J-Ray and Adam Featured in the Limelight | The Gasparilla Inn | Boca Grande, FL Wedding Photography

J-Ray and Adam were married on a glorious fall day in beautiful Boca Grande, Florida. The bride and groom shared a private First Look moment on Banyan Street, while family and their wedding party were able to catch a glimpse from the distance. Their traditional Jewish ceremony was outdoors on the deck of the amazing Gasparilla Inn Beach Club, followed by dinner and dancing poolside with a breathtaking view of the Gulf of Mexico as the sun was setting.

After graduating from the University of Florida, Adam took a job (which luckily for me he wound up hating) in D.C.. When a friend proposed that they take a break from the real world and head to Aspen for the winter season, Adam jumped at the idea. As happens with most people who come to Aspen for just a season, he wound up staying permanently. Everyone who knows Adam knows how personable and friendly he is so it's no shock that he instantly became friends with everyone in town. One of those new friends was a Aspen native, Meredith. Meredith and I have been friends almost since infancy. Okay, maybe more like 2 but close enough. She was my partner in crime! After a long sabbatical in California, I moved back to my hometown of Aspen in October of 2011 and Meredith and I were once again attached at the hip. We were sitting at the bar at Matsuhisa watching football when I first met Adam. Of course they were friends so when he walked in and saw her he came right over to say hello. After that we seemed to run into him all over town and she always had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. After some arrangement on her part we all got together a few times and then with a little persuading she finally got me to agree to a date! Adam and I have been together since that very first date (where we both showed up wearing Exactly the same shirt!)

How the proposal happened, in the words of the bride: "Anyone that knows me knows that I am obsessed with Frenchy's restaurant in Clearwater Beach! Adam took me there for the first time after we had been dating a few months and it was love at first bite : ) If people could hear how many Frenchy's conversations take place in our house, they would think we were nuts. We have t-shirts, hats, coasters, even Frenchy's toothpick flags that go in the Super Grouper Sandwiches. So needless to say, anytime we go back to Florida the first thing I want to do is go eat at our favorite spot.

After a long, dreary fall season in Aspen, Adam and I finally made a very overdue trip back to Florida for Thanksgiving. On the morning of the 27th we drove out to Adam's family beach house to spend a day in the sun and of course, go eat at Frenchy's. When we got to the beach it was anything but sunny but we were so happy to be there we decided to make the best of it. No clouds were going to ruin our vacation. We threw on our suits and went down to the pool. After some (chilly) swimming and a couple drinks we decided to change for dinner. At Frenchy's we sat overlooking the beautiful white sand and turquoise water and munched on all our usual things. During dinner Adam seemed a little distracted. He was constantly checking his phone and typing away. I finally asked him what was going on and he replied that he was on a group text with several friends that were arriving in town that night for the holidays and they were making plans for us all to meet. I am very close with many of Adams friends by now and knew they were coming to town so this seemed reasonable to me and I forgot about it. After we finished Adam suggested that we walk down to feel the water. We were hoping it would be warm enough to swim in the next day if the weather was better. As we headed down the beach the sun started to set and it was one of the most beautiful Clearwater sunsets I've ever seen. All of a sudden Adam stopped me and said he had a Hanukkah present for me and told me to pick a hand. I laughed at him and picked a hand which was empty. He told me to pick the other hand and before i could reach for it he produced a box from his jacket pocket. Before I knew it Adam was down on one knee, holding my hand, asking me to marry him. I was totally in shock. It was the most beautiful, amazing proposal I could imagine and I couldn't believe it had actually just happened. I was crying tears of joy and totally in my own world until Adam finally chimed in and reminded me that I had to give him an answer. After my ecstatic, and tearful yes, he turned around to point out cousin Scott. He had been hiding on the beach taking pictures of the whole thing. It was Scott he had been texting our whole dinner making sure he was there and ready to take the pictures. It was the best surprise of my life. After a celebratory drink back at Frenchy's we walked to the house so we could make phone calls to friends and family. Turns out we didn't need to make any calls though because there was one more surprise waiting for me. As we opened the door we were greeted by my mom and Adam's parents and tons of friends and family all hiding there to celebrate with us."

Congratulations J-Ray andAdam!

Senior Lead Photographer | Carlos Rello
Associate Photographer | Tara Zimmerman