My Wedding at The Historic Mansion at Tuckahoe in Jensen Beach Florida
- Brenda Medrano
- Aug 7, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 19, 2024
The Mansion at Tuckahoe in Jensen Beach Florida is a premier Venue with Tropical, Florida Southern Charm.
Brenda Medrano
THE MANSION
We gather here today,
To explore all the beauty that is The Mansion at Tuckahoe in Jensen Beach, Florida- The wedding venue that my husband and I choose for our October of 2023, nuptials.
If you're in the search of a cozy wedding venue on the Florida Atlantic Coast, I highly recommend this option!
This stunning venue sits on pristine grounds, overlooking the bay of the Indian River, and the grounds are truly breathtaking.
On arrival, you pass through a gated, winding , brick driveway under a canopy of palm and oak trees. The glistening blue waters of the Indian River shine just beyond the hill of manicured, green lawn, which sits atop the beautiful seashell white two-story mansion under the sunny Florida sky. even without any additional adornments.
Inside the mansion,
You will find separate bridal and groom suites on the upstairs level- Fully equipped for getting ready. In addition to large styling areas and bathrooms, the upstairs common lounge area glowed with a perfect natural sunlight that made for perfect sunset pics on balcony. Perfect for pre-festive celebration!
For cocktail hour, guests were invited inside, to enjoy themselves amongst the ambiance of the spacious front foyer, complete with built-in fish tanks and fireplaces. The Terrazzo flooring reflect the beautiful old Florida charm and Southern elegance.
THE CEREMONY
The Mansion at Tuckahoe offers several options to choose from when it comes to hosting your wedding ceremony.
We celebrated on the front lawn amphitheater, which comes complete with a stage, sound hook ups, and an awning cover. For decoration, we did an arbor on the stage with some added faux eucalyptus garland and real flowers. On the aisle chairs we placed a bundle of baby's breath and as guest arrived, they were greeted with a welcome program, and a paper fan- A great idea my My mother in law had, and It was a hit. Florida's heat can show no mercy.
Since the area dips down into a "bowl" shape, there is also terraced seating built into the architecture.
You can opt to have your ceremony on a spacious outdoor courtyard area or inside the Mansion, itself. Given that it's Florida and the weather is temperamental- it's certainly a bonus to have both as an option!
*Note: It's so important to have a backup plan in the event of bad weather, that this venue requires the submission of an indoor seating arraignment prior to the event date, as a precautionary measure.
THE DRESS
The dress I wore was a beaded, fit-n-flare gown that features a deep V neckline with dainty spaghetti straps, low open back, + short train.
Named, "Cerulean", this sheath gown is designed by Theia Couture, and, in my opinion, holds elements of classic simplicity, with a sleek, sexy and (fully-beaded!) finish. This pretty little number
If you like this look, you should know that beading will add weight to the gown that you may not experience with other styles. It's worth considering if a heavier gown is something you will be comfortable with for the big day. For a Florida wedding, it was warm, but the light straps and low back countered that, making it comfortable.
As for my jewelry- I chose to keep it budget friendly, as I am not much of a jewelry wearer, in general. Both my earrings, and necklace are from Etsy sellers.
THE RECEPTION
The wedding reception is the heartbeat of the wedding celebration. It’s a time for laughter, dancing, and creating unforgettable memories with loved ones.
The day flew by fast and before we knew it, we were walking into our reception, so overwhelmed with gratitude, to see the cheerful faces of our wonderful friends and family.
Our reception, was held underneath a clear tent, Off the backside of the mansion. The patio catches a nice breeze off the water and when the sun sets serves as a romantic backdrop of sparking city lights over the water.
We went into our first dance to "Baby I love they way" by Peter Frampton, and did our best to duplicate the steps we had practiced in our living room (I went okay lol).
Personal touches, like photos of the couple or custom table settings, can make the space feel unique and special. At each table setting, we provided a "Wedding Mad-Libs" sheet for our guests to fill out. On the back of the sheet was also a simple questions:
Where should we go for our Honeymoon? Do you have any fun travel experiences/ stories?
