Our photographer, a childhood friend of his, was AMAZING and I'd love to submit these photos to wedding sites / magazines - I've tried the usuals (Brides, The Knot, etc) but curious if anyone has other ideas...
Photos here + a little background below:
Our story began with a story...I interviewed a band he liked, Dawes for the UCLA school newspaper. We had a mutual friend from high school & fossil hunting...He drove me to a guitar shop in LA where he would propose 7 years later with the rings from his mom & biological dad, who sadly passed when he was young...I remember it was a full moon with a ring around it that night.
We got married at Elliston Vineyards in The Bay, where he's from - complete with ostriches, century old mansion, wine from the vines onsite & karaoke after (did I mention Sunol has a dog as their mayor?)...So many of our vendors were friends, from the incredible photographer Lisa Vortman & florist Mari Robinson to best man Kenny from the band Goon, who also played guitar as we walked down the aisle, alongside his wife Emmy, our cellist (who plays with Halsey, Weezer, Olivia Rodrigo…). We even ended up picking the same cake shop & flavors as Jake’s mom did 30 years ago without knowing! I got my Stella York fairytale dress (found at Kleinfeld, bought in Jersey - no sales tax) & Jake's Vera Wang suit.
My dad officiated the wedding & Jake made the amazing flyers (with Spotify scan code to a playlist we created) and seating chart – each table was marked by a favorite album of ours. Thank goodness for eBay to get the CDs and Etsy where I got my earrings, hairpiece & custom cake topper with our dog, which was somehow shipped out of Ukraine during the Russian invasion…
Our wedding hashtag #ShakeItUp came a little too true…The week before, Jake’s uncle broke a rib trying to save a snapping turtle, his stepdad went to the hospital for an allergic reaction & my bridesmaid got COVID before flying out the day before (they’re fine now!). My amazing friend who was already doing hair & makeup stepped in and got a bridesmaid dress the night before. A bridesmaid’s dress broke right before the ceremony, but another who happened to be a Broadway dresser fixed it. It all works out...
We had a s’mores pit and dive bar karaoke after, where a stranger immediately sang “You’re The Inspiration” by Chicago to me, a favorite of Jake’s late father – it felt as though he was there. What a night to remember.
