Beautiful South Florida couple, Janelle and Daniel, met while working together as police officers. Janelle was placed into Daniel’s squad and they immediately felt a connection. As they continued working together, their strong attraction to each other could not be ignored, and they began dating. Janelle and Daniel fell in love, and it became clear that they could not be apart.
Daniel planned a romantic, exciting proposal for Janelle. They spent the day enjoying the animals at the Miami Zoo. Then, Daniel suggested going to the Mandarin Oriental on Brickell Key Island, which is Janelle’s favorite hotel. She happily agreed, and suggested that they enjoy the sunset from the hotel’s terrace. Once they arrived, Daniel wanted to have dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants. Janelle smiled and gave him a nervous giggle as she told him that there might be a dress code, and their zoo attire wasn’t going to fly. Daniel held out a room key and said, “Well then let’s go up to our room and order room service.”
The bell man arrived and was surprisingly holding Janelle’s personal items that Daniel had packed: two of her dresses, makeup, and heels. Daniel said, “Surprise! We have dinner reservations at 7:30.” The couple enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Azul and took a stroll through Brickell Key. When they returned to their room, Daniel proposed with the skyline as a backdrop and white rose petals everywhere.
Janelle and Daniel’s South Florida wedding took place on November 21, 2015 at the beautiful Morikami Museum and Japanese gardens. The ceremony was held in the museum’s lower terrace beside the lake. The area itself is naturally beautiful with views of picturesque Japanese gardens, so the decor was kept elegant and simple. Tall candle-lit lanterns and large glass cylinder vases filled with submerged white dendrobium orchids adorned the space.
The reception was held inside the museum’s foyer. The main centerpiece held submerged orange dendrobium orchids topped with a large bushel of white hydrangeas. Each reception table looked unique while using the same flowers included in the main centerpiece. The guests relaxed in beautiful, gold chiavari chairs with ivory cushions beside gold Dupioni linens and gold charger plates.
Rain began to pour that afternoon, so the ceremony and reception were brought inside, but when Janelle arrived at the museum, the rain stopped and the ceremony was moved back to its original location. Once everything was ready, the bride began to walk down the aisle. Just as Janelle walked to her groom, a very light mist began to fall. The candlelight from the lanterns and the mist-like rain made the ceremony so romantic and intimate, and just as the bride said “I do,” an unscripted white dove flew over the lake. Janelle and Daniel’s guests were in awe and could not stop raving about how romantic and beautiful the ceremony was.
From the groom: “I asked God what I had done to deserve the world’s most beautiful woman. Then my mind went blank, watching that woman walk down the aisle towards me, flashing that trademark smile. At that point it didn’t matter what I had done to deserve her, I was simply the most grateful/luckiest man on earth.”
From the bride: “I began walking and I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Then I saw him and it was as if time stood still. He looked gorgeous and so perfect as he smiled at me, I just thought: WOW that is my husband. I couldn’t stop smiling, he made me so happy and I just thanked God for him and for his love.”
Credits:
Photography | Rodrigo Varela Photography
Videography | Tyler Maxwell Films
Venue and Event Planning | Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
Catering, Linens, and Chairs | The Cornell Cafe
Florals and Decor | Pistils and Petals
Event Lighting and Sound | Frost Event Productions
DJ | Mauricio A. Parra
Cake | Ana Paz
Invitations | Creative Weddings
Menus and Place Cards | The Black Box Miami, LLC
Makeup and Hair | Just Naivi
