Southern Weddings

First of all, I love Brenda’s hot red dress by {Luly Yang}!  We love when brides dare to be different.  Second, we love that Brenda + Aaron combined both of their cultures to create a special day that is sure to be remembered by all their loved ones.  This fantastic wedding took place at {Bellingham Cruise Terminal} with the catering by {Ciao Thyme}.  Check out the red dahlia bouquet by {A New Leaf}.  Want to know more about Brenda’s accessories? Brenda purchased the yellow scarf, earrings and shoes from {Nordstroms} where she found the earrings and the scarf for $20 each. The shoes were a bit more but the belt was purchased for $5 at {Express}.  What a shopper! These amazing images were captured by {Michele M. Waite Photography}.  Check out all the shots on Michele’s {Blog}. 

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story: Aaron and I met while I was a part of an AmeriCorp program in Washington D.C. Aaron and his best friend Mark had just graduated from William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and I had just dropped out of college. Aaron went straight to work for an IT company, and Mark joined the same AmeriCorp program I was in. Mark as a matter of fact ended up in my team and he was the one that introduced us. Since Mark was from the D.C./Virginia area, he usually invited us to great parties. At first Aaron and I were just friends, but over time we began to fall for each other. A year later we were dating, and five years later we were married. Aaron was a great friend from the start, and I believe that is what’s made our relationship last. This coming June, Aaron and I will be celebrating seven years of being in each others lives. He truly is my best friend.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We really just wanted to incorporate both of our cultures. Aaron is Jewish American and I am a Mexican-American who practices Buddhism. We went for simplicity and originality. We wrote out our entire ceremony and picked every single item together. We wanted our personalities as a couple to shine through.
Favorite design element of your big day: The Ferry Terminal. It was just so industrial looking and simple.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Finding the right dress was not as easy as I thought it would be. I always knew I did not want to get married in a white dress and that decision alone made my process ten times harder.
Describe your wedding flowers: We picked beautiful fall dahlias because of their amazing color and simplicity.
Describe your wedding cake: We did not have a cake. We had various miniature desserts such as mini apple pies, cheesecakes, chocolate macaroons, raspberry linzer cookies and chocolate chip cookies.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: When Aaron and I returned to hour hotel room we found ceramic plates filled with delicious food awaiting us. Sometime during the course of the evening Jessica and Mateo (our caters) had sent one of their staff members to our hotel with a fantastic assortment of all the yummy food at the wedding. This gesture at the end of the night was above and beyond what we expected. Jessica and Mateo really went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of. They truly made us feel like family. They made our vision a reality times ten!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Happiness, excitement and pure joy.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Have fun. Don’t be afraid to break out of the box. Everyone will always have an opinion about what your wedding should be like, but remember that the wedding should represent who you guys are as a couple. Don’t feel pressured to go with the norm.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Aaron and I are in the beginning stages of planning an eight week trip/ honeymoon to Europe. Aaron and I have never been to Europe, and it’s an experience we always talked about sharing together. Secondly, we’d really love to live in a Latin American country for at least a year before we have children.
Favorite inspirational blogs or sites: {Michele M. Waite Photo Blog}.  This blog was really the source of our inspired. Michele was incredible and super accommodating to our no traditional vision. She really is one of the most gifted wedding photographers out there. Her passion comes through with each individual wedding.

Congratulations to Brenda + Aaron. We wish you the best on the Europe trip!