caribear's biography
I have always loved photography... and planning my wedding made me fall in love with weddings. So I am starting a wedding photography business. Check out my blog: www.carihollisphotography.com. Enjoy!
We were married on May 18, 2008 at Calamigos at the LA Equestrian Center. The night before my MOHs, a close friend, and I stayed at the Hilton Universal in one of their bigger suites (one of the best decisions I made). I woke up the morning of the wedding refreshed & relaxed. The girls and I got ready in the suite and the guys showed up later and got ready in my brother's room.
Photos by April Smith Photography (www.aprilsmithphotography.com) unless otherwise noted.
Our personal flowers were delivered to the hotel room so that we could take some pictures there with them.
The guys
Then we headed off to the Equestrian Center for the first look. We were running a little late and with my mom driving we ran 2 red lights to get there (shhhh... don't tell anybody). It turned out to be 100 degrees (even at 4:00pm). It was so freakin' hot. But for the most part I didn't even notice. And my photog, she was a trooper. We took pictures in the grass and these little green bugs started going up my dress (right beneath the overlay) and she and DH worked at getting them out and then cleaning my dress a little. It was funny.
The First Look
Then it was time for some pics with the girls & guys... I had to adjust my cousin (MOH#1's dress). DH had fun with the flask that he gave to one of his GMs. And we just enjoyed hangin' with our friends.
The Girls
Photos by Matt with Poetry In Light (2nd photog)
The Guys
Photos by Matt with Poetry In Light (2nd photog)
We held our ceremony at the Little White House (at Calamigos at the Equestrian Center). Everything was beautiful that day (even though the heat was at about 100 degrees). Once the ceremony had started it had cooled off nicely.
After the ceremony we had pictures with our families and then we took a few more of us before heading off to the reception.
Then it was on to the reception and partying all night long. A quick side note: DH knew how important it was to me to see the reception room set up in all of it's glory before our guests got to it. So he snuck me in and it was absolutely beautiful. If you have a chance, definitely look at all your hard work before it is touched. :) We had the grand entrance, right into the first dance. We did a little bit of dancing (I did a swing dance with my uncle), then on to dinner & toasts.
After dinner & toasts we got the party started with some fun antics (I had to sit and have a guy from each table dance for me... then the same happened to DH with the ladies).
We both graduated from high school in 1996 and went to a local community college. Immediately Robert started working in the theater department. In 1998 my cousin (and MOH) performed in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Robert was the Stage
Manager. She introduced me to all of her new friends from the theater department including Robert. It took some convincing that they were good people because Theater people can be a little crazy, but eventually I became great friends with all of
them.
In January of 2001, Robert and I both found ourselves single. The weekend of my MOH's birthday, I arranged for her brother to come up from San Diego for the weekend. Robert hung out the entire weekend with the clan. A few days after
that weekend, we officially started dating, and as they say, the rest is history.
On Monday, September 17, Robert called me at work with 15 minutes left to ask if I wanted to go out to dinner. To rewind for a moment, I was completely exhausted on Monday because the entire weekend we had been out partying it up. So, when
Robert asked me if I wanted to go to dinner, I was a little surprised, because I didn't think Robert would want to do anything that night. But of course, I couldn't say no because it was such a treat. When I asked where we were going Robert told me
to pick and tell him when I got home. That really confused me, especially when he said somewhere nice. I had my hopes on Roy's, but figured that would be cost too much, so decided on Red Lobster or Wood Ranch. Robert said somewhere nicer, so I
said Roy's and he said ok. They went upstairs to change, and Robert said he needed something from the dryer and asked me to go get it. When I came back up the stairs, Robert came over and put his forehead against mine and said "You know I love
you, right?" I said, "Yeah." Then he said, "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you." I said "Uh huh." Then Robert backed up, got down on one knee. This is when I started to go numb and as Robert puts
it, got the "deer in headlights" look. He then pulled out the ring box, opened it and asked, "Will you marry me?" I didn't respond right away because I was in such shock, then realizing I hadn't said anything said, "Yes, of
course." He pulled the ring out of the box and put it on my finger, stood up and gave me a kiss. And can I tell you, the ring fit perfectly! Robert told me to get dressed nicer because we had reservations at Geoffrey's in Malibu. It was
one of the greatest nights of our lives. They seated us at a table right against the glass overlooking the water. It was so romantic.
