* Liz, Aspiring Photographer and Part-Time Adult & Guy, Computer Whisperer * Photographer: Christina Richards (APW Sponsor) * Soundtrack for reading: “Here Comes Your Man” by The Pixies, as performed by Vitamin String Quartet *
One sentence sum up of the wedding vibe: Plenty of fun for all so the bride and groom didn’t feel like the center of attention the entire day.
The Info—Photography: Christina Richards (APW Sponsor) / Day-Of-Coordinator: Lowe House Events (APW Sponsor) /Venue: Pedro Point Firehouse / Catering: Luigi’s / Catering: Cake Expressions (Mom’s cousin made all the crafty, edible flowers by hand!) / Invitations: Yay Invites / Hair & Makeup: Triple Twist / Dress: David’s Bridal / Shrug: Zappos / Crinoline: Swank Underpinnings / Veil: SLJ Bridal / Engagement Ring: Garnet Girl Designs
Other cool stuff we should know about:
- As a grown-ass lady, I struggled with having someone “give me away” even though I definitely wanted Mom to walk me down the aisle. So we had our Sister-fficiant ask Mom and Other Sister if they welcomed Guy into the family. I loved that moment so much more than I would’ve hated being “given away.”
- All the flowers for the bouquets and the ladies’ hair clips were crocheted by the bride and her sister (the officiant!). The centers are all marble magnets, sans the actual magnet.
- There were a bunch of vases decorated with floral marbles to match our colors, DIY’d by Mom & Sister (the green bridesmaid).
- Our flower girl was supposed to be my cousin’s almost-2-year-old. But she was having no part of it, so my baby cousin filled in at the last minute. Betcha couldn’t even tell she wasn’t intentionally dressed as a member of the wedding party.
- While at the Dollar Tree buying photobooth props I picked up a couple pairs of butterfly wings and realized that if I were a kid, I’d put those on and not want to take them off again. Which lead to the idea of the “costume” bags for each of the kids. Pirate hats and swords, butterfly wings and tiaras. I’m proud to say the kids happily mixed and matched the two styles.
- After party: BOWLING!
Favorite thing about the wedding: Talk about a Sophie-esque choice! The moments we couldn’t have planned for are among our favorites. Like the impromptu punk rock dance party provided by a friend’s smartphone. The absolute best part of that was when my uncle started passing out the kid-safe LED candles for the kids to dance with a la lighters at a concert.
Editor’s Note: Liz is an up-and-coming photographer with a fantastic eye. You should check out the Flickr set of photos she took at her own wedding. (Raise your hand if you’re impressed. ::Raises Hand::)
This post includes Sponsors, who are a key part of supporting APW. For more information, see our Directory pages for Christina Richards Weddings and Lowe House Events.
There is so much awesome here, I don’t even know where to begin.
“Part-time Adult”!
So many happy faces!
Crinoline!
Kidlets colouring!
And most of all:
Is that a LLAMA? Because if that’s a llama, than that is just beyond awesome.
March 21, 2012 10:08 am
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Awww, thanks!
Yep, that’s totally a Llama who lives across the street from our venue the Pedro Point Firehouse.
March 21, 2012 10:52 am
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I love this! Bowling! Haha!
May 26, 2012 10:21 pm
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LLAMA! Crinoline! Gorgeous – congrats!
March 21, 2012 10:11 am
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I love your one-sentence summary — it looks as if there was plenty of fun! Your cake is adorable, too.
March 21, 2012 10:14 am
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Your wedding is so awesome that even the llama looks content!
Seriously, super awesome. I love it!
March 21, 2012 10:22 am
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This makes me want to go find a bunch of children to invite to my wedding just to have mini pirates and fairies around.
March 21, 2012 10:29 am
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At one point in the planning Elizabeth Clayton said to me “as far as little kids (esp girls) are concerned, a bride is like, magical.” I kept hearing that in my head as I was having fun with the kids. So, in short, INVITE ALL THE KIDS!
One thing though, I am super grateful to my friend Erica who is 17 going on 5. She wrangled the kids which let the parents relax. I know some brides hire babysitters, but honestly who among us doesn’t have that one friend that’s just an overgrown kid?
March 21, 2012 12:41 pm
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OMG! OMG! OMG! I grew up in Pacifica, and we considered the Firehouse for our reception venue. I didn’t recognize the picture of the actual building, but I was pretty sure when I saw the llama.
I’m so glad someone else took advantage of this inexpensive, quirky venue!
March 21, 2012 10:38 am
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I was so excited to find the Firehouse, it is such a great hidden gem!
March 21, 2012 11:01 am
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Have you added it to the APW Venue Directory???? You totally have to!!!!
March 21, 2012 12:02 pm
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I haven’t yet, but I’ve totally been meaning to, thanks for the reminder :)
March 21, 2012 12:05 pm
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YOU GUYS. I wrote up the whole thing and got a 500 server error when I went to submit… let me know if you didn’t get it and I’ll resubmit.
March 21, 2012 12:29 pm
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I refuse to be excited about this wedding until I find out where the bride got her SHOES!
