Ybor City Elopement // Mr. + Mrs. Akins

Giovanna and Chris were originally planning to get married in April 2020. Sadly, we all know what happened in April 2020. The world shut down. Although they were originally planning a micro-wedding to begin with, it was more important to Giovanna and Chris that they start their lives together as husband and wife so why wait? At the time the courthouse was still issuing marriage license but no ceremonies. So in true pandemic fashion, Giovanna and Chris got married in their living room with their families on Zoom. Now that their official one year anniversary is coming up, it was time to finally have their wedding photos done. Cue their Ybor City elopement!

Originally Giovanna and Chris were planning on getting married at Fancy Free Nursery in Tampa Heights. So this Ybor City elopement session was the prefect vibe for them to have their photos taken. I really loved that even though they’ve been married for a year, this was the first time Giovanna got to wear her wedding dress and Chris got to see her in it! We hit all of my favorite spots in Ybor and even popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate. As the sun was setting before heading into the hotel, we stopped in the middle of the street and captured some gorgeous photos during dusk. A very underutilized time of evening but nonetheless magical. Side note- Chris works in architecture so Ybor City was right up his alley considering it’s filled with plenty of really great architecture, old and new! That’s how we ended up at Hotel Haya to finish off their Ybor City Elopement session, and wow, what a stunning building- inside and out! Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Akins! I’m so happy we got to capture this moment in time for you! Shout out to Kiss and Makeup by Steph for the glam!