Troy and Rachel, both creative professionals, carefully planned their destination wedding in Miami with thoughtful attention to detail. Set in the picturesque Miami Beach Botanical Garden, a serene oasis filled with enchanting beauty, the celebration embraced the vibrant colors and lush tropical atmosphere of the surroundings. This wedding was a unique and beautiful reflection of the couple and included one-of-a-kind features like the incredible Passionfruit Pond Cake, a fruit sculpture seating chart and a signature fragrance crafted to encapsulate all the details of the wedding. Take a moment to step into this enchanting world and discover a celebration of love that was exciting, celebratory, botanical, bodily and romantic!
What inspired you to choose Miami as the destination for your wedding?
A: We chose Miami as our wedding destination because Rachel grew up in North Miami, and our families mostly live here. Troy’s family moved down from New York 10 years ago.
How did you come across Thierry Isambert Culinary and Event Design, and what factors led you to Hire them for your catering?
A: We landed on Thierry Isambert because our wedding venue, The Botanical Gardens, gave us a short-list of the catering companies they work with. We did some research and quickly found out that Thierry’s was the best option—with the highest caliber of excellence.
Can you share some insights into the theme or overall aesthetic of your wedding? What inspired this creative vision?
A: We were inspired by disco parties we have thrown with friends in past years. As well as pulling inspiration from our many shabbat dinners at our home. We drew inspiration from being close to the beach in Miami, the lush colors from the garden. We wanted everyone to look and feel their hottest. Rachel is a visual artist and Troy is a graphic designer, we tried to magnify all the details. We wanted to strike a balance between a minimal elegance and a luscious decadence—this was the biggest day of our lives, we had to go with a bang!
How did you find the experience of working with a wedding planner and a team of vendors for your destination wedding? Were there any challenges you faced during the planning process?
A: We loved working with our wedding planner Gigi, she is part of the family now. She knows how to make dreams come true. She stayed on top of us and ironed most of the details. She connected us with vendors and asked us great questions throughout. She also respected our vision and let our creativity shine without stepping on our toes. The biggest challenge was knowing when to stop… at what point were the details good enough?
What were your top priorities when it came to selecting the food and beverages for your wedding? Were there specific cuisines or dishes you wanted to incorporate?
A: We wanted the food to reflect our values in cooking: be fresh, nourishing, abundant, colorful, herbaceous, textural and delicious! We featured items that speak to our life story, family dishes, dishes we would cook for friends—it was super eclectic from the grilled skewers to the shucked oysters and shrimp cocktails. We wanted it to feel like the grandest Rachel and Troy dinner party ever. Troy worked closely with Florida based, Cerda Llanos y Cia, a natural wine importer, to allocate a robust wine menu for the evening—another extension of all the thought and craftsmanship we value.
Can you describe your first tasting experience at Thierry Isambert's commissary? How did this help you finalize your wedding menu?
A: The tasting experience blew us away. It was beyond our expectations, we have never felt so catered to. We felt like queen and king—our names were reserved in the parking lot! The whole staff showed up—it felt like the world stopped and an angel showered us in flavors. No joke— this was a remarkable experience. It was one of our favorite moments in the wedding planning, to hear from the chef, talk about the concepts together, the ingredients, the textures, and then listen to our feedback. It was a creative dialogue, we openly shared feedback and it felt generative. Bravo to the entire team!
How was the process of planning and organizing the ceremony and reception at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden? What made this venue stand out for you?
A: The process was elaborate and exciting. It was definitely overwhelming at times and stressful. Gigi did an amazing job at calming our nerves and setting our expectations—we would have been lost without her. She was our North Star. Everything started to fall into place a week or so before the wedding, but we were planning details 12 months prior! The abundance and beauty of the botanical garden made this venue perfect for us. Its an oasis from the crazy downtown scene, there are literal butterflies roaming the venue. Anyone can choose their path and meander around the garden. It’s a special place that created a beautiful backdrop for a shared memory.
What aspects of Thierry Isambert Culinary and Event Design's food and service stood out to you and your guests during the wedding?
A: The passionfruit pond cake was a show stopper, we still have people talking about it today. We have had strangers, who weren’t at the wedding, come up to us and say how much they loved the cake from photos! The cake was delicious and stunning—pastry executed our vision and exceeded our expectations. The fruit sculpture, where people found their seats, was also a special moment. This install really spoke to our visual and artistic desires— turning ordinary fruits into a sensational scene. The service was on point, the team has a great sense of hospitality, there was a dedicated server who made sure we tried a bite of every dish throughout the evening.
Looking back, is there any advice you would give to other couples planning a destination wedding or working with caterers?
A: Expect to spend more money and more time on everything, times it by 2! The scope will increase there’s no way around it. If you care about the details and the visuals—make presentations for you vendors. We gave every vendor a presentation deck to make sure they understood our vision. Make sure every decision reflects the couple, everyone is coming to celebrate the couple—let them into your fantasy!
Now that your wedding has taken place, are there any memorable moments or highlights from the event that you would like to share with our readers?
A: Designing a fragrance turned out to be an incredible decision. It took a lot of our time but we are so glad we were able to incorporate it into our ceremony and gift it to our wedding party. We also shared some bottles during the reception for guests to try. Scent is such a deep connector to memory. We designed a fragrance that we thought would encapsulate all the details of the wedding—celebratory, exciting, ocean-fresh breeze, botanical, bodily and romantic!
Wedding Planner: Events by Gigi | Catering: Thierry Isambert | Venue: Miami Beach Botanical Garden | Photographer: Andreille Photography