Rebecca and Matthew wanted their wedding to feel like an elevated family house party. At the altar, that meant keeping it intimate — only parents and siblings walked down the aisle. Everywhere else, it meant going big: 140 guests, dancing until 11 PM, and photographer Dani Parada capturing some of the most striking shots we’ve seen this season.
Location: Miami, Florida, USA
Style: Sophisticated, Elegant, Romantic
Time of planning: 14 months
Number of guests: 140
Setting: Villa
Season: Spring
Rebecca and Matthew are both University of Virginia alumni, though their paths never crossed on campus. It took a mutual friend and a last-minute spot on a group trip to Nags Head, North Carolina, in May 2020, to finally put them in the same room. Rebecca was famously particular about her guest list that week, and reluctantly agreed to let Matthew tag along. They hit it off immediately, and once they’d both landed in New York, they went on a proper first date that June.
Two years of dating later, the couple moved to Miami together. They started ring shopping in the fall of 2023, so Rebecca knew a proposal was coming — she just didn’t know when. On a weekend trip to Islamorada in January 2024, Matthew got her alone on a dock at the edge of the water, roses in hand, his sister secretly filming from the end of the pier. Rebecca said yes, and the celebration carried straight into dinner with their closest friends.
Concept & Inspiration
Villa Woodbine checked every box on Rebecca’s list: warm stucco walls, wrought iron archways, bougainvillea climbing the facade, and a backyard anchored by an old oak tree strung with fairy lights and hung with a crystal chandelier. It gave the day an at-home warmth without losing any elegance. Planner Zeiry by Design and florist Julia Rohde helped translate that into a springtime palette of soft pastels mixed with bold orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, and purple — joyful, distinctly seasonal, and never one-note.
The tables carried the same spirit beyond the florals. Fresh fruit — grapes, kiwi, orange, grapefruit — sat alongside colored taper candles and sage green linens, giving the tablescape texture without leaning only on flowers. Rebecca kept one deliberate contrast: her bouquet and Matthew’s boutonniere stayed all white, a classic note against the color everywhere else.
Bridal Fashion & Getting Ready
Rebecca wore a Vera Wang gown with delicate lace detailing, lace arm sleeves, and a cathedral-length veil, paired with champagne satin pointed-toe heels. Her jewelry carried its own story: her mother’s pearl earrings and necklace, the same pieces her mom wore on her own wedding day.
Matthew kept it classic in a cream dinner jacket, white dress shirt, and black bow tie from Suitsupply and The Black Tux, with a white ranunculus boutonniere that matched Rebecca’s all-white bouquet.
First Look
Before the ceremony, Rebecca and Matthew carved out real time for portraits around Villa Woodbine. Dani Parada worked the staircases, archways, and ivy-framed doorways from every angle, and the results feel more like an editorial than typical wedding portraits.
Ceremony
The ceremony unfolded beneath Villa Woodbine’s oak tree, its branches wrapped in fairy lights with a crystal chandelier hanging overhead. Colorful arrangements from Julia Rohde lined the aisle and flanked the altar, while two musicians from AA Musicians set the mood as guests took their seats.
Only parents and siblings walked down the aisle before Rebecca made her entrance to an instrumental version of “Golden Hour” — a surprise she’d kept from Matthew until that exact moment. Matthew’s younger brother officiated, keeping the ceremony as personal as the guest list.
Cocktail Hour
Cocktail hour was non-negotiable for Rebecca and Matthew, which is why they’d already knocked out their couple portraits beforehand. Instead of disappearing for photos, they spent the hour with their guests, while Dani Parada circulated to capture styled group shots of family and friends — a small gift the couple gave back to everyone who came.
Reception & Decor
Dinner moved outdoors, under the same tree canopy, with guests seated at long tables dressed in sage green linens and lit by colored taper candles. Rebecca and Matthew wanted the meal to feel like a real family gathering — relaxed, conversational, nothing rushed.
Three speeches got the room somewhere between tears and laughter: Rebecca’s father, her sister-in-law as maid of honor, and Matthew’s brother as best man.
Once dinner wrapped, the celebration moved indoors for the first dance to “Beyond” by Leon Bridges featuring Luke Combs, followed by a father-daughter dance and a mother-son dance. From there, the DJ took over and kept the floor full until Villa Woodbine’s 11 PM close, with a three-tiered white cake — rosé champagne and coconut layers — cut somewhere in the middle of it all. Guests who weren’t ready to call it a night carried on at Sandbar in Coconut Grove.
Advice from the couple:
• Rebecca: Enjoy being engaged — it’s one of the most special seasons of your life. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by wedding planning, but trust that it will all come together. Focus on making choices that feel personal to you and your partner rather than defaulting to what everyone else does. The details that will mean the most are the ones that are authentically yours.
• Matthew: Plan a surprise during the ceremony that your partner doesn’t know about. It makes the day even more special and memorable.
PHOTOGRAPHER Dani Parada Photography | VENUE Villa Woodbine | PLANNER Events by Zeiry | FLORIST Julia Rohde Designs | HAIR & MAKEUP TheClyque | BRIDE’S CEREMONY DRESS Vera Wang | BRIDE’S AFTER-PARTY DRESS Meshki | GROOM’S TUXEDO Suitsupply & The Black Tux | MUSICIANS AA Musicians | CAKE, FOOD & BEVERAGE Bill Hansen Luxury Catering | INVITATIONS Mari Graphic Boutique
