The things I don't want to forget...and a final highlight video

It has been quite a journey on this little blog.  For over 2 years I have been sharing my ideas and plans and the little ups and downs of planning and participating in a wedding from the bride's perspective.  It has been a blessed joy. 

I never would have imagined that I would have actual 'followers' who would care to read what I had to share much less provide me insight, feedback, encouragement and support throughout the emotional roller coaster.  Heck, half of my wedding was probably designed or carried out by ripping off ideas from fellow blogger brides! 

This site has been my opportunity to vent and brag and talk unrelentlessly about all things wedding - something my family and friends never would have allowed as all of you have.  And that's only because you are along for the ride as well with your own plans and dreams and big celebrations. 

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you. 
As one of my final three wedding recaps, I wanted to share some last minute reflections and most excitedly the very last closing montage from our wedding video courtesy of Gary Freedline of Video Keepsakes of Bevelry Hills.  It has been so cool to share the actual 'live' events from our wedding day along with the photos and it is all because of Gary.  This last video is a favorite because it recaps our entire day for the bride and groom.  Have fun with it!

I do remember things from our wedding rehearsal and wedding day that I wanted to share so that I don't ever forget them. Here are a few of the sweet moments, funny things and just plain 'weird' things that I recall:

* Mr Fix It's dad (Pops) came up to me and my daughter, Little Miss at one point during the reception and hugged us and said "I am so happy that you two ladies are part of our family now and we love you so much!"

* At the rehearsal, Mr Fix It pulled me away from all the guests onto the deck and practiced 'dipping' me for our dance. We didn't actually do any dipping on the wedding day, but at least we had that moment together.

* At the rehearsal, Mr Fix It pulled me aside and we stared out over the venue and the ceremony where we would stand the next day and he said "Are you happy? Are you getting everything you ever wanted?" I just smiled and told him "Of course!"

*  Just before the walk down the aisle while waiting in the bridal cottage, my dad took my hand and knelt down beside me and said "Just breathe."

*  The dance floor seemed full enough and definitely was not too small. Though a lot of guests didn't dance I don't think.  One of Mr Fix It's good friends was acting all crazy jumping up on the fireplace hearth and shaking his bum at the dance floor. Then he began bouncing his girlfriend off of his knee.  And I of course had a blast dancing with my small group to You Shook Me All Night Long while the youngest kids loved dancing to Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA. 

Share time:  If you have already taken the plunge, what are the things you don't want to forget from your special day?

Wed Recap: Overheard at our wedding...

I think it's funny that it's probably been five or six months since I did a wedding recap but I still had about 3 or 4 in my scheduled posts that I never did publish.   So I thought I would share some of the little things and conversations I heard from some guests at our wedding with you all. 
A conversation between my cousin, Mike & my sister and I:

Mike:  Stacey, you hit a grand slam!  I swear, this is like *THE* best wedding I've ever been to.  All of it - so much fun!
My sister:  And what the heck was my wedding?  Chopped liver?!?

An e-mail from my friend Shelley about her husband, Pat:

Pat was just telling our friend about your wedding yesterday and he said, “It was the best wedding I’ve ever been to.”  Wow, you’d think his own wedding would have been the best…right?

From my mother-in-law:

Stacey, you outdid yourself.  Everything is just beautiful.  It's so wonderful.  We are having such a great time.

And just for fun, though I am not usually a huge fan of this, our videographer went around to the guests' tables asking them if they'd like to say anything on camera to the bride and groom.  Here's a little video sharing some of the more personal and specific messages:

Thanks to Gary of Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills for this footage!


Share time:  What was one (or some) of the best things you heard or that was said to you at your wedding?

Wed Recap: Great expectations...

I never did a full recap about our experience with our DJ.  I think of all of our vendors, the DJ was one the one that we really put a lot of expectations on.  So much so, that we even had like 3 or 4 meetings with him and the owner of the company to confirm all that we were hoping to accomplish for our guests at our wedding.

The best thing I can say is that they were super organized and attentive and extremely accommodating.  I think for all we got from them (a custom GOBO light of our names, uplighting for around the reception room, audio system and wireless microphones for the ceremony and reception, dance floor lights, about 8 hours of coverage, emcee services, etc) we got a really good deal from a quality company.  They were a pleasure to work with.  But unfortunately, no matter how much we communicated everything to them, things didn't come off the way we had envisioned them in our heads.

