Best of Both Worlds

Reylena was my first friend I met at Biola University over seven years ago and she quickly became one of my dearest friends. Reylena has the most beautiful heart for serving those in need, is an incredible listener, and woman of grace. When she met James in grad school where they were both working on their Master’s in Social Work at USC, I knew there was something different about this guy. She would call me and tell me about this amazing man and the conversations they were having. I knew it was only a matter of time until he would pop the question and we could start planning her wedding together!

During their engagement, James finished school, Reylena worked full time, completed her internship, moved, planned a wedding, and finished school a few months after James. Needless to say, this woman is amazing! Their wedding day in the desert where Reylena grew up was the absolutely perfect day! Every detail fell into place, the weather was beautiful, and Reylena was the most calm bride. Her family coming together with James’ family was so special to witness.

Not only did I have the privilege of being Reylena’s coordinator, I also got to be a bridesmaid and stand next to one of my best friends on the most exciting day of her life! I got to celebrate with her in her bridal party, but also serve her doing something I love! What a special gift it was to part of her day! It truly was the best of both worlds for both of us!

2016: Year in Review

My goodness can you believe how close 2017 is?! This year seemed to fly by! It was filled with exciting weddings, a new website, and the most incredible bride and grooms:)

The year started with Drew and Ashley’s wedding in Palm Springs. It was a fun weekend getaway to the desert to celebrate two of my favorite people! In January we also had Steve and Lindi’s wedding at their church in Fountain Valley and reception at Angel’s Stadium. They invited 200 of their closest friends and danced the night away! In February Caleb and Maddy got married and their wedding ceremony was led by both of their fathers. They invited their musician friends to play music during their reception and served homemade cookies for dessert. It was so sweet!

June was very exciting with the launch of a new website! It was so fun to share our new blog, photo gallery, and website with you! Thank you for all your support! In July we had our hottest (seriously it was SO HOT THAT DAY!) wedding in Moorpark at Walnut Grove for Mike and Dani. With farm tables, candles, and string lights strung, it was such a beautiful venue! A few weeks after she got married, Dani came and helped coordinate Fredy and Leia’s wedding at the Betty Reckas Cultural Center. It was so fun to work with her again and she knew Fredy and Leia from crossfit!

Now it’s engagement season and we are gearing up for 2017! With some beautiful weddings on the horizon we can’t wait to see the year holds!

xoxo,

Amanda

A Surprise for the Groom

Fredy & Leia

8/13/16

I met Fredy and Leia at crossfit two years ago. We used to lift together every day. They were my third crossfit wedding! Noticing a trend…I love crossfit weddings! When you see the same people every day and you face some of the toughest workouts together, you build incredible friendships. This was definitely true for Fredy and Leia who met in the 5:30pm class at the gym;) As these two fell in love with each other, the 5:30 crew definitely liked what they were seeing!

Fredy and Leia tied the knot in August and the day was perfection! Leia’s vision for a simple and elegant design came to life at the Betty Reckas Cultural Center better than she imagined. With an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, their friends and family had a blast celebrating these two! I loved her choice of tall floral arrangements but with just baby’s breath. The gold décor looked amazing and their photographers did such a great job capturing the little details of their wedding!

Both and Leia and Fredy’s favorite part of the day was when Leia surprised the groom with a banda! Fredy had wanted a banda but they had both decided not to move forward with hiring one. Much to Fredy’s surprise Leia planned to have one come! Fredy had no idea Leia and his brother had been working together to hire a banda for their reception. He was so surprised when they opened the doors and they came in singing!

I had so much fun working with Fredy and Leia and talking wedding details at the gym as they planned their wedding!

xoxo,

Amanda

A Couple that Lifts Together...

Dani & Mike

7/30/16

In July Dani and Mike got married and it was just the best day! I met Dani and Mike where we used to all workout doing Crossfit down in Mission Viejo. They are two of the strongest (literally!) people I know with the biggest hearts. Mike used to coach us and Dani was unstoppable in the gym! These two brought so much to our community and it was so sweet to watch them workout together and do life with one another in and outside of the gym. They met in college and had been dating for years. Mike is now a special education teacher and Dani just finished her doctorate and works as a chiropractor.  They are such fun people to be around and I absolutely loved getting to be a part of making their vision come to life!

For almost a year we worked together dreaming up each perfect detail for their wedding day. We shared many dinners and laughs as we talked through everything leading up to the big day. They got married at Walnut Grove in Moorpark and it was gorgeous with farm tables and oak vineyard chairs, string lights, and an intimate ceremony in the cool shade of huge trees.

Their reception had hundreds of candles, flowers arranged by a longtime family friend, signature cocktails, and lots of dancing! I don’t know many people who like to have a good time as much as these two! They are always dancing, adventuring, and celebrating together and their friends and families were overjoyed to finally share in their much anticipated wedding day!

