Today we celebrate

3 years ago today I slipped into my wedding dresses {yes I had two!} and walked down the aisle to the man of my dreams. 3 apartments later and now a baby on the way we couldn't be happier with our journey together. But then again we have been together for 10 and a half years! If you would like to see a few more details we did make a {rather long} video of our special day here. We are celebrating tonight with a delicious vegan meal from Millennium Restaurant; I've been looking forward to it for days.

You can also see more photos here and here. And in case you are wondering, we got married at Figueroa Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

images by shannon renee photography 

We turned a year old

Yesterday, the husband and I celebrated our first year wedding anniversary, and to celebrate we went to Ace Palm Springs (our favorite weekend getaway) for a little relaxation and much needed sun.  And to celebrate here on the blog, all week long weddings will be the highlight du jour, as if you needed another reason to gush over beautiful weddings right!  Here are two of my favorites from my big day.  The super talented Shannon Renee followed us around with a gazillion cameras and came up with some pretty fierce shots.  You can see more shots over here too.  We got married at Figueroa Hotel in downtown L.A and took our couples photos ahead of time (probably the smartest idea ever!) at the historical Olivera Street, also downtown.  The amazing flowers brought our location to life and couldn't have been done without Susan from Peony and Plum.  

This was taken right as we turned around from saying I do.  My Aunt was ordained for our special day and her expression is priceless.  Another fun element,  see the record player just to the right of my husbands arm?  We scoured Craigslist for a vintage record player (somehow we ended up with 2!) and I walked down the aisle to the Flamingos "I only have eyes for you".  Instead of dropping petals, the flower girls carried the record to my husband and exclaimed "Here Evan, you need this!" to get me down the aisle.

photos via shannon renee photography

Welcome to my wedding

I am so excited for this week, not only because its just one more week closer to the holidays where I get to see all of my family, but it is also the beginning of wedding week here on the blog.  I thought I would get things started with shots from my very own wedding!  Even though I have a few months under my belt being a newlywed, I still find myself on numerous wedding sites in search of all things pretty!  So if you are a bride to be, newlywed or just love weddings and can’t get enough of all the gushy-ness that ensues, I’ve got you covered this week!

We got married in September at Figueroa Hotel (a Moroccan inspired hotel) in downtown Los Angeles.  If you are a regular reader, you know my current obsession with all things colorful, and it so did not stop for the wedding.  It was all location, location, location for us.  I wanted to blend my cultural background with modern accents, bold color and romanticism, and boy did I get it!  And thanks to my amazing photographer, Shannon Renee Photography, I have so many photos to get all kinds of giddy over!

There were none of the “typical” flowers at this wedding!  I worked with Peony and Plum and wow, did Susan do an amazing job.  Succulents mixed with mums and dahlias all in deep rich tones were used to create a stunningly beautiful and bold backdrop

We chose to take our couple photos before the ceremony and had some “us” time.  Since the location was in the middle of downtown, we wanted to utilize all the amazing sites and chose to visit Olvero Street, a hub of shops selling wares that are filled with trinkets and food with a Mexican flair.

Perhaps one of our favorite parts was the vintage record player.  We had our flower girls and ring bearer carry a vintage 45 down the aisle to my husband.  He played “I Only Have Eyes For You” as I walked down the aisle with my Dad.

One of our biggest surprises was an 8 piece Mariachi band that began playing as we walked back down the aisle.

And the cake!  We had an amazing baker concoct a delectable red velvet masterpiece that was all vegan!  Everyone loved it and it was our secret until everyone ate that it was vegan.  Always with interior design on the brain, we were told the cake had to be all white due to the vegan aspect… didn’t stop me!  I found an amazing fabric trim to add detail and character. Jamaica, you did one amazing job.

And of course I couldn’t do it without the help of the ladies over at Smitten, an Events Lab.  These girls kept the day running smoothly and most importantly, on time… I think!