Alex and Brad are some of my favorite people. Throughout their entire engagement, they’ve been upbeat, fun, full of love, and so great at every meeting. We laugh, we cry, we’re attached. That’s why they were one of our first couples to feature on our “In The Mix” sessions- here, and here [for a peek at their florals], also here [with a sneek peek at their linens and decor]. Of course, who could forget their engagement session from just last week, here, taken by the amazingly fabulous Jan Garcia!

Their wedding yesterday was a dream. In the weeks prior to the wedding, life kind of exploded for Alex’s family and I was honored to be able to help them pull this wedding together at the last minute to truly make this day as joyful, beatiful, and amazing as possible. It went off without a hitch. And Jan’s “same day slideshow”, which is always an epic part of his services, was TO. DIE. FOR. Seriously! I can’t wait to see the rest!

Now, the ceremony was held at Lake Hills Wedding Chapel and was truly and simply gorgeous. I totally spaced and forgot to bring my camera along for the fun at the church, so I snapped this mid-ceremony with MiPhone:

A couple swags of white chiffon and we were done. This chapel is such an amazing sight in person- the natural stone, the wood, the modern, sleek design. It’s amazing! Since we knew that going in, we opted for a simple ceremony focusing on the couple, and dolled up the reception site to the nines!

The reception was held at the Art Gallery in Soka University. A two-story space of uniqueness that provided us with a blank slate to play in! The white walls and hardwood floors are perfection. To top it off, the gallery was displaying a black and white photography exhibit for Alex’s black, white and aqua wedding!! An amazing and thankful coincidence! Onto the pictures.

The cocktail hour took place upstairs [and the upstairs of the gallery actually has a large cutout area that looks right down to the lower story. We placed our dance floor right in the middle with their custom designed gobo on top!!]. Our sleek all-black dance floor was SUCH a hit. I seriously cannot wait to get pro pics back because mine just don’t do justice! Okay, I’ll stop… more pictures!!

Since the linens downstairs were black with aqua runners, we reversed them for the cocktail tables. Mini arrangements were the perfect accent.

These escort card boards were my labor of love! The family gave me this task a bit last minute [Thursday afternoon!!] and I knew I couldn’t just take the easy route. Alicia and I [love you Leashy] put our heart and souls into these little cards and boards! Since the black and white damask was a huge part of our theme, I carried it into their cards!

Alex and her mom, Debby, set up a beautiful “heritage table” for their loved ones.

They decided on a “signature drink” in honor of their honeymoon and it was a HIT! People had margarita glasses all over the place! It was too cute!

[Of course I made all of the custom and ever-so-darling signs!!]
Then we headed down for some downstairs details….

The gallery was LITERALLY the perfect setting for their event!

The lighting in the gallery played a perfect roll in our dramatic impact of the event, but the rest was taken care of by the FABULOUS team at Carcano DJ [Stefani is the best!!], who also provided our gorgeous brand spanking new white chiavaris through their sister company, Chiavari Chairs 4 Rent! Their team swept into our space and transformed it in a matter of hours!

The flowers were provided by a friend of the family and they combined the traditional with the modern by using warm flowers with funky blue painted manzanita branches dawning large crystals!

Black Forest Bakery made this lil’ beauty. I looooved their blingin’ cake topper with actually was the SAME font they used for their monogram [you guys know by now how deeply in love with a monogram I am!!].

A couple more detail shots for you:

Their favors were shot glasses filled with m&ms and tied with black tulle. Perfectly simple and matched our decor, to boot!

Check out those Waterford toasting flutes!!

During dinner, our sugary sweet sweetness of a groom played and sang a song he wrote for his bride. Before starting this he told the guests all about the night they got engaged how that prompted him to write the tune. This was all a surprise to Alex and she was waving tears away with her napkin before the song even started. SO cute!!!

Straight into their first dance [this was taken from the 2nd story, looking down, and I looooove that I could get this angle. Gives it such an intimate feel]:

Great shots of their gobo, too. And now, father/daughter [and let me just say that Alex is Daddy's girl! Her father had a hard time letting her go, and their dance was SUCH a unique expression of that relationship. It was fun, upbeat, and totally "connected". I love the heart that I saw out on that dance floor!]:

Time to cut the cake!!

And just in case you hadn’t noticed- Alex is a KNOCKOUT! Just wait til you see more pictures from Jan and Tey. I’m not kidding. You’ll cry!

