Category — ceremony

I found this image here, originally from here. We already (think) we know what we want to do for our guest book, which I will talk about later, but I saw this and think I may have to add it too  

Originally this jar was for little notes of things that a child had said, so as to fondly look back on all of those little moments later on. My use for it would be two fold. 

This is what I am thinking: sometimes people find ceremonies boring… i know i know, but it is true. I have a feeling our priest (we call him Father Cocoa Puffs) will make things interesting, but there could still be those few.  And when you are early to a wedding, sitting in the church can get rather boring, especially if you don’t know too many people. Now, this isn’t to keep people busy while we say our vows, but something to do while you are waiting. My thought is to include a little piece of paper and mini-pencil with each program and to have each guest write a little note, whether it be a word of advise or a silly picture, and then to have them fold it up and place it in a jar, either at the end of the ceremony or at the reception. It would be nice to have a little mason jar sitting on a shelf somewhere in your home, and to be able to just walk over, unscrew the top, and read a little note of love.

So I have mentioned before my issue with my flower girls/junior bridesmaids/cousins who need to walk down the aisle doing something.  Since the DOC for the church is anti-pomanders, I thought that it would be cute for them to hold a little sign that says “here comes the bride.” B wasn’t too fond of the idea, but then I saw this:

How adorable is that?! Granted my girls are about 10, and I would have them each holding an end of the pole with the banner on it… but I am beginning to like this idea… 

Image from evoke photography, check them out!

Ok, so the original plan was my only boy cousin, A, would be ring bearer, and my two youngest girl cousins, K & H, would be flower girls.  That plan changed when the church told us that tossing flower petals was a big no-no. So what to do with K & H? I thought about junior bridesmaids, but that doesn’t really make sense because then the question would be “why them”. It worked as flower girls but junior bridesmaids… hmm… So I have thought of a few options.

All three could walk down together, with A holding the rings and K & H holding flowers or something like this:

(i’m sorry i forgot where I found this, if it is yours please let me know!)

And then somewhere I read about having a child carry a little sign that says “Here Comes the Bride” and I think that that has some real potential! Maybe have the banner on a pole with each girl holding an end…

Do you plan on having your flower girls do something other than carry flowers? I am open to all ideas!!

UPDATE: As I spoke with our church’s wedding coordinator for the first time tonight, we came to flower girls and she is all ” some have the girls carry these… well.. they look like styrofoam balls with flowers in it… They just look awful, I don’t see any beauty in those.” haha  granted she is in her 70’s, but still, it was awesome. I don’t think I was going to have them, but now for Eloise, the pomanders are out

I’m not sure why you started reading wedding blogs, but I am pretty sure it started like this: “Holy Crap, I’m engaged!!!!!!!!!!! ………… Now what?” And then you turned to your faithful computer, and to the even more faithful google, and typed in “wedding”.  We all started in the same boat, and thanks to the girls over at Elizabeth Anne Designs, that boat just became a yacht with a full bar and shrimp cocktails. Here is a little tidbit from them about their new library:

“We are incredibly excited to announce our new project, The EAD Library.  After months of development and research, we are launching a new resource for brides tomorrow, Tuesday July 22nd.  The Library is filled with hundreds of useful links, from photographers to shops to stationers.  Our goal is a simple, comprehensive list of vendors.  The Library will help every bride, no matter her location, find the vendors and inspiration she needs for a beautiful event.”

This is a very, i repeat, very useful resource! The library is super extensive with lists upon lists of all kinds of vendors from photographers to calligraphers to bakers. Everything you need to plan your wedding! And on top of their new library, the EAD blog itself is full of inspiration. Go check it out!

Some more mission garden images from Eric.

Below is a picture of where the original church in the mission was. It was destroyed by an earthquake but the very end of the church is still semi-intact. You can see the places on the wall where the sculptures of people were.

I’m so excited to be married in such a gorgeous place! Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I did!

Here are some more gorgeous pictures from Eric Stoner. 

And my favorite:

A big thanks to Eric for all of the gorgeous photos!

Since Bryan is Catholic we will get married in the parish he is a member of. Luckily for us, he is a member of the San Juan Basilica Mission Parish. The church is very old, and is located right next door to the San Juan Capistrano Mission (you know, junipero serra…) So yeah, I am pretty stoked. Here are some images from a wedding that the very talented Eric Stoner sent me. Be sure to visit his site, he has a very photojournalistic approach to his wedding photos, which I love!

They recently re-did the flooring and all of the pews (lucky us!). 

And about a year or so ago they shipped the beautiful Retablo in from Spain. It is so gorgeous. They have a ‘no flower’ policy due to the new pews and such, and I really don’t mind. The church itself is so beautiful and ornate it really doesn’t need any decorating. Plus it saves a lot on flowers! 

Once married, you have access to the mission gardens for pictures!  I would highly recommend this church for people looking to get married in Southern California.  If you aren’t a member of the church there is a  much higher ceremony fee (I believe about $1,500) and I believe you can only get married at 10:00 AM on Saturdays in order to save the more ‘desirable’ times for members. (How great would a 10:00 wedding with a brunch afterwards be though?!) All in all, I am very excited about this. Now we just need a reception venue… Any recommendations for the Southern-Orange County area?