Wedding #3

Wedding #3 was a friend of Jake's, from high school. It was on the beach at hotel in downtown Ventura, California.They were super cute. The bride's father performed the ceremony which was a bit awkward at times. He felt the need to tell jokes, yell at the groom for not paying attention and reference how great their parents are (himself included). It had to be one of the funniest ceremonies I've ever been to.

The reception was at the top, in the "Bay View Suite." I'm bummed I didn't get any pictures of the gorgeous view we had both at the reception and the ceremony. Not only was there beautiful coastline, but also the Ventura County Fair was going on which lit up the sky at night.
In lieu of wedding cake they had a chocolate fountain with fruit, marshmallows and rice krispy treats for dipping. It was unique, as well as quite the mess. When the groom stopped to talk to us we couldn't help but notice the chocolate on his white vest. It was too cute. And as you can see, I totally enjoyed it.
One more down, 1 (possibly 2) more to go.

Wedding #3

Wedding #3 was a friend of Jake's, from high school. It was on the beach at hotel in downtown Ventura, California.They were super cute. The bride's father performed the ceremony which was a bit awkward at times. He felt the need to tell jokes, yell at the groom for not paying attention and reference how great their parents are (himself included). It had to be one of the funniest ceremonies I've ever been to.

The reception was at the top, in the "Bay View Suite." I'm bummed I didn't get any pictures of the gorgeous view we had both at the reception and the ceremony. Not only was there beautiful coastline, but also the Ventura County Fair was going on which lit up the sky at night.
In lieu of wedding cake they had a chocolate fountain with fruit, marshmallows and rice krispy treats for dipping. It was unique, as well as quite the mess. When the groom stopped to talk to us we couldn't help but notice the chocolate on his white vest. It was too cute. And as you can see, I totally enjoyed it.
One more down, 1 (possibly 2) more to go.

Wedding #1

Last Saturday (the day my shoulders were burned off) was wedding #1 of the year. It was in a beautiful clearing in the midst of the forest and so, Tessa and Paul. She looked beautiful in her gown and veil and Paul was ever so dashing in his suit.
As for me, not the same story. I tried the dress on the Friday before the wedding and well, it didn't zip up! Turns out the zipper was funky, but it was still one size too snug. I attempted to starve myself with Special K and SlimFast bars, but quickly realized that ain't gonna work. I am no crash dieter! So, with the bride's approval, I sported a one size too small bridesmaid's dress.
You see, the bride got an amazing deal at JCrew last October and snatched up all the dresses in various sizes. While trying them on LAST OCTOBER, we both decided the smaller size would be better than the bigger. Fast forward to May- the picture above explains it all.
Also, in the 2 weddings I have been in I can never smile while going down the aisle. Sadly, this picture was me smiling. What is my problem? Why can't I look like the lovely and elegant Tiffany? Even in the background I look awful. If anyone is looking for a semi-smiling bridesmaid to be in the wedding, I'm your girl!

A Hawaiian Bridal Shower

This Saturday was a girlfriend's Bridal Shower. She is getting married on May 23rd and I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited. The Bridal Shower was Hawaiian themed, since the couple will be honeymooning in Maui for a week or two. Her sister-in-law and mother took care of the food while we took care of the games. We played the toilet paper wedding dress game where I neglected to tell anyone it was timed so the winning team did in fact have a head start. Someone did however, so nicely let us know that there is no cheating at bridal shower games!Good times were had by all. The bride ultimately wanted money as a gift to go towards her new fancy camera, and guess what she got Saturday evening! I'm totally jealous just from her blog post of pics taken with it already.
Now, the wedding week with all the fun stuff we get to help with. It'll be such a great time, I can't wait!

The Cake

We stumbled upon our caterers, Russell's Mercantile, a small family-owned bakery, through a recommendation. Not only was their food delicious but their cake was AMAZING. I'm sure everyone thinks their wedding cake is the best, but honestly ours was. No fancy frosting, just cream cheese. Each layer was a different flavor. The baker made it just as I had imagined, without any need for the nasty frosting that is fondant.
Instead of going along with the tradition of freezing the top layer for our one year anniversary (I wouldn't touch that thing now) we had it boxed up and put in our getaway limo. Our honeymoon started promptly the next morning after our wedding, so we knew we'd need sustenance. I babied that cake box through every security check from Reno to San Francisco to San Diego, where we finally ate it on our 5 hour bus ride to Mexico. It was sweet bliss and we immediately regretted not getting to enjoy it more at the wedding.

Centerpieces

After hunting for nearly half a year for the perfect centerpiece, I came up with these. I found the cool (flameless) candles on sale at Target and collected old books from thrift stores for months.
Every other table was different, and our florist knocked these out of the park. I designed the table numbers and bought frames from the dollar store. They went with the hall perfectly and everyone wound up with the candles. I still go over to people's houses to find the candles on their mantles or dining room tables. I have a few myself!
It was just as I had imagined and didn't break the bank (my main concern).

