This year, I am opening the door to more of the stories behind the events and weddings we create. This blog series is a space for the moments that shape our work and the meaning behind it.
My wife, Lacie, and I recently eloped. We chose to step away quietly and celebrate our marriage in the most intimate way possible. For us, it was about releasing expectation and tradition, and focusing solely on one another. We were grateful to collaborate with two of our trusted creative partners, Giuseppe Marano and Diego Napoleone  as we brought this vision to life. Creating an experience that felt entirely our own has always mattered deeply to us, and this moment reflected that intention. Below are a few images that offer a glimpse into this chapter of our lives. A small, beautiful moment we are finally ready to share.Thank you for being here.
 This is our inaugural post, and I look forward to sharing many more stories in the months ahead.

Lacie did not have many dreams about her future wedding, the only thing she was certain of was an elopement, and for me, it made perfect sense. As an event and wedding designer, the idea of relinquishing control on my own wedding day felt nearly impossible. Eloping meant I could be fully present.
In 2024, we hosted an intimate engagement dinner at Le Bon Nosh in Atlanta, a candlelit evening surrounded by the people we love.
But when it came to our wedding, we wanted it to feel deeply and unmistakably ours.
Italy has always been special to us, but Sicily was new territory. We were drawn there by our photographer, Giuseppe Marano, whose work feels like memory; grainy, poetic, authentic, and raw. We had reached out to him the year before, but he was unavailable. By chance, a few weeks before our planned trip, I reached out again, and he made himself available.
When I shared the location we wanted, he mentioned it had never been photographed for an elopement. It all felt serendipitous. With everything aligning, we knew that was the right spot for us to commemorate our marriage.
We chose the Grotta delle Colombe, a remote sea cave known to locals as “The Cave of Doves.” Once the ruins of a military outpost, it is now a hidden swimming cove, used by locals. Lacie’s Danielle Frankel gown, with its soft pleating and pearlescent silk, mirrored the sea around us, while  engagement ring, a Montana blue sapphire, caught the same tones in the water. 
We kept our elopement private. It felt cinematic and sacred, like a story we were writing just for ourselves.




Lacie wore the Tabitha gown by Danielle Frankel, a sculptural off-the-shoulder silk taffeta piece that struck the perfect balance of architecture and romance. “It was the only dress that made me feel like a bride,” Lacie said. We  flew to New York several times for her fittings, and I cried the first time I saw her in it on her.  For the ceremony, she wore Versace Aevitas platforms, her sapphire ring from Mociun, and her wedding band from a local Sicilian goldsmith. The wind caught her hair and ribbon, softening everything structured about the dress.
I wore Ralph Lauren, a white tuxedo jacket, tuxedo shirt, tailored trousers, bow tie, and Deacon & Francis sterling silver cufflinks that were a gift from Lacie. I wore Loewe as my scent and Lacie wore Byredo. As a surprise, I gave her a blue Prada purse as a pre-wedding gift for her adventures in Italy. Everything was perfect and curated for out time together.



We married in the late morning light over the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Grotta delle Colombe sits between land and sky, reachable only by a long narrow path of worn stone steps. When we reached the top of the winding staircase, the wind carried sea spray across our faces.
We wrote our vows the night before. Lacie’s words still echo in my head. She shared how even the most ordinary things I do for or with her feel like love, and I shared my heart, expressing how I always knew I would marry her.

Afterward, we walked through the streets of Palermo, still in our wedding attire. Strangers cheered, music poured out of doorways, and at one point, we danced in a piazza in Palermo with a local musician singing a song that felt like it was just for us.
It was spontaneous and perfect, all before dining at Osteria dei Vespri. 

For the ceremony, crafting Lacie’s bouquet felt less like design and more like devotion. “I’ve never really pictured myself carrying a bouquet for tradition’s sake. I’ve always preferred things like moss and branches, but Shean’s way with flowers won me over” she said.
 “It’s the perfect keepsake from the day, having my bouquet made by my future husband.” I have made flowers for Lacie throughout our entire relationship, but this one was different. I chose a textural, mono bloom bouquet of Lunaria for its delicate, translucent petals that mirrored the sea light of Palermo. 
The stems were tied with raw silk ribbon, soft and imperfect, fluttering in the coastal wind. The bouquet was delicate, like her, and the most beautiful part is that we will be able to hold onto those flowers for the rest of our lives.




The next morning, we took a small boat out onto the Tyrrhenian Sea. We swam, laughed, and said “Mr. and Mrs. Shean Strong” for the first time. It felt surreal and peaceful, and we caught ourselves feeling shy but proud about saying it. It was something we had never said aloud.
Sicily became a part of us that day. Before we left, I bought her a bracelet strung with cornicello amulets, a small charm for protection and good fortune.
If I could freeze one memory, it would be our dance in Palermo. Everyone around us saw a couple celebrating their matrimony. When we looked at the photos later, it was beautiful to see everyone around us celebrating a newly married couple; but what I remember is how it felt to hold her.
Time stopped and she was all I could see.

THE BOUQUET

vENDORS AND dETAILS

thE cEREMONY

fASHION AND sTYLING

The Decision to elope

A Sicilian Secret: Inside AN Intimate Palermo Elopement

hELLO AND WELCOME! 

I was eighteen the first time I saw Lacie. I was in Pensacola visiting a girl, who happened to be an acquaintance of hers, and on a whim we stopped into a Books-A-Million. Lacie was there, sitting cross-legged in an old armchair, half hidden behind a tower of paperbacks. She looked entirely content, relaxed, unbothered, and surrounded by stories.
After a bout of small talk, I made a remark, and without looking up from her book, she corrected me, then quoted it in Hebrew.
At that moment, I thought, I need to know everything about her. 
We became friends who kept circling back to each other, always finding our way into long, winding conversations even as life moved us in different directions. I always flirted with Lacie- pursuing her, and nearly ten years later, our timing was right. Around 2017, we went on our first date at the Enzian Theatre in Orlando, an art-house cinema where guests sip wine and share small plates from tufted couches. It was not extravagant, but it felt effortless, right, and very us. That night, I knew I was going to marry her. A few months later, though we were not officially dating, I bought her ring knowing she was the one.



I am the owner of SHEAN STRONG DESIGN, a destination floral and event production house based in Atlanta, Georgia, recognized for our architectural compositions and deeply intentional approach to design. Lacie works in the philanthropic sector, dedicating her career to social impact initiatives and mission driven development. Together, our shared appreciation for beauty, purpose, and meaningful storytelling shapes every aspect of our lives, including the way we chose to marry.

SHEAN AND LACIE:
hOW WE MET

tHE cOUPLE

 Photographer: Giuseppe Marano
• Videographer: Diego Napoleone
• Dress: Danielle Frankel, Tabitha
• Shoes: Versace for her, Ana Marttin for him
• Suiting: Ralph Lauren, white dinner jacket, tailored trousers, shirt, and bow tie
• Cufflinks: Deacon & Francis, sterling silver, gifted by the bride
• Rings: Bride, Montana Blue Sapphire and Diamond ring by Mociun
Groom, Platinum Band with Inset Diamond by Tiffany & Co.
• Scent: Bride, Byredo; Groom, Loewe
• Floral: Shean Strong Design 
• Purse: Prada
• Venue: Grotta delle Colombe, Palermo, Sicily 

the Reflection