Catherine and Eric - Happily Ever After!

Catherine and Eric are two of the most cool, calm and collected individuals you will ever meet. I am a pretty bubbly and energetic person, but on the wedding day, my brides are always commenting how relaxed they feel around me because I am able to remain calm regardless of any and all circumstances. But Catherine and Eric really take the cake! Even when Catherine realized she had left her grandmother's ring back in the hotel safe just moments before her ceremony at the historic Old Mission Santa Ines, she simply asked me if there might be something I could do about it.  Of course, our team was able to get the lovely heirloom in time to have her "something old" for her walk down the aisle (and still remain on schedule!), but even before she had it back in her possession, Catherine was still all smiles. It was so evident that they really had their marriage in mind over the wedding itself and their guests' comfort in mind over their own. Everyone had such a wonderful time and their wedding weekend was truly a celebration of love and family. And by the end of the weekend, we really felt like a part of that special family!

Their semi-destination wedding took place in Solvang, California and it was the perfect backdrop for their culturally-rich and fun-filled wedding. This quirky little town was chosen because they happened to be passing through one day and were so charmed that they decided to get married there! I love that!

None of their guests were local to Solvang, which meant everyone either flew or drove into town. With that in mind, Catherine and Eric hosted nearly all of their wedding guests at their reception dinner since most of them were arriving in town that night before the wedding. The rehearsal dinner was an intimate-feeling fete for over 100 people, held in the romantic Barrel Room at the Firestone Vineyard and catered by Plemmons Catering. Guests dined over amber candlelight, flanked by enormous oak wine casks. The feel of that room is something you have to experience in person! The venue is such a statement in itself that you really don't need much in terms of decor, which can be nice. ;) Here's just a glimpse of that first day, as captured by the super fun and talented Chaz Cruz! Chaz shot Catherine's brother's wedding exactly one year earlier - so you know he's good if a family keeps coming back for more!

images courtesy of the ultra-hip Chaz Cruz

The ceremony took place at the Old Mission Santa Ines, which is a beautiful, historic mission and church with delicious gardens and breezeways. I love the fact that Catherine chose to walk down the aisle with both of her parents.

 something about this shot makes my heart flutter

But before we move on, can we just take a moment to appreciate her gown?! Oh, her gown. This masterpiece fit Catherine perfectly and was a work of art! le swoon.

 And her shoes!

 And rings! Yes. That is plural. That's the way to roll!

She obviously has a lot of reasons for looking this happy and radiant. :) Don't you love the light in this shot? So soft and dreamy. yum.

Eric was pretty happy too! This was taken immediately after the ceremony. Such a fun bridal party!

Here are some lovely detail shots of the personal flowers for the day - just because I am so in love with them. Camille from Modern Day Design brought to life the vision we had for Catherine and Eric's flowers. Camille and I spent a lot of time going over every detail for these florals and I even mailed her the exact ribbon we wanted to use for wrapping all of our vases and bouquets, which Camille took care of ever so lovingly. I can't wait to do another wedding in the area so that I can work with her again!

If this flower below looks familiar to you - it's because you've seen it on me before! ;) This is actually the floral hair piece that I wore on my wedding day and Catherine couldn't find one that she liked so I loaned her mine as her "something borrowed" - I think it coordinated with her look so well, don't you?

Their reception was held at Hotel Corque, Solvang's hot spot and only luxury boutique hotel.

Guests were escorted to their tables with cards that were placed inside two wine corks tied together with pink ribbon. Eric personally cut the slit in each of these corks and tied the ribbon. I love grooms who lend a helping hand and aren't too cool to tie bows!

 The centerpieces were another stunning example of Camille's work and I especially loved the dinner plate dahlias, garden roses, peonies and dusty miller - some of my favorite flowers all together!!

 

Here is another fun example of how we like to decorate the bride and groom chairs. I asked their stationer, Jane from Olive Hue Paper Goods, to calligraphy custom bride and groom chair signs and we tied these elegant bows to the back of the chairs and nestled the signs perfectly in place.

Jane also created their beautiful letterpressed and die-cut invitations as well as the design for their ceremony and reception programs. Both of their programs were designed by Jane and then sent to me to DIY print and assemble. Their reception program included some fun games and trivia and a wedding mad libs page that I was able to perforate so that guests could tear it off and leave it for the bride and groom. So fun!

 

Their wedding cake was from Solvang Bakery but inspired by a design that Catherine found online. Solvang Bakery also provided an assortment of their famous shortbread cookies, which my assistant and I picked up early the morning of the wedding in order to bag them up as favors for guests. We also created the stickers for these favor bags. The idea was to give their guests a "taste of Solvang" for their trip home. But I have a strong feeling that few if any of those cookies even made it out the door - they were SO good!! I dream about them! We displayed the favor bags around the cake and placed a few in little domed stands that I brought from home. :)  

One of my favorite things about Catherine and Eric's wedding was the way that they infused elements of both their Filipino and Chinese traditions without exotifying their cultures in any way, but simply sharing the beauty of their traditions and incorporating them in to the natural flow of their evening festivities. There was seriously never a dull moment for guests!

And finally, I leave you with some amazing photography of this beautiful couple by Chaz Cruz. The beauty of Solvang and this particular tree doesn't hurt either.

Catherine and Eric - you know I love you both so very much and have only the best things to say about you as individuals and as a couple. I know your marriage is going to be unique and joyful and the world will be a better place for it. With all my love... xoxo!!
 

The fabulous team of vendors:

 

Event Design and Coordination - So Happi Together!
Photography - Chaz Cruz

Stationery - Jane Jeon of Olive Hue Paper Goods

Rehearsal Dinner location - Firestone Winery

Rehearsal Dinner catering - Plemmons Catering

Hair and Makeup - Nicole Deanne

Florist - Modern Day Design

Ceremony Venue - Old Mission Santa Ines

Ceremony guitarist - Chris Judge

Reception Venue - Hotel Corque

Cake and cookies - Solvang Bakery

MC/DJ and uplighting - John Villa of The Dance Syndicate

Linens - BBJ Linens

Rentals - Classic Party Rentals in Buellton, Thank you, Kate! You are another reason why I would love to work in the area again!!

Filipino Folk Dancers - Kayamanan Ng Lahi

Lion Dancers - Camarillo Kung Fu and Lion Dance Association