| About our wedding:
ME AND FI
QUICK LINKS:
PRO PICS
NON-PRO PICS
ABOUT THE WEDDING
HONEYMOON PICS
DISCARD PICS FROM OUR ENGAGEMENT SESSION
PICS FROM OUR ENGAGEMENT PARTY
VENUE PICTURES
WEDDING ATTIRE
FLOWERS
WEDDING STATIONERY
PICS FROM MY HAIR & MAKEUP TRIAL
CEREMONY STUFF
RECEPTION
FAMILY
PRO PICS
NON-PRO PICS
Walking down the aisle
Hot bridesmaids
Handsome groomsmen
Exchanging rings
Lighting the unity candle
Memorial for my Mom
With my step-dad
With my family
My father-in-law leading the applause
First dance
With mrsWrightN07, DOC extraordinaire, and MissDrea
MissDrea freaking the bride
Cake!
ABOUT THE WEDDING
WEDDING COLORS: Sage green, pink and chocolate brown
Vendor reviews:
CEREMONY: St. Edward's, Dana Point http://www.stedward.com/ B+
DH and I used to be parishioners at St. Edward’s when we lived in Laguna Niguel. We fell in love with this church from the first time we attended mass here. In fact, we changed our original wedding date so we could have our ceremony here. It is a beautiful church with an unbelievable view. The coordinator in charge of weddings, Donna Barnhill, was not always quick to reply via email in the beginning, but towards the end was usually pretty quick. We were assigned a wedding coordinator for the ceremony, Vieda. She was very organized, adept and available to us, although I wouldn’t say she was very warm and flexible. If you’re the kind of bride that likes warm & fuzzy, she may rub you the wrong way. But if you are looking for someone dependable and on top of everything, she will be your gal. On the other hand, Father Joe, the priest that presided over our ceremony and counseled us for the months leading to the wedding day, was very easy to talk to and comforting. He gave us a lovely sermon and although he forgot one part of our ceremony (Prayer to the Holy Family), it wasn’t a big deal and he got us in and out in a hurry. Overall, we had a good experience with St. Edward’s.
RECEPTION: Casa Romantica, San Clemente http://casaromantica.org/ B+
This was another place that we really wanted from the minute we saw it (we’re decisive like that). It is another stunning venue – a beautiful old Spanish hacienda overlooking the ocean, above San Clemente pier. Many of our guests had never heard of this place, let alone been to it, so they were astounded. We were very pleased with how the room and the patio turned out once decorated. It did get a little hot inside the house once the dancing started, so a lot of our guests ended up on the patio, but it was such a nice night and we had tables outside. We were a little annoyed that Susie Sullivan, the Director of Private Events, made us finish a half hour early since our ceremony ended so early and guests therefore arrived early. She wouldn’t even let us just pay for the extra half hour, and considering you absolutely cannot go past 10:00 (due to noise ordinances), we already felt like our reception was ending early. In the end, we still had a good time but Susie should really lighten up.
CATERING: Iva Lee's, San Clemente http://www.ivalees.com/ A
Fabulous food and outstanding customer service! Lisa Wagoner worked closely with us the whole process and we felt very secure having her in charge. She arranged our rentals and acted as a coordinator for a lot of our stuff (until I decided to hire on a DOC). We received a lot of compliments on the food and everything went without a hitch. I would recommend to anyone!
DAY OF COORDINATOR: Christina Dickinson, Simply Modern Weddings http://www.simplymodernweddings.com/ A
I ended up hiring Christina a few weeks before the wedding. Since I had done all the major planning and kept up good contact with my vendors, I really just needed someone to be my “go to” girl, just in case something went wrong. Christina went above and beyond her duties by making sure she was fully aware of all details, arrangements and vendor information. She kept on top of all my vendors and just made sure everything went seamlessly. The only problem that I know that came up was the early reception ending, and after a quick consult with me, Christina took care of everything. If anything else went wrong, that just shows how good a DOC Christina was because I noticed nothing else.
DJ: Craycraft Entertainment http://www.craycraftentertainment.com/ A-
From the beginning, Brian Craycraft, the owner of this company, was extremely professional. He knew his stuff and kept up great communication with me (even with my many changes as time went on). After getting to know what we were looking for in a DJ, he recommended a great DJ/MC duo on his team, and he was absolutely right. Ernest (our DJ) and Brandi (our MC) really worked our crowd and kept the party going. Even Christina, our DOC, said she hadn’t seen so many people enjoying themselves at a wedding.
