Wedding Recap: Shari and Andy

I can’t say enough good things about Shari and Andy’s wedding. It was the perfect mix of fun and romantic…sometimes its hard to perfect the classy-without-being-stuffy thing, and they nailed it! They were very thoughtful in their planning and the place was full of personal touches.

Thank you so much to the amazing Gideon Photo for these amazing images…did I say amazing? Because he is. Amazing.

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Their venue was the Casino San Clemente a historic building just steps away from the sand. The photo opportunities are basically endless- especially when you have a wedding party as good looking as these folks…

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Their look was a little vintage but just really warm and romantic with lots of greenery and candles. I have said it before and will say it again- CANDLES ya’ll! Side note: Shari bought the gazillions of candles they used at the wedding on Craigslist from another bride who’s wedding PTC coordinated last year! The other bride referred Pop the Champagne to Shari and Andy and of course we are glad she did! The lessons here? 1. Buy used shit on craigslist and 2. you never know who is going to have valuable information for you!

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Shari and Andy decided not to do a first look. While I always logistically recommend first looks, I do love the tradition…especially when you get a reaction face like this from the groom when he sees his bride…

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We re-used and doubled up on all the decor we could, so the garland on the fireplace was moved to the head table for the reception, as well as some of the candles. Even the bridesmaids bouquets were put in vases as centerpieces after the ceremony- this is one of my favorite money saving tricks!

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Oh, and first kisses like this just can’t be beat…

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Did I mention this wedding was fun? Ya like conga line – inducing fun!

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Check out gorgeous headpiece #2…

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The couple is from Minnesota, where apparently being a lumberjack is a big deal and they have competitions and the whole bit (here at PTC we are lame California girls who don’t understand things like that) so Shari and Andy cut their cake with a mini lumberjack saw…shit got serious…

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Proof that you don’t have to have pyrotechnics to have a grand exit…The couple led all the guests to an epic after party at a dive bar down the street.

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And of course, Shari’s “lessons learned”…these are good ones people! Pay special attention to #3…

1. If possible, throw multiple parties, not just the one reception. Our grooms dinner was the Thursday night prior, then we threw a beach party with a bonfire and a taco cart the night before, and we had a karaoke afterparty following our reception at this awesome dive bar around the corner from our venue. The 3 events provided opportunities to connect with our out of town guests, and also, during our reception, we didn’t feel like trotting around to each of the tables making small talk. Instead, we ended up partying our butts off on the dance floor all night, and I have no qualms about that.
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2. We didn’t have a DJ, and I don’t think anyone knew. Our friend Ross MC’d (in Don Pardo’s voice!) and we curated our own playlist in iTunes. That was a lot of work, but we just knew exactly what we wanted. We did invest in a great lighting and sound package, and of course we had Allie making sure all the transitions from first dance to cake cutting/etc. ran smoothly! Don’t let all the blogs brainwash you into thinking you have to have things like a DJ. You don’t.
This guy certainly didn't notice there was no DJ!

This guy certainly didn’t notice there was no DJ!

3. People just want to see you and your groom have fun and they don’t give a shit about your decor. I worried about so many little details leading up to the day, because there is so much pressure to make everything so monumental. But truly, no one appreciates the hard work you put into it unless they’re in the thralls of wedding planning themselves. For example: we worked really hard designing these welcome bags for all our guests and bought thoughtful gifts for our wedding party and I put them all together before our grooms dinner thinking like, oh yeah, these will be a huge hit! But no one even mentioned them- and I kinda beat myself up about it. But on our wedding day, we were unabashedly emotional, and people clapped and cheered after we gave tearful vows we’d written ourselves. We put together a video of how we met and fell in love that we played during dinner, and that was a huge hit. Everybody complimented us how heartfelt our wedding was.
The adorable welcome bags

The adorable welcome bags

At the end of the day, just revel in every moment with each other, because that will be the big takeaway. Hire PTC because you won’t have to worry about a thing on your wedding day- and it will truly be the happiest day of your life!

Thank you Shari and Andy!

Oh, and if you can’t get enough of this couple like I can’t…prepare yourself for the cutest video ever the groom put together about how they met…

 

 

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