Jessica and Ben were married at his parents beautiful estate in Poway, CA. They are residents of the Bay Area, so most of the planning was done via phone and email. The yard of the home has a lovely gazebo structure. So after some draping to enhance it, the ceremony was held in it with guests seated on the expansive lawn. To keep the event more fun and carefree, several lounge areas were setup and the catering was done by San Diego Paella and The Taco Guy a photobooth area was setup for cocktails and fun times!
A close family friend offered to make their cake, and the couple themselves canned sweet pickles as favors for guests. It was a perfect day.
Please enjoy these photos from the talented Jen Z photography
I finally have photos from 11-11-11!! Thankfully the wonderful couple was able to share with me as I was waiting forever!
So here are some post wedding questions, that the couple has answered for your reading pleasure. And please enjoy the photos that follow!
What made you choose your venue?
I loved how different, and beautiful, each part of the hotel was and the setup of the ballroom, bar and outside area was perfect for the flow we wanted to create during the wedding.
What unique touches did you add to personalize your event?
We didn’t add a lot of personal touches because we wanted this to be a day for all of our friends and family and not just us. We’re not center of attention people so we didn’t want the reception to be all about us, instead we tried to make it an event everyone would enjoy and feel a part of. What was your theme?
We didn’t really have a “theme”; we just tried to keep everything elegant and timeless. I wanted people to be able to look at our pictures and not immediately guess when our wedding was.
Did you do a first look, yes or no, and why?
We didn’t do a first look because I really wanted the first time my husband would see me on our wedding day to be when the doors opened and I started walking down the aisle. It gave that moment a lot more of a dramatic impact than if we had already seen each other 30 minutes before.
What was the best part of your day?
The best part of my day was walking down the aisle and having all my nervousness go away because I knew I would be with the person I loved and that was all that mattered.
All about the food/music- describe why you selected what you did:
We tried to keep our food more fun than fancy. We wanted food everyone liked and could easily identify as opposed to having to ask the waiter what was in things or what they were. We also added a second set of appetizers later in the night to provide a salty snack when people had been drinking and dancing. We kept the music upbeat with a dance vibe to create a more club like feel as opposed to a stuffy reception.
Any advice for engaged couples-
Try to go with the flow on the day of the wedding. Freaking out over the little things is pointless and will ultimately take you out of a moment you will never get back. This is a day that will have so many amazing moments in it, do you really want to miss one because your napkins are a slightly different color than what you thought?
And my favorite pic of them all......
Thank you to Andrea and Robert for allowing me to share in your beautiful day, I wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!
So I have to admit, I'm not the most computer savvy. I'm just good at faking it. Usually I learn by doing. And once I'm shown, as long as I have someone around to help when I get stuck, I can do ok. After a few times, I don't need help and I'm good to go. But things like Illustrator and Photoshop just scare me. What else can you open, and it just stares at you blankly like "what do you want with me?" So each time I have done that, I have closed and ignored. Except for those times of supervision when I have been walked through it step by step and basically had a babysitter. So we got this book..... Photoshop CS5 for Dummies. It weighs about 45 pounds. I flipped through it in the store and it seemed like it could teach me everything I need to know. Sadly, it hasn't been opened yet and it is just sitting on the file cabinet waiting. I know I will need it eventually. But when you have a Photoshop pro by your side, why use a book? Right? So today I wanted to reorder some of my postcards. I give them out at shows, events, etc. I like them, but there were some color issues when I last reprinted and I wasn't thrilled with them. So I let them run out. Well today I decided if I could easily replace that one or two images I wasn't fond of, I would redorder. So after my quick lesson, I decided to just change the entire thing. A lot. And then do the other side, as well. And now I have uploaded them for printing and have no choice. So I hope the colors are true and I like them! Oh, and Photoshop isn't so bad, after all!! I don't really envy all you amazing photographers that have to use it every day!
Louanne and PJ were married at Casa Del Prado patio A and had their reception at the MCRD Bayview Restaurant . Louanne planned their day down to the tiniest detail.. one of my favorite things to do, and her time was well worth the effort she spent! The ladies got ready at Holiday Inn Bayside, where they added details to their bouquets, did hair and makeup, and chatted with their large family! Louanne is Italian, and has 3 sisters and a sister in law, so of course they were in the bridal party. This is such a loving family, I really enjoy being around all of them. Last June Louanne's younger sister Jessica was married and I did her wedding, as well, so it was fun to see everyone again!
Their ceremony was fun and full of love and laughter, and, of course, a few tears. The wanted to be announced as if they were in a boxing ring, so they had the officiant yell "Let's get ready to rumble" into the mic which made for some laughs!
PJ reciting his hand written, very sweet, vows
Their family sand ceremony
The kiss
Following the ceremony, the bridal party took photos amid the beautiful architecture of Balboa Park.
Including some silly ones!
After photos, they all got back into their limo from Extreme Limo and headed to the Bay View Room.
When they entered their reception, they were both amazed at how the decor they selected really represented their overall vision! They selected two types of centerpieces and alternated between 3 staggered height votive holders and tall vases with lampshades. Both with orchids and crystals. When the lights went down, the candle light and crystals sparkled and looked amazing!
Louanne and PJ chose 4 songs to have live mixed for their first dance.
They started with the two of them, and their bridal party and family joined for some fun, interactive dances, and then ended with their original song. This was all mixed live, on site by DJ Dennis J.
Their choreographed first dance
After their fun dances, the floor was opened to all and they sure jumped on it!
I firmly believe the success of your dance floor, and your event depends on a great DJ. So it was wonderful to work with The Creative Music DJ!
After some dancing, everyone took a break for the cake cutting and some sweets!
The cake was made by Louanne's cousin!
Cotton candy time!
The entire day was just bursting with love and the fun personality of this couple!
They were able to celebrate as they wanted, and we were all exhausted at the end of the night!
Here is a photo of myself, my amazing assistant Supreeta, and DJ Dennis J!
So for 2012 I have decided to send the couples some questions to go along with the blog posts.
These are answered in their own words!
What made you choose your venue?
We choose our venue two months before the wedding and we got very lucky. We had to look for another venue because the place we were supposed to have it at was still building and it was supposed to accomodate 200 people and could only accomodate 100. We had to find a venue real quick.
What unique touches did you add to personalize your event? I personalized almost everything at my wedding. I did all the do it yourself projects from the invitations to the centerpieces, to the cake stand, the arch and all the finishing touches.
What was your theme? Our theme was hearts
Did you do a first look, yes or no, and why?
Nope just went with my first idea and stuck with it.
What was the best part of your day?
The Ceremony was the best part of my day especially walking down the aisle and seeing my soon to be husband was the greatest moment ever.
All about the food/music- describe why you selected what you did:
The food was great and our dj was freaking awesome saved the day since we got scammed two weeks before the wedding and had to find a photgrapher, dj and videographer and our wedding planner helped us with all of that. Dj Dennis Jones was awesome!!
Any advice for engaged couples- Do your research on everything from photgraphers to videographers, djs, venues and etc.. because there are a lot of crooks out there that will get you.
Thanks again for allowing me to be a big part of your day!
