A lovely Southern California Wedding by
Lora Grady Photography and some of the most beautiful images I've ever seen. This couple's wedding day story is a must-read so be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to read their story. Happy Monday!
From the bride:
Having been a bridesmaid a million times, I have grown to really dislike weddings, so when it came time for my own, I wanted something as unwedding-like as possible. For our reception, we went for a low-key cocktail party theme, without the traditional boring receiving line, stuffy sit-down dinner, etc. We really wanted to provide an environment in which we could visit, laugh, dance, and celebrate with our closest friends and family. I wanted a very classic feel, so our colors were navy and charcoal grey with accents in white and blush pink. We found an excellent band with a lead singer who sounded just like Frank Sinatra, a Spanish deli to provide delicious tapas, and put our families' talents to use for tasty desserts, snacks and our wedding cake. I found a dress with a skirt I loved by chance at Nordstrom and enlisted the services of a fantastic San Diego seamstress to make a new top for it. The end result was fabulous. My amazing friend Megan, who does hair for the princesses at Disneyland, did my hair and makeup and left me looking like a princess myself. Instead of having the traditional wedding party, we asked our closest friends and dear family to dress in our wedding colors, so all of our loved ones could take special part in our day. My favorite moment came from an averted disaster: I got pretty frazzled from all the nerves the night before and took some unusually strong medicine for the headache and nausea that ensued, so my plans to make my own bouquet and my groom's boutonniere went out the window when I fell sound asleep shortly thereafter. My groom (with a little help from my cousin's amazing wife) ended up making my bouquet and bringing it to me on our wedding day, which is how I once heard bridal bouquets got their start--the groom bringing beautiful flowers for his bride as a gift on their happy day. The funniest moment was when the band leader forgot his MC duties and didn't announce us as we came in, so we walked in to awkward stares from our guests and I ended up announcing us as "Mr. and Mrs. Dougal" when we finally made it to the dance floor. Pretty awkward, but the band leader finally figured it out and all was well. There were about a million other things that went wrong that day (the tables and chairs went missing, the food was late, etc.), but luckily Casey and I didn't find out about most of them until afterward, so we were really able to enjoy ourselves and relax. What I loved most about our wedding day (aside from getting married to my sweetheart), and I think my groom agrees, was feeling so much love from our friends and family, who worked so hard to give us a very special and very romantic day.
Vendors:
Wedding Cake: Groom's sister
Hair & Make-up: Megan Rinehart