Fave picture of the whole night:

[... and she MEANT it!]

Tossing, tossing, tossing….

Also a great shot of Alex’s dress, which fit her like a GLOVE [despite her stress level rising and her losing 2 INCHES two weeks before the wedding... thank goodness for last-minute alterations!]!!!

Alex basically threw it purposefully RIGHT at her best friend and Maid of Honor, Megan, who has been with her boyfriend for 9 years. This is her rejoicing at getting the correct angle, right to Megan:

And this is Alex being embarrassed by her husband [already and it'd only been a few hours!]:

Alex: there’s nothing wrong with modesty! :)

She was a great sport, though, and Brad definitely had fun with it! The last shot of the evening I snapped while walking around during open dancing. When the lights in the gallery were turned down, we relied on the candles and up-lighting to set the tone. The result was truly magical. It was such a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart. I totally loved it!!!

A&B: I miss you two already! I know I said this already but I’m truly happy/sad about all of this. So, so, SO happy that you two are married. So happy that it went perfectly, that the stress is over, and that this new chapter in your life is beginning. I remember how excited you two were when we first met and to see it all fallen into place and to have lived it with you two… wow- truly remarkable. I’ll have to learn how to live without our monthly laugh-fests [err, meetings] and without our daily emails! You two have a love that will last a lifetime, I just know it. I am so thankful that I got to be a part of your story. It’s something I treasure very much. I hope this week is full of so much love and happiness, and memories to last a lifetime [but hopefully none similar to your parents' honeymoon stories, A!!!]!

xoxo,

A.

Since Alex and Brad [who you may remember from my initial post about them HERE and then my post on their invites- still in the works- HERE!!!] have a family friend who is their florist, they made the trek to downtown LA and braved the early morning market hours to have a little floral trial run. It came out wonderful and she LOVES it- which makes me more happy than anything. The staff at Dress My Chair were kind enough to allow me to borrow the linens for a bit to allow us to really complete the look! Here are some pics below.

The bridesmaid bouquets:

Cocktail centerpieces [but our linens will be aqua crushed satin]:

And now, for the centerpieces!!

Rumor has it the manzanita branches will be painted aqua to match the runner. Yippee… and moreover, we’ve got crystals to hang from the branches. I know in their venue, this is going to be so fabulous. YAY! I can’t wait for wedding season to start!

xoxo,

A.

Jamie and Jeff are the cutest ever!! While I was gone on my cruise, my team pulled off a FABULOUS event at one of our favorite local venues, The Historic Cottage in San Clemente [the coordinator there, Cryssie, ROCKS!]. Before I left, we met with Jamie and family a few times to ensure everything would go just perfectly at the ceremony [Calafia Park] and into the reception… I’m happy to report that we have some incredibly satisfied customers!!

As sad as I was to not be there personally, I am so so SO proud of my assistants, and so proud to call them a team that backs me up! It’s overwhelmingly comforting, actually, to know that I can depend fully on my girls! That being said, I think you’ll be seeing and hearing a LOT more from them in the years to come!! Alicia and Miriam- you two are incredible! Now onto the fun stuff… pictures!!!

The ceremony at the park was simple and elegant! I absolutely adore their flower details! Beachy but not over the top. They are truly GORGEOUS [and the deep warm tones are killin' me!!!]:

LOVE that it looks so much like seaweed!!

We did have to shuttle our guests down, because the parking situation is impossible here, but the view cannot be beat! SO worth it!!

After they got down the aisle, it was OFF to The Cottage to finish the set up! Some details at The Cottage, in all it’s glory!

I loved their table numbers! Each one was different and beachy!

This set up flanked each side of the fireplace:

Their favors were custom shot glasses filled with m&ms. Nothing like knowing your crowd of friends!!

I LOVED their simple cocktail set up. Wine glasses, candles, and gorgeous!

I think one of the biggest selling points of The Cottage [at least to me, because I absolutely ADORE it!] is the banquette located in the corner! This built-in “lounge style” seating is great! Providing pillows makes it perfect. :)

The ocean view! I know, if you haven’t seen or been to The Cottage… GO!!!

Jamie and Jeff provided a little play area with activities for the kids just outside the courtyard, on the lawn. I heard this was the biggest hit of the night! Even the teenagers were out there at some point!!

And I loved the way these benches were set up!

I think by now, you know one of my favorite details of a wedding, right???? THE CAKE!