He did play a good mix of music and there were definitely people dancing, but it didn't seem like a lot of the songs Mr Fix It and I had specifically hoped for were played much.  It could have just been that I didn't hear half of them while I was chatting with guests or that we simply ran out of time, which TOTALLY happens at wedding receptions!

I had put trivia questions on the guests' tables asking them to answer the question in order to get the bride and groom to kiss.  About 3 or 4 people came up with their answers immediately after the grand entrance but that was it.  The DJ didn't really walk around encouraging the guests to answer the questions while dinner was being served and people were hanging out.
Probably our biggest let down though was in the way the grand entrance came off.  Mr Fix It and I are HUGE UFC/MMA fans (mixed martial arts/ultimate fighting championship).  We love to watch the fights and host fight nights with friends and such.  So I suggested a creative grand entrance that incorporated this idea by coming up with little introductions and nicknames for each member of the bridal party to be introduced with.

We spent a lot of time coming up with personal introductions and corresponding songs for each bridesmaid or groomsmen to come into.  We even played videos of the fights for our DJ's in one meeting and specifically told them how we wanted the introductions to be pulled off.  I even specifically noted parts of each song that we wanted played while each bridal party member was introduced so they would have something to dance to and get the crowd laughing and such.

Well, unfortunately, our DJ didn't nail the grand entrance voice as well as Mr Fix It hoped he would. And I guess the old addage "If you want something done right, do it yourself," really would have played out here because Mr Fix It even suggested that he record the intros himself for the DJ to play for us.  But I thought it would be better to have the live version rather than a recording. 

And the DJ didn't pick the best parts of each song for each party member either.  For example, for our friend, Jerry, we wanted Britney Spears's Womanizer to be played...but only the chorus.  Because Mr Fix It always jokes about what a player he is with the ladies.  But when he was introduced, the DJ played the very beginning of the song where there are no real words and a very slow beat...it didn't come off well at all. 

We also wanted the intros to be real quick, one right after the other, because we had a large party and we also wanted to keep the energy flowing and fast.  But our DJ took too much time and waited too long for each party member to get all the way into the reception room.  We had specifically told him when and how to begin each intro, but it didn't come off the way we had wanted.  Oh well. 

Regardless of the let down, it was still unique, different and fun and a lot of our guests mentioned they thought it was funny and creative.  So you can see for yourself here:



Though it didn't come out quite the way he hoped, we did get some wonderful shots of our bridal party from the photographer:

 By Roseanne Rivoli

By Gemma Bourke

My best suggestion to you is to remember that when you are meeting with vendors, you can NEVER OVER communicate!  And when you have something you are asking a vendor for that is not typical of what they provide, be sure to test it out! Make them do a demo or audition to prove that you are all on the same page.  :)

Share Time:  Did any of you have a vendor really let you down?  Or did you have something that you thought you communicated well to your vendors to have handled only to have them not meet your expectations?

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos by Robert Mullins

The Video: A mashed up montage

I feel horrible because I only have about 10 or so recaps left and then I will finally be finished with all the sweet details of our wonderful wedding event. 

Unfortunately, I have not been able to sit at a computer for personal recreation (like to write my blog posts) for a week or so now.  And I obviously haven't been able to get over to your blogs either :(

Work has been crazy.  We also got a new puppy that we have been trying to train and has been consuming our time.  I want to write much and I want to read about all that is going on with you ladies but I just don't have the time.  On top of that, my wrist and arm have been totally acting up from carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Needless to say, this was evidenced by the fact that I began to write out notes for a post yesterday and then forgot to actually write the post...so forgetting about it, it automatically scheduled and posted live with just my notes instead of my thoughts :)  Silly girl...I am losing my mind!

To share at least something, I'm going to share this little montage video from our full wedding video which is a little recap of some of our photo session shoot and such.

Enjoy!

Wed Recap: Time to eat!!!

