kristinkay's biography
We are finally married! Our wedding was amazing and I am so thankful for all of the advice, help and ideas I got from Project Wedding!
Here are some of our favorite pro pics from our photographer Marlin Munoz, if you use any of our photos please credit both me and Marlin.
Both my DH and I got ready at the Four Seasons across the street from our venue. It was a very relaxing morning and I was so glad that I was able to spend some time with my mom and sister while I was getting ready. There were moments during this time that I was just so overwhelmed with emotion and at one point ended up breaking down crying! Some of these photos are my favorites of the entire day because I feel like they really capture the excitement that we both had for the wedding.
Our first look took place in the gardens at the Four Seasons. We were both so glad that we decided to have a first look, it was very relaxing experience and gave us time to just be with each other and take in the moment before the ceremony.
Our ceremony was held at the back patio at Il Cielo in Beverly Hills. One of the most amazing things about this venue is the retractable glass ceiling, which was open during our wedding - its an absolutely gorgeous venue and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Our ceremony was very emotional and very personal. We are lucky that we were surrounded by an intimate group of people that are truly important to us. I love the photos of our families during the ceremony and seeing how much emotion they had watching us during our vows.
Our post ceremony cocktail hour, during which we did our first dance, was held on the front patio of the restaurant. We are both sort of shy and not super great dancers so we were very excited to get this part over with! Taking photos after the ceremony was very different than during our first look - we were much more excited and giddy with joy.
We had a dogwood flower motif that was used throughout our wedding - from our invites, to programs, placecards, menus, signs, table numbers, etc. We used that sort of rustic classic feeling with our reception decor - all white flowers everywhere, chocolate pintuck linens and overflowing with candlelight.
One of the very special parts of getting married at Il Cielo was their grand exit at the end of the night. They planned this amazing and most adorable accordion player to serenade us while the staff surrounded us with candles. Our guests were lined up outside and through rose petals at us and then followed us as we walked across the street (literally stopping traffic) to our hotel. They continued to follow and sing to us all the way to the elevator! It was so amazing and the perfect end to our night!
Here are some of the details that made out day special.
We were extremely pleased with our videographer - Dirk from Studio West Video. Here is the teaser he sent us literally 48 hours after the wedding.
A couple of months after the wedding Micah and I got together with Cari Hollis to do some trash the dress photos in Santa Monica. We started out at the Viceroy Hotel and went down to the beach and to the pier.
We chose to take the pictures at Disneyland because my DH and I have so many great memories there and going there is something we really enjoy doing together. Marlin was so awesome and we had a really fun day - it seemed more like hanging out at Disneyland with a cool friend than with our photographer. I hope we laugh as much on the big day as we did during our engagement shoot. Here are some of our favorite pictures :) (sorry there are so many!)
My engagement ring is a ring that has been passed down in my family. It was my great great grandmother's ring, and I love the idea that she she wore it a million years ago to scrub her floors and raise her children, there is just so much history to it. Plus I love how unique it is.
Here is my first attempt at taking good pictures of my ring...
We had to have my wedding bad custom made because nothing looked right with my ring. The diamond in my engagement ring is handcut so it isn't quite as sparkly as diamonds cut with lasers, so we had to get some antique diamonds and have the band made with engraving that matched the e-ring. I am so so so happy with the result!
And my husband was the most thoughtful groom ever and gave me a matching wedding band on our wedding day - so now I have two!! I love the way it looks with a band on each side of the engagement ring.
If you book a vendor based upon my review - please let me know. Many of our vendors have become our personal friends and I would love to know I sent some business their way!
Venue: Il Cielo Restaurant http://www.ilcielo.com/
Photographer: Marlin Munoz http://www.marlinmunoz.com/
Flowers: City of Commerce Flowers (Duke) http://www.commerceflowers.com/
DJ: Better Music Services (Mick) http://bettermusicservices.com/site/
Hair and Make-up: On Location Beauty (Sherry) http://www.onlocationbeauty.com/
Ceremony Music (Acoustic Guitar): Jason Sulkin http://www.jasonsulkin.com/
Dress: Tasha by Monique Lhuillier purchased at Mon Amie http://www.monamie.com/
Alterations: Alterations by Mahtab http://www.weddingalterations.com/
Shoes: Grazie from http://www.myglassslipper.com/
MOH Dress: Dessy Collection http://www.dessy.com/
Bridal and MOH Jewelry: http://www.evesaddiction.com/
Veil and Hair Flower: Erica Koesler http://www.ericakoesler.com/ (Purchased at warehouse sale)
Invitations and Wedding Paper Products: Oblation Papers (Darci) http://www.oblationpapers.com/
Groom and Best Man Tux: Purchased at Elite Tuxedo http://www.elitetuxedo.com/
Flowergirl dress: My Girl Dress http://www.mygirldress.com/
Officiant: Deidra Gray-Breijo http://www.weddingofficiantla.com/
Save the Dates: Minted http://www.minted.com/
Honeymoon: Grand Hyatt Kauai purchased through Costco
Rehearsal Dinner: El Cholo Santa Monica http://www.elcholo.com/asp/site/santaMonica/
Wedding Night Hotel: Four Seasons at Beverly Hills http://www.fourseasons.com/
Calligraphy: Calligraphy Katrina http://calligraphykatrina.blogspot.com/
Custom Wedding Bands: Sam Delijani at http://www.debebians.com/
Videography: Studio West Video http://www.studiowestvideo.com/
