Kelsey and G had a Luxurious destination wedding in Cancun!
(more…)Fairytale Engagement at The Palace Of Fine Arts in San Francisco // Eric & Mandy @2020 Sun & Sparrow // Destination Fine Art Wedding Photographers
From The Couple:
How We met
o What was meant to be a one-time social arrangement turned into a romantic relationship between two inseparable lovebirds. Eric and Mandy met at UC Davis unexpectedly when Eric needed a date to a formal banquet. A mutual friend who was also attending the banquet was hoping Mandy could attend the event as well. The friend decided to ask Mandy to accompany Eric. Albeit a bit hesitant, Mandy agreed to attend as Eric’s date.
o After getting to know each other at the banquet, Mandy realized she still had not found her date to a formal event taking place the following weekend. Since Eric confirmed he didn’t have any plans that weekend, Mandy decided to extend an invite to Eric. After both events were over, Eric realized he may not have been the best date; he was a bit “wild” and decided to treat Mandy to dinner as a way to show Mandy his true self. After a couple of dinner dates as friends, a connection was made and the two continued to bond through the boring summer school days in UC Davis and officially became an item on 08/02/2014.
o August 2 was always a special day for us; that was when Eric had officially asked me to be his girlfriend back in 2014. After five years of dating, we both felt ready for the next chapter in our lives. We decided to take a mini-vacation to Napa Valley to celebrate our five year dating anniversary. Eric had coordinated ahead of time with our first wine tasting of the day, at Alpha Omega Winery. We were led to our private wine tasting room, but the host had to “step out” to get the wine. When we were alone, Eric had me read a letter, and before I knew it…….Eric was behind me, on one knee, and popped the question. We enjoyed the rest of the day as a newly engaged couple who were “glowing,” as described by some of our new wine tour friends.
o We knew that we wanted to get married in 2020, but had no idea where to start. After many brainstorming sessions, we ultimately decided on 10/10/2020 since it easily rolls off the tongue and is supposed to be a lucky day in Chinese culture. Who would have known that 2020 would be such an unpredictable year… with a pandemic affecting everyone’s lives. With support from our families and friends (and our amazing photographers from Sun and Sparrow), we decided to hold strong and retain our original wedding date by having an intimate ceremony. We know that “There is always a rainbow after every storm.” and are hoping that our wedding day will be the rainbow that emerges from a year of unfortunate events.
Intimate Elopement in the Channel Islands // Sean & Ellie @ 2020 Sun & Sparrow // Fine Art Destination Wedding Photographers
Elegant Destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas // ©2017 Sun & Sparrow Destination wedding photographer
FROM THE BRIDE & GROOM // We were on Cloud Nine after Rich’s flawlessly planned proposal in April, and we were pleasantly surprised to learn how aligned we were on what mattered to both of us for our wedding. Neither of us cared to host an elaborate event for hundreds of guests – we wanted an intimate experience that we could share with those closest to us that would allow us to truly enjoy ourselves. We also knew that we wanted a quick engagement – though the thought of planning a wedding within four months was a daunting one initially! However, as has been the case throughout our relationship, the pieces just seemed to fall into place seamlessly – within three weeks of getting engaged, we had hopped on a last-minute flight to sunny Los Cabos in Mexico, fell in love with the Hilton Los Cabos, picked a wedding date, and agreed on our wedding guest list! Three months of fast and furious planning later and with lots of help from the Hilton’s wedding coordinators extraordinaires, Nancy and Eren (they are truly amazing!), Rich and I arrived in Cabo ready to get the party started!
On our wedding day, Rich left me three envelopes to open throughout the day; one when I woke up, one while getting ready, and one right before walking down the aisle. I still tear up thinking about those notes, they were incredibly sweet and put any wedding jitters I may have had to rest. I knew in my heart I was marrying an amazing man. I was strangely calm that morning and throughout our getting ready process; I had a tremendous amount of confidence in my wedding team and focused on taking in each moment. A hiccup with my wedding dress that was immediately addressed by the Hilton’s Dream Team was the only bump in the road on my way to the altar and as soon as I laid eyes on my husband-to-be, I knew our night would be perfect.
As all of the planning had been done remotely, we saw our vision unfold in real-time along with our guests – the first time they saw the ceremony and reception sites was our first time as well, and they took my breath away! I had spent countless hours pouring through Pinterest boards, gathering ideas and examples for my vendors across the border. We knew we wanted an elegant yet simple feel, with a touch of Mexican fun thrown in. With the ocean and the stunning hotel as our backdrop, there was no need to overcomplicate the scenery. The wedding coordinators and vendors absolutely stunned me with their execution on our vision – I had been nervous about things getting lost in translation but entirely unnecessarily so. The final product was even better than we imagined, perfection every step along the way! I teared up seeing it – everyone stepped up and did their part to make sure that our night was seamless, we couldn’t be more thankful to our team! The night flew by but we honestly say that we had an amazing time – we laughed, we danced, we shared intimate moments with our guests, and celebrated being Mr. & Mrs.!
While it all went by so fast, one of my favorite moments was dancing the waltz with my Dad to Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling In Love. He sprung it on me just a couple weeks prior that he would like to waltz for our Father-Daughter dance – I had never waltzed before in my life, so spent a couple of weeks dancing with my iPad in my living room. We finally got to practice together live the day before the wedding and I had to remind my Dad that this was meant to be fun, not Dancing with the Stars! It melts my heart to think back on how nervous he was when we stepped out on that dance floor the next night; for a brief moment, our roles reversed and I was the one calming and leading him through the storm. When he finally twirled me for the last time, he breathed a sigh of relief…. Now he could finally go enjoy himself ☺.