UGH!  I never got around to writing out this whole post...so you might have read the ramblings of my notes.  This just goes to show the madness of life.  I'll try to edit it up a bit in a hurry as I am supposed to be working right now :)

We ran out of the mini cheese chicken quesadillas...John was upset about that and the fact that the lemonade pitcher was empty when he came out to the cocktail area.  But caterer handled it immediately.

Caterer was sick and left early :(  But his staff did a great job of keeping things cleaned up for the most part.

Food was okay...seemed like guests were eating it.  The chicken didn't get the rave reviews we thought it would and John and I thought it didn't taste nearly as good as it did at the tasting.  He thought the tri-tip was not cooked enough but one of my friends said her fiance loves it rare and thought it was great.  One of our friends told us the roasted garlic mashed potatoes were like 'crack' and that he had gone back for 3 or 4 servings.

Salad and veggies were good but hard to screw that up. 

Appetizers seemed well enough...simple - fruit, cheese, crackers and then quesadillas.  Substituted the stuffed mushrooms for little teryaki chicken drumettes at our caterers request because there were no ovens.  John wasn't happy about that and didn't think they were as good but other friends said they were really good.

Seemed like people had cleaned their plates, including my boss who is hard to impress :)

We had water pitchers on each table that we asked them to infuse with either cucumbers, lemons, or strawberries.  Some people loved this, others said it was not that good. 

They only cut up the bottom layer of the cake so the other three layers that had different flavors weren't even set out!  Thankfully, we ate the lemon layer the next day at our day after lunch with family.

Overall, the food was definitely not bad, but definitely not great either.  We knew that food was *NOT* a priority for us as long as it tasted good.  It must have been okay for most of the guests because a few people even commented on the good food on their guest book pages. 

Wed Recap: Jane plain and simple

Or maybe I should title this post "Stacey plain and simple" ?

Today, I want to briefly recap my thoughts on my wedding day hair and makeup.  But first, let me just tell you ladies, that the days of the up do are gone...everyone had their hair down in my bridal party (and 3 years ago in my sister's bridal party)!

To share with you how I felt about the wedding hair/makeup, I'll remind you of how Mr Fix It told me my right eyelash was coming off during the soloist's performance in the middle of our ceremony.  As soon as I walked in to the bridal cottage after the ceremony, I just pulled the eyelashes off completely as I didn't want to waste time trying to replace it.  So basically, I was really complacent about how I looked on the wedding day.  Mostly because I just didn't feel like I needed to worry about anything...nor did I want to.

A few days after the wedding, Mr Fix It and I had the following conversation:

Me:  I wasn't really thrilled with my hair on the wedding day.
Mr Fix It:  Why?  I thought you looked pretty.
Me:  Yes, but all the girls looked way better than me.
Him:  You looked fine.
Me:  Yeah, but I felt like I just looked very...
Me & Him at exact same time:  plain.

Yeah, exactly...that's the word.  There was nothing spectacular or done up about my hair that day like it had been in the trials.  In fact, it barely held the curl at all (but that's not really the stylist's fault...my hair NEVER holds curl of any kind).  The main reason why was probably because of my inability to focus and remember things I had planned.  My 'go with the flow' attitude led to this conversation on the wedding day during my hair styling:

My stylist:  Ya know, I'm afraid if I use the extensions in your hair they're going to pull out your natural hair curls.
Me:  Really?  Why, do they look like they're falling out?
Her:  No, but I think the extensions are too heavy and will pull it out.
Me:  Ok, then...whatever you think is best.

BIG MISTAKE! 

I should have stuck to my plans and used the extensions because they definitely held curls better than my natural hair.  On top of that, I shouldn't have told my stylist on the wedding day to not do any teasing on my hair at all since I had let her tease the top a little during the trials. 

I did in fact feel like the girls' hair came out way better than mine did.  And I did truly love my makeup as well.
Granted, regardless of all of this, I truly loved my makeup for sure.  And the fact that we were able to do a post wedding shoot gave me the opportunity to do up my hair a little better and different while in my gown.  When Mr Fix It arrived on site the day of our post wedding shoot, he looked at my hair and immediately said "Now, THAT'S how your hair should have been on the wedding day...much better."

