our wedding: formals

Some things that kept us sane while planning the wedding were weekly date nights, wedding off limits conversations, and an amazingly supportive group of family and friends. You all will be pleased to know that I did not turn into a bridezilla! I was calm and collected the whole time {sans morning of}, and my bff/MOH Lizzie was actually the one to turn into what she dubbed a "MOHzilla." 

 love this photo so much bc the photographer said, "Ok, now give the bride a kiss," and I puckered up and closed my eyes. 

hehe I love my bestie Lizzie!

 my brother Anthony! 

Another huge factor in keeping me sane was all of you. Seriously, and I mean seriously, I am so grateful for all of your support. Having Wedding Wednesday posts was a way to keep all my thoughts organized and getting your thoughts and opinions about hair, dresses, guys attire, song choices, etc. was invaluable. I appreciated your advice, experience and knowledge more than you know. I think that's why I didn't go all crazy, because I had all of you there. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of our wedding and letting me share these photos with you. I love you guys!! I hope these photos weren't too much over the course of the week. I learned that I'm not the best photo editor because it was so hard for me not to include all 800 photos! {I luckily restrained myself though}. 

xox

photos by Bret Cole Photography

our wedding: DIY and Details

One thing I kept hearing for months after the wedding was how personal and unique the whole day was. It makes me so happy because I definitely put a lot of effort and time into the planning process. I was so lucky to be in a situation where I was working part time throughout the engagement. I was really able to do so many crafts and DIY projects, that I might not have had time for otherwise, which ended up saving money, and also being a lot of fun! I remember staying up soo many nights saving inspiration photos {pre-Pinterest}, making venue and photographer spreadsheets, and planning my craft schedule for the weekends. Here are some detail photos with descriptions of the DIYs I did with the help of my amazing Mom and friends {and Matthew of course}!

 invites by Ma Joie Press

 bunting for the ceremony made with my Maid of Honor Lizzie over Christmas

 Wood-burned basket for the programs {programs designed by my brother..so cute I'll have to share later}

 Drink Menu and Striped Straws!

 Matthew likes Belgian-style beers and he brewed all the beer for the wedding! 

 Cookies and Milk Bar {baked by my mom, cake stands made by Lizzie/MOH}

Wood-burning done with Eden and I hand-stamped 100 cookie bags with stamps designed by my brother

 Ms for the back of the chairs made with Lizzie/MOH {yellow paint + lace attached with adhesive}

Seating chart made with pretty fabrics {and painted white by me!}

Flowers by Eden and pretty ring pillow by GiggleRoom made with vintage tea towel calender

Green burlap squares cut and sewn for the tables with wood stumps, cut/stained/painted/glued table numbers 

and Menu Board made by me

Bunting for the cake topper made with my mom, photos of our grandparents

 Homemade pillows made with my mom and Lizzie/MOH

I'm hoping to share more of the DIY step by steps with you over the next couple weeks. Maybe taking back the Wedding Wednesday spot. I've missed those posts but I'm so happy I can share the photos from the wedding with you now! If you guys have any questions about anything you can always email me!

Something Old My late Paternal Grandma’s pearl ring, Michael Kors Perfume {worn on my first date with Matthew}

Something New The belt my mom and I made

Something Borrowed My late Maternal Grandma’s pearl necklace

Something Blue Garter from my bridesmaids

Brides&Wives: What were your Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue?

xox

photos by Bret Cole Photography

our wedding: the reception

While my favorite part of the wedding will always be the ceremony, I looved the reception! I did so many DIY crafts so to see it all come together was really wonderful. It was actually so hard to step back and not be involved with setting everything up, considering I was involved with every other step. Luckily I had my amazing friend Eden to help me out and everything looked even better than I could have imagined.

My goal was to have our wedding reflect us as a couple. We chose to have a small wedding with just our family and closest friends. Our guest count was under 100 and I loved that I was able to talk with everyone and also enjoy myself, and dance with Matthew. And, you know how I have a big sweet tooth? Well dessert was a very important part of the reception. We had a cookies and milk bar, a chocolate cake!, homemade caramels as favors, as well as huge lollipops for the kids. You'll see more of the details and crafts tomorrow. 

Matthew and I have taken photo booth pictures throughout dating {and still do every time we see one!} so we knew very early on that a photo booth was a must for the wedding. Magnolia Photo Booth made the night soo much fun for everyone! I loved seeing my little cousins get in there as well as my aunts and uncles. We ended the night with a sparkler send-off, which was so fun and romantic. The perfect ending to the perfect day!

Song Choices

First Dance: At Last Etta James

Father/Daughter: What a Wonderful World K.D. Lang and Tony Bennett 

Cake Cutting: How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You Marvin Gaye

Bouquet Toss: Wannabe Spice Girls

Tomorrow: the Details

xox

photos by Bret Cole Photography

our wedding: the ceremony

Some of you might remember that when Matthew and I got engaged we wanted to get married this fall. When we found out that our church was undergoing a huge reconstruction in June we had to move things around to get married in May. Honestly, I am so happy that we got married on May 6th, even though the planned construction still hasn't happened. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect, especially weather-wise. It couldn't have been a prettier day. We had a small ceremony with our immediate family at the church and then did another one later in the afternoon at our venue. It was nice to have the church ceremony more intimate and traditional and then have a fun, modern ceremony later on. We had the best of both worlds! And I think if I was currently planning a wedding for October I might be a little crazy! 8 months was just enough time.

Matthew gave me a surprise dip when the priest said, "You may now kiss the bride!"

Matthew's nieces and nephews were our little flower girls and ring bearers. My friend Eden and I made the floral headbands for the flower girls {she also did my beautiful flowers}. We made them the week before the wedding, while we watched The Royal Wedding. It will always be one of my favorite wedding planning days full of last minute crafts, chips and salsa, smoothies and tears for the royals! 

My godparents each read a passage that was important to me in some way. My godmother Susie read William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. She and my Dad met at Berkeley when they were in a Shakespeare survey course together. They become great friends and she has always been an important part of our family's life, especially as my godmother. It's interesting to think about how the circle of life continues since years later I too was at Berkeley taking Shakespeare classes as an English major! My godfather Charlie read Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese XLIII. It's a beautiful passage about love and I'm also Portuguese so I loved it even more :) It meant so much to have these two very important people read these passages. They've made such an impact on my life and having them be a part of our day meant so much.

We chose more traditional music for the church but at the venue our song choices were more modern and personal to us: 

Family Procession: In My Life The Beatles

Bridal Party Procession: You Are The Sunshine of My Life Stevie Wonder

Bride's Procession: You Are The Best Thing Ray LaMontagne

Recessional: This Will Be An Everlasting Love Natalie Cole

I loved ending on that Natalie Cole song. It's been one of my favorites since I was little because it's so fun and uplifting. I felt like it was the perfect song to say "Woohoo! We're married. Now let's eat cake and dance the night away!"

Tomorrow: the reception!

xox