Our advice to couples planning their wedding is to listen to your hearts – plan the wedding that YOU want as a couple, not what everyone else wants. It’s so easy for us brides to get caught up in the details and the stress in planning such an important event that I’ve seen so many girlfriends not enjoy their experience at all. The day goes by in a flash so take time out to enjoy each other, your guests, and take in the meaning of it all; if you’re enjoying yourselves, everyone else will too, regardless of what little details may not have worked out as perfectly as you planned! You’re there to celebrate your love, which is the greatest gift of all!
Photographer : Sun & Sparrow photography // www.sunandsparrow.com
Venue : Hilton Los Cabos // www.hiltonloscabos.com
Coordinator : Eren Carlo & Nancy Garcia // www.hiltonloscabos.com
Florals : Emporio Arte Floral // http://emporioartefloral.com/
Invitations : Bock Design // www.bockdesign.net
Rentals : Let It Be Events // www.letitbeevents.com
Guitarist : Daryl Curie // https://darylcurriemusic.com/bio/
DJ : DJ Ricardo // www.dgricardo.mx
Wedding Rings: Baida Jewelry // www.baidajewelry.com
Wedding Gown & Boutique : Aria Brides // www.arialosangeles.com
Bridal Hair : Patty at Hilton Los Cabos // www.hiltonloscabos.com
Elegant backyard wedding in Solvang // ©2017 Sun & Sparrow Solvang wedding photographer
FROM THE BRIDE // We got married in Los Olivos, CA, a section of California Wine Country that we chose for its outdoor beauty. And of course, the week of our wedding, there was a record breaking heat wave and we were terrified in the days leading up to the wedding that it would be too hot to have our outdoor ceremony. We planned to have fans, umbrellas, ice water- anything to keep people cool. The morning of the wedding we looked at the weather and guess what… RAIN! In the middle of the heat wave! And it was scheduled to start raining at the exact moment that our ceremony was set to begin. Up until that point Jeremy and I were both pretty pleased with ourselves for being a very chill bride and groom. That morning, not so much. We thought about moving everything inside, but decided instead to risk it. We knew that everyone was up there to have fun, and a little rain wouldn’t get in the way of that. What I remember most about our wedding day was the laughter. We laughed at the weather, at each other, at the absurdity of spending months planning a wedding outside only to be foiled by nature. We had so much fun that day. All the pressure was off. It was cooler outside, and the rain freshened up the landscape, made everything breathe. And when the ceremony began, the skies cleared, the sun came out and it was perfect. Jeremy and I had exactly what we wanted: a relaxed, funny, beautiful evening with all of our friends, amazing food, wine, music, full of love and support. When the sun set the band came out, everyone got on the dance floor and danced all night. Our friends danced with our parents friends, we danced with everyone. There was a single moment where the floor wasn’t filled. Big fires were lit in these awesome cauldrons and all our nieces and nephews got covered in chocolate while making s’mores. The moon was huge, heavy and butter yellow and it didn’t rain once after the ceremony. We had pies instead of cake- cherry, key lime, and pecan and between the sugar and the dancing (and alcohol) there was a lot of joy all around.
There were so many special moments! Our flowers were done by my good friend and former roommate. She started the business when we were living together in LA, at the same time that Jeremy and I started dating, and since then it has BLOOMED. It was so special to have her practice her craft at the wedding. It felt like years in the making for both of us. My uncle gave a speech that had the entire room in tears. When I was three I gave him a painting (if you can call it that- it’s very abstract) and I told him that he could give it back to me when I got married. He brought the painting to the wedding and returned it to me. There were many other moments. We both had so many friends at the wedding that we have known since we were little. It was incredible to have everyone in the same place, decades of history, all gathered for a weekend. And our parents dancing… that was the best part for both of us.
When we found Mattei’s Tavern we knew we didn’t have to worry too much about decor. The place is a dream. It’s rustic and elegant at the same time, with beautiful lighting and really cool interiors. Mattei’s was the key to the look. We really didn’t have to do much. So we decided that what we cared about most were the food, the booze, and the music and we put most of our energy into those. I think we nailed all three. I trusted Hope, from Pigsty florals, completely, and she did amazing work with our florals, understated and classic. Our wedding planner also seemed to read our minds, and completely understood the feel we wanted without us having to go into detail. Neither Jeremy nor I like the spotlight, and I think our wedding style reflected that. My dress was very simple and his suit was classic. We let our groomsmen and bridesmaids pick their own suits/dresses, because we wanted them to be comfortable and happy. All we said was we wanted shades of blue. It was all mismatched but it worked out!
Prioritize! There are so many details that go into a wedding, and so many of them can’t be controlled on the day. Pick your battles! We spent a huge part of our budget on music, because that’s what we cared about most, and we were happy we did.
MY VENDORS:
Venue: Mattei’s Tavern // www.matteistavern.com
Coordinator: Frankie Podrat // www.franklyweddings.com
Photographer: Sun & Sparrow // www.sunandsparrow.com
Florals: Pigsty Florals // www.pigsty.co
Invitations: Minted // www.minted.com
Rentals: Ventura Rentals // www.venturalrental.com
Caterer: Pure Joy Catering // www.purejoycatering.com
Wedding rings maker (Jeremy’s): Ash Hilton // www.ashhilton.com
Wedding rings maker (Emily’s) Jennie Kwon // www.jenniekwondesigns.com
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Wedding Gown Maker: Jill Stuart
Hair & Makeup: TEAM Santa Barbara
Bride Shoes: Rachel Comey
Groom Suit: Brooks Brothers
Groom shoes: Cole Haan