When I saw pictures of this cake, I was blown AWAY! It’s gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS. SO entirely beach-riffic and perfect. The detailing is awesome! And here’s proof:

A few snaps of Jamie’s toss:

Their place card trays, which were too cute, got snatched up prior to pictures!! But, you can still feel the cuteness oooozing, right??

Just before the Grand Entrance, the bridal party requested [required, wasn't it??] a round of shots! We happily provided them with it!

See how the favors are entirely appropriate??

These snaps were taken during the Grand Entrance. I LOVE how in love J&J are. Truly… they get it. You know what I mean?

Yes. She is utterly gorgeous. And he is dashingly handsome. You should see their son… not even 1 yet and a HEARTBREAKER for sure! And yes… THAT is the body of a mom!!

A tight squeeze of hands [gushing with love!!!] and they’re announced into their party!!

Straight into their first dance:

And everything looks good, until about…. HERE!

Yep, they pulled the old switch-er-oo!! They had a fabulously choreographed routine that kept the crowd in tears and stitches simeltaneously!! Just the pictures are to die for! I cannot WAIT to see what Tony Florez captured from this sequence!!

Look how high that girl is getting!! She reminds me of the princess on Mario brothers!

These pictures are so sassy, I just can’t get enough!

Killer!

I love how whispy and in love Jamie looks in this picture! Now, onto speeches!!

When Jamie’s dad spoke, he promised to keep it short [because, well, at her twin sister's wedding earlier in the summer, he spoke for quite a while, rumor has it!]!!

As dinner went on, darkness fell upon the cottage and the dependance on candles to light the night grew on! Great for ambiance! Terrible for pictures for us. :) But we did catch ONE picture of the bridesmaids calling up the bride to dance to “Thriller” together [umm, masks and all??]:

All in all, Jamie and Jeff were surrounded by love, beauty, and family! Even in pictures, they are so evidently in love. When you get to be a part of a night like this, it stands out. It makes it magical- even for the vendors. I’m so blessed to have met you guys! We couldn’t be more thrilled not only to be a part of your day, but to be in your lives! I, as always, am standing in awe of the fact that I’m allowed to do this for a living! And apparently, I’m turning into an OK teacher as well, because my little birdies are flying!!

J&J: you’re gorgeous! Riley is one lucky kid! I’m so glad you enjoyed your big day! I know we all did!! Can’t wait to see more pictures!! xoxo!

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!

Finally! [And this is where you say "I know, right??"]. Man, what is wrong with me? The bad news: this wedding was MONDAY and it’s taken me until now to blog. The good: I got a chance to edit almost ALL of the photos in this post! Yay! I’m so thriled with the way they came out.

First thing’s first: Craig and Laura. Your ceremony was filled with SO much love and emotion that I found myself crying right along side of Craig as he told Laura “I tell you ‘I love you’ every day because you deserve to hear it” [through big, tear-filled eyes]. Holy moly. Your love, rooted so deeply in friendship and a true understanding of one another, is what they make movies from! It’s what real LIFE is about!!!

Now, onto the day:

Posh Productions catered our event and took care of all our rentals, which was FAB. A shout out to Kim… you are amazing!!! Oh, did I mention that this whole event took place at the top-notch Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado [shout out to Julie... haaay!]. Anyhow, Posh took care of so much and was able to free up me and my team to do what we do best- serve the bride and groom! Here are some fab details from our day:

Cocktail table cuteness!

Prim and Pixie supplied all of Laura’s printed paper goods and I LOVED them! I’m a sucker for all-matching printed paper materials! You’ll see much, much more later…

Becky Sykes provided our florals!

And that arch is NO easy task!!

Onto the ceremony!!

This is Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the daughter of my darling bride and groom. She’s amazing. She was definitely not in the mood for her dress [or really, walking for that matter]. So, here she is, being walked in with her flower girl basket by our MAN of honor. Yep, that’s right. Man of honor!

Here’s Laura!

Eli, our Man of Honor, is SUCH a sport- holding her bouquet and fixing her train- and doing it all with pride! I love that he embraced it so whole-heartedly!!

Their own personal vows:

Renee Broughton is so super duper fab. I heart her big time!

You know when like you work with people all the time and then you don’t work with them and then you suddenly work with them again….?? Yeah, that’s what it’s like for Renee and I. The BEST easy-going photographer!!