In addition, I have to rave about my stylist, Natalie Buketov because she truly was a sweetheart and it was so amazingly generous of her to do my hair/makeup free of charge for the post wedding shoot simply because she was disappointed that one of my false eyelashes came off during the wedding ceremony. 

Share Time:  Did you feel totally satisfied with your hair and makeup on your wedding day?

TODAY'S WEDDING TIP: Don't use old makeup, especially lipstick!  Sit down with an attendant or family member before your wedding day and go over photos, colors, styles, and anything you have to show them what you want or are supposed to look like on your wedding day.  Then when your hair and makeup is finished, have them check you out before the stylist leaves and give their approval of the finished work.  And stick to your plans if you liked them in your trial(s).

Wed Recap: Family drama

It happens at many weddings...the unfortunate drama that unfolds (usually because of family issues) during the event.  It's truly so sad and frustrating that people can't put aside their differences, or even better, get over themselves during someone's most special wedding day event. 

At my sister's wedding there was a little drama but not much.  One of our Aunts flipped out because as my sister and her hubby were wandering around the guests' dinner tables to greet everyone, they suddenly ran out of time about halfway through.  The photographer was going to be leaving and needed the bride and groom to get on with the cake cutting and bouquet/garter toss.  Since my sister didn't get to talk to our Aunt at her table and it just so happened that we pulled the bride away as she was approaching their table, my Aunt started totally crying and yelling at me for not letting her talk to her.  It was so silly but that's what happens when you add alcohol. 

Then my sister got a little upset later that night when her new hubby's ex-girlfriend shared a cab with her her new mother-in-law to the after party.  It was already a huge selfless act that my sister was even willing to allow the ex-girlfriend to attend the event (which she didn't want to do), but to find out that her MIL offered her cab to the after party to her was just ridiculous!

Thankfully, there was no drama at our big event.  We didn't wander the tables and I made sure to go greet my Aunt so there were no disappointments. 

The only two things I heard about which irritated me on the day after the wedding were that one of Mr Fix It's brothers got into a little spat with him because his brother was yelling at his son about spending too much time in the photobooth.  The kids loved that thing and they were in and out of it all night.  Mr Fix It's nephew was in there a lot and rather than just telling him to get out and wait until everyone else had had a turn inside, his dad decided to make him sit at their dinner table for almost an hour!  That was not necessary and Mr Fix It was pretty pissed when he heard about it.  He told his brother to calm down and not be such a dictator...the kid was just having fun.

Then my sister told me that one of my other Aunts came up to her at the cocktail hour and gave her a hard time about what a horrible job she did bustling my dress.  If you remember from this post, we were rushing my poor sis and I knew I was about to take my gown off to change right after the cocktail hour so I told her not to worry if it wasn't perfect and part of the dress was dragging on the ground.  So not a big deal to me at all but it did bother me that my Aunt felt the need to ridicule my sister about it.  So not cool and so not necessary.  My sister told her that it was the bride's own decision to leave it like that and my Aunt told her she shouldn't have let me walk out into the cocktail area until it was fixed.

People are so silly about what they get hung up on...it really befuddles me.  :)

Share Time:  Did you have any drama (or are you concerned about any potentail drama) at your wedding day?

Wed Recap: Let them wear what they want!

This is an image of the dress I originally wanted my bridesmaids to wear (and in this color, too):

Isn't the back adorable?  It's a Dessy (After Six) dress (from their web site).

When I took my six bridesmaids with me to a shop to try it on, I was so excited to see them all fall in love with it.  Perfect for our spring April wedding and to match our turquoise/aqua color.  Unfortunately, they all HATED it!  I mean, not just, "Uh, we're not thrilled about it."  But rather, it is totally unflattering...the bust is horrible...I hate the color...please don't make us wear this, hated it!

I was so bummed.  But I wasn't going to let the attire issue come between me and my girlfriends and relatives.  Then they started going on about how they didn't like the blue colored dress and wanted to go with red instead (the other color of our wedding).  They said they would more likely wear red again and it would be flattering on all skin tones.  I was really bummed out about this because the blue was what I wanted to go with my color scheme!  The red was only the accent color.  So I asked them to show me some options of what they liked.  They came up with two choices:

Photo by Dessy

(This would be in the same color as above)

I was sort of okay with these so I told them they could each pick which of the 2 they liked to wear.  But one of my cousins wasn't there at the time so she went back with me and my daughter to try the 2 different dresses on and guess what?  She hated them both!  And then my daughter tells me that she also didn't like them (even though she was there when all the other girls picked them out).  

