WEDDING BLOG

Bright Coastal California Barn Wedding – Liz and Mark

November 14, 2012 | editorial team

Now that the colder (and rainy here in Seattle!) days have set in, Liz and Mark’s bright, sunny, coastal California wedding feels like a much needed summer vacation today! And like all vacations, this one makes my heart light and puts a smile on my face. I’m not sure if it’s the ocean view, the blooming garden, sweet dog, rustic barn, or romantic moments, but it all feels good to me. Enjoy this beautiful summer moment from Mirelle Carmichael Photography!

The Couple: Liz and Mark

The Wedding: 8.4.12 – Cayucos Creek Barn – Cayucos, CA

What were the top priorities for you in planning your wedding? One of the main priorities were making sure that there would be amazing food and drinks for the big day, which was fun to manage. We also wanted to make sure that all of our friends and family from far and wide had places to stay and ways to get to Cayucos.

What wedding traditions or cultural traditions did you incorporate into your wedding and what did they mean to you? At the rehearsal dinner we had Mariachis – When Mark and I first met, we spent a year living in Mexico traveling with our dog. Plus, my mothers side is Mexican, so the Mariachis were very important to the family.

Were there any places where you broke the rules in your wedding planning? Why and how did you do that? I only had one bridesmaid, my sister, and my husband had his brother as a groomsman. We had our dog as the ring bearer – a dear friend escorted him down the aisle and gave us the rings during the ceremony. We had a very small wedding party! It was the best decision for us.

What was your biggest wedding planning success? The day of was out of this world fantastic – something that we will remember dearly when we are old and grey. You cant go wrong with that, and I consider that the best planning success – that all of the planning was worth it!

What was the most important thing that you learned through the wedding planning process and what would you tell other brides-to-be? When planning, remember what is really important – you and your soon-to-be-spouse! Dont let other peoples emotions get to you – this is your day! And if you start to sweat it, remember that your life will go back to normal shortly after the wedding.

The Wedding Team:

Photographer: Mirelle Carmichael
Event Planner: Lara Rapcinski
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Cayucos Creek Barn
Catering: Trumpet Vine Catering
Florist: Harbor Floral Shop
Cake: The Cakery
Wedding/Bridesmaid Dresses: Matrushka Construction
Hair: Kim & Co Salon
DJ: Bailey Entertainment & DJ Johnny Walker
Live music: Jeffrey Peters
Transportation: The Wine Wrangler
Rentals: Got You Coverd

Thank you, Liz and Mark, for sharing your beautiful and unique wedding with us!

Vintage Marquee Lights for Wedding and Home Decor

November 13, 2012 | editorial team

Ok vintage decor lovers, we’ve all just hit the jackpot! Vintage Marquee Lights is a small decor company out of South Carolina that builds amazingly authentic antique style lights that can be used to perfection as wedding and home decor! Inspired by the lights of Broadway and Las Vegas, they offer letters, numbers, symbols, and even custom orders in any color you like. Check out their website for more, and have fun getting creative for your vintage wedding!

Beautiful Multicultural San Francisco Wedding by Cliff Brunk Photography – Melissa and Hakeem

November 13, 2012 | editorial team

purple silver white

Melissa and Hakeem said that they were initially worried about planning a wedding while they were both medical residents, but I’d say they pulled it off in grand style! I adore these vibrant, stunning photos by Cliff Brunk Photography that captured all the traditional Nigerian clothing, gorgeous San Francisco scenery, and the day’s joyous moments. You did a beautiful job newlyweds!

The Couple: Melissa and Hakeem

The Wedding: 6.24.12 – The City Club – San Francisco, CA

What three adjectives best describe your wedding? Multicultural, San Francisco, and Fun

What was your wedding color palette? Eggplant, lavender, indigo blue and ivory

What inspired your personal wedding style, and how did you incorporate your style and personalities into your big day? We were both very opinionated and involved in the style of our wedding. We wanted a style that was vibrant and colorful, something modern with a bit of old Hollywood glamour.

The incorporation of our families and their many cultures was extremely important to us. Hakeems family is Nigerian with strong cultural roots in their community, and my family is Filipino and American. Our ceremony included elements of both of our backgrounds, with bible readings in Yoruba (Hakeems Nigerian language) and the Filipino chord and veil ceremony (a tradition that originated in the Philippines that is present at all Filipino weddings). Our cocktail hour showcased foods from both cultures and our wedding guests coordinated their own ethnic clothing from Nigeria with our wedding colors. During our reception, we had a Nigerian money dance where Hakeem and I changed into traditional clothing of the culture and danced to Nigerian music.

Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? Initially, I was very intimidated by planning an entire wedding on our own, without a wedding planner – we were both resident physicians at the time and working over 80 hours a week! Despite the initial worrying, I love that we were able to pull it off. We definitely worked as a team by putting our multitasking skills and OCD personalities to work. We designed a day that was exactly what I had envisioned.

One of the best moments was our first look photo shoot. It was amazing to see my future husband waiting for me in front of our entire family – it was a very intimate and unique experience. Afterward, we went on a couples-only photo shoot with our make-up artist, photographers, and videographer, which was the best part of the day. It felt like we were filming a movie with this entourage of videographers following us. We also loved hanging out with our photograhers Cliff and Malarie, and had a blast creating artistic and beautiful images.

What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today? Being organized and paying close attention to details really pay off in the end, and be sure to delegate tasks to family members or friends who want to help out. Enjoy the day and cherish the moments as they arrive. You cant change anything once the day arrives and you will never get those moments back.