Today Elizabeth and Francisco will celebrate their love at her family church in National City, and celebrate at Admiral Kidd Catering and Conference Center. We can't wait to share in their joy as they are married!
I had the pleasure of working with the Dr's Franko for their Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club Wedding. They had some jewish traditions to add in, and wanted to make sure they would be well understood by all involved. Including their guests. The programs were made by Kate, and she was sure to include information on each tradition. It was a lovely way to present the significance to everyone. In case you were wondering about those gorgeous photos, they were shot by the fantastic duo Justin and Jessica from Your Inner Song. They were so fun to work with! Not only did they have creative poses for the couple, they are just really rad people! It made the entire day fun! So back to the wedding- After the lovely ceremony presided over by Orrin's family Rabbi, the two were pronounced husband and wife under a chuppah made by the groom and his men, guests headed to a fun cocktail hour, where they dined on appetizers and enjoyed the bar, before heading to their seats in the reception room. Shortly after their grand entrance, Kate and Orrin were lifted into the air for the Hora! This was so fun to watch! Even those that had never seen it done were encouraged to get out of their seats and join in the fun! And they did! It was such a wonderful day and evening full of love and family, and I am truly honored that myself and the Affairs by Amy team was selected to be part of it!
This month I participated in the Del Mar Hilton Bridal show, sponsored by All Wed Sites. The show had a great turnout of vendors, and was held on a beautifully sunny day.
I met some wonderful couples and enjoyed talking to them about their wedding plans!
Here are some images from my booth with Grand Floral, Moira Ink, Classic Party Rentals, and the uplighting was borrowed from THE Creative Music DJ. Conveniently our booths were right next to each other, so I used his power and I pipe and draped a backdrop for both of us, provided by White Wedding Day Events. It was a great day and I am lucky to know some fantastic vendors that were happy to help out on such a gorgeous table!
My booth with the pale pink uplighting.
A shot of Dennis's booth, with uplighting and custom Gobo.
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!
These images are by the lovely and talented Iliana Morton of Iliana Morton Photography. We wanted to do a somewhat Valentine's themed shoot, with a twist. So we found a real life adorable couple, to stage and photograph. They had a great time and got some super sweet images for their mantle, while we all had a great time chatting, setting up the shots, and afterwards, drinking the wine! The images are featured on the Wedding Wire Blog today!
Thank you to the following vendors for this fun 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!
2011 was a great year! In honor of the amazing couples I had the pleasure to work with in 2011, I thought I would make a little collage of some of my favorite photos from their weddings.
Working with fabulous couples and meeting new vendors was really enjoyable, and I'm hoping that 2012 continues on in the same fashion!
Photos from the outstanding photographers I was lucky enough to work with-
Engagement photos by ABM Wedding Photography