Dani and her mom were extremely organized and thought of every little thing. From each table having its own box of décor to fans for their afternoon ceremony, they were on it! I had so much fun getting to know Dani’s family throughout the process of planning for their wedding and we had such a blast on their wedding day!

A week after Dani and Mike got back from their honeymoon Dani volunteered to assist me at another wedding…how sweet is that?!

xoxo,

Amanda Grace

Wedding Tip Wednesday: Dessert Tables

There are so many different ways to do dessert at your wedding these days! You could go classic with cake, trendy with cupcakes, fun with mini desserts or sweet and personal with homemade goodies!

If you're not a cake person, consider pie, cookies or homemade treats you grew up eating at grandma's house. I love the idea of cutting a small sweetheart cake and allowing guests to enjoy something that people will love like a mini dessert station. People always like options and giving guests the choice to choose from several options makes dessert time interactive and a piece of your wedding people are sure not to forget! 

I've seen "fake cakes" with sheet cake precut in the back, Ben & Jerry's ice cream cart, classic cake, donuts, varied desserts brought from friends at a local bakery, and even a churro cart! Below are some yummy desserts the sweetest couples have enjoyed and shared with their guests!

xoxo,

Amanda Grace

Love is Sweet

Maddy & Caleb

2/6/16

In February I got to be a part of one of the sweetest of weddings for a dear from college. Maddy and I met freshman year and have been friends ever since so getting to help create the day she envisioned to marry William Caleb Parker was such a treat! There were the most darling personal touches in every detail from the people that helped set up to both of their fathers officiating the ceremony to the dessert that was made in Tennessee and flown to California.

Early in the morning several people, young and old, came to the reception to help set up tables and chairs for 250 guests and carefully place handmade centerpieces. As we pulled everything together it was a true picture of community coming together to show love to two people we are all lucky to know. With both of their dads being pastors, they each got to play a role in the ceremony and together they spoke words of wisdom and love as Maddy and Caleb exchanged vows and promises to serve and love together forever. There was not a dry eye in that church!

Probably my favorite detail from the wedding was the dessert! Caleb’s family has a secret cookie recipe that Maddy wasn’t allowed to have until they got married. Maddy swore she wasn’t just marrying him for the recipe but I know it was a huge perk for that sweets-loving lady;) For their wedding Caleb’s grandma and aunts baked dozens of these magic cookies and flew them to California for the reception. At the rehearsal dinner Maddy was given the recipe as she was welcomed in the Parker family. With these sweet, melt in your mouth, cookies, Maddy and Caleb served brownies (made by the famous Mrs. Clarke!) and had a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cart! Maddy would eat ice cream for every meal if she could so it was perfect and guests loved it!

Maddy and Caleb are two of the sweetest people I know and it was such a blessing to get to be a part of making their vision for their day come to life!

xoxo,

Amanda Grace

Wedding Tip Wednesday: DIY Centerpieces

Pinterest has revolutionized wedding décor in today’s world. Lots of people have chosen to do DIY centerpieces to add a personal touch and also to save money. I think it’s a great idea and I love seeing brides and grooms and their families working on projects for the wedding together! If you choose to make your own centerpieces, they don’t have to be expensive, over the top or extravagant. Sometimes less is more! Ask your family and friends to start saving wine corks, bottles, jars, cans, frames, etc once you decide what you want to do. If you know someone who does beautiful woodwork or has great calligraphy skills, ask if they’d be willing to help! Having people you are close to be part of making your vision become a reality is so special.

Check out some of the DIY centerpieces from the sweet brides I’ve worked with in the past!

xoxo,

Amanda Grace

Wedding Tip Wednesday: Guest Seating

Creating a seating chart for your guests can be confusing and overwhelming in the final weeks leading up to your wedding as you collect RSVPs. But it doesn’t have to be! It can be fun to group people together who know each other well or friends you know will get along sitting at the same table. Making your escort cards can be a fun little project for you and your friends or family. Make sure when you decide what you want to use for your seating assignment, it’s something that is easy to change quickly as people add and drop last minute. And always make extra! Once your layout and table assignments are done, group your cards together in ziplock bags for your coordinator to easily display on your wedding day. If you are doing a choice-of dinner, it’s important to have an indicator on your escort cards for the catering staff to identify who is getting what entrée for dinner. This can be as simple as a colored ribbon or different colored marking that your guests will barely recognize but the staff will know.

Another idea is doubling your escort cards as your favors! For their desert wedding, Ashley and Drew used mini succulent plants as their escort cards for guests to find their tables and then had guests take them home to remember their wedding weekend in the desert. For Meagan and Cory’s wedding, Cory custom built a rack to hang all the escort cards on at cocktail hour that matched the venue perfectly. The possibilities are endless and it doesn’t have to be complicated!

Check out some of the cute escort cards brides have created below:)

xoxo,
Amanda Grace