Luscious Garden Wedding at Historic Sydonie Mansion in Mt. Dora, Florida

Luscious garden wedding at the historic Sydonie Mansion in Mt. Dora features romantic backdrops, stunning florals, and gorgeous natural hair inspiration.

Brittney and Devonte’s luscious garden wedding was an elegant and romantic affair filled with love and laughter!

Set at the Sydonie Mansion, the historic destination provided the perfect setting for their garden ceremony. Brittney wowed her guests in a fitted lace and sequined gown from Allure Bridal and embraced her luxurious natural curls for the day. Devonte was equally elevated and classy in a blue Perry Ellis suit, braided hairstyle, and a boutonniere from a local black-owned florist in Orlando.

Other highlights included an emotional “first-touch” for the couple and Devonte’s dance routine with his mom during the reception.

For more on their love story and details from their wedding, keep scrolling below!

Couple: Brittney Woods & Devonte Norwood
Occupations: Brittney is an Architectural Designer & Devonte is a Freight Relocation Expert.

Quick Facts:

Wedding date: April 17, 2021
Wedding venue: Sydonie Mansion in Mount Dora, Florida
Gifts for their bridesmaids and groomsmen: Brittney has a small side hustle making custom gifts, so they gifted their crew with personalized tumblers.
Ceremony entrance song:
Groom: Int’l Players Anthem (I choose you) feat. OutKast – UGK
Bride: I’m Sure It’s You – Shelea
First dance song: Promise to love – Kem

The bride…

The dress…

How they met…

The couple first met through a mutual friend and for a while it was entirely platonic.

“After being friends for a couple years, we realized that we both had an interest in each other and decided to give us a try and the rest is history!”

The groom…

Their “first-touch”…

The proposal…

For a while, Brittney had been mentioning they should take some professional photos together. So, Devonte listened and scheduled a photo shoot with his cousin, a budding photographer, at a local park. Little did Brittney know, Devonte had something even more special planned!

“At the end of our scheduled shoot,” she recalls, “[his cousin] had me face away from [Devonte] for a shot and when I turned around he was down on one knee with all of our closest friends and family in the background. I was so surprised! He did a great job creating a perfect proposal for us.”

The ceremony…

Mr. & Mrs….

Wedding attire & shopping experience…

Brittney looked absolutely radiant in a sequined lace mermaid style dress by Allure Bridal.

While shopping for her dress, she admits that all along, she “kind of had a look in mind and had been obsessed with a particular dress…”. Unfortunately, due to COVID, she couldn’t travel to the stores that had it.

Determined to find a dress that had the same feel as the other one, she kept looking, and “Luckily it only took 3 store visits to find the perfect one!”

Brittney admits, “Devonte’s look was much easier to find” and he looked handsome in a stylish dark blue suit by Perry Ellis. He accented the outfit with a slate blue tie and classic brown shoes.

Favorite memories from their wedding…

For Brittney, her favorite memory (amongst many!) was their “first-touch.”

“It was a really sweet moment that allowed us to connect before the ceremony while keeping the tradition of not seeing each other,” she recalls. “I was so overcome with emotion when Devonte slipped me a private note in my hand.”

Devonte’s favorite moment was seeing Brittney walking down the aisle. He remembers thinking to himself “‘How did I get this girl to actually marry me?’.”