Our Wedding Invitations

Our invitations were somewhat of a blessing in disguise. We originally decided on the feel of our wedding based off of the bridesmaid's dresses (black and blue damask). We then looked at the huge notebooks of wedding invitations at all the little stationary stores and settled for this large but simple invite from an adorable store in a ritsy part of town. I took a trip to the post office with the invite measurements to see how much postage would cost before we ordered them. An insanely rude postal woman informed me it would be a dollar, because it was so big. Frightened to tell my parents, I researched for myself. We wound up sending them with 42 cent stamps, and what do you know! Everyone got theirs.

To save on postage we figured we'd do the online RSVP'ing through the Knot. That wound up being the worst thing we could have ever done. People couldn't RSVP, thought they did, etc. It was a disaster that wound up with a professor and his wife attending our wedding without a spot to sit! Never ever do this! I dont' care how great of an idea the Knot makes it seem, always ALWAYS go with the standard pre-stamped RSVP card in the invitation.

We ordered the invites, checked the proofs and were delivered a box of 300 with the misprint, CVIC Hill intead of CVIC Hall. We were basically screwed, seeing as we had signed off on the proof. Luckily, the sweethearts at the cute little store called and made a case for us, and we were sent not 300 but 600 correct ones! We had invites coming out of our ears. What was a girl to do, but to make them into our wedding programs. I simply designed our program, printed it out and slapped it on some black cardstock then onto our invitations.

Since the ceremony was moved inside, to the reception tables we used the programs as place settings for the plates. Conventional, no, did it work and look great? You betcha!

The Wedding Site

Originally we wanted a wedding on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Little did we know the price that came with a wedding in Tahoe. We quickly changed our perspective and brought it down the mountain, into the valley. After ruling out a family friend's backyard, the park down the street and the mansion in downtown Reno we were frustrated.
While driving home for Sir Sunderland's family's house in a small town an hour South of Reno, I jokingly asked if he'd be interested in getting married at the town hall where we saw his brother in the middle school's rendition of Alice in Wonderland. To my surprise, he agreed.
We intended to get married in the "town gazebo" (much like Gilmore Girl's) with the reception in the hall across the street.

It's all on a charming street that had an old feel to it. We loved it and better yet it was more than in our price range, and came complete with chairs and tables!

Unfortunately the weather did not agree with our plans of an outdoor wedding. We opted to move it inside when there were threats of "high winds."
Everyone sat at their reception table and the ceremony was performed on the stage. Thanks to our amazing family and friends, while we were out taking photos, the stage was transformed to the head table.
It may have not been our original plans, but sometimes things happen for a reason. Had we done it outside as originally planned it would have entailed the transferring of chairs from the park to the hall, and dealing with a crappy sound system just to name a few issues.
It's always fun to look back on our original plans and what they morphed into. I wouldn't change it for the world.

The Drama of a Wedding Dress

Our first item of business, my wedding dress. This wound up being way too much drama that lasted months. You could have asked any of my bridesmaids a month prior to the wedding and they would have no idea what dress I chose, as I chose my mind on a weekly basis.

It began with a gorgeous dress I found in a magazine. I looked up the designer and where it was sold. There happened to be a boutique in Las Vegas, where we happened to be visiting family the next month. I called and setup an appointment. My Mom and I woke up early on a Saturday and headed to this boutique. It was amazing. The lady who helped us was young, hip and from one photo and a small discussion she picked out about 5 or 6 dresses I drooled over.

I wanted a short dress, this much I knew. I also "knew" that I didn't want to wear a veil. The cute girl put one on me anyways and my Mom cried, and so did I. It was one of those moments I will remember for the rest of my life. From that moment on, a veil was imperative.
This was the dress she had that resembled the photo I brought in. I immediately fell in love and was ready for my Mom to drop a grand then and there. As usual, Mom knew best and "we" decided we'd shop around.
One slight problem, short dresses were not in style in 2008 (but they are now! I know, I'm a trendsetter, what can I say?), especially not in Reno. I went to every bridal boutique in Reno and not a single one had a short wedding dress. I finally opted for this long one.

It was nice, just not me. The search for a short dress was on. I attempted getting Sir Sunderland's grandmother's 1950s wedding dress altered (to a larger size), yet it fell to pieces when you touched the lace. I stumbled upon this dress at a thrift store and after paying $30 it too fell to pieces.
Would you figure that the "wedding dress" of my dreams turned out to be a $200 BRIDESMAID'S DRESS?!?!?!

It took some imagination on my part (the color, adding a petticoat, etc.) but it turned out perfect. The perfect length, a great color for my skin and most important, classic Lauren.