Fashion and lifestyle blogger Amy Littleson and Johnny McNitt fell in love after a few weeks of seeing each other as sophomores at the University of Richmond. Seven years later, Johnny proposed on Thanksgiving Eve in Vero Beach, Florida. Both of their parents coincidentally have homes in Vero Beach, a few miles apart, and everyone spends the holidays together. After he proposed on the sand, the love birds celebrated with their families and Amy’s best friend, who flew in to surprise the couple.
Quickly after the engagement, the pair decided they wanted to say, “I do,” in Vero Beach. The rehearsal dinner was held at Johnny’s golf club. Their church, First Baptist of Vero Beach, hosted the ceremony, and the reception took place at John’s Island Club, where Amy’s parents are members. The aesthetic was “a garden-party-meets-island-soirée,” which is a close reflection of the bride’s personal style—“feminine and classic but with fun, eclectic twists!” she exclaims.
The pair set the date for February 11, 2023—right before Valentine’s Day, which also happens to be the groom’s birthday, and their dating anniversary. “I never thought I would have a winter wedding, and was telling my former coworker—from my years on the marketing team at Lilly Pulitzer—that when she corrected me and said that it wasn’t a winter wedding but was a ‘resort season wedding,’ since it was occurring in the Florida resort season. . .so I started using that phrase moving forward,” Amy shares.
The bride-to-be and her mother took on most of the planning and hired Anna Caroline Weddings as their day-of coordinator. Joseph Rogero masterfully lensed every special moment, while Erikson Corbin was in charge of video.
“Since I pretty much shop for a living I loved trying to figure out what I should wear for all of the wedding events,” Amy says. “My favorite pieces I styled were either vintage or from Over The Moon, when I was perusing the internet at 1:00 a.m. with ‘wedding insomnia.’” The bride based all of her looks on the appliqué and embroidery that were on her Dylan Parienty wedding dress. The flowers around her wedding crest were also copied from her gown, and Ashley D. Studio created a custom print of the florals that was featured on the bridesmaids’ getting ready dresses.
The bride actually found her ceremony look on Instagram, and it was fatefully called the “Amy” dress. It was only available to try on in Tel Aviv or Paris, and as it happens, Amy had already booked a trip to Paris and the designer thankfully had a free appointment. “I left my fiancé with a baguette and a bottle of wine and tried on the ‘Amy’ while FaceTiming my mom and sister,” the bride recalls. It was clear that it was “the one.” Amy discussed a few design customizations with Dylan, and then the gown was shipped to NYC six months later.
On the day-of, Amy got ready with makeup artist Cindy Goetz and hairstylist Lindsay Naffziger. And she completed her bridal look with Asha earrings and Jimmy Choo heels.
For the after-party, Amy decided on wearing her favorite color, pink, and chose Bronx and Banco’s Anna halter-neck mini dress, paired with vintage Chanel earrings that her sister had gifted her that morning and Stuart Weitzman heels. Speaking of the rosy hue, the couple also requested that all guests wear looks in a pink color palette.
At First Baptist of Vero Beach, Amy’s Christian life coach, Alexandra Kaval, officiated the heartfelt ceremony. The bride walked down the aisle with her father to “Bridal Chorus” by Richard Wagner, played by a string quartet from Luxe Harmony. Amy and Johnny then exchanged their own vows and shared a first kiss as a married couple at the altar.
Once everyone arrived at John’s Island Club, cocktail hour commenced poolside with signature cocktails and crowd-pleasing appetizers. Then guests passed under the floral arch by Hutchinson’s Floral Artistry and found their seats under the Sperry tent via small notes that the couple had personally written to each one of them. After the delicious dinner, mini Hummers—a club cocktail specialty that’s basically a milkshake with alcohol—were excitedly sipped along with the vanilla wedding cake with strawberry cream filling. Later on, pizzas and espresso martinis were passed at the after-party to keep everyone energized.
The Headliners kept the dance floor packed all night long, until the deejay from Traxx Entertainment took over. “The biggest entertainment were our guests. . .we had people doing the worm, shimmying with hot pink boas, dancing on-stage, lifting us up on chairs, playing keep away with a disco ball—what else—and there was even a free-standing backflip in the middle of the dance floor at one point,” Amy recalls. “Let’s just say everyone brought their A-game.”
After attending a few classes at the Fred Astaire dance studio on the Upper East Side, the newlyweds had a romantic first dance to “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift. “We wanted a dramatic sing-along with lots of dips and even a lift, so that worked perfectly,” Amy shares.
A conga line was then formed and led people from the reception tent to the beach bar, where the deejay was already playing their favorite hits from college. And to make their grand entrance to the after-party, Amy got on Johnny’s shoulders and held two Champagne bottles with sparklers attached to them. “There wasn’t a breather in-between either dance floor, except when a group of people ended up in the pool. . .which we may or may not have led,” Amy shares. “Around 1:00 a.m., my parents drove our Moke back to our home, and Johnny and I took the bus with our wedding party back into town, where we walked barefoot back to our hotel rooms.”
