Life: My cousin is married!!

DIY, Family, Photographers, Photography, Photos, Wedding

Remember how excited I was when I found out that my little cousin was engaged? Their wedding has come and gone and I’m barely getting around to posting about it. I was so giddy to see all the DIY projects that they had been working on throughout the year finally being put together. My cousin’s wedding can only be described as beautiful and I’m sad to say that we didn’t stay to see everything lit up at night. The wedding took place in June when my little Buttercup was about 5 months old and she was absolutely miserable. She cried in the mass as soon as the mariachi began playing and she was bawling so much during the reception that we decided to leave early. We missed EVERYTHING! I know what you’re thinking first world problems but please keep in mind that my cousin is more like a brother to me and I was devastated. We missed the first dance, the bouquet toss, the money dance, and all the fun things that come with the wedding. With that being said I now leave you with a ton of photos I took before we left the wedding.

Did you guys catch all those DIY elements? My cousin, his wife, and a lot of family members out did themselves with all the DIY details. Everything that is wood is DIY from the cake stand to the centerpiece holders. My little cousin did the leather initials in the favors and my aunts sent cookies from Mexico. I didn’t take a photo of the invitation but they too were handmade by my twin cousins. The veil was handmade by one of my cousin’s aunt and her friend. If you want to see the rest of my cousin’s wedding please check out their amazing photographer Valentina Glidden. Seriously go check out Valentina’s beautiful work. I’m totally smitten with the photos she took of my cousin and his new wife.

Venue: Heritage Museum of Orange County

Photographer: Valentina Glidden

Dress: Mon Amie Bridal Salon

Life: My cousin is engaged!!

Engagement, Life, Love, Wedding

I’m so excited because I just found out that my little (okay not so little) cousin proposed to his girlfriend last night. They have been dating for a while now and we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. We are all extremely happy for them since they are such a beautiful couple. I can’t wait to hear all the details about their proposal and I can’t wait for their wedding.

Have I told you guys lately how much I love weddings? I seriously can’t stop smiling since I found out.

Congrats to the newly engaged couple!!

I ❤ you guys!

If you haven’t read my proposal story please take a look at it here!

A Pelican Hill Wedding

Photos, Purple, venue, Wedding

On my previous post I shared with my friend’s candy buffet well now I would like share with you some photos I took of her special day.

Isn’t the ocean beautiful from here? The Pelican Hill has an amazing view especially on a clear day.

My friend’s wedding was outside and was fortunate that it was a lovely southern California day.

I’m obsessed with clean bathrooms that I couldn’t resist taking a photo especially since nobody was there.

I got to hold the bouquet for a tad while my friend used the restroom and I couldn’t resist taking a snap of these beautiful calla lilies especially because purple is my favorite color.

Simple but lovely.

The maid of honor and my friend’s oldest daughter as her she sees her mom walk down the aisle.

The beautiful bride and groom.

I just had to take a photo of her train.

She looked like a goddess.

The centerpieces were just as lovely as everything else and I still can’t believe that I didn’t win one.

The gold table setting matched the rest of the golden color scheme.

The only dancing at the wedding was done by these Khmer dancers as a way to honor the bride and groom.

If you’ve read through my blog before you must know my obsession with popcorn and I thought it was lovely that they served it on the appetizer.

The amazing and delicious cake that they served at the wedding. Behind the cake was the candy buffet that I swear really was there but you can’t see it from this photo.

Overall the wedding was a different experience for my hubby and I since we are used to loud parties that don’t end early. I would describe the wedding as beautiful, enlightening, and lovely. The couple did not accept gifts but instead opted to accept donations for an organization they run that provides rice to the Cambodian population. During dinner they presented videos of the couple doing humanitarian work in Cambodia and it was refreshing to see how these two individuals in such a short time of knowing each other found harmony in helping others. To me my friends that is something that you can’t put a price on. I wish the lovely couple a long and happy marriage and hope that they continue to do good in this world.

Love is Sweet: Part 2

Candy Buffet, Gold, Purple, Ribbon, Wedding

In my previous post I showed you our candy buffet and told you that I was fortunate enough do have done my friends candy buffet too. Now I would like to show you photos from my friend’s wedding.

I purchased a “photo box” at Marshall’s and added some ribbon around it pretty it up. I bought all the gold and purple ribbon at the Fabric Barn. If you haven’t had the chance to visit down town Los Angeles’s Fashion District and live near Long Beach you should really check out this place.

I bought the bags at Paper Mart and decorated them with purple card stock from Michael’s. Since my friend wanted me to keep everything simple I stamped a thank you on them and added some ribbon. I think they turned out very good.

I bought some of the candy from Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, Big Lots, Target, and from Costco. I did the name tags with ivory and purple card stock and wrote the names myself.

I left a gap between the candy because they were also going to have a “kid” cake. I purchased all the jars at the Flea Mart or Swapmeet and cleaned them up myself. If you choose this route don’t be afraid to haggle with the people.

I bought everything for $350 and it served about 100 people. My friend only wanted the candy buffet for the children but unfortunately the adults at the wedding didn’t get the message. The candy was not enough for the 170 guest she had and since she originally told me it was for 70 people I only gave myself a small cushion.

My hubby snatched this photo to show me how successful the candy buffet was. Next time I’ll make sure to ask how many guest are actually invited to the wedding.

