Colorful Marvimon Wedding

“We started out with a loose concept of an “urban Great Gatsby” for the wedding day, but quickly found ourselves choosing whatever we really loved and responded too. Luckily since we have pretty distinct styles and preferences everything naturally looked quite well together. One of the best decisions we made while planning the wedding was choosing great vendors who we knew could fully trust. It relieved a lot of stress to know that our photography, DJ, caterer, vintage rentals, etc were all in the best (and seriously talented) hands! We also didn’t stress about or over think any decisions, which saved us so much trouble. My husband and I did a lot of research online first so we knew what we liked and wanted. This allowed us to only have to look at only one venue, one wedding dress shop, one photographer, one DJ, etc. If my husband and I knew we loved something, we went with it! We also liked the idea of doing a few DIY projects, but tried to be realistic about not taking on too many projects. We both work in the wedding industry, and we’ve seen too many people take on too many DIY projects. That can work out great for many couples, but we knew we didn’t want to be up all night for weeks before the wedding. So we choose two DIY projects that could be done well advance. We made homemade vanilla extract since we love to cook and bake together, and I made the menus, programs, signage, etc with my bridesmaids. We were so lucky that my sister took over decorating and putting everything together the day of, allowing my husband and I could relax with our friends before the ceremony. She also went to the amazing flower market in downtown LA near our venue, and put together the flower arrangements! My mom also collected some vintage vases leading up to the wedding, but most of the pieces came from the seriously fabulous duo over at Casa de Perrin. Our biggest advice to future brides and grooms out there are to choose vendors you love, enlist family for help (especially day of!), and trust your gut!

All the details and planning that led up to the day were fun and a good memory to have, but nothing could have prepared us for how beautiful and emotional the actual wedding day was. The “first look” with our photographer was so special, and gave us plenty of time to not be worried about squeezing in time for portraits. I was afraid the “first look” would ruin the actual ceremony, but walking down the aisle to Alex was still so incredible and unforgettable. We asked my fiance’s cousin to marry us. She put so much time and effort into it, it blew us away! We went our first date when we were 15 and she was able to tell our story in a way that no stranger we hired to marry us could have done. We incorporated our friends and family in the ceremony too through readings of bible verses and our favorite poems. Instead of doing our vows one at a time, we wrote them to be more like a conversation between the two of us. My husband can be very quiet and reserved, but I will never forget how confidently and calmly he spoke during our vows. Everything else that evening completely exceeded any of our expectations too. From the delicious local and organic family style meal at long wooden tables, to our fantastic DJ getting my 94 year old grandma dancing and also honoring the sentimental playlist we meticulously selected, to my sister and her husband surprising us with a photo booth and a vintage 1927 Packard to drive us away during the send off… Everything was truly beautiful. We are so grateful to our families (especially my sister) for helping us create such a beautiful celebration of our love and commitment to each other. We’re also so thankful we prioritized choosing our photographer too (we literally emailed him to shoot our wedding before we even knew what country we were getting married in!), because now we have our favorite day captured as beautifully as it felt to us to hold onto for the rest of time.

I own a bridal shop in Seattle, and it brings me so much happiness everyday to be able to confidently tell each bride that comes in to try on dresses that her wedding day will truly be one of the most beautiful days of their life together! I loved working in weddings before, but our day was so special to us I have a whole new appreciation and excitement for each bride that walks through my door.”