From the bride: "When it came to picking out a theme, Chris and I pretty much wanted to convey the same message: we wanted our wedding to be joyous and fun! I have always been more on the eclectic side when choosing colors or motifs for anything throughout my life (from Trapper Keepers to table settings) so choosing only two or three colors wasn't possible for me. After choosing my blush dress, I thought ocean colors would be most complementary. I didn't want to stick to one shade of blue or green, so I incorporated all shades and advised my bridesmaids to choose a dress from all shades from mint blues and greens, to teals and sapphires. Chris's party wore gray suits from Black by Vera Wang, with ocean colored ties that I handpicked from a few different Marshall's stores (this took a great deal of patience and searching, but it was worth it!) My handsome groom wore a gray suit from Banana Republic, and a gray, white and pink striped tie from Calvin Klein."
Special Moments:
Father of the Bride Speech: My father, Jay, gave a beautiful speech with great advice (he and my mother had just celebrated their 30 year wedding anniversary, so I kept my ears open for their secrets!) "I always told my daughters to not seek a successful man, but rather an honest and decent man; success will come later.” On the happiest day of my life, I felt completely wonderful knowing that I had truly become successful, because I had a happiness that money couldn't buy.
Sister of the Groom speech: Chris's younger sister, Keiko, brought down the house with her candid, heart-warming speech about life growing up with my husband. She acknowledged that even though she may have been a challenging at times, Chris was always there for her. Not only was he a great brother, but he has also been an amazing father, in the absence of their dad. I've always known that Chris is a great guy, but hearing how he's impacted my sister-in-law's life by taking on a father-figure role, made me realize just how special he is and how lucky I am.
Our Venue: Chris and I knew we'd have family traveling from all over the country to attend our wedding, so we really wanted the trip to be fun for everyone without having to worry too much about entertaining so many out of town guests. Because Las Vegas was our choice for our very first trip together, we couldn't think of a more perfect place to get married! I found the Springs Preserve by mistake one night while looking at pictures for dresses, not venues. Although I was looking at different dresses, I noticed that I saw the same venue once or twice before. After some searching, it was finally confirmed that the venue, was in fact, in Vegas. It was so hard to believe that a venue so lush with botanical gardens could somehow be nestled in the dry, arid desert that is Las Vegas. But sure enough, after a three hour drive, Chris and I discovered the Springs Preserve, and knew immediately that it was our venue!