Things about the above picture that Amanda thinks is sexy:

1. Craig is totally ALL the way over to Laura [like in Hitch "you go 90, I come 10!"]… Craig’s at 120% for sure!

2. The way he’s holding the back of her head

3. That THIS came next…

Kiss on the lips, kiss on the forehead. Nothing says I love, honor, and cherish you more than that!!!

This picture, below, reminds me so much of Josh and I…

and THAT makes me happy!!

Okay, MORE details!!

Since Craig and Laura have had quite a few people of importance pass away, they set up this honorary table for them to be remembered. I thought the quote was so touching and poignant! They had a candle and place card for each person, which you’ll see later…

When your colors are cornflower blue and orange, you just HAVE to rock a blue cake. I mean, really!

L & C had an intimate wedding of less than 100 guests, and in order to fill a room of that size, we focused on spacing the tables well. It helped that our SUPER cool square tables seated 8!

Oh how I love the hustle and bustle of the pre-event hour!!

Their engagement photos kicked some serious tail!!

That’s probably my favorite engagement pic turned guestbook cover I’ve seen yet!!
Sneaking back down to steal some portraits…

And now, for the MAIN EVENT! Grand Entrance!!

I caught this quick moment as the pastor gave his blessing of the meal. I loved that Laura picked up Brooklyn and Craig embraced them for this moment…

One more dinner time shot of the cake…

And here are the honoring candles that I spoke of earlier:

The toasts by the Best Man and… Man of Honor!

Then, her Dad gave an embarrassing speech… LOVE dads!

Loved this mother/daughter moment!

But all was forgiven come dancing time…

Laura and her dad are like… BFF

And Craig is definitely Momma’s little boy!

Our precious, sweet little Brooklyn kept sticking her fingers into the cake! Frosting on the sides of her mouth confirms it!

But, it’s ok… it was time for the cut anyway!!

And then, THIS happened, in the blink of an eye…

Wow, guys. WOW!

And I snuck this as they went to clean off… too cute!!

The bouquet toss [soo super vibe-y indie]!

Garter:

And of course, Laura’s brother caught the garter!!

NOT stoked!

All in all- the night was off the HOOK! Fly By Night gave us a karaoke set up and provided some killer background tunes for the guests! It was a total party and everyone had a GREAT time!

L & C: Josh and I loved being a part of your big day! Your love for one another is so apparent. I’m truly honored that you two came into my life [well, ok, Brooklyn makes 3]!! I wish you the best forever and ever and ever! xoxo!

I came up with this color scheme when I was initially inspired by my favorite, the Versailles chair. I’ve mentioned it before on this blog but really, in every color it comes in, it’s incredible! I hope that in 5 years it’s just as popular and available as the Chiavari is and frankly I’d suggest it twice as much!! ANYWAY, back to my point… oh yeah, so, the deep burgundy color of the chairs prompted me to pair it with this subtle “french” blue [at least that's why I call it]. Adding a muted ivory to the pallet was the icing on the cake! I wanted to keep the table itself warm, simple, and inviting. Kristin from The Treasured Petal helped uphold this by creating individual mini-bouquets for each place setting, and using a cake stand I provided her with, arranged an overside bouquet that seemed to burst off of the table!  

Wrapped with a thick, satin sash to match, and we’re good to go! I love the way the deep cranberry flowers stand out in all of our pictures! The napkins and table runner were made by me. I fell in LOVE with the runner material and immediately knew what my vision was for this puppy! I actually used serving platters as plates, which gave this unique oblong shape and fit perfectly to showcase the popping blue napkin and the mini-bouquet for each guest. The plates had a gorgeous beaded border [not sure if the pictures show this] as well as the cake stand. Subtle-y gorgeous, as I tend to love! All of our rentals were provided by Signature, and our base linens were provided by EDSL. A big shout out to my girl Jonilyn for the “fab phots” as always. [Hmm... I like that term. Maybe it'll be a new one for me... fab phots!!]. Here’s some up close and personal detail shots to get you in the VIBE of this luscious table setting:  

YAY! I love it. And remember, you can always go and see ALL of the table sets on my website under the Tabletop Gallery! Here at ITN, we have a BUSY week ahead, so stay tuned!!

I must say this first and foremost: having a team of people that I work with, whom I can send out in full confidence and believe in 100% is the BEST feeling in the world! My assistants ROCK so hard! That being said, Janet contacted me a while back, being a friend of Krystin’s and after INSISTING that Janet contact me… I got an email! Since Caroline had already pinned me down for the date, and Janet had explained that her event was a reception-only, mellow affair, my team agreed to take it on for her and split ourselves up that day. I’m SO glad we did!

