Anna Maria Island, Florida Wedding | Austin + Amyliah

When Toni reached out to my about her daughter, Amyliah’s wedding, I knew it would be one for the books. I’ve been a part of many weddings coordinated by Toni over the years, and they are always planned to the nines! When she mentioned this would be a BEACH wedding in Anna Maria Island, Florida, I HAD to be a part of it.

What makes this weekend even better, was that I got to spend it with family. Toni and I are second cousins once removed (I think?). Someone correct me if I’m wrong. Toni’s grandma and my grandma are sisters. That might sound distant to some people, but if you know the Swofford family… you know that we are CLOSE. I have a closer relationship to my second and third cousins than a lot of people have with their first cousins. We all just genuinely LOVE spending time together. And there are A LOT of us! We are very blessed. I also got to bring along my husband and four of our older boys to make a little mini vaca out of it. We had some quality beach time together, rented jet skis, explored the island and had a blast.

Now, back to Austin and Amyliah. I’ve taken Amyliah’s photos many times throughout her life… so it was an honor to be here with her on her big day. I’ve loved watching her relationship with Austin evolve, and it is so obvious that she found the perfect match. Not just for herself, but for their families as well. They both just mesh right in with each other’s extended families. It’s awesome to see.

Amyliah was about the farthest thing from a Bridezilla as you could get. She was so laid back and go with the flow (I think a few times she had to be forced to give an opinion! LOL). But that’s all because she had complete faith and trust that her mom would iron out every detail and that everything would work out one way or another.

As you’ll see below, there were so many meaningful moments and special details throughout the day. While doing the detail photos, I got choked up when I saw the photo of Amyliah’s grandpa, Joe, in her bouquet. He was one of my favorite relatives who always had a smile on his face and was genuinely glad to see you. We all miss him alot.

She also wore her grandma’s original wedding ring, a borrowed bracelet from a friend, and had a piece of her mom’s wedding dress sown into her own.

I love that Austin and Amyliah wrote letters to each other to read before hand. It was so precious watching their son, Brooks, try and read along too.

During the first look, Amyliah’s dad, Ken, surprised Toni with a gift for their anniversary. Yes, it was that very day! Like I said, so many special touches.

Scroll down below for some of my favorite memories of the day. Austin and Amyliah - thanks for letting me be a part of it!