And oh, how their personalities really come through in the responses! Each person has a crazy airport experience, or travel adventure of their own, so it was a great to read the responses which were both informative and very humorous. (Ty and I read them on the drive back from Florida to Chicago and were cracking-up!)
During our reception, a photo booth was set up inside with props and instant print outs for guests. It was really fun, just make sure your guests know it's there!
*Make some signage, or have the DJ announce that it's open to guests!
We danced beneath the cozy chandelier glow with mom and dad...
She's got a Way | Billy Joel
I don't Wanna Miss A Thing | Aerosmith
And everyone else...
Good Vibes all night....
We did speeches...
Our friend, Evan, said that someone;
"Complimented his Cotton-Eyed Joe"
what ever that may mean.
FOOD / BAR / CAKE
My husband and I love to have a good time and wanted our guests, truly, to have fun! We prioritized room in our budget for an open bar, and supplied our own alcohol for about 75 people. This cost us about $2,500 (not including bartender set up/ service / tip.)
Note: Total Wine offers to buy back unopened bottles/ boxes purchased through them. We used up a good bulk of our alcohol, but did end up returning some. Just keep your receipt!
For Cocktail hour, I suggest to begin with a selection of appetizers that cater to different tastes. Consider including both classic and unique options.
Our passed hors dourves included: Shrimp crostini, Meatballs and a goat cheese and date balls. We had a buffet style selection of food for dinner. Our entree selections being: Chicken Bryan and Smoked Mahi-Mahi. For our vegetarian friends, Stuffed Shell pasta, was also an option.
While a seated dinner was our first preference, it became very apparent during the planning process that we could save a lot of money and provide more food options, with a buffet. Our wedding planner, Missy, offered a great compromise- suggesting we serve the starter salads, plated and brought fresh to each guests, while the rest, a serviced buffet.
Our cake was created by Cakes by Dawn, who also catered our whole event! It's a two tear cake: Champagne infused buttercream cake with a champagne frosting. Sheet cake of the vanilla champagne, and chocolate marble with chocolate frosting, were served to guests.
Consulting with Dawn was very easy, and her menu came with many options. Dawn was even willing to do a tasting at our Airbnb when we made a quick visit from Chicago to tour the venue!
THE VENDORS
Here's a list of all the vendors we used for our Wedding:
DJ: | A live band or DJ can make a huge difference. Choose music that resonates with the couple’s taste and keeps guests on their feet. |
Venue: | The Mansion at Tuckahoe - Jensen Beach, Florida |
Catering: | Cakes by Dawn |
Photography & Videography: | Timeless Tree Events - Locations: Miami, Chicago, New York, LA and MORE! Very professional and easy to work with. Our photos came out great and we love our video. |
Wedding Planner: | Missy Bertke - Missy was awesome to work with. She's very familiar with the Jensen Beach and Stuart areas. Being so far away in Chicago- we really put Missy up to the challenge, but she did a great job running the day's events, and her communication was always open and helpful. Missy offers full, 6 month, 3 month and day- of planning services and helped us save money with her knowledageble advice! |
Makeup & Hair: | Sophia from Hair Full Of Secret in Gainesville, Florida and her assistant, Bailey, were a fabulous team. |
THE MEMORIES
When I think back to our wedding day, so many things come to mind. How much we truly wanted our guests to have a great time, the problems we ran into (no champagne for the champagne toast! oops!) But, in retrospect, everything was how it was meant to be.
Our guests came from all walks of life and all different areas of the world. They traveled solo, and in large groups. With and without kids. Took planes, trains and automobiles, just to join Ty and I, in honoring honor the love we share.
My favorite part of my wedding was all the people that we love and that reminded us of who we are, and where we came from. They are truly the fabrics of our lives, that represent every season of our lives, so far.
For more information:
The mansion website - https://www.martin.fl.us/Mansion
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