Meeting with Shawn and Janet for the first time, we all instantly connected. It’s one of those feelings you get from people you just know that you should know in life I was SO sad to not be at their reception and I’m completely living vicariously through the pictures that Alicia [my assistant who ran the event] provided me with. SO, to you two- YAY. Your wedding in Mexico was FAB. Your American-style reception was GORGE. Just what can your actual marriage do to top all of this?? I’m confident yours will be the gift that keeps on giving!! Now, onto the pics!

Since J & S got married in June, they had the opportunity to display and use so many of their drool-worthy wedding photos at their party. Here’s one, in a frame and matte to sign on!

Oh did I mention that Janet is detail-oriented. All of her printed materials have me swooning! I loove them! Signature drink: Sangria. Love it!!

A few more pics around The Rococo Room, which provided a great warm, relaxed atmosphere for this intimate party of friends!

Alicia captioned this picture so perfectly, noting that these little branches with the mirrors on them only kept looking better the later it got, as the mirrors reflected the candle light below!

Kim Chi provided these darling little arrangements for all of our cocktail tables, as well as the two larger arrangements and a few for the bar as well! They kept with the aqua and red theme alright!!

I LOVE Janet and all of her quirky-ness! She provided us with these great random and funky pillows to put all over the lounge furniture [as we kept the event primarily lounge-y and thus set the tone for the evening with such...] You’ll continue to see pops of her personality throughout the blog!

A first time vendor for us, Modern Chair Rental hooked us up BIG time in providing two extra funky and fun chairs for us in the downstairs area. We were more than pleased with their products and service!!

Of course, the ever-popular Red Cheese gave the guests a TON of fun!

In the corner, you can see the craft station that Janet put together for us to set up. She used this interactive guest book for her guests to leave their comments! I love that she tied in the pictures, and the detailing on this “station” was perfect!!

I love that she gave this warning in advance:

[Talk about knowing your friends and family!!] Their cake, from pictures, was TO. DIE. FOR.

Complete with fondant bows, seriously… in aqua and red, what more could a girl ask for!!

This was a 2-story event! The Rococo has an amazing mezzanine room that overlooks the downstairs main event area. We used this as a sort of “quiet lounge” and kept a slideshow of pics [wedding pics and personal pics] from this gorgeous couple running all night long!

More funky pillows!

Full view of downstairs:

LOVED this shot of this amazing red wall- way to fit the theme!!

A view back upstairs:

Their signature “white sangria”

And of course, what we’ve all been waiting for…the stars of our event!!!

I’ll be honest… when I initially saw these pics, I felt a bit defeated. Mainly because at the meeting, Janet, Shawn, Alicia and myself had a friendly discussion about Janet’s right to wear her wedding dress again [a la Gwen Stefani and her American/London receptions!!]. The issue was still up in the air when we left, but her dress fit her like a GLOVE and I was dying to see her in it. But the more I saw these pics, the more I fell in love with the dress she DID wear! The dress, the hair piece, the shoes… ugh! She pops right off the page in these pics!!

Just before their big Grand Re-Entrance [well, remember, they did this once before in Mexico!!]

They got introduced to the Rocky theme… can you tell??

And some words from Shawn, our dashing HUSBAND:

By the time they made their perfectly late arrival, this thing was full up!

Since heavy appetizers and dancing was the plan for the evening, we didn’t waste too much time before cutting the cake and getting our dessert-fest on!

[See these pictures? This proves that Alicia is MUCH more polite than I and will allow your guests to walk in front of her. Whereas I will throw elbows. Don't test me- I'll get my good angle for pictures!!]

Hey, these pictures are TOTALLY good enough for me! Especially to tide me over until the REAL thing, courtesy of Thao Vu pops up online!!

This picture above gives a good sum of Janet, Shawn, and their marriage!

…and, not to toot my own horn or anything but I must train ‘em well because having Alicia talk them through that cake cutting led to this BEAUTIFULLY perfect slice of cake! Man alive, that was one good cut!!

Shawn’s mom, upstairs watching the slideshow:

I LOVE that this crowd didn’t hesitate to participate in the guest book and photo booth!

Seriously, could a person rock those red shoes more than she did??