He picked out my ring with the help of my cousin (and MOH#1). I had no idea that he was doing it and it is exactly what I would have picked. He chose well!
My matching wedding band.
DH's ring....
Photo by April Smith Photography
My fiance came up with the main design (with some input from me) and made all of them himself! What a great guy! And we have gotten so many compliments on them.
How to DIY:
Paper~Free
We went to Kelly Paper Supply for the paper & envelopes. We didn't need a whole ream of cardstock & vellum. We started talking to an employee and he explained that they offer to give you a few
(I believe 15) sheets of any paper as a sample. That was perfect for us.
Envelopes~$17 for a box of 250 (We used these for shower thank you's and other DIY cards)
Brads~$1.00 for 50 (we bought 5 boxes--from Joann Fabrics)
FI printed the info on the vellum then cut it by hand with a fancy scissor usually used for scrapbooking. Then he cut each sheet of cardstock into 1/4, made slits in the papers then assembled.
If you have ay questions, PM me.
The invitations are finally done! They didn't take that long to make, but finding something I liked and
designing it took what felt like forever!
I got all of my paper supplies from Paper Source. Then I designed the actual invite. The wording was pretty easy to come up with, it was the font, the layout, the color, etc that was time consuming. I
really have learned what compromising is through this process. Who knew that FI would want so much input?!?!
I created the flower vine stamp and had it made at West Valley Rubber Stamp. Then a week before we were ready to assemble the
invites we decided to emboss a stamp on the outside of the green envelope to give it some more character.
It made for a fun day with my BMs assembling our invites!
It took me awhile to decide what I wanted for programs. I figured I needed to decide what information I wanted in the programs and then I went from there. Looking at the few pictures and info that I could find on the internet I went from there. I created a template in MS Publisher (if you are interested PM me). It took me awhile to figure out the fonts and set up (like the invites), but in the end I was really, really happy with the results. I had 89 guests that RSVP'd yes and based on the recommendations of fellow PW girls to make less, I made 70. This was still too many, but I wanted to make sure to have a few extra for my BMs and myself for scrabooking etc. So seriously, make less... You won't be sorry.
Materials:
Green cardstock & purple paper (both from Kelly Paper Supply)
50 yds Lilac organza 7/8" ribbon (from Paper Mart)
hole punch
paper cutter
If you have any questions, please PM me.
I created the tag using MS Publisher. I used metallic cardstock from Michael's and cut them myself using a paper cutter. It was super easy and I had tons of compliments on them. Guests couldn't believe I made them myself!
My dress is the Maggie Sottero Diana in Diamond White with Pewter accents. I knew I wanted to be a Maggie bride, but the dress I ended up with was not what I thought I would want.
I went with one of my MOHs to a bridal salon to
try some Maggie dresses on to get ideas. When we got there they told us that they were selling all of the sample dresses and not ordering anything. I looked through the dresses and only 1 caught my eye (and was in my size). I almost left because I
wasn't overly thrilled with the dress, but decided to try it on. Am I glad I did! As the saleslady was lacing up the back of the dress this feeling just came over me and I knew it was my dress. I still left to go to another salon I had an appt with,
but was back a few hours later signing on the dotted line.
I loved my dress (still do actually). My seamstress made a recommendation that we went with that made me love the dress even more. The dress has an organza overlay, so
we decided to cut away the satin fabric of the train and leave only the organza overlay. It was perfect for our garden wedding and it made it alot lighter too.
