Libby Schuville thought she was going to surprise her college sweetheart, Ryan Naumes, for his 30th birthday with an impromptu weekend trip to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. “Little did I know he had been in contact with one of my best friends, who had let him in on all of the plans,” she recalls. “He then switched the surprise on me and proposed when we got there.”
Ryan, a vice president at Aaeral Capital, and Libby, an executive recruiter at Russell Reynolds Associates, first met freshman year at Boston College, but only started dating when they were both doing a semester abroad in Florence, Italy. After getting engaged, they decided to tie the knot at the bride’s home in Vero Beach, Florida. “We spend most of our holidays down there,” she explains. “It’s one of my favorite places in the world, and I always knew I wanted a tropical beach wedding.”
When looking for her wedding dress, Libby also knew exactly what she wanted: nothing strapless and preferably something with an illusion neckline. She found just that in a light, airy Christos design. “I loved the detailing of all the flowers,” she said. “It felt very fresh and very Florida.” She then paired her wedding gown with a veil that had matching flower buds.
When the big day arrived, Libby and Ryan’s ceremony took place in a chapel right in the center of town. “People just walked over or took their golf carts,” she adds. Libby was especially enamored by the color of the ceiling in the church, a sea foam green, which she also picked as her wedding palette. For an extra special touch—an homage to the beginning of their relationship—the couple flew in a Jesuit priest from their alma mater to marry them.
From there, guests headed to the Windsor Golf Club, where a tropical surf and turf dinner of flank steak and grilled shrimp awaited. The bride’s father gave a lovely toast, as did Ryan’s brother, Chris Naumes. When it came time for their first spin as Mr. and Mrs. Naumes, the pair chose to hit the dance floor to Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are the Best Thing.” “But we first came out to Bruno Mars’ ‘Marry You!’ so by the time we got to our slow dance song, we felt like we had already been dancing for hours!” Libby says. A sparkler send off capped off the evening before the couple headed off for a quick wardrobe change and more late-night dancing at the golf club. As for their honeymoon plans, the practical pair ultimately settled on Rio. “We didn’t want to spend half of our honeymoon on a plane,” Libby says. “We spent some time in Rio, for the cultural feel of a city, and then headed to Buzios, where we managed to get our beach time in!”