After the cake was being sliced for guests, Alicia and Maria [the assistant to the assistant... sounding a bit like The Office, aren't I??] put together this amazing candy buffet for the guests to grab at! It was hardly up for five minutes before the guests caught on and devoured it! EVERYONE loves a good candy buffet!!

Side note: I think Shawn was most excited about the skittles more than anything else. Maybe even more than the 2nd reception itself! In our meeting, I think we ended up talking about skittles at least 3 times!! A man knows his favorite candy, right??

The girls, having fun:

And lastly, the cute little graphic that made it’s way into the hearts of ALL of their guests- the to go containers for the candy buffet:

SO great! Seriously.. this event had a little bit of everything rolled into one! From formal to laid back, innovative to traditional, beautiful and silly… it was great! I know I speak for Alicia as well when I say we were SO honored to work with you two and be a part of this amazing celebration! It’s a great time in your lives, and we’re lucky to spend it with you!

That being said, a few of my favorites that I edited up real quick to make even pretty-er-er:

J & S: hearts and hugs from me and ALL the In The Now team!!!

Yay, yay, yay! This wedding was SO fun to work, and SO amazing to be a part of. Caroline’s laid-back personality and spunky presence led the way for the decor at this event. It was full of color, life, and love! The pictures are totally drool-worthy!

I met Caroline over at the San Clemente Inn to do a quick bouquet drop off!

I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about him, but Wayne Toshikazu was there shooting, along with Kim Le taking the lead!

You’ll see Kim Le in action a bit later…

Our ceremony and reception took place both at the Historic Cottage in San Clemente. It was amaaaazing! Onto the ceremony…

Caroline put together some incredibly intricate, fun details!

Caroline’s uncle playing guitar for the ceremony. I loved that when he was walking out, I saw this on his guitar:

Just before they were off to take portraits, I caught this moment:

More details:

Yep. These are huge mounds of tissue paper flowers. I loe them.

If you can’t tell yet, the theme was a Mexican fiesta!

Their cake was… incredible. It was so, so, so intricate, amazing, and PERFECT for this type of affair!!

So, I know this is a picture of my husband’s butt, BUT… he tore this huge hole in his pants during the ceremony. Seriously, unreal, right?? Good thing he had a back up pair of pants.

If you haven’t been to the Historic Cottage- you’re missing out! Surrounding the area that we used as the dance floor, is a big, adobe bench that Caroline’s mom sewed all of these pillows for!

After the ceremony, we moved the sweetheart table under the arch for the rest of the evening.

For favors, Caroline made tins of runts candy packaged colorfully, and my FAVE, the personalized Jones sodas again. TONS of different custom pictures and LOTS of flavors!!

We put out the groom’s cake, which was a surprise for Stephen, during the cocktail hour, with this CUTE customized cake topper!!

She gave Country Garden Caterers a few of these cute terra cotta arrangements to decorate the buffet!

A quick shot of our two photogs, workin’ it!

And the lovely bride:

And our dashing groom:

Our lovely florals were provided by one of my faves [for brides on a budget, especially], Floral Event Outlet! The bouquets were lush, the centerpieces were just what she wanted, and the vases were so fun wrapped in alternating colors of bright ribbon!

Just before the grand entrance, I caught C & S looking through their polaroid guest book…

And now onto the festivities [they opted to have their entrance, first dance, father/daughter and mother son, and then their toasts all back to back to back to... you get it]. It was a GREAT way to get the formalities out of the way and free up some time to par-tay!

Dancing with dad…

And now, with mom…

A few more decor shots: [she made these to line the aisle, and I kept them on the chairs for the bride and groom!]

A few more details…

Onto speeches…

Cake cutting…

My favorite faces always come from the cake cutting…

Bouquet and Garter…

The crew at After Dark Entertainment were GREAT at keeping the party going with their music selection. They also provided these amazing up-lights, which went perfect with our decor and gave this outside space JUST the right amount of vibe and light!!

Caroline and Stephen put together a KILLER slideshow for their guests as well, and we played it just as night was falling…

A sweet VIBE shot of the cake, after being cut, as the night rolled on…

And, of course, my favorite of the evening:

To Caroline and Stephen- you two are fabulous!! I loved every moment of your event. I’m so honored that I was able to witness your marriage- the ceremony literally gave me chills [and it wasn't just the ocean breeze, I promise!!]. Have SO much fun on your honeymoon, and hopefully you’re checking this in the nick of time before you two take off! I know, C, I promised I’d get ‘em up by Monday!!