ABOUT
UNIQUE Weddings + Events is a design-first Tampa wedding planner and wedding designer for couples who want more than a pretty day - they want a wedding that actually works.
We don’t follow templates or recreate what’s already been done. Every wedding we plan is built from the ground up - around your style, your priorities, and how you want the day to feel. Because design isn’t just about how it looks. It’s about how your guests move through the space, where the energy builds, and how everything flows without you having to think about it. That’s where we come in!
As your planner and creative director, we guide the decisions, shape the design, and handle the logistics so you can actually be present for your wedding - not managing it.
Based in Tampa Bay and serving St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and beyond, we create weddings that don’t just look incredible - they feel effortless, cohesive, and completely you.
Bold. Fearless. Anything but Ordinary.
🎭 Born & Raised in New Orleans - I grew up around bold celebrations, brass bands, and environments that actually feel like something. That influence shows up in every wedding I design - layered, energetic, and never forgettable.
🎨 Design is Literally My Job (and My Brain) - I’m a Tampa Bay wedding planner and wedding designer with a background in Interior Design, which means I don’t just focus on how your wedding looks - I focus on how it works. Scale, flow, guest experience, and execution are built into every decision from the start.
🔮 I See it Before it Exists - Before anything is ordered or installed, I already know how it’s going to come together. You’re not guessing your way through decisions - you’re guided through them with clarity and confidence.
🗣️ Blunt Honesty? - I’ll tell you what works, what doesn’t, and where your money actually makes an impact. No fluff, no sugarcoating - unless we’re talking cake.
🌅 Morning Person Energy - Fully caffeinated and already three steps ahead before most people have opened their inbox. Your timeline, logistics, and details are handled early - not last minute.
🎯 Calm in the Chaos - Packed timelines, room flips, last-minute changes - this is where I thrive. While everything is happening around you, I’m the one making sure it all stays on track.
🖤Design Meets Real Life - I love a strong statement moment, but it still has to function. If it looks incredible but doesn’t work for your guests, it doesn’t make the cut.
✨ Favorite Wedding Moment? - That split second when my couple walks into their reception and says, “Wait… this is ours?” That reaction is the goal every single time.
🤝 Who I Work Best With - Couples who want something different. People who care about design, trust the process, and aren’t afraid to make bold decisions.
🥂 And, Yes... - I will absolutely tear up at your wedding - while still running the entire day like clockwork.
🎨 Design is Literally My Job (and My Brain) - I’m a Tampa Bay wedding planner and wedding designer with a background in Interior Design, which means I don’t just focus on how your wedding looks - I focus on how it works. Scale, flow, guest experience, and execution are built into every decision from the start.
🔮 I See it Before it Exists - Before anything is ordered or installed, I already know how it’s going to come together. You’re not guessing your way through decisions - you’re guided through them with clarity and confidence.
🗣️ Blunt Honesty? - I’ll tell you what works, what doesn’t, and where your money actually makes an impact. No fluff, no sugarcoating - unless we’re talking cake.
🌅 Morning Person Energy - Fully caffeinated and already three steps ahead before most people have opened their inbox. Your timeline, logistics, and details are handled early - not last minute.
🎯 Calm in the Chaos - Packed timelines, room flips, last-minute changes - this is where I thrive. While everything is happening around you, I’m the one making sure it all stays on track.
🖤Design Meets Real Life - I love a strong statement moment, but it still has to function. If it looks incredible but doesn’t work for your guests, it doesn’t make the cut.
✨ Favorite Wedding Moment? - That split second when my couple walks into their reception and says, “Wait… this is ours?” That reaction is the goal every single time.
🤝 Who I Work Best With - Couples who want something different. People who care about design, trust the process, and aren’t afraid to make bold decisions.
🥂 And, Yes... - I will absolutely tear up at your wedding - while still running the entire day like clockwork.
What It’s Like to Work With Me...
