Tag Archives: bride

Ben & Aubrey // Romantic Mansion wedding at the Ebell of Los Angeles

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FROM THE BRIDE // After a year of planning our dream wedding, it took almost a week for Ben and I to fully debrief our wedding experience together. One of his favorite recollections was just before our first look: he not only heard the click-clack of my footsteps, but also realized that he could hear his heart beating from excitement and anticipation. Those felt like the longest 20 seconds of his life, and he knew things were about to get real. I could relate: as I tapped him on his shoulder and saw his face light up, I suddenly felt a sudden wave of eagerness and joy. When the processional began, I walked toward him once again, this time as he stood beneath our lush, fragrant chuppah, before our family and friends. It might have been because of the lighting during the ceremony, but the only thing we could really focus on was each other. He took my hand as we said our vows—never without a wide, gleeful smile across our faces.

The rest of our wedding can only be described as a magical blur! Although we spent a lot of time and energy painstakingly picking out ivory linens, white and blush floral arrangements, signature cocktails and decadent meals for our timeless affair, we didn’t get a chance to focus on any single detail that day. The best part of our wedding reception was seeing the Cheshire cat grins on our guests’ faces, as they danced the night away and knew they were part of the most special night of our lives.

Our advice for engaged couples is simple: You prepare for how you think you should feel during your wedding, but how you anticipate feeling is nowhere close to the overwhelming happiness you’ll experience as your wedding is actually happening (or recreating those feelings afterward while you look at your pictures). Stay in the moment, and take my Nana’s words to heart: don’t sweat the small stuff—it’s all small stuff.

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MY VENDORS:

Venue & Caterer: The Ebell of Los Angeles

Coordinator: Amy Greenberg Events www.amygreenbergevents.com

Photographer: Sun & Sparrow www.sunandsparrow.com

Videographer: HD Studio www.hdstudioart.com

Florals: Loris Flowers www.lorisflowers.com

Invitations: Signature Imprints www.signatureimprints.carlsoncraft.com

Rentals: Elegant Designs Specialty Linens Inc www.elegantdsl.com

Desserts: Susie Cakes www.susiecakes.com

Wedding Gown: Monique Lhuillier www.moniquelhuillier.com

Bride Details: Nadri Jewlery and family heirlooms

Hair & Makeup: Lucy Muradyan @lucyritam

Bride Shoes: Jimmy Choo @jimmychoo

Groom Suit: Custom Tuxedo from Carroll & Co. of Beverly Hills www.carrollandco.com/

Groom Details: Mont Blanc Cufflinks and Pen www.montblanc.com

Groom shoes: Santoni www.santonishoes.com

Bridesmaids dresses: Wtoo www.watters.com

Groomsmen suits: The Black Tux www.theblacktux.com

Pianist: Emily Grace www.emilygraceonkeys.com

DJ: DJ Crash www.djcrash.com

Ring makers: Eytan Brandes, Eytan’s & Vartan and Lucy Nazarian, Pyramid Diamond

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3 comments

Della White Photography
Beautiful photos, everything is just gorgeous!ReplyCancel
- SunSparrow
  Thank you Della! You are so sweet. So appreciated!ReplyCancel
Lori
Such an honor to work on this wedding and what a fabulous job you did documenting it! Let me know if it’s possible to get some high resolution flower photos and I’d be happy to feature them with your photo credit . I’m in the process of putting together a new website and we now have a brand new cooperative workspace called The Wedding Hub.
I look forward to hearing from you and working together again,
Lori Mark
Lori’s Flowers
Lorisflowers1@yahoo.com
818.512.7820ReplyCancel

Peter & Karen // Beautiful wedding at Calamigos Equestrian

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FROM THE BRIDE // There were so many wonderful memories that I have from our wedding day that it’s impossible to pick a favorite! I loved all the moments that Peter and I shared. I’ll never forget Peter’s reaction to seeing me during the first look or the incredible intimacy I felt when he read his vows during our ceremony. Even though we were standing in front of all our friends and family, it felt as though it was just the two of us.

