Southern Weddings

For those that like a little blue and possible a little red then this is the wedding for you! {Amy Squires Photography} submitted this wedding to us and we knew we had to share it with our readers. Then we got the interview from Nicole + Mike and well, did you ever have your parents say they can see you marrying a childhood friend?  That might not have been the case for Nicole + Mike but their parents were friends for over 30 years and lets just say when the two began working together something sparked. But it was six years later that the two wed at {Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach} with planning by {Platinum Weddings by Kerrie}.  The gorgeous flower arrangements were created by {The Treasured Petal}.  I love the ceremony aisle treatment and the paper good details from {Joceybella Invites}.  Nicole looked radiant in her gown that she purchased from {M Bridal Salon}.  The wedding cake was created by {Rockwell’s Creative Cakes}.  For more on this wedding make sure to check out the photographer Amy Squires’ {Blog} and the florist Treasured Petal’s {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Our parents have known each other for 30+ years. Mikes’ parents own a generator shop while my parents own an auto body shop. Before our facility moved in 2003 the two businesses were about three buildings apart. Although our two families worked so close together, Mike and I were not friends until after Mike started working at our shop in 2003. And the rest is history…
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Elegant with a fun funky twist.
Favorite design element of your big day: My favorite design elements were definitely the flower arrangements. I am still amazed.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: When I tried on my dress, I didn’t “know it” like everyone says you do. I originally found it locally during the designers’ trunk show, but I wasn’t sure, so I passed it up and continued on the quest for the perfect dress. While looking at other dresses, I kept comparing them to the original dress from the trunk show… that is when I knew I had to try it on again. My wedding planner found the dress about an hour away, so I made the road trip to try it one last time. Once I had it on again, I finally picked my dress.
Describe your wedding flowers: My flowers were perfect, even better than I imagined. My tall centerpieces were in tall rectangular vases filled with aqua blue water and submerged James Storei Orchids. They were topped with red and burgundy flowers including roses, dahlias, orchids, and lilies. Aqua blue crystals dangled from each centerpiece. My low centerpieces were clusters of three vases of varying heights filled with aqua blue water and filled with different types of flowers, including roses, orchids, and dahlias.
Describe your wedding cake: My cake was a four tier square cake. Each tier was covered with differing patterns of black and white stripes, polka dots, or both with aqua blue accents. It was topped with a Bride dragging a Groom by the collar. The cakes were red velvet with chocolate mousse or white cake with bavarian cream and strawberries. Yumm-o!
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Hire a full service wedding planner!!
Any DIY items? Mike and I made our cake stand and wishing well card box. Mike’s mom made our Croatian heart favors that were placed on all of the napkins.

We are so excited to feature the elegant wedding of Angela + Angel! The beautiful bride wore a custom made dress and designed her invitations, programs, table names and place cards herself. Some of the couple’s favorite things included the reception venue, {SLS Hotels at Beverly Hills} and the food, prepared by chef {José Andrés}. The simple floral arrangements by {Bobbe Vagell Floral Design Studio} made a big statement against the white backgrounds at the ceremony and tables at the reception. See more of Angela + Angel’s wedding at {Apertura Photography} and check out more from this wedding on their {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Angel and I first met at the age of fourteen at church in California. We knew each other but weren’t close friends. People at church would make fun of us and how cute it would be if we both get together since we share practically the same name. I, however, did not find it amusing at the time. I moved away at the age of 16 and lived at Virginia and Tennessee for 3 years before I came back to California where we got reconnected. We just happened to end up not only at the same college but also the same Biology and Organic Chemistry classes. I had just gotten out of a relationship and was not looking to enter another one, so it was quite a relief when Angel started talking about his girlfriend at the time. Shortly after Angel and his girlfriend at the time ended their relationship, but I do recall one of the first times he called me was to talk about the break up. Our friendship started with studying together at the library, and then it progressed to studying at coffee shops. Then next thing we knew, we were spending less time studying and more time on getting to know each other. It wasn’t until we began dating did I find out that he has always had a crush on me and could see us being together in the future. We dated for 3 years before we got engaged. Angel wasn’t really happy with the way he proposed the first time around so he surprised me a year later when he proposed again along with upgrading the size of the engagement ring. We had a very long engagement being engaged for 5 ½ years before we finally got married. Everything was worth the wait.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted our wedding to be sophisticated, modern and chic. We both like the minimalist and very clean look. We wanted a very elegant design without an over abundance of flowers.
Favorite design element of your big day: The organic look of the dark Manzanita braches brought to life by arrangements of fresh green roses.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I’m actually a very picky person. I couldn’t find one dress that I liked fully and since my mom is friends with a wedding dress designer in Indonesia, I decided to have it custom made. The dress was finished within 1 week. When I brought the dress home, I still wasn’t quite happy with the dress so l made quite a few changes to make it just the way I like it. I know I’m terrible.
Describe your wedding flowers: Fresh green roses, green hydrangeas, green cymbidium orchids, miniature calla lily, dark brown Manzanita branches.
Describe your wedding cake: Round 3-tiered European cake with fresh raspberries and Bavarian cream decorated with fresh green hydrangeas between the tiers and on top.
Our favorite aspect(s) of the wedding was/were: It’s hard to pick one, but we narrowed it down to top 3 (not in a particular order of importance): The reception site (SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills) – the service the hotel provided were impeccable. The hotel itself is quite incredible. Dana Linder, the catering manager, was very pleasant to work with. Despite of her busy schedule, she went out of her way to tend to our needs. The executive chef is none other than the world renowned Chef José Andrés and the food was absolutely amazing. It just completed the overall experience at the hotel. We were honored to be the first wedding that was held at SLS Hotel. The florist (Bobbe Vagell Floral Concepts) flower arrangements were gorgeous, we enjoyed working with Bobbe and Todd. It was easy to work with them since we share the same vision and taste. It was nice to see that Bobbe was as excited about our wedding as we were. Photography (Apertura Photography) was one of the only things we had absolutely no reservations about. With plenty of accolades under their belt (including “2009 best top 10 wedding photographers”), we knew we were in good hands. If you check out their Web page, you’ll know exactly what we mean. For those of you who appreciate the idea of “captured moments,” Ray and Erwin are the photographers for you. They were so easy to work with and comfortable to be around. They have the amazing ability to make ordinary things and turn it into extraordinary images. They truly made us the focal point of the day and captured some breath taking photos. Also, one of the best aspects of their work of art is their ability to tell a story with the images they take.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Intimate, personal, and memorable
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? If things don’t go the way you expect (because they won’t), just keep in mind that your guests won’t even know the difference; they will enjoy celebrating with you at your wedding regardless. Appreciate every moment, because it all goes by so fast. Be sure to enjoy the day yourselves and remember what the day is really about (which is marrying the person you love, incase that wasn’t obvious).
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Planning to have a family within the next year or so and dealing with other adulthood dilemmas while keeping a good balance to our playful-at-heart nature. What we look forward most in the future is starting our family and possibly doing some traveling together.
Any DIY items? I designed the invitations and had them made in Indonesia, designed and assembled the church programs, table names, and placement cards.

Congratulations Angela + Angel and the best of luck with starting your new family!