Wedding at Saint David Catholic Church and Rusty Pelican
Getting Ready at Valentina's Apartment in Fort Lauderdale
Jario and Valentina are both dentists. Which means they spend their days making people smile — and if their wedding day was any indication, they are very good at it.
They are family oriented, warm, and the kind of couple whose love for each other shows up in every room they walk into. I had already photographed their surprise engagement, and they came back to book me for an engagement session as well. By the time the wedding day arrived there was already a history between us — and that kind of familiarity makes a real difference in how the day unfolds and how it gets documented.
Their wedding moved through three locations — Valentina's apartment, Saint David Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale, and the Rusty Pelican in Key Biscayne. Each one completely different. Each one exactly right for what it was.
There's something about getting-ready coverage at home that you simply can't replicate at a hotel or venue suite. The space is personal. The details are real — her dress hanging in a room she lives in, her parents sitting nearby, the morning moving at its own pace without a coordinator's timeline pushing it along.
I went to Valentina's apartment to document her getting ready, her dress, and the time with her parents before everything officially began. These are the quieter photographs from a wedding day and they tend to carry the most weight over time. The big moments are obvious. The small ones — a mother adjusting a veil, a father seeing his daughter for the first time, THESE are the ones that need someone paying attention.
Makeup by Maire Castillo had Valentina looking exactly right from the apartment all the way through the last dance at the Rusty Pelican. That kind of consistency across a full wedding day matters more than people realize when you're looking at a complete gallery.
Catholic Ceremony at Saint David Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale
Saint David Catholic Church sits at 3900 South University Drive in Fort Lauderdale and the space carries the full weight of a traditional Catholic ceremony. High ceilings, rich interior detail, the kind of architecture that makes even a quiet moment feel significant.
Catholic ceremonies have a rhythm and a structure that rewards a photographer who knows how to move through them quietly. There are the prescribed moments — the processional, the readings, the exchange of vows, communion — and there are the in-between moments that happen in the margins of those rituals. A groom's expression during a reading. A grandmother in the third pew. The way light falls through the windows at a particular hour. These are the frames I'm always moving toward.
After the ceremony we stayed at the church for family portraits. Jario and Valentina are family oriented, the warmth between them and their families was genuine, and the group portraits reflected that naturally.
Reception at the Rusty Pelican in Key Biscayne
The Rusty Pelican sits on the Rickenbacker Causeway in Key Biscayne with Biscayne Bay on one side and the Miami skyline on the other. As a reception venue it's genuinely hard to beat — the waterfront views give you a backdrop that does significant work on its own, and the indoor space is elegant enough to hold its own against the scenery outside the windows.
Jario and Valentina were on the dance floor for most of the night. Their families were right there with them — the kind of reception where the dancing starts early and doesn't really stop. DJ Galin Entertainment kept the energy exactly where it needed to be all night.
There's a particular kind of joy that shows up when a family dances together at a wedding. It's looser than the couple portraits, louder, less posed — and it makes for some of the best documentation you can produce from a wedding day. Jario and Valentina brought that energy and their families matched it completely.
Thinking About a Wedding in South Florida
From a Fort Lauderdale church to a Key Biscayne waterfront reception — Jario and Valentina's wedding covered a lot of ground and every location delivered. If you're planning a multi-venue wedding in South Florida the logistics are very manageable and the visual variety it creates is absolutely worth it.
I'm Arnold, a Miami-based wedding photographer available throughout South Florida and beyond. I shoot documentary style with genuine posing direction when couples need it — so you're never standing in front of a camera wondering what to do. My editing stays true to color because your wedding day should look like your wedding day actually looked.
If you're planning a wedding in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Key Biscayne, or anywhere you want to take me — I'd love to hear about it.
Jario & Valentina’s Review
“Arnold is an outstanding photographer. He took our pictures during our engagement party and immediately gave me his contact information in case I had any questions. I later reached out to him with some questions and he was very quick and efficient in getting back to me. Additionally, Arnold is very flexible and always tries to accommodate around people’s schedules. Highly recommend him for Weddings, proposals or any events that require a photograph.”
Vendors
Photographer: @Dryinkpictures
Venue: @rustypelicanmiami
Church: @saintdavidcatholicchurch
Makeup: @mairecastillomakeup
Floral: @the.one.miami
DJ: @galizentertainment