Ugh, even the sales lady was telling me they weren't good quality dresses and that pleating rarely looks good on all body types.  I was again so bummed out.  But my cousin and daughter picked out two more dresses that they said they both loved. 

These dresses I loved as well and the color (berry) was PERFECT to match the cranberry color of our wedding.  So I brought all the girls back to the store again and had them try them on.  They all agreed they did love the dress.  But since my daughter was younger and not developed, we realized it wasn't as flattering on her.  But the sales lady showed us a dress by the same designer in the same fabric and very similar style for my daughter.  She loved it and so did I.  So I opted to let her wear a different dress.  But then she said she wanted the dress in the blue color (known as Bahama Breeze).  I was actually excited because I had wanted *ALL* of the girls to wear the blue.  So I decided my daughter got to stand out in a different color. 

Then my cousin realized that her very large endowed chest was not going to fit into this dress.  Again, the sales lady rescued us showing us another dress by the same designer in the same fabric and very similar style that held my cousin's bossom in perfectly!  :)  And much more flattering on her as well.

So we ended up with a bridal party that looked like this: 

Photo by Robert Mullins

Photo By Yan Freedline

Photo By Yan Freedline

I later found out that one of my Bridesmaids actually wanted the dress in the blue color as well.  I had offered for all the girls to wear whatever color they wanted to when we placed the order but they all just went with red.  When I asked her why she didn't go for the blue, she said she didn't want to cause ruffles and be the only one different besides my daughter.  I told her I would have loved for her to be in the blue and I wish she would have spoken up!

And here is my little one in her dress from our post wedding shoot :)

Photo by Rachel Garcia

And how cool is this one of the tiger looking at her?

Photo by Rachel Garcia

I had great BM's...they weren't divas and didn't have to do too much but were important ladies in my life.  I thought they all looked beautiful on the wedding day - some even better than me! ;)  My stylist did great with their hair and makeup too though 2 of them did their own hair/makeup.  Can you guess which ones?

TODAY'S WEDDING TIP:  If you are one of those brides who wants to let your bridal party be a part of the attire decision making process, then be sure to talk to each of your bridesmaids AWAY from the rest of the bridal party and ask for their desires and feedback regarding their choices and preferences.  They may be intimidated by other girls to truly be honest about decisions you want their input on.  And don't we all want our friends and family feeling beautiful, confident and comfortable while they are celebrating our special day with us?

Wed Recap: Who ARE these people?!?

Today I thought I would take a moment to share some of the photos we have of our many fun and loving guests from our wedding.  So this is a simple recap post in honor of them - with some fun little details or info about each one  :)

Mom, Cousin Amber, Uncle John and Aunt Sue

Aunt Sue flew in from Idaho for the wedding.  My Aunt Kathy (Amber's mom) and my Aunt Sue both were taken in by my grandma when they were days old.  My grandma was a foster parent and raised these 2 girls as her own daughters for almost their entire life.  That's just the kind of person my sweet grandma was.  She couldn't make it to our wedding due to being placed on hospice care and passed away just 3 months after our wedding, but this photo is a testament to the type of woman she was and the family that she raised regardless of blood line.  I am so blessed to have these ladies in my life!

My dad, daughter and mom

Dad flew in from Houston with his wife.  I rarely ever get to see him so it's very cool to have this photo of my daughter with her grandpa and grandma.

My niece (sister's daughter) and my 2nd cousin (flowergirl Tatum)

I love this photo.  It looks like my little niece Analeigh is looking up at her little cousin...maybe she's aspiring to be a flower girl herself one day?

My cousin Amber and her husband, Jimmy (the Greek)

I love that Amber is taking this photo of them.  She was my rescue lady on the wedding day as she took lots of personal photos of the details of the day and got the only shot of me and my mom together!