Tampa Bay wedding planner and wedding designer. Creative director. Problem-solver.
The one making sure your wedding doesn’t just look good - it actually works.
Equal parts visionary, strategist, and execution-obsessed perfectionist.
Meet the creative director behind
unique weddings + events - staci mandikas
We’re Not Just event Planners—
We’re Storytellers, Stylists, & detail whisperers
Founded in 2008 by sarcasm-fueled, coffee-chugging creative Staci Mandikas, UNIQUE Weddings + Events is a boutique Tampa wedding planner and designer known for bold ideas, killer execution, and weddings that look nothing like your best friend’s Pinterest board.
With over 400 weddings across Tampa Bay, St. Pete, Sarasota, and beyond, we’ve built a reputation for creating one-of-a-kind celebrations that mix innovation, intention, and just the right amount of unexpected flair. My design background and sharp eye mean we don’t just plan - we curate. From color palettes and layouts to custom builds and mood lighting, every detail gets the VIP treatment. You’re not getting a copy-paste wedding. You’re getting a day that’s tailored, intentional, dripping in personal style, and impossible to forget.
oUR BELIEFS
At UNIQUE Weddings + Events, we believe bold wedding design should reflect who you are, and that planning a wedding in Tampa Bay or West Coast Florida should actually feel fun, creative, and (dare we say) effortless.
Cookie-cutter is a curse word.
Tradition is optional. Personality is not.
Good design matters. Always.
Your story is our blueprint.
Events should be full-on experiences,
not just “parties.”
Details are everything (because guests
notice when they’re missing).
Elegance and edge can absolutely coexist.
We live to create the unexpected -
no boring weddings allowed.
Love is love. Period.
Timelines and tequila both have their place
(one keeps us sane, the other keeps it fun).
We’re not just Tampa wedding planners, we’re wedding designers and experience creators.
We don’t chase trends. We set them.
If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.
Tradition is optional. Personality is not.
Good design matters. Always.
Your story is our blueprint.
Events should be full-on experiences,
not just “parties.”
Details are everything (because guests
notice when they’re missing).
Elegance and edge can absolutely coexist.
We live to create the unexpected -
no boring weddings allowed.
Love is love. Period.
Timelines and tequila both have their place
(one keeps us sane, the other keeps it fun).
We’re not just Tampa wedding planners, we’re wedding designers and experience creators.
We don’t chase trends. We set them.
If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.
What Makes Us...UNIQUE?
- Planned and designed Tampa Bay weddings from $5K backyard vibes to $300K ballroom blowouts - proving style isn’t about the budget, it’s about the vision.
- Created weddings for 8 guests who wanted cozy vows and up to 400 guests who wanted a full-on production. Either way, it looked damn good.
- Only book a limited number of weddings each year so your day gets our full attention, because perfection doesn’t happen when your planner is juggling 27 timelines at once.
- Worked at just about every venue in the Tampa Bay Area and the West Coast Florida, plus turned private residences and estates into total jaw-droppers.
- Licensed, insured, and unapologetically type-A with logistics: timelines, vendor wrangling, backup plans A–Z. Basically, we lose sleep so you don’t have to.
- Recognized as a top Tampa wedding planner and designer by Style Me Pretty, Rock 'n Roll Bride, The Knot, Wedding Wire, Marry Me Tampa Bay, and about 30 other features that still make us do a happy dance.
- Known for design at every level — from large-scale installations to the tiniest details guests actually remember (yes, they secretly notice the napkins).
- Obsessed with creating weddings that are modern, bold, and anything but cookie-cutter. If you want “the same as everyone else,” we’re not it.
- 17+ years in the Tampa Bay wedding scene means we’ve seen it all, from rain delays, power outages, vendor no-shows, and that one aunt who thinks she’s running the show. Spoiler: she’s not.
- Loved by Gen Z and millennial couples who want their wedding to feel like them - fresh, stylish, and a little bit unexpected.