Love is Sweet: Part 1

Candy Buffet, Sweets, Wedding

I’m back and just like I promised I will be sharing with you all that I’ve done. I will begin by telling you about my friend’s wedding that took place on June 18, 2010. My friend and her new husband were fortunate enough to get married at one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever been to, the Pelican Hill. They had a lovely wedding and the service at the venue was top notch. I couldn’t believe that I was among the several vendors they hired. I’m not a professional by any means but my friend wanted me to do her candy buffet since she saw mine at our wedding. The theme at our wedding was Love is Sweet and the candy buffet idea fit perfectly with it. Since I haven’t shared with you my candy buffet here it is along with a little bit about how it came together.

My friend Kay along with the Cheesecake Factory Staff set up the candy buffet at my wedding and I was pleased with the result.

Kay gave me the idea of doing the little spoons and I loved them when I was finished with them.

I bought the take out boxes from Paper Mart and jazzed them up a tad to fit our wedding.

I bought the candy at Costco, at Target (insert any holiday sale here), and at See’s Candies (please note that state employees get a discount and I found someone that was able to get it for me).

Kay made the adorable flowers and I was very grateful she was able to help me out with these.

{all photos studio 7 photography}

I bought all the candy containers at Ross, Marshall’s, and the Dollar Tree. There was no way I was going to pay full price for anything. Get creative when looking for candy containers you’ll be amazed how cheap you can find them. I found the smaller ones for $1 and the bigger ones for $12.

On part 2 I will share with you my friend’s candy buffet and her wedding pictures…

Wedding: Simply us

Photos, Wedding

Since it’s wedding season I figured I would share more of our wedding photos with you guys.

“Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches.” -W.G.

“So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s going to be really hard; we’re gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me… everyday.” -N. S.

“Two people in love, alone, isolated from the world, that’s beautiful.”-M.K.

“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I’ve ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. ” -N.S.

“And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many.” – J.R.R.T.

{All photos STUDIO7 PHOTOGRAPHY}

So which one is your favorite? Do you enjoying looking at your wedding photos as much as I love looking at mine?

Recap: The handsome groomsmen…

Groomsmen, Re-cap, Wedding

When I first got engaged I knew exactly who were going to be the groomsmen. That’s right you heard correctly I was the one that decided who the groomsmen were going to be. Its not that my hubby doesn’t have any friends but more like the I am very close to my cousins and it was important to me that they be part of our wedding.

My cousins are a big part of my life and they are more like brothers to me than family.

The first time they saw me in my dress.

At the church while the priest is saying the homily.

The guys having some fun!!

These are my cousins.

{All photos Studio 7 Photography}

I love the groomsmen because they did an amazing job helping out especially my cousin D. Thanks for all your hard work and for all your help. Thanks to my best friend D as well for all that he did and my cousin N for being so wonderful.

Who were your groomsmen and were they close to your hubby?

Recap: The lovely ladies…

Bridesmaids, Re-cap, Wedding

My bridesmaids were awesome and I can’t thank them enough for all the hard work they put into the wedding. They were like the sister I always imagined would take care of me on my day. They took care of any loose ends that arose.

From Left to Right:

A is my beautiful younger cousin. Nobody thought she was going to agree to be part of the bridal party but when I asked she was glad to do it.

V is my best friend/maid of honor. I’ve known her for more than 10 years and we used to be roommates before I married my hubby.

M is one of my friends that I meet when I used to work at the happiest place on earth. When I asked her to be my bridesmaid everyone believed she was going to say no because the last time she wore a dress was during prom but to everyones surprise she agreed. She is an amazing person and she looked spectacular in that bridesmaid dress.

M was such a help because she had already gone through the planning process. M and her hubby got married in Indonesia and had a great reception for those that couldn’t make it after they got back. She is sweet and made sure that the flower girls were preoccupied.

K is another friend I meet at work and that I’ve kept in touch even after she quit and became a young professional. She is so special to the hubby and I that she actually became my hubby’s sponsor when he did his confirmation.

I love all my ladies and really appreciate all the hard work they did. Thank you!!

I love this photo of the ladies with my hubby.

{All photos Studio 7 Photography}

I remember that I used to wake up in the middle of the night stressing out that the color was going to be too bright but I love how these dresses came out.

Recap: My Love was Strong for Chuck!

Re-cap, Shoes, Wedding

Remember when I was having a dilemma on what shoes I was going to wear here.

I really wanted to do the lady like thing and wear the heels but then I realized that it won’t be me. My hubby and I bought chucks a couple of weeks before the wedding. I wore orange ones and he wore black ones. I’m so glad I got to wear them too because I wasn’t tired running around all day in them.

One person that didn’t find the idea of wearing chucks with a wedding dress very flattering was my mom of course. I love her reaction in this photo when I showed her the shoes I was wearing.

My hubby said that his mom had the same reaction.

{All photos Studio 7 Photography}

So what shoes did you wear on your wedding? Were they comfortable?

Recap: Guess Who’s Back and with a New Look!!

giving back, Re-cap, Wedding, Wedding dress

I'm finally back. I hope you've missed me because I come with more wedding photos. As you can recall from this post I've already reviewed my vendor and I hadn't shown you photos of the whole thing yet. Just one thing to point out one thing my dress hanger is not the wooden one I had bought but the plastic one they gave me at the bridal store. Oops I completely forgot to change it until it was too late.