One piece of advice I would give to brides is just go with your gut and don’t second guess yourself when it comes to making decisions. I am such a bargain hunter that even after I bought something, I would still look for a better deal and it just added unnecessary stress. My first decision was almost always the best decision!

Vendors:

Venue: Calamigos Equestrian http://www.calamigosequestrian.com/

Cake: Portos Bakery

Coordinator: JenEvents http://www.jeneventsca.com/

Videography: Royal Films http://royalfilms.net/

DJ: Edge Entertainment http://www.partyontheedge.com/

Florist: Kate Baker Florals
Photobooth: Make it Last Events https://www.makeitlastevents.com/

Hair and Makeup: Cathy Shih http://cathyshih.com/

Wedding Dress: Pebbles Bridal http://www.pebblesbridal.com/

Officiant: Jacob Jurado http://www.jacobmarries.com/

Wedding Favors: Pie Bar http://thepiebarlongbeach.com/

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Vic & Alexa // Whimsical boho Los Angeles engagement

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Vic and I basically come from opposite sides of the world; I’m from Southern California and Vic is kind of from everywhere (Guam, Thailand, Singapore, Boston, you name it….), so we think it was probably fate when we happened to meet by chance about 3 years ago when I was living in Boston finishing up graduate school and Vic was living in San Francisco working in tech. Traveling started out of necessity for us trying to maintain a long distance relationship from opposite coasts of the country. Every month we would look up cheap flights in random cities and decide to meet up in places like Portland, Dallas, and Austin to keep things interesting. We crave adventure and spontaneity, so traveling naturally became a vital part of our relationship and took us to places like Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines. On April second of last year, Vic basically tricked me into marrying him when he proposed on the beach in Tulum! He made me think I lost one of my favorite rings (an older ring he got me at the beginning of our relationship)…after I was digging in the sand for a few minutes and on the verge of tears, Vic pretended like he “found” said ring and continued by putting a diamond ring on my finger. Being that it was shortly after April Fools, I seriously thought it was some kind of joke and said no (about 3 times). To this day we are not even sure if I said yes in that moment, but we really like each other so decided to stay engaged! HA. We are beyond excited to bring together our friends and family from all over the world in order to celebrate our marriage in the awesome little town of Whittier, California. It will be a Thai-Armenian celebration for the books!

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Matt & Candy // Rustic California Barn wedding

FROM THE BRIDE // Our wedding day was magical, and a lot of it was due to the great team at our venue. I had wanted to get married at a barn, and Matt didn’t want anything too commercial, so when I came across our venue in a few wedding and photography blogs, I knew it was the one! The barn was rustic, intimate, charming, gorgeous, in person and in pictures. The hard part was convincing the proprietor, Laina, to pick Matt and me over the hundreds of other people that wanted to get married there. I also knew that I wanted to work with Laina right away. I’m not one to fuss over details, and Laina took care of those details for me, including the setup, lights, food, bar, etc. The few parts she didn’t handle, such as floral, deejaying, shuttle service, she referred me to her trusted vendors. I was taken care of from the beginning.

The most memorable part of the day was our first look. I was pretty calm the entire day, but the moment I walked out and saw Matt waiting for me, I lost it. I was so happy to marry this man after 8 years! Other favorite moments included people telling us over and over again how unique the venue was and how delicious the food tasted. Oh, and I have to say that hitting my home-made flower bouquet piñata provided a very cathartic release, and the sparkler send-off was special and beautiful as well. We were so happy to see our beloved family and friends there to share the day with us.

