Hello my friends! I've missed you! It has been too long since I've written a new post. However, as many of you already know, I've had quite a lot on my plate over the past several months because:
1) I FINALLY COMPLETED MY DOCTORATE DEGREE!!!! It's been quite a journey but after hitting the 23rd grade, I'm ready to be done with school =)
2) I GOT MARRIED!!!!
Wedding planning was QUITE an experience and to be honest, getting my doctorate was easier and less stressful. I know that may be hard to believe but making decisions about sequin table cloths, floral arrangements, and budgets was more overwhelming than I thought it would be! However, despite the stress, my wedding day was by far one of the best days of my life. This is, in part, thanks to my wedding coordinators, a wonderful venue & caterer, AWESOME vendors, and my amazing friends and family. But beyond all that, I married my best friend and the love of my friggin' life!
Before I show you pictures of the ceremony/reception/etc. I wanted to take a moment to focus on the details and decor of my wedding and highlight the amazing vendors/small businesses that made my wedding so beautiful! So this is part 1 of a 2 part post! I hope y'all enjoy the pictures because they make me SO HAPPY.
First and foremost, I MUST thank our photographer, Theresa Bridget Photography who took all of these photos. I am blown away by her and her husband's talent, as well as their kindness and support. From start to finish, they were absolutely amazing to work with! I was instantly drawn to their photos right away because I love how bright they are and they have the vintage feel I was looking for. In addition, Theresa sent us a handful of photos the day after the wedding as a preview, which was SO cool! For more of Theresa Bridget Photography, check her out on Instagram @theresabridgetphotography and her website.
And now...on to the PHOTOS!!!!
The colors I chose for our wedding at Heritage Museum of Orange County (click HERE to see more of this venue!) were mint, pink, and gold. Pretty much my signature colors as I wear and love them in every shade =P Heritage was my dream venue and the first and ONLY venue I visited because I fell in love the minute I walked on the property. Plus, Jamie, the events coordinator, was beyond wonderful! She is the best so if any of y'all are looking for a wedding venue, contact her ASAP AND JUST BOOK IT.
Lets start with the getting ready details!
Pictured above is a photo of all my pre-wedding details! The jewelry box was my "something old" because it was my grandmother's that she passed down to me. My veil was my "something new," shoes were my "something blue" and my "something borrowed" was my mom's mint garter!
The details on my BEAUTIFUL veil from Dolly Couture Bridal (Link HERE to their website). Dolly Couture does much more than just veils so if you are looking for a vintage inspired wedding dress, visit their site! They can do customizations as well! I actually learned about Dolly Couture because I was vending next to the owner, Merrie at Dapper Day in Fall 2016! Merrie was so helpful when looking for my veil because I wanted one that looked like my mom's when she got married!
My mom's garter from when she and my dad got married!!
My shoes! I adore these shoes and if I wasn't already married to Paul I would marry them. Believe it or not, I got these on AMAZON! Yes, AMAZON! After searching for shoes in stores and on the internet for literally 6 months, I randomly came across these and decided to order them just in case I didn't find anything else and they turned out to be PERFECTION. They are still available at this link if you want a pair for yourself! I just noticed they are available in white and pink and now I can't stop thinking about getting a pair of each. They are SO COMFORTABLE and so cute and....okay I will stop now.
Our custom made ring box! Purchased from this adorable Etsy shop called Bella Bride Creations. Link here!
My bride bag! I also got these for all the bridesmaids and the flower girls. These were ordered from The New Mrs. Shoppe on Etsy! Affordable, SUPER fast turn around, and EXCELLENT quality!
Above are the clutches I ordered for my bridesmaids for them to use on the day of the wedding! These were custom ordered from Janice Design on Etsy. The owner was SO accommodating and worked with me to find the perfect color. My bridesmaids wore blush pink and had mint bags and my maid & matron of honors wore mint and had blush bags! They were so well made and were the perfect size. I also loved the detachable chain so that it could be worn on your shoulder/cross body because I hate having to carry around a clutch! I also ordered an all white one for myself!
I also ordered custom monogrammed stemless champagne glasses for each of my bridesmaids from Mod Party on Etsy
I am obsessed with them!
It's ME!!! Getting my hair done in this photo by this amazing & talented Miriam! She currently worked at Hairroin Salon in LA and did such an amazing job helping me achieve the perfect vintage inspired look. You can also follow her on instagram for more photos of hair she has done at @littlemiri3
My makeup & my bridesmaids makeup and hair was done by the amazing team at Design Visage. They have locations in OC and LA! I adored my vintage inspired makeup!
All ready to head to the venue with my little hair clippy things because we didn't want my hair to start uncurling, LOL. I got this adorable shirt for my bachelorette party so I had to wear it again! My maid of honor Jade ordered them from GandBamApparel on Etsy!
