I can’t wait to share this lovely highlights with you all! Stacey kindly wrote up a guest blogging post for us. This is the last guest blogging post for awhile since March Madness started yesterday so enjoy! Here it is!
Every Sunday, Stefan and I talk about our upcoming week and what’s on tap. Stefan volunteered to make dinner for us one particular Thursday night. When I came home, Stefan greeted me at the door telling me he had gotten me a surprise. I saw a white box on the kitchen table and went over to open it. It was a cupcake (my passion/obsession) and a note saying “I love you”. Before I could process what was happening, Stefan grabbed my hand and got down on one knee. He told me how much he loved me and loved our adventures together and then asked me to marry him. My response was “yeah”. I was so shocked and nervous (giggling and all) and speechless and excited at the same time. We kissed and having been caught up in the moment, I finally put the ring on. He walked over to the table and uncovered the camera that he had hid to tape the whole proposal! It was the best gift he could have given me. Then he took me out to dinner and when we arrived our friends were there to join us! After the excitement died down, I got to hear the whole backstory of the proposal – secret phone calls, emails and IMs to my parents. Hearing how hard Stefan worked to make it perfect made it that much more special.
Stefan and I got engaged in February and wanted a summer wedding but we didn’t want to wait till the following summer, so we planned our wedding in 6 months. As a planner, I was very systematic in our to-do list – researching all options (ex. seeing 19 venues when we really knew Arroyo Trabuco was perfect), calendaring tasks, detailing timelines, focusing on thematic details. But the most important part of the planning was that we did everything (except dress shopping) together. Our wedding was a day for us about us by us. And everything that went into it showed that – our self-written vows, music we chose, cupcakes over cake. I guess you’d say the theme was US. That is our tip to future brides and grooms – if you remember what it’s all about (the two of you) then everything will be perfect. We worked together each night on a task – printing menu cards, putting together out of town guest gift bags, creating table tents, choosing songs. My favorite details were that the tables were denoted by places Stefan and I had visited together, the escort cards were postcards from these various places, and the favor from Carroll Promotions was a pen (engraved with Signed, Sealed, Delivered – our first song) to write a note of advice/encouragement on the postcard to us to be mailed throughout the year. We tied in a color scheme of chocolate brown, latte, cream and bright green – this was in our invitations by Formal Impressions, linens from Fusion Linens, floral décor by Lavender Hill, in the groomsman’s ties, and even in the cupcake tower by It’s All About the Cake. Seeing all the details come to fruition and knowing that we worked together on it all made our day that much more meaningful.
As cliché as it sounds, our big day really did fly by. I remember being very present at the ceremony but after that it is just a blur. We wished that it could have lasted longer so that we could have danced to N’Demand through the night. The biggest thing I remember is smiling. Tiffany and Berit made me look and feel beautiful and all I did was smile – we were both so happy and our pictures from Joel Maus with Studio EMP and our amazing video from Elysium Productions show this. Our favorite moments were taking pictures and video of just the two of us after the ceremony. It was very important for us to have photos and video that captured the essence of the emotions of the day. The day does truly go by quickly and there is no way savor it without photo and video. It’s the only thing left after your biggest day fades away. And each time we watch our video, we get to feel the wonderful emotions of the big day all over again (and huge smiles come back to our faces).
– Stacey
Invitations: Formal Impressions
Hair: Tiffany Monday
Makeup: Makeup by Berit
Groom’s Suit: Ralph Lauren
Bridal Gown: Galina Signature
Venue: Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club
Cake: It’s All About the Cake
Florist: Lavender Hill Wedding & Event Floral
Linens: Fusion Linens Fusion Linens http://fusionlinens.com/
Ceremony Music & Band: N’Demand
Photography: Studio EMP
Event Filmmaker: Elysium Productions
Favors: Carroll Promotions
Happy anniversary! What a delight to see and read about your special day!