March 21, 2012 10:42 am
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I hate to disappoint (since I have no idea where they might be found otherwise) but I picked them up for $20 on EBay… and they’re pretty much unwearable now since one of the heels was sacrificed to the beach :)
That said, they’re labelled as “Elegant Collection” which I tried Googling when looking for shoes for the bridesminions, with no success.
March 21, 2012 10:56 am
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Absolutely no disappointment here, I’m just going to tell myself that they were special one of a kind fairy princess shoes made by woodland creatures that were only meant for you.
But a llama! And crinoline! And adorable kidlets! And BOWLING!! Your wedding is full of amazingness. My favorites are the little girl dumping the crayons (her face SO says, “HA, HA! ALL the colors are MINE NOW!”) and the photo of you celebrating your strike. It looks like that could serve as the summary for the whole dang day. :-) Congrats!!!
March 21, 2012 11:19 am
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Yes, they are truly my Cinderella-dressed-by-mice stunners :P
That adorable kidlet is my cousin’s daughter and our reluctant flower girl. That picture is so her, it kills me… also, this one, her “step off bitch” look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/auntiebphotography/6950593681/in/set-72157629505016773
March 21, 2012 11:30 am
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I had a blast at this wedding. It totally captured the personalities of my sister and brother in law.
xoxoxoxoxo
March 21, 2012 11:01 am
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Oh my goodness, COLOR! So much color! And petticoats! And a llama!?! I love it all. What a beautiful day. Congratulations!
March 21, 2012 11:08 am
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LOL about the colors… I had to promise Guy that I wouldn’t use the full rainbow because “that would look like a very *different* kind of wedding, NTTAWWT”
March 21, 2012 11:39 am
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I love that in almost every picture, you see people hanging out and having fun. As it should be.*
March 21, 2012 11:14 am
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“As a grown-ass lady, I struggled with having someone “give me away” even though I definitely wanted Mom to walk me down the aisle. So we had our Sister-fficiant ask Mom and Other Sister if they welcomed Guy into the family.”
Oh! I love this! I’ve been struggling with this idea. Love this take on it!
Also, a LLAMA?? Yes!
March 21, 2012 11:40 am
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I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who feels this way (duh, it’s APW). I thought about the whole giving away thing for so long trying to find a way around it, this one had everyone tearing up instead of feeling righteous indignation, so WIN.
March 21, 2012 12:37 pm
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I am totally dealing with it. I am having a traditional church wedding, but in our church it’s not gender specific, they say “Who presents this woman and this man to be married to each other?” and both sets of parents respond. I’ve seen some couples have the bridesmaids and groomsmen respond with “We do.” Which is cool, I think.
I had decided I was going to walk down the aisle by myself and just skip the whole thing, but am TERRIFIED I will trip and fall. We’ll see, I might change my mind and have my mom walk me.
March 22, 2012 10:28 am
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Costume Bags for kids?! Brilliant! Every wedding should have this much Smile, congrats!
March 21, 2012 11:50 am
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I came here to say COSTUMES! You know, for the “kids” …. I just guest-count-checked our list and if every little kiddo comes we’ll have 19. Costumes for ALL. And for the bride and groom. Who doesn’t want an eyepatch, seriously.
March 21, 2012 12:02 pm
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Dude, Dollar Tree. Seriously… those costume bags were worth every penny of the maybe $30 I spent on them. I also picked up a bunch of fun props for the photobooth, no ‘staches on sticks, TYVM.
March 21, 2012 12:04 pm
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Also, I feel I should share this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/auntiebphotography/6950606697/in/set-72157629505016773/ because of reasons.
March 21, 2012 12:35 pm
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So fantastic! Your wedding looks as lively, fun and happy as every wedding should be. I hope we can have half as much fun with bad teeth, fairy wings and pirate hats as you did.
March 21, 2012 1:27 pm
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The Editor’s note made it all dusty up in here, sniff… thank you :)
March 21, 2012 12:52 pm
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SeaBowl!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love that place and that you afterpartied there.
March 21, 2012 1:30 pm
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I had a couple birthday parties there growing up.
March 21, 2012 1:33 pm
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SeaBowl is too amazing! You can’t beat a retro-styled OCEANVIEW bowling alley. We considered having the whole wedding there (they have a stage they setup on the lanes!!!) but it didn’t work out, logistically since we couldn’t rent the whole place.
March 21, 2012 7:51 pm
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I so belong here. APW – Where everyone is excited about the llamas.
But where are the pics of the hideous rehearsal dinner dresses!? Or are you too nice of a friend Liz to show them to the world?
March 21, 2012 1:40 pm
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Llamas – the new must-have wedding accessory for Fall 2012!
If TheKnot would only send me emails like THAT, I would actually read them.
