Wedding Reminiscing: Top 10 Things I Loved about Our Wedding

It's almost our THREE year Anniversary.

Yes, I'm well aware that this blog should be called "Newlyweds Next Door No More" or something, but I still feel like a Newlywed and I like my blog, so it stays as-is. My blog = my rules.

Since I've been thinking about our wedding, I though it would be fun to remember the top things I loved about our wedding


1. The guy I married
Duh. What kind of wife would I be if I didn't say that? But really, he is the best. I though that then and I think that now.

2. Our Ceremony

I loved the entire ceremony. It really was the most important part of the whole wedding. I loved the readings, the music, the Pastor, the message, our attendants, the view, the sand ceremony, and the San Diego summer air. Our vows was one of the best moments of my life.

3. Our Faith and Our Families
I love how we focused on our Christian faith in our ceremony. And I loved how our families played an integral part in the ceremony with readings and songs, and in the reception with hosting and toasting.



4. Our Friends
Never again in our lives will so many of our friends from childhood, schools, work, church, and beyond be in one place (except our funerals... how sad is that?). So many people traveled from afar to be there for us, which meant the world to us.




5. Having a Turquoise and Tangerine Wedding
When we chose these colors as our wedding colors, I quickly found out that they are not common. But I loved having a tangerine and turquoise beachy wedding. It reminded me of a sunset hitting the ocean. To add the perfect amount of "beach-chic" we decided to accent with pencil starfish and sand dollars.

This was my turquoise and tangerine wedding inspiration board...


And this is our REAL turquoise and tangerine wedding collage.

Not bad, huh?!


6. My Dress

I LOVE that dress. Still. Period.

7. The Band and Dancing the Night Away
I wanted a dance party and I got a dance party. The Ultratones rocked and I literally danced until the last song at 1:00 AM. I wasn't about to leave that party early.



8. The UpLighting in the Ballroom
I know this is a random thing to love. But just $400 turned an ordinary ballroom into a spectacular tangerine and turquoise paradise. The uplighting was the most ambiance-changing decor item we did.



9. The flowers
Our florist did a fantastic job on our wedding flowers without breaking the budget! My bouquet and the bridesmaids bouquets were made with ivory/tangerine roses, ranunculus, and gerbera daisies and was garnished with beautiful turquoise beads. But our ceremony flowers were my favorite! I loved the rose garland with starfish that got we married under.

10. My DIY Projects
I unleashed my creative juices (and saved a ton of money) by doing a bunch of DIY projects for the wedding. It was so much fun and it really added a special touch to the ceremony and reception. My three favorite DIY projects were the starfish escort cards, the sand dollar charity favors, and the ceremony programs.

I also did ceremony signs, reception signs, reception table names, menus, out of town gift buckets with a letter, thank you cards, a card box, and photo collages for the entrance to the ballroom. Just message me if you want any of my templates!

Our Wedding Day - Part Two: Cocktail Hour and Photography

Once the ceremony was over the guests went to cocktail hour.


And we went to take pictures!

When I booked our photog, I knew I didn't want "generic" shots. So I hired an awesome photog who does many styles including photojournalistic and industrial.

Here are a couple of our "industrial" shots. I think they look like something from a magazine...



And, because we're a super beachin' couple, we got some fun candids and posed shots on the beach too...



We also took pictures with the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

My Bridesmaids were my two best friends from Elementary School and two best friends from college. My matron of honor was my best friend from Kindergarten!

They all wore silk chiffon halter dresses by Maggie London from Nordstrom, in the color "Clear Pacific" (turquoise). I loved summery and feminine they were!


The Groomsmen were the Mr's three younger brothers and his best friend from college. His Best Man was his best friend from preschool!

They wore traditional black tuxes with turquoise vests under them.

Our Wedding Day - Part One: The Ceremony

It's true what they say about your wedding day being a blur. Let me just say that I'm SO so happy that we got a videographer and a wedding video. I love that we have a video of our entire ceremony, because it was such a wonderful ceremony.


{click to enlarge the ceremony collage}

We got married in San Diego, CA on Mission Bay at the Mission Bay Hilton Resort. It was a beautiful, hot August day and the sun sparkled off of the bay and across the lawn where we wed.


I'll never forget how it felt walking down the aisle with my Dad. The beauty of the setting, the stringed trio playing the wedding march, the love I could see on the face of my husband-to-be, the support of friends and family. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.


Our Pastor did an amazing job officiating. He was funny, well-spoken, and delivered a beautiful message about God's plan for marriage and what biblical love looks like.

Our families are very important to us, so we had my Mom and his Dad do a reading. My Mom did a medley reading which included words and poems from Kahil Gibran, The Velveteen Rabbit, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Jerry Maguire, Robert Munsch. It was amazing. I've posted it here.


And The Mr's Dad read from Romans 12, our favorite Bible verse.


We chose to our own vows. The Mr's vows were truly amazing. I laughed, I cried, I loved him.


After the vows Dad played the guitar and sung a song which was soooo special.


He sung "The Wedding Song" while we did our Sand Ceremony (in lieu of a unity candle). After the Sand Ceremony the Mr and I went aside and prayed while my Dad continued to play. It was such a sweet and intimate moment for us.


The the Pastor pronounced us husband and wife! And the Mr. definitely "kissed the bride."


We'd selected "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles as the recessional but I was so excited I didn't even hear it.


After the ceremony was over we couldn't stop laughing and kissing. Looks like the paparazzi caught us!


I should also take a minute to say how much I loved our ceremony decor.

I loved how the turquoise and tangerine elements looked against the backdrop of the ocean, I loved the pencil starfish everywhere, and I loved the beautiful flowers.