CAKE: French's Cupcake Bakery, Costa Mesa http://www.frenchsbakery.com/ A-
Initially, we were a little worried about this bakery because they are not your usual “wedding cake” bakery. It’s a small mom-and-pop (literally!) bakery in Costa Mesa that MIL and all her friends have been using for years. We loved all the cakes that MIL got for us in the past and their cream puffs (you have to try these babies when you get a chance), but honestly we were less than impressed with the customer service. Our first appointment with Ginny, their wedding cake person, wasn’t even with Ginny – she wasn’t in or whatever their reasons were and we weren’t notified, so Dianne, her mother and the wife of the husband-wife owners, met with us. That was a bad sign for us, and there were a few communication problems after that, making us concerned that our cake may end up wrong, late or not show up at all. Our worries were all for naught because our cake showed up on time, was exactly like we wanted and tasted delicious.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Imagery Concepts Photography http://www.imageryconcepts.com/ A-
We found Troy and Marjorie because they did the wedding of some friends of ours and we had always really admired their photos. They do not advertise so we would’ve never found them otherwise! Troy and Marjorie have spectacular eyes for unique angles, maximizing available light and background and overall capturing the moment. We are in love with all of our photos! The only reason I didn’t give them an A is because they ended up a little more expensive than we expected.
HAIR & MAKEUP: Marybeth Bagonghasa http://www.abovetheshoulders.com/ A-
Marybeth did a fabulous job at my hair trial and on the actual wedding day. She did a great job of glamorizing me without making me look made up. She also was very good about responding to my (many) emails with questions and/or comments. Although she started at the right time, we did end a little late, but that was partly my fault because we used extensions and they took a lot longer than expected. Overall, she and her assistant made the whole wedding party look stunning and everyone was happy with their look.
ALTERATIONS: Janet Brunton B+
Janet was VERY busy during the time I needed alterations and even ran into some problems with some Knotties’ dresses as a result. As everyone has said, she is incredibly sweet and good-intentioned, but may be overburdening herself. I was a little disappointed that I needed 4 fittings, but part of that was my fault because I changed my mind on whether I’d need straps and we went conservative on how much the dress would need to be taken in. My bustles stayed all night and my only complaint is that after my last taking in of the bodice, it didn’t sit perfectly flat. It wasn’t that big a deal, but I did find myself having to pull my bodice up and my skirt down to make it lie flat all night.
CD FAVORS: http://www.chicweddingdesigns.com/ A
James is incredibly talented! I gave him a picture and a general description of what I wanted, and he ran with it. The design he came up with was sooo good! He was quick, professional and very reasonably priced. If you’re doing CD favors, this is your guy.
CD WALLETS: http://www.ourweddingcd.com/ A
Great communication and customer service and amazingly professional products for a reasonable price. I was so lucky to find this vendor!
VIDEOGRAPHY: Mike Mills Productions http://videotapemywedding.com/
Review pending receipt of wedding video
WEDDING DRESS: Mary Me Bridal, Orange http://www.marymebridal.com/
WEDDING SHOES: www.myglassslipper.com
FLOWERS: Paul's Flowers, Corona del Mar
WEDDING JEWELRY: MMM Jewelry - "Kelly" earrings and "Athena" bracelet http://www.mmmjewelry.com/
VEIL: MMM Jewelry - "Sweet", with "Sophia" bridal comb
BRIDESMAID DRESSES: Ann Taylor - Chloe strapless dress in Celadon, with Celebrations Satin Sash in Petal Pink
BRIDESMAID SHOES: Ann Taylor - Cynthia sandal in Celadon
The e-ring! Sorry so blurry, I took this with my cameraphone.
E-ring with wedding band. This whole set was custom-made by our awesome jeweler in the LA Jewelry District, Yong Kim at Princess Jewelry
FH’s wedding band. Also from Princess Jewelry, we got this titanium ring with white gold detailing for a steal!
Since I couldn’t get him to pose with it, here’s how it looks on my thumb!
HONEYMOON PICS
At the Eiffel Tower
The Motherland
Arc de Triomphe
Notre Dame
The view of the Seine from Notre Dame
Our view from our room at the Mykonos Grand
In front of the hotel
Breakfast view
Walking in Mykonos town
Santorini
Our apartment in Santorini
Athens
Acropolis
DISCARD PICS FROM OUR ENGAGEMENT SESSION
PICS FROM OUR ENGAGEMENT PARTY
Me and FI
With FI and FILs
Our cake at the engagement party. I thought it was really a present! Nice rock, eh?