My Aunt Sylvia (Uncle John's wife), cousin Erin and her hubby, my cousin Mike

Erin is my cousin by marriage...and when I asked her to be in my wedding on Christmas Eve, 2008 she literally started crying.  I adore her!  I was so honored to have her in my wedding...their daughter, Tatum was our flower girl and their son, Chase handed out our programs for us.

Cousin Amber, Aunt Sue and cousin Sarah (Aunt Sue's daughter)

Sarah flew in from Redding where she just graduated from college to come to the wedding.  Her brother, Tyler (my cousin who lives in Seattle and couldn't make it) is going to be a huge star one day!  I am telling you, the kid is all kinds of talented with singing and acting and has a BIG personality.  He already has some YouTube videos out and has also starred in several local community plays and such.

My 2nd cousin, Dimitri (Amber and Jimmy's son)

This kid was a total ham on the wedding day!  I mean just look at this photo!  And he also made us laugh with lots of photos in our photobooth, too.

Mr Fix It's sister, Christy, her hubby, Bill and their son, Caden.

Caden was a ring bearer (the youngest one) and did a great job!  They came in from Sacramento for the wedding and Christy is the only girl and youngest of the 5 children in Mr Fix It's family.

More extended family with my mom.

These sisters, Gemma and Omega and their dad's girlfriend, Rose are friends of the family.  Their dad, Robbie, was the son of my grandma's best friend and was raised like a cousin to all of my older cousins.

My cousin, Kyle and his girlfriend, Kate

Kyle and his brother, Blake are huge basketball players.  Kyle is about to head off to the University of San Francisco (where his brother just graduated from). 

My cousin, Heather (Kyle's sister) and her hubby, Myka and their daughter, Brooke

I adore this photo.  Heather is another one who took lots of photos for us at the wedding but some of my faves are the ones of her little girl.  She hammed it up in the photobooth, scarfed down the blue chocolate from our fountain and partied it up on the dance floor with my niece.  Such the life of the party!

My beautiful cousin, Jane and her daughter, Jenna

One of my fave photobooth photos came from these 2 who pretended they were afraid of the afro wig.

4 of the 6 girls in my bible study small group I lead.

Sean and Melody, Seth and Suzanna (who got married the weekend after us), Danny and Kristin and Jeff and Laura.  The three on the left are now married and the one on the right is currently ring shopping! :)

These girls have been a weekly part of my life for almost 5 years now.  They are beautiful, talented and God loving ladies that truly made our wedding day so special by livening up the dance floor!  Kristin sent me a text message the night of the wedding after we left that said:  "We had so much fun at your wedding.  We partied hard for you guys and can't wait to see you after the honeymoon!  You get to have sex tonight!!!"

All 6 of the lovely girls together:

Kristin, Mercedes (who just got married in June), Melody, Suzanna, Laura and Jen

Jen is the only single lady but I don't think that'll last long.  And Melody and Kristin are now about 25 years old...I first met them when they were my daughter's age!  So scary to watch them grow through high school, college, careers and now marriage!

Andy and Mercedes

They had the super fun country wedding I blogged about in Cayucos

Mr Fix It and his friend, Cordell Miller

If you are a surfer, you may know Cordell's name as he makes some popular surfboards here in So Cal.  I even had a friend come up to me at the wedding and ask "Is that Cordell Miller over there!?!"  So silly.

Mr Fix It, his friend Reed, Groomsmen Jerry and Jerry's girlfriend, Cynthia

So Reed is the one who stayed at our house during our honeymoon and had to tell us that our doggie had passed away.  He was so amazing in taking care of everything for us! 

Jill and Sydney

Sydney was one of the only non-family younger aged guests we allowed at our wedding.  Her parents have been friends of ours for like 10 years through our daughter's playing softball together and she is one of my daughter's very good friends.  (Sorry it's a blurry pic)

My niece and nephew, my brother-in-law and his mother, Kaye

Kaye was so sweet to come and help my brother-in-law take care of the 2 kids at our wedding since my sister was so wrapped up in acting as the MOH.  Once dinner was over, Kaye took the kiddos home so my bro-in-law could party it up a little longer with my sister.

