Brian and Shanee's Wedding in Santa Rosa, California
Elegant Summer Pink 4 wedding vendors
B&S
14 Jul, 2018The story of our wedding
Here's some info about The Best Day Ever! My Husband is a very private person, so I tried to limit the amount of photos I posted that had people other than myself, but you should check them out.
Everything was perfect, even though it didn't all go as planned. Some things were forgotten and I didn't get all the photos I wanted with my family because we were so rushed after the wedding to get to the reception hall. I regret not being more firm with what I wanted. I wish I would have stuck to the plan instead of letting it get out of control. (Okay, call me a control freak.)
There was a lot of drama, but I didn't let it get to me. I say to all you couples out there planning your wedding, "Do it your way! Don't let anyone control you. This is your day. Enjoy it. Enjoy each other. Do what you want to do and do what you think is best!"
My mother in law gave me some advice. She had said, "On your wedding day, the only person who matters is your fiance/spouse. Just focus on them, and be happy." It was great advice.
Continue reading »Thinking back, I would have invited more people. So many last minute things happened that no one expected... I wish I would have doubled my guest list. More people = more fun!
Here's some shout outs to my vendors - who were Ah-Mazing!
All photography is done by Classic Photographers.
Stayed at Hotel La Rose in Santa Rosa - highly recommend it! Large rooms and the hotel smelled like roses.
I was elated getting ready. Everything came together perfectly. My girls came by the hotel and we popped some champagne (not that we had time to drink it!)/ The photographers were able to get a ton of great shots in the hotel. And, they had their own flower arangements that were terrific.
Hair and makeup by Salon West. She did exactly what I asked for. I wanted to look like a natural beauty, but also better than I've ever looked before and better than I'll ever look again! She nailed it - with a natural lip color and perfect eye shadow. My hair made everyone's jaw drop. They couldn't tell I had in clip on extensions.
I had "The Perfect Dress" by Vera Wang from David's Bridal. The soft shades of pink faded into a soft champange color. It really is a stunning dress. And the huge flower belt really made it all come together. The cathedrial lenght veil even had rhinestone crystals throughout it.
Wedding was held at St. Rose Catholic Church. They have such beautiful stained glass, and the gardens outside were lovely - even though it was a hot July day.
The ceremony was quick, easy, yet heartfelt. So many guests said they loved the ceremony. I was proud! I picked out the verses myself... with the help of their easy to use guidance booklet.
My girls wore what I called "ombre dresses", each lady in a different shade and a different dress. All dresses were the same lenght and material, which was unplanned on my part but turned out great (I let them pick their dresses... I had final say on the colors). All dresses and Bride's accessories are from David's Bridal.
Flowers are done by Petal Town Flowers out of Petaluma. I came to them with tons of images on Pinterest and I think they really nailed my vision.
Reception was held at Ellington Hall in Santa Rosa. Highly recommend this venue!!! All inclusive! Lighting, music, DJ, tables, linens, soda and water packages and so much more. They helped so much with the planning. I was very detailed oriented and David from Ellington Hall was exactly what I was looking for in a venue. They exceeded my expectations. I'll say it again - HIGHLY RECOMMEND
First Dance also had "fog" and "snow". You could hear the gasps of the crowd. They loved it, and my heart was so happy. They even put our names in laser lights above our sweetheart table. They delt with my crazy needs and demands for special seating chart requests. They did "The Shoe Game" for me. We did a garter toss, cut the cake, etc. all to my specific song list and timing. It was so perfectly planned by Ellington Hall.
We had a (pink!) Princess Cake from Scandia Bakery in Sonoma. So delicious! If you are ever at this bakery, you can buy this cake by the slice. Splurge for it, you won't regret it. We just did a small cake to cut and had large sheet cakes in the fridge. Food was done by Villa Corona and so delicious. They even had vegetarian options. Thanks to my friend for trucking it in!
Table settings rented from Ellington Hall. The favors were seed packets with custom stickers that were bought online and placed on every plate. Centerpieces were set up by the venue, but the florist came in to drop the bouqs into the pre-arranged centerpieces. I had dropped off the all the other stuff the night before. I had paid the venue to set up and it was worth it! Every detail was perfect. It was an awesome venue with great dance floor. There was a sweetheart table and we had comfy chairs! The floor/wall lighting changed color with my color scheme. Great lighting and music made the night so fun. My bridesmaids even handed me a mic and had me do an impromptu karaoke.
Speaking of entertainment... we had set up a lounge area where we had wedding mad libs, a wooden box for tic tac toe and some other little silly games. No one really used that room. I also had a props table and hat rack next to the selfie wall. The selfie wall got more play than I had realized! Not to mention, we had a separate table for our gifts (aka cards only!) and another space in the front lobby that had our seating chart and our sign in book. It also had some little cards where guests could write some advice for a long and happy marriage and drop it in the card box. I thought they were cute because they matched the rest of the decorum.
Afterwards, we had our last dance and headed back to Hotel La Rose. We were starving of course, so we showered and got changed. Then we headed to a restuarant that is open 24 hours. But, that's how an epic party should end I suppose. Sweaty from dancing, my dress was ruined, it was like I was Cinderella and the clock had struck Midnight. But, I had my prince - and now he is my husband.
Brian and Shanee's vendor team
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