I didn’t want to do videography, so I made sure I picked the best photographers. Tiffani and Ellie from Sun and Sparrow took care of me on my wedding day as well, making sure I got all the shots I needed and that I wasn’t stressed out throughout the day. I chose Sun and Sparrow because they did a fantastic job at my friend’s wedding a few years back, and because the lighting in each of their pictures was stunning. Call it a gut feeling, I knew I wanted to work with them as soon as I saw their website. I’m so glad I did!

Vendors:

Barn – Private Residence, Oxnard, CA

Catering – Table of Grace Catering

Floral – A Beautiful Day Productions

DeeJay – Moss Music

Shuttle – J&J Wedding Shuttle Service

Pinata – Homemade

Strawberry Jam – Richard and Sharon Siu

Hair and Makeup – Grace Lin Makeup

Candy’s Dress – Beautiful Day Wedding

Matt’s Tux – Men’s Warehouse

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Anthony & Nikki // Whimsical Malibu wedding

A bride and Groom look lovingly at eachother during couples portraits at their whimsical malibu wedding

FROM THE BRIDE // My vision started with wanting to get married under a Willow tree with twinkle lights and have a romantic feel. So I started my research for a venue with that as the determining factor. I used Pinterest as my research tool with a lot. Pinterest is so convenient and helped me gather pictures of what I wanted to create for my wedding board. My wedding venue was at Calamigos Ranch. This property is absolutely beautiful! It has a rustic feel to it but I think with my décor it gave a more romantic/whimsical feel. I also wanted to make sure everything was custom to Anthony and I and to include décor that was meaningful to us. The elements around us when we got married were important. I had a cross custom-made that held our unity candle, which represented having God at the center of us. The giveaways for the guests were little succulent plants that I handpicked and my bridal party helped pot each one. We pinned our engagement pictures to show our family and friends the romantic moments between Anthony and I. I was beyond excited to see everything come together so nicely.

My favorite moment was really marrying my best friend! Walking down the aisle seeing him, the set up and everyone joined together to watch us was truly a blessing. We flew in my Uncle Sam who is a pastor in Spain to marry us. It was important to have someone marry us that know us and can speak from the heart. All in all I loved my entire wedding. I enjoyed every bit of it from the beginning of the day all the way to the end. (I didn’t want it to end!) I couldn’t have been blessed with better vendors and wedding party.

Photography is important to us because it’s what captures important moments of our special day. Photos are always kept and looked at. They are always shared between family and friends. It takes a talented person to capture emotion and feelings within a picture. I was really particular about choosing a photographer. One of my friends used Sun & Sparrow for the wedding like 4 years ago and I always loved their pictures. So when I was on the hunt Sun & Sparrow was definitely in my top picks. Then I saw their website with all the other engagement/wedding photos and it was instant. I knew they were the one. Plus, when Tiffani and I first spoke we totally vibed and I loved her personality!

One thing that I think would have taken some ease off for me in the planning process was to attend a Bridal expo. I never did and I’m thankful that I pulled it off without going but I definitely think that it’s a great starting step. My favorite tool to use was The Knot app for the checklist feature. Every month it gave me my task to do. Also, when going to other weddings really take a look at the vendors and their work/style. Some of my vendors I already had locked in because I loved their work from my best friend’s wedding. Make sure to also ask around with friends and family. It’s always nice to know of someone who used the vendors before or if they have tips on planning process. It’s a plus hearing other people’s wedding stories. The most important part really is keeping God in the center of it all. Prayer helps with everything and it’s amazing to see how God works in mysterious ways.

My favorite part of being married now is living together! We share our daily lives together now and for the rest of our lives. Making the house have both our personality and look to it. It’s fun being couch potatoes together. I enjoy cooking and he enjoys my cooking..hahaha. It really is just all the little things that I love right now.

Event Coordination:

Dean Bernard Events

deanbernardevents.com

Entertainment:

Isaiah aka DJ icyice

http://icyicemusic.com

icyice@me.com

310-920-4282

Photographer:

Sun & Sparrow

https://sunandsparrow.com

Videographer: