Bride: Marlena Wood
Groom: Karl Moltimer
Wedding Date: 10/08/2011
Location: Fisher Island Club, Miami Beach
Photographer: Clayton Austin
Hair: Liz Muller
Makeup: Natasha Gross of NG Makeup Artistry
The bride on her special day:
“Karl and I really wanted a destination wedding, but we didn’t want our guests to have to travel too far. Since Miami would be a destination for most of my family and friends, we decided to look into venues in the area. On our list was an exclusive private island that my mom found and scheduled us an appointment. As soon as we took the ferry over to visit Fisher Island, I felt like I was in paradise. And what really sold me was a huge banyan tree! It was gorgeous, and I just knew we had to be married in front of it.
“The planning process was a breeze because of my mother and our amazing wedding planner, Nathalie Cadet-James. During this process, I became obsessed with succulents and air plants. They were so lovely and earthy. We decided to meet with a renowned plant artist in Miami and ended up loving her samples for our wedding. We were able to incorporate gold sand, candles, succulent gardens and driftwood, and terrariums as our centerpieces. I wanted something different for the wedding party instead of flowers, so we went with airplane boutonnieres for the groomsmen and airplane balls with gold ribbon for the bridesmaids. I even opted for a piece of driftwood covered in white phalaenopsis orchids as my bouquet. What made it really special was that I was able to have a vintage brooch from both of my grandmothers added to my bouquet, as well as a special heart necklace charm from my father.
“Another important aspect for our wedding day was my headpiece. My mother had her wedding gown preserved for me over 30 years ago. I was able to have the lace and material from her dress turned into my vintage headpiece and into a garter.
“Karl and I were both excited about getting married under the tree on our wedding day. We also wanted an element of the church, so we purchased church pews and hired a gospel choir. We did have a challenge because it stormed nonstop the night before and on our wedding day. Our wedding plans changed within hours and we were both amazed at how our event planner pulled everything off. Our ceremony was inside the ballroom of the Vanderbilt Mansion. It was beautiful. My parents surprised us by having the room transformed with drapes and LED lighting with tree branch and flower projections. The plan B ended up being just as stunning—or even more stunning—than our initial plans.”