The dresses are by Alfred Angelo. They will be victorian lilac with a champagne bow. I was going to have my MOHs and BMs choose different dresses, but they all like this one and it looks good on all of them.
This is what my cake will be based on. Instead of the green, it will be victorian lilac and will have a vine of flowers throughout the purple part.
Actual cake (photo by April Smith Photography):
We went a little lighter on the purple because I didn't want it to dye everyone's mouth. :)
I found this veil at the first bridal shop I really looked at and it matched my dress perfectly!
I got my shoes from zappos.com they are Tori by Coloriffics. The website was super easy to use and they even upgraded my shipping to next day for FREE! Gotta love that! I can't wait to wear them!
My photographer, April Smith, is so much fun to work with and does amazing work. We did our engagement photos with her at Disneyland. And just had our wedding which she did also. Check out more of them on her blog at http://www.aprilsmithphotography.com. Also see my review of her here on PW.
I had an idea for a guest book in my mind for a long time. I stumbled upon www.fineblankbooks.com after viewing a knottie's bio and fell in love with the books. I figured they were out of my price range, but had the idea I had became even
clearer. I was having a hard time finding the type of book I wanted when my birthday came around and I was given money. This made up my mind that I would get the guest book as a birthday gift to myself from www.fineblankbooks.com. The pages on the
inside are black so our guests can sign with colored gel pens. She made it so that we can add a few of our e-pics throughout the book also. I just can't put into words the beatiful work of art that I will proudly display for years to come with the
memories of our guests on this most special day. 
Here is my flower inspiration...
Our flowers were done by Kate Baker Floral Designs and were absolutely amazing. Check out her reviews here on PW.
I have finally posted my reviews for my vendors here on PW. If you are interested, please check them out.
April Smith Photography- April is a doll to work with. We have already taken our engagement pictures and they came out
beautifully. I can't wait for the wedding day.
http://www.aprilsmithphotography.com
Jakqi's Cake Creations- The cake tasting was soo much fun! I can't wait for the cake.
http://www.jackiescakecreations.com
Kate Baker
Florals- Kate does beautiful work. She comes highly recommended here on PW. Check her out.
http://www.katebakerflorals.com/
Real Genius Entertainment- I was recommended to this vendor by some friends who have seen him previously
perform.
http://www.realgeniusdjs.com/
Pebbles Bridal- I was planning on getting my dress here, but found it elsewhere at a sample sale. However, we did get all of my bridesmaids and mothers dresses here and they are fabulous to work
with.
http://www.pebblesbridal.com/index.html
My girls are very special to me. Without them I would not be where I am today. I wanted to give them something that they would be able to use again and also would be able to remember the day with...
To begin... I gave them each a robe at my spa bridal shower as a thank you for all their hard work.
Then my wonderful mom DIY'd canvas bags for each of them, we customized them with different fabric for each girl so they were unique.
Inside each bag were the following:
~A hankerchief (from www.lartisana.com), I had each embroidered with a special message to each BM.
~A necklace earring set from Things Remembered.
~A shirt with "Bridesmaid"/"Maid
of Honor." I got the shirts from www.jiffyshirts.com and the iron-ons for ebay seller sarahs_apparel.
~Certificate for mani/pedi the day before the wedding.
~notepads and
notecards from the $1 bin at Michael's.
We ended up having 35 people at our rehearsal dinner. So having it at a restaurant or somewhere else was out of the question since we were paying for it ourselves. Our budget was $400 and we ended up doing everything for $350.
On the menu:
Chicken from El Pollo Loco
Salad & rolls from The Pizza Cookery
baked beans
An Ice Cream Sundae bar with brownies
Drinks:
Sparkling Water
Rum with pineapple juice or coke
DH strung christmas lights in the backyard of my cousin's house to provide light. My aunt provided tables, chairs, and linens. My aunt's boyfriend made us a 20 minute video/montage from the time DH and I were born to present. It was fabulous.