Jake, Jay, Kelly and Brooke

Kelly is my daughter's Aunt on her father's side.  My daughter's father, his mother, his brother, and his 2 sisters and their significant others/children all attended our wedding.  We are very blessed to have a large family surrounding my daughter and her dad and I work together very well to be an equally influential part of her upbringing and caregiving.

Kathleen, Frank and their kids, Kate and Wyatt

These were the other young non family children that we allowed at the wedding.  This family has been some of Mr Fix It's best friends for many years and they came from San Jose for the wedding.   We loved having them and their kids there and the kids had a blast with all that we had planned for them!

My new neighbors from Mr Fix It's street, Bob and Joan

We had about 6 of the couples that live on our small cul-de-sac street at our wedding.  It was so cool to have them there as I don't know all of them that well yet.

By Robert Mullins

Dana and Joe

Joe used to work for Mr Fix It...he's a good friend of his and they are a super cute couple!

By Robert Mullins

Groomsmen, Keith (Mr Fix It's brother), his wife, Jackie and GM Todd (Mr Fix It's best friend)

I love these type of photos that show the guests truly laughing and enjoying themselves!

By Robert Mullins

My 2nd cousins Adam and Ellissa

They came all the way from Tennessee to make our wedding.  I was bummed that their dad, my cousin, Johnny and his family couldn't make it out as well.

Mr Fix It's friend, Sam and his girlfriend, Suzy

Sam and Mr Fix It met surfing but Sam is also a doctor, so now he's our family doctor :)  It's good to have people in these places.  He prescribed us some helpful anti biotics and sleeping pills for our honeymoon.

More new neighbors, Natalie and Debbie

These ladies are *PAR-TEE-ERS*!  They were on the dance floor all damn night long!

Wed Recap: What I didn't get to see

As cliche and stereotypical as it is, every post wedding bride will remind others that the day really does go by way too fast.  Even though Mr Fix It and I took a few moments during the cocktail hour to walk into the reception area first before our guests so we could see everything all set up, I still missed seeing half of the details and elements of our decor and venue that I was excited about and had spent so much time on.

Some of the things that I never saw on our actual wedding day:

Our gift table - hell, for all I know, someone could have made off with all the gifts and I never would have known anyone even brought anything for us!

Our memorial table - this truly disappointed me that I didn't get to see this because our photographer didn't even get a shot of it and I had purchased personalized vases and had set out a poem and digital frame with scrolling photos of all of our closest loved ones who had passed on.  Even though it was set up right in the middle of the cocktail area, I didn't think to go stop and look at it and none of my bridesmaids or family mentioned it to me.  Thankfully, I was able to capture an image from the raw footage our videographer shot so I have at least have this...the rest of these images are of the elements that were on the table:

This was the one thing that did not come out the way I wanted it to.  They were supposed to have a satin red cranberry linen on this table along with some extra little votive candles...oh well.

Still image captured from Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills

Our escort card table - I was so super excited about how all of the little chair favor boxes I had bought, designed and assembled were going to look all set up.  Unfortunately, since we didn't want guests taking them before the ceremony started and the guests had to walk through the cocktail area to get to the ceremony area, our coordinators didn't set them up until after the ceremony started.  So our photog didn't get any shots of them all set up before the guests rushed back up and started grabbing them.

Most of the cocktail centerpieces - I didn't even take the time to look at all of the flowers that were around the cocktail area.  I was trying to focus on the guests.

By Yan Freedline (Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills)

Our ceremony area all set up - I wish I would have gone out to see it before the guests arrived because they were setting it up while we were walking around taking our photos.  And once that ceremony starts and you make the walk down the aisle, don't think for a second that you are going to be able to take in all the decor around you!

By Amber Marquez

TODAY'S WEDDING TIP:  Be sure to have a bridesmaid, coordinator, friend or someone know if there are specific things you want to take a moment to experience or see on your wedding day.  Give them a written list and ask them to come up to you at one or several points throughout the event to remind you that you wanted to go look at your escort table or whatever.  And if there are certain things that won't be set up and available to see until later, then be sure to ask a coordinator or whoever is going to set them up to take a photo of them for you as soon as it is all ready in case your photographer isn't able to get over there before your guests do. 

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Robert Mullins Photography