Anita and Jason got married the night before I left for my cruise. I realize I’m a slacker. I’m sooo sorry! I took the time to edit these images whilst on the open sea, and because of the amazing lighting she splurged on, they’re amazing!!
Let’s get to the goodies!!! Ceremony…
The florals were provided by M’s Flowers in Whittier. Incredible!!
During the wedding A&J presented a bouquet to each of their mothers, and pulled a single rose from each for their fathers!
The couple got married at Anita’s family’s church, Concordia Lutheran. I loved the history there, and the church was PACKED!
Before the actual ceremony, after all the guests were seated, A&J played a 15 minute slideshow cataloging their relationship and then setting the stage for their nuptials!
The fabulous Crissy Farah not only worked it out at their engagement session [clearly shown here by their killer enlargement] but accompanied me on the Day-Of [and BONUS! Jonilyn was there backing her up, too!!].
At work!
They had soo many great, funny, quirky ceremony moments! The crowd was laughing, the party was laughing, Anita and Jay were laughing… it was such a fun personal time!
Married!!!
Over to the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel for the reception. I LOVE that Anita let the hotel dictate her color scheme. She took the bright colors and RAN with it!
Aren’t these to die for??
And inside the room for a few more details…
Ugh, these centerpieces are amazing!! If flowers didn’t die, I would be a happier lady!
Outside of the room, displayed on an easel, was the whiteboard that Jason wrote Anita the night he proposed. This is, essentially, their proposal story!!
Their table numbers were too cute!
Cute little ribbon wrap and menu at each place setting!
I have a gagillion pictures of this cake. When it’s accompanied by the up-lighting, it gets stupid-beautiful!
During cocktail hour, some portraits took place with the amazing hotel lighting…
I cannot WAIT to see what Crissy is going to deliver!!
And now, onto the reception! Straight after the grand entrance, we danced! Their first dance was magically beautiful with the ambient lighting [2 follow-spots for the room... 2!!! I was in love!]:
Oh, some more cake pics. Half with blue up-lighting, half with amber [that is how the room was split- every other light! Soo neat!]
An impromptu kiss from the couple [apparently they took that glass clinking pretty seriously!]:
And onto speeches:
Okay, okay, so he’s making fun of Jason for balding… [this is Anita's dad, by the way, speaking]
Onto the cutting!!
I loooove Anita’s attitude here:
The shadow that the spotlight created on the wall behind them was unreal! Sooo gorgeous!!
And now, after a few words from our bride and groom, a presentation to one of the groom’s best friends, Mark. It was after all, his birthday!
So they gave him a surfboard shaped brownie cake, made by Jason’s sister. Too much!!!
And of course he had to cut it [and I'll admit, after this he tried to feed Jason as well...]
After the cake was cut, we proceeded into the father-daughter and mother-son dance…
Anita provided baskets of sandals for her guests to dance with! These puppies were snatched up before the baskets were even down! See that hand??
And, my FAVORITE part of the evening… at 11pm, the hotel brought out little mini slider burgers for all the guests to enjoy as a late-night dancing snack! The slider station was a hit and soo delicious! :)
And, as we packed up, another close up shot of their menus…
As the sliders went out, A&J requested all the guests left to get onto the dance floor for a group picture. I snagged a shot, as the dancing lights went on all around them!
Of course, the photobooth pictures HAD to appear on the blog [that's me and my assistant, Miriam]!
Thanks to Cheesy Photobooths for being awesome as always!! And to wrap up, a few moody broody shots of Anita’s personal details for the day:
I hope you all enjoyed the pictures! Honestly, I’m not sure my images captured the love, beauty, and joy surrounding this day! Anita put together this entire event and truly, it was a pleasure to work and be a part of! When all of the vendors feel like a team, there is NOTHING better! We all pulled together a truly gorgeous event for A&J, and they were nothing but gracious about it. To be honest, they were soo into one another that I’m not positive they noticed any of the details! So, guys, these pics are for you to remember by!! :)
A&J: you two are the best! I love how naturally comfortable you are in your love. It’s apparent. Being best friends is the best part of marriage, and seeing you together, I know you have that down! Keep on soaking in the love you two share- it’ll keep rubbing off on the people you meet! I know it did on me!! xoxo!