With my family. The little girl is Jillian, my goddaughter and flower girl
The bridal party
 >
My MOH
VENUE PICTURES
The Church we will be married in, St. Edward's in Dana Point (our parish!)
{All St. Edward's pictures from its website}
Inside St. Edward's. Note the picture windows in the back of the Church - amazing view of the Pacific below!
The garden of Casa Romantica {All Case Romantica pictures from its website}
The interior of Casa Romantica
Same room, different view
The breathtaking view from the Casa Romantica patio. Yup, that's what our guests will be enjoying during cocktail hour!
This is the patio, set up for a ceremony (although we won't be having our ceremony there!)
WEDDING ATTIRE
Outfit for getting ready on the big day
Here’s the back
Close-up
My earrings: MMM Jewelry - "Kelly"
My bracelet: MMM Jewelry "Athena"
My bridal comb: MMM Jewelry "Sophia”
The top view of my bridal comb
My shoes. I'm such a shoe girl, so my wedding shoes had to be just right! These darlings are Diane Lynn, style #43075 {Picture courtesy of My Glass Slipper.com}
My flip-flops to change into when the pretty shoes start to pinch. They’re plain but they are comfy and were cheap!
THE DRESS!!! First fitting with Janet Brunton
So excited to have it on
My lovely bridesmaids, Hanh and Lori, in what will be their dresses for the wedding! They will be wearing pink sashes, but Ann Taylor didn't have them in stock to try on. They can wear the sashes with bows in the front...
Or with the bow in the back, like Lori has on the right
Here's another picture of Lori. Doesn't she look so pretty?
Here is what it looks like from the back.
Here are their gorgeous shoes! Also from Ann Taylor.
Custom-made earring & necklace set I gave to my bm’s as part of their gift www.threegirlies.com
FLOWERS
These were centerpieces for our engagement party done by our florist for the wedding
Sorry, I can’t remember where I found this. If it’s yours and you want credit, please let me know!
Another pink floral arrangement. I decided I wanted pink, since the table linen will be celadon and the napkins will be chocolate brown.
Maybe our groomsmen’s boutonnieres?
WEDDING STATIONERY
Our STD’s!
This is the DIY card we sent out. Pink bond paper stuck on green cardstock via double-stick tape
Close-up of the STD magnet
Our invite!
The reception card
The response card
The whole set
The placecards we got at Papyrus for 75% off! We got them in green...
In pink...
And in brown (ok, really it's gold but beggars can't be choosers)...
PICS FROM MY HAIR & MAKEUP TRIAL
I love the lashes in these shots
CEREMONY STUFF
Mock-up of our programs
The unity candle set
Close-up of the unity candle
The memorial candle for my Mom
RECEPTION
Some of my table name cards. We used titles of different Stevie Wonder songs, which will comprise our CD favors
This will be the table name card for the sweetheart table (our first dance song)
I just love the lyrics to this song! It was a close second for our first-dance, but I didn’t think it would be easy to dance to as a first dance. We entitled our engagement photo album with it instead.
The sign to tell people to sign our sign-in photo.
Our tables map
Our CD favors!
CDs bought at www.chicweddingdesigns.com; CD wallets purchased from www.ourweddingcd.com
The CD wallets for our CD favors
The inside
The back cover
The sign to tell people to take a favor.
I am so sorry but I can't remember where I got this picture! This is what my cake will look like, except instead of white in the 2nd layer, it will be sage green.
Our cake server: Waterford Crystal, Lismore collection{Picture courtesy of Waterford}
Our toasting flutes: Vera Wang "Dot & Stripe" flutes set - $30/pair at the Robinsons May liquidation sale! {Picture courtesy of Macys}
Collage of photo blocks with various engagement photos. It’s on our wall now, but we will display at the reception
FAMILY
Rounding out my bridal party is my sister, Lori. She's a little firecracker!
Since including your furbabies is all the rage, here is a picture of my Shelby when she was a kitten
Here she is all grown-up!
Here she is with her step-brother, Chester (FI's cat). Pardon the ugly chair (that was also FI's. Yeah, we got rid of it!)
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