groom and bride kiss after saying I do during their davis island garden club wedding

Davis Island Garden Club Wedding | Angelica + Adrian

September 21, 2026

This Davis Island Garden Club wedding felt less like a wedding + more like two best friends throwing the best party of their lives. Angelica + Adrian have been each other’s people since the sixth grade, even if Angelica took a few years to catch up to that fact. He had a crush. She was not interested. Fast forward to freshman year, a high school band room, and suddenly she was the one making the first move. Six years later, they showed up to Davis Island Garden Club surrounded by every person who loves them, said their vows while a violinist played Golden Hour, danced into their reception holding cat faces on sticks, and closed the night out under a tunnel of sparklers.

Getting Ready at Hotel Tampa Riverwalk

Hair + makeup started early morning at Hotel Tampa Riverwalk and by the time I walked in the energy in that room had nothing to do with nerves. Music going, snacks out, cute PJs, girl talk. It felt less like a bridal suite and more like the pregame for the best night of your life. The kind of morning where everyone is already laughing and nobody’s watching the clock. That is exactly the energy I want a getting ready room to have and it usually comes down to giving yourself enough time + the right space so the morning doesn’t feel rushed.

Hotel Tampa Riverwalk is honestly one of the best getting ready spots in the city for a Davis Island Garden Club wedding. The light is beautiful, the rooms give you room to breathe, and it is close enough to the venue that the transition doesn’t eat your whole afternoon. Little logistics like that are the stuff I help my couples think through, because a smooth morning sets the tone for the entire day. When you’re not stressed about timing before you’ve even put your dress on, you actually get to enjoy the part everyone forgets to slow down for.

portrait of the bride getting ready on the balcony at hotel tampa riverwalk

bride getting her hair finished while getting ready for her wedding

a candid moment ofbride and her girls while getting ready at hotel tampa riverwalk

hotel photos of the bridesmaids with the bride having fun in matching pjs

Davis Island Garden Club… The Ceremony

Davis Island Garden Club is a waterfront garden venue tucked into one of the city’s most charming neighborhoods, with natural beauty that genuinely is dreamyyyy. Gorgeous trees + florals, water views, that easy old Florida charm. It is the kind of place that photographs beautifully without a ton of added decor, which is a big part of why it works so well for an intimate, intentional day.

Violinist James Teal opened the processional with “Love Me Like You Do” into “Love Story,” and when Angelica walked in, he played “Golden Hour.” The whole ceremony felt like it was built around the music, which, for two people who connect most over music it was perfect and quite the vibe.

And the love in that room was the kind you can actually feel not just see. In the speeches, in the parents faces, in the way everyone watched these two like they’d been waiting for this day a long time. Every single one of them brought it. These were some of the most genuine tear jerker speeches I’ve ever witnessed at a wedding and it hit different because the whole room actually knew + loved this couple. That is the magic of a smaller scale, personalized, intentional Davis Island Garden Club wedding. Nobody is a stranger.

venue detail photos of davis island garden club wedding

ceremony photos at the david island garden club in tampa florida

ceremony photo of violinist at the david island garden club in tampa florida

groom looking at his bride during their wedding ceremony

bride laughing at her grooms vows during their ceremony at davis island garden club

bride and grrom share a first kiss during their davis island garden club wedding

The Reception Was Epic

They did not walk into their reception. They danced in + got the party started. Cat faces on sticks, full energy, their whole crew got downnn. It was the most them thing they could have possibly done for their dance party + to feel like their fur babies were right there with them and it set the tone for a reception that never once slowed down.

DJ Speedy Jr. kept the floor moving all night, and these two were on it for most of it. However, the reception / dance floor opened up with one of the most sweet sentimental moments of the evening… first dances. The first dance as Mr and Mrs which had holding back tears and the most touching father and bride dance that had everyone tearing up.

Ready to build a day that’s unapologetically yours? Let’s talk

bride and grroms first dance at their davis island garden club wedding

bride and grooms kiss during cocktail hour at their davis island garden club wedding

groom sharing a dance with his mom during the reception of his davis island garden club wedding

guests dancing on the dance floor during the reception at davis island garden club wedding

Sunset Portraits At Davis Island Garden Club

They pulled away from the reception right before for sunset portraits and the light at Davis Island delivered. There’s something about couples who’ve been together long enough to be completely at ease with each other. The portraits don’t take much direction. You just put them somewhere beautiful, give them a little something to do, and let them be themselves. That easy, best friend kinda love.

sunset portraits of the bride and groom on the river front venue davis island garden club

Why Davis Island Garden Club Is A Great Wedding Venue

If you’re considering a Davis Island Garden Club wedding, here’s the honest take. It gives you waterfront + garden + city all at once, without ever feeling like a generic event space. The natural setting means you can keep your decor intentional instead of overwhelming. There’s a great getting ready option nearby at Hotel Tampa Riverwalk or a handful of other great choices to choose from. And it holds an intimate, personal day beautifully, the kind where the whole room actually knows the couple and not where you feel like you have to walk a mile to get to the other side of the room to see your people.

Angelica + Adrian’s day is the perfect example of what this venue can be when you build the day around the couple instead of a checklist. Music because that’s their love language. Cat faces because that’s their humor + they love their fur babies. Dr Pepper because that’s just them. A room full of family + friends who genuinely love them and know them.

See another micro wedding I’ve captured here.

Planning Your Own Davis Island Garden Club Wedding?

I’m Kathryn, a Florida intimate wedding photographer + planning partner for couples who want their day to feel like them, not like the last 2 weddings they attended. Davis Island Garden Club is one of my favorite Tampa venues for intimate weddings, the waterfront setting + the flexibility to build a real timeline around it make it a standout option. If you’re planning a wedding in Tampa Bay and you want someone who shows up with way more than a camera, I’d love to hear what you’re building.

Let’s connect!