March 21, 2012 1:49 pm
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Too nice of a friend? OMFGLOL, my girls would love that I were, but we’re a sarcastic bunch of assholes… Gimme a few & I’ll see if I can get some shots uploaded to Flickr :)
March 21, 2012 2:20 pm
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Turns out I don’t have any on my camera, here’s a mobile shot that barely does the dresses justice (and it’s only a couple of us) http://www.flickr.com/photos/auntiebphotography/7004039365/
I’ve put out a request to see if anyone else ended up with photos :)
March 21, 2012 2:27 pm
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Here’s the photos I’ve been able to round up so far… http://www.flickr.com/photos/auntiebphotography/sets/72157629273917594/
March 21, 2012 6:43 pm
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Aaaahhhhhhh, LOVE this! Gorgeous, happy, radiant!
Also, I’m the aunt who buys her little nieces like 3 tutus per birthday (theirs, not mine), and one of them continues to ask me what she’ll be wearing as flower girl at my wedding. She’s more on top of it than I am, obvy. Just confirming the power of the pretty (“the bride is magic to little girls” from above). Give them wings and glitter and fluffy and sparkly and they will have the best day ever!
PS: I also got the eldest niece a microscope for her last birthday. Just to balance things out.
March 21, 2012 3:02 pm
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My niece (yellow dress) loves nothing more than science days with Uncle Guy :)
March 21, 2012 5:18 pm
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Looks like a fun celebration! I love your dress, the sleeves on it in the 4th picture are beautiful, too. (I know that’s a random detail to like, but I’m with ya and wanted sleeves on my dress, and they are so hard to find!)
March 21, 2012 3:11 pm
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Sadly those aren’t sleeves (I wanted sleeves & pockets) it’s a sorta wonky bolero that comes with the dress.
March 21, 2012 3:40 pm
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I’m pretty sure the other comments sum this up, but AWESOME WEDDING.
Also, so excited to see someone taking pictures at their own wedding. I take pictures of everything but have been told I shouldn’t at my wedding. Screw that, it’s my wedding. I want to take pictures of it too.
This is so what I needed today to make me all yay weddings! again.
March 21, 2012 3:45 pm
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I had a couple of incredulous comments about it, but most folks know that’s my happy place. Naturally I handed it off for the ceremony & photo time.
March 21, 2012 4:24 pm
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The fill in wedding party – my sister’s was one that I had to be the ring bearer when the real one hawked and balked, another sister had to be the unaccompanied wedding singer when the sound system shut down for no reason.
So many pretty pretty shoes!
March 21, 2012 5:44 pm
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so much to love about this wedding!! first, i love your hair and the veil. from there; the whale weather vane, kids & crayons, costumes, the shoes, bowling…ALL THE JOY! thanks for sharing :)
March 21, 2012 6:12 pm
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Did you get married on the stage? I’m thinking of using a similar venue, but can’t figure out the ceremony/reception transition part.
March 22, 2012 1:32 am
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Yes, we did the ceremony on the stage… I was a little perplexed about how to make it work at first, but here’s what we did.
Since I didn’t want to deal with a seating chart (y’all are adults, figure it out) and didn’t want Elizabeth going crazy trying to get it rearranged in between ceremony & reception we just setup the dinner tables from the beginning and had everyone sit at the tables for the ceremony too. This photo kinda shows the setup: http://christinarichards.smugmug.com/LizandGuy/Reception/i-wrkvFqX/0/L/LizGuy337-L.jpg (password is pacifica if it asks) we started the processional from that side door.
When it came time to switch everything up while we were taking photos, Elizabeth just brought out our table and set it up in the wide aisle (which was setup but put to the side during the ceremony) and everyone was able to return to their spots.
March 22, 2012 10:07 am
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woah, you took photos at your own wedding! Go you! I took a few while getting ready, but then my friends made me leave my iphone at home. Glad I did — it kept me in the moment. But I am a wee bit jealous, as I love taking photos and am usually the wedding photo gal in our circle of friends.
Love your wedding and all the fun colors. Looks great!
March 22, 2012 7:13 am
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Oh man, if I had tried to use my iPhone for photos one of my ladies would’ve probably tried to slap me. To help stay in the moment I just slapped on my 50mm lens and set it on Auto. My camera comes everywhere with me and I’m so used to experiencing family gatherings & whatnot through the lens that it would’ve been weirder for me if I didn’t have it.
That said, I handed it over to my uncle for the “important” stuff and it spent a fair amount of time chillin’ on our table.
March 22, 2012 10:13 am
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OMG I am in love with all the colors! And totally dig the bowling! I saw this and told my fiance and he said “that would be awesome!” He also thinks mini golfing would be fun.
Your wedding looks like it was a lot of fun and full of laughter! All these pictures made me smile… thanks for sharing =)
March 26, 2012 4:00 pm
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If Guy didn’t have bad knees he would have had to struggle to convince me that a roller rink wasn’t an appropriate venue. :)
March 27, 2012 2:02 pm
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[...] can see more of Liz & Guy’s wedding over on A Practical Wedding (where it was featured as a Wordless Wedding.) Congratulations again you [...]
July 6, 2012 8:18 am
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Oh! I have a version of the cotton swing dress the bridesmaids are wearing. I got it in eggplant and I LOVE it! So comfy, and it dresses up (crinoline) or down (sandals and picnic) wonderfully.
February 10, 2013 4:54 pm
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