March 9, 2011
Traci and Al started 2011 off with a huge celebration. That’s right, they got married on New Year’s Day. They worked with the fantastic Erin at Florals with Flair and Patrice from Wedding Ideas Now to transform the (already normally goregous) Cypress Ridge Pavillion into a warm, beautiful retreat for their wedding ceremony and reception. Mother nature cleaned the outside with a healthy dose of rain all day (boo!). No spirits were dampened however, and the party was wonderful. I hope Traci and Al are enjoying a little bit of rest and relaxation after a busy holiday and wedding planning season.
March 6, 2011
Mary and I have known each other for about 15 years. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her have a “bad” day. She is usually smiling, loves a great joke, and is quick to say nice things about you. I like hanging out with those kind of people. No wonder she has a bizillion other friends too. So when David asked her to marry him, the really hard part part of having all those friends? Finding a venue that would fit both the NUMBER of friends and the FUN of the friends. Mary and David love to go. Go. GO. They go everywhere and do things like this (stolen from her facebook page)…
So there was talk about having the wedding out on the Colorado River at a favorite sand bar…but could everyone camp for the wedding? Or how about a jeep caravan? Eventually, Mary and David decided the Cayucos Vets Hall would be the perfect place. On the beach, very scenic, super casual fun, and plenty of nearby hotels to make it a comfortable destination wedding for the out-of-towners. Mary found out that her favorite taco place catered, her good family friend hand-made her wedding dress, and other good friends made all the cupcakes and arranged the flowers. Ahhh…good friends again. See the theme? She is one well-loved (for good reason) person.
March 5, 2011
Have you been to Tilden Park? Have you been to Orinda? If you haven’t, you need to take a visit. Jessica and Kyle got married at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park. It was my first time in the area and I was impressed. It felt like I was driving to a camping site (except I wasn’t worried about bears or whether there would be hot water). Big trees, blue skies, and the smell of forest all around. I even got a big bug bite to prove my adventure was authentically outdoors. Truth be told though, I think I was the only one to get bit and I am traditionally a bug magnet. ☺
Jessica and Kyle don’t enjoy being the center of attention. I think that’s why I nearly chuckled out loud when during their ceremony (at a point where their officiant had just spoken about the fact they don’t like to be too showy), a little girl from the park ran up to them and stared. She smiled and yelled back at her mom “Look, they are getting married!” Giggles and she ran away.
At their wedding, they clearly made the day about hanging out with friends and enjoying the experience. Lots of dancing. Great conversation. And hopefully they didn’t mind being a little bit of the center of attention for just a day…because we all sure enjoyed it.
March 4, 2011
Dina and Mark are clearly fun-loving people. Don’t let their traditional wedding ceremony at the Mission San Luis Obispo fool you into thinking this was gonna be a traditional reception. Their “thank-you” cards for their wedding is a photo of them tandem wakeboarding. Which also played into the names of their table settings. Each table was named for a wakeboarding trick or jump. Their guests were encouraged to take off the high heels and put on comfy dancing shoes. The photo booth had great wigs and fun props, making the smiles easy. They even made lighting the unity candle a laughter-causing event. By the way, the reception was held at The Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach.
Dina and Mark brought a group of seasoned wedding professionals with them. And by that, I’m not just referring to their hired wedding vendors. Rather, I’m talking about their wedding attendants. I happen to be facebook friends with several of their guests, so I know for a fact that many of them have been to just about as many weddings this season as I have. Except they’ve gone as guests and bridesmaids. Watching them work through the wedding preparations was amazing precision. They orchestrated the activities so well…I think they could all have jobs as wedding coordinators. Except, I’ve never seen wedding coordinators dance so well as these people.
Have a fantastic honeymoon Dina and Sponge! I know there will be lots of ocean, sun, and fun. Just what you deserve!
March 3, 2011
As single people, Peter and Michelle were quite selective. At their reception, friends recounted stories of the list of high standards each of them were looking for in a potential date. When Michelle finally met Peter, the rest was quickly history. The high expectations had been met and love took hold.
Peter proposed to Michelle at Summerwood Winery on a romantic wine country vacation from their LA-based life. When they started planning their wedding, Summerwood was a clear front-runner in venues. Not just because of the engagement memories, but also because it suited their plans for an intimate celebration. Great wine, fine cheese, incredible cuisine in a beautiful inn surrounded by a small group of friends and family. And…check out the wonderful sunset vineyard photos we snuck in there too!
March 2, 2011
GiGi and Matt got married at the Inn at Morro Bay. They live in Florida so this was a destination wedding for most of their guests as well. GiGi and Matt’s blog entry is coming a little late. They’ve had their photos for awhile now and hopefully have shared them with their friends. GiGi sent me one of my favorite emails in response to her wedding photos:
“I have to let you know that my productivity at work has gone down drastically since we received your photos from our wedding. While I hate to point fingers, this is definitely your fault! You see, I loaded a bunch of your photos onto my computer, and I find myself intentionally letting the screensaver come up so that I can look at the photos again and again! Sigh, I think that I might have to take the photos off my screensaver so that I can get back to work.”
I just love it! GiGi, I’m so glad you are enjoying them! Now…get to planning that honeymoon.