This, my friends, it the BEAUTIFUL Kellogg House at Heritage Museum, where we had both the ceremony & the reception! This is the house I got dressed in and we spent time in before the ceremony! It was soooo cute inside!
My dress! Every time I look at this picture I cry a little inside because I miss it so much. I've had recent thoughts of just wearing it around the house occasionally and I'm getting close to executing this idea. This dress is a 1950s inspired Sincerity Bridal dress that I first saw online and saved a picture of right after I got engaged. After visiting several stores in my area, no one carried it! I tried on similar dresses but COULD NOT get this dress out of my mind. I then decided to go on their website and call every store that carries this brand that is located within 2-3 hours of me and after calling literally 24 stores with no luck.....a store in Bakersfield carried it!!!! For those who don't know my area, Bakersfield is about 3.5 hours a way. Me and my maid of honor Jade took a fun little road trip up to the store and the minute I tried it on, I cried and fell in love and bought it off the rack because y'all know I wasn't about to drive back to Bakersfield again. It was SO WORTH IT!!!!!
6 of my 8 bridesmaids cheesing it up for the camera =P
And now for the ceremony details! I loved this idea for a sign and I commissioned the lovely and talented Nhat, who I met through one of one of my best friends who also recently got married, to create it for me! She is AMAZING!!! This is all by hand, you guys. No STENCILS or whatever people use to write like this when they don't have talent ha ha! She does much more than just this so check her out on instagram @niftynhat and her Etsy shop here.
The frame is from Michael's and Easel from Hobby Lobby!
Introducing...my WELCOME TABLE! I'm going to be honest, I'm kind of mad at myself because I spent way too much time planning this and I did not even have time to look at it on my wedding day! LOL. FAIL. I am glad I have pictures because it turned out quite nicely :).
Welcome Sign & Hashtag Sign: Nifty Nhat
Mason Jars: Joann's
LOVE sign: Michael's
Card Box: Amazon
Honey Pot: Etched Expressions on Etsy
Guest Book: Marshmallow Ink LLC on Etsy
Picture frames: Michael's
Our customized guest book from Marshmallow Ink LLC on Etsy. They have excellent customer service and their designs are gorgeous!
The beautiful gazebo we were married under! This photo just takes me back to that wonderful moment!!! Gazebo flowers and decor by Bella Blooms! More of her work @bellabloomsfds
and now for the reception!!! I adore my tables!!!! Mint with gold and pink accents and white chairs! My caterer Country Garden Caterers set everything up quite nicely and the centerpieces were set up by my coordination team Leilani Weddings
The table settings turned out even better than I imagined! Menus were designed by Mayra, my bridesmaid & the escort cards were hand written by Nhat of @niftynhat!
Half of the tables had lanterns I got from Melanie from Bella Blooms! I love them so much!!!
Our Sweetheart table! Suzette, my matron of honor, did the flowers and they turned out SO AMAZING. I bought and spray painted the Mr. and Mrs. sign (amazon!), which is also where I got the tablecloths I used for the decor!
Our cake table which was put together beautifully by my coordinator! The stand and cake topper were from Amazon ( I have a prime problem) and the cake was made by a family member from my husband's side of the fam! I love how my coordinator decorated the cake with fresh flowers!
Close up of the cake!
And now...the dessert table! I am very sad because I did not eat dessert or even see this table because of how busy I was during the wedding, but I heard everything was AMAZING!!!
Last but DEFINITELY not least, I want to introduce you to two of my behind the scenes vendors who made my wedding wonderful!
First, the spectacular Jaimee of Edge Entertainment...Disney princess and DJ extraordinaire!!
This beauty was the best DJ EVAR!!!!! She was such a great MC and did such a good job with every part of the wedding! She kept our guests entertained and engaged the entire time and I am just so happy with how the reception turned out! I know that all of my friends & family also had such good things to say about her and their experience at the wedding. I met Jaimee through our mutual Disney lover connections & my shop instagram and since then I've gotten to know her on a personal level as well. She is an amazing human being and is very kind, enthusiastic, and inclusive, which are qualities that I value so much!
So 1) GO FOLLOW HER at @partyontheedge on instagram
2) If you are in need of a DJ go check out Edge Entertainment
and next, I must talk about our videographer, Joseph Reeves. He was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. He did such an amazing job making our video and was extremely professional. I did not even realize he was there half the time and he got such amazing shots! His editing skills are also amazing because I cry literally every time I watch the video!
I will be posting the link to the video and his website in the next part of the blog post because I need to figure out how to post a clip of it first =P
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next installment of FemmeDeWEDDING coming to you ASAP!