q4: Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

“Apart from the enchanting sunset moment, we kept the day relatively low-key without adding too many personal touches. Im so glad we did this as the sunset was absolutely amazing and it added a unique element to our wedding that a lot of guests enjoyed. Other than that, we had so much fun at our wedding and loved all of the speeches, the food was great and we had a blast dancing with everyone!”

Q5: Let’s talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.

“I found my dress online first as I saw it pictured on the beach and once I tried it on in the bridal shop, I felt like it was not only very comfy, but it looked and felt like the perfect beach wedding dress. For the groom and groomsmen, we wanted to do something sand colored and lightweight so we found something that was just that. John wore sand-colored linen pants with a white button-down long sleeve and a sand-colored vest.”

Dupon Photography

Dupon Photography

Q6: How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

“John and I met on Hinge approximately 2 years ago. We are very similar in our interests and beliefs and after our third date, we both felt like we knew we would end up getting married at some point. About a year and a half after meeting, both of our businesses started to grow more and we felt like we were at a good place in our lives to get married. John and I are both very private people so the proposal ended up being at the perfect location. John had been bringing the ring with him for the past week and he was waiting for the right time.

So on Sunday, November 20th, we went to breakfast and ended up doing a spontaneous hike up near horse tooth mountain. The hike turned out to take us to a beautiful spot that we had never been before and there was nobody else around. I could tell John was acting different and he seemed nervous so when I asked if he was ready to go back down the mountain, he took a second and then proposed right there.”

Dupon Photography

Dupon Photography

Q7: Which moment of your wedding day did you anticipate the most or consider the most special?

“Our wedding day was filled with countless cherished moments that will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

The first look and reading our vows was definitely one of them. Walking down the aisle with my father was an incredibly significant moment for me. Seeing John standing by the arch, ready to marry me, added to the anticipation and made it even more special.

The first dances for myself and my dad and John and his mom were also very special moments. For John and I, taking a few moments to ourself to watch the sunset and soak it all in was also so special since we had been going non-stop all day.”

Dupon Photography

Q8: Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

“As far as wedding planning advice, I would say to get as organized as you can with the wedding planning if you are not hiring a wedding planner. Hiring a DJ was also something I was on the fence about but Im so glad we did as he helped the ceremony and reception to run smoothly and stay on time with everything. Also, my advice is to trust the vendors you hire that they know what they’re doing and that everything is going to come together on the day of. I was nervous about how it would all come together, but everything exceeded my expectations and I wish I didn’t stress out so much about it all in the planning process.”

WEDDING VENDORS

All of the vendors were such a joy to work with! Here are a few of them:

• Reception venue: Maxine Barritt Park
• Equipment rental: All Event Rental & Design
• Catering: Blue Water Catering & Events
• Photographer: Dupon Photography
• DJ: Sarasota Wedding Company
• Florist: Bee Ridge Florist
• Rehearsal dinner: Café Venice
• Pre/post-wedding restaurant: Sharky’s On The Pier