Posts Tagged ‘Inspiration Board’

The Couple:  Maureen and John Ball

Wedding Date:   August 6, 2010

Photography by Fiorillo Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Hmmmm, where to start……many say our love is meant to be, and we couldn’t agree more!

We met about twelve years ago and not too long after we fell in love and never stopped. We went our separate ways for a few years but stayed friends.

Shortly after getting back together, John proposed. There were a few scenarios on how it was going to happen. But with all the excitement after picking up the ring it happened sooner than planned. We came home Saturday night on December 12, and as we were getting ready for bed John started looking in his drawer and acting suspicious. I thought it was kind of weird given that we talked about marriage and agreed to wait a year or two so I didn’t expect a ring. I wanted to think that it was going to happen but instead thought that he was giving me my Christmas present early since I told him about a pair of Tiffany’s earrings I wanted. As he turned around from his drawer, an open box with the ring in hand, he said “will you marry me?” The only answer I had was of course “YES” and my eyes filled up with tears. From that day on it’s been even more wonderful.

We both knew that we were the only ones for each other because of the strong bond that we’ve shared no matter what, and we only imagined spending the rest of our lives together. So the saying that goes “if you love something, let it go, and if it comes back to you it’s meant to be.” We are a perfect example that this saying is true.

What was the most amazing part of your day?   It goes without saying that the best part of the day was when we finally got to see each other at the altar, and when we both said I Do. We didn’t see each other or speak all day which made it that much more exciting.

What else would you like to share about your big day?   We were really excited about our venue because of the balcony where we had our first dance. It was an exciting part of our reception and something we felt that set our wedding apart from others. Having our first dance on the balcony also surprised most of our guest because only a few people knew about it. So when we were announced everyone was expecting us to come out after the bridal party on the floor until the spot light shined on us on the balcony and the DJ told everyone to look up. It was an amazing first dance!

Ceremony and Reception Site:  Corinthian Grand Ballroom

Photographer:  Fiorillo Photography

Videographer:  Major Diamond Productions

Caterer:  Corinthian Grand Ballroom 

Cake:  Cake Expressions

Flowers:  Citti’s Florist

Favors:  CD’s (DIY by the Bride)

Wedding Dress:  Maggie Sottero

Bridesmaid Dresses:  David’s Bridal

Hair:  Kalani Style

Makeup:  Kalani Style 

Invitations:  By the Bride (I purchased the boxed invitations from Michael’s and added some of my own changes)

DJ:  DJ Erubei with Sounds in Motion

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  Our Officiant – Bride’s Uncle

We were honored to have my Uncle Jesse perform our ceremony. He is one who I admire in the way he lives his life as an individual, a husband and a father. Having people like him and my aunt to look up to when it comes to how a marriage and family is nurtured helped me in knowing exactly what I wanted in my marriage.

First Dance Song:  “These Are the Moments” by Edwin McCain

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?   While it’s a good idea to take the opinions of those important people in your life, it’s more important to plan and have the wedding that the bride and groom want. Both John and I had the wedding we wanted, we did it our way and would do it all over again the same way.

The two most important things to us in our wedding was our photographer and videographer. They are the two vendors who can take us back to our special day. We’ve been very happy and thankful to have found both to share our day with. So splurge as much as you can on the things that are most important to you.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  We would’ve set aside more time for pictures during the day with family members, the bridal party and special people.

Photos courtesy of Fiorillo Photography.

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The Couple:  Courtney Nichols and Brian Renick

Wedding Date:  August 6, 2010

Photography by Sarah Dawson Weddings & Portraits

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Brian and I went to the same college around the same time and even played dodge ball against each other, but had never met! We both decided to go on eharmony.com last fall and were matched up instantly. We began chatting online and realized all the commonalities we had, from mutual friends, to our faith, to a love for going to the movies and watching crime shows.

We emailed back and forth for a month, (44 single space pages in a word document once we added it all up!) and had our first date November 7, 2009. We knew within a few weeks that no one else in the world would ever be able to make us happier than each other, and our talks about our future began.

Brian proposed on March 20, 2010 after sending me on a scavenger hunt to all the locations that marked milestones in our relationship, such as our first kiss, where he first knew he loved me, and where we made our relationship official. It was the perfect day and the start to our life together.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  The pastor who officiated our wedding suggested that we write our own vows, and even though we were skeptical at first, we are so glad we did. We didn’t share them with each other before hand, and hearing Brian proclaim his love and commitment to me in front of all the people who mean the most to us is a moment I will never forget.

We have had multiple people share how our wedding ceremony was so much more intimate because of our vows, and I will tell every person I meet that writing your own vows is the best way to go.

Ceremony Site:  Sun City Roseville

Reception Venue:  Sun City Roseville’s Timber Creek Ballroom

Photographer:  Sarah Dawson Weddings & Portraits

Wedding Planner: Myrna Smith

Cake:  Freeport Bakery

Flowers:  Ambience Floral Design

Favors:  Black boxes with monogram stickers from Michaels, personalized M&M’s

Wedding Dress:  Alfred Angelo

Bridesmaid Dresses:  David’s Bridal

Hair:  Danielle Parker of Eternity Hair Studio

Makeup:  Jessica Palmer

Invitations: 123 Print

DJ/Entertainment:  DJ Crooner

Honeymoon location:  Cancun, Mexico. I work for a school district and school started back up for the year on August 9. We spent our wedding night at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento, and we are going to the Grand Caribe Park Royal resort over Thanksgiving break. It would not have been possible without the contributions our friends and family made to our honeymoon registry that we set up on www.travelorsjoy.com!

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?   This wedding would not have been possible without all the time and effort that my mother invested into our big day! She’s amazing! The staff at Timber Creek also were fabulous in their execution of the day and were so flexible with my requests! They even went so far as to bring the meal plates out to the guests to the tune of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, complete with dancing around the room! I will recommend that venue for many years to come!

First Dance Song: I Have and Always Will by Dave Barnes

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  The more personal you make your wedding the more memorable it will be for you and your guests. Throw in personal touches of your interests or aspects of your relationship so that the people attending will really get an idea of who you are together and they will feel more a part of the celebration.

Also, research cheaper ways of doing the ideas that you love. I love pomanders and the look of them at a wedding ceremony and we were able to rent silk ones on etsy.com for much cheaper than buying fresh ones! There are so many resources out there on the Internet, all it takes is a little time and some creativity to achieve the theme and look that you want.

As for advice on the wedding day, someone wise told me that the day goes by so fast and in an instant it will be over. Their suggestion was to take some moments during the day and be a guest at your own wedding. Stop, look around and take in the atmosphere, how you are feeling and how much fun your friends and family are having enjoying your special day. I also woke up before everyone else on my wedding day, and even though I didn’t plan it, I was so grateful for that hour I had to just reflect on my life and what this day means to Brian and I. It put everything in prospective and helped calm my nerves before all the events took place. I would suggest any bride to try and do that, it will make for a much more stress free day!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  I would have not chosen to do meal options for the reception. I loved the idea of having my guests choose between a meat dish and a vegetarian dish, but it was such a big hassle in the end. Unless you have guests who have a very strict diet, I would choose one meal for everyone if you want a sit down meal. It makes the seating much easier and you don’t have to keep track of everyone’s choices in order to let the vendor know the food count. The simpler the better!

Photos courtesy of Sarah Dawson Weddings & Portraits

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The Couple:Tifni Towns and Donny Vettel

Wedding Date: August 15, 2009

Photography by True Love Photo

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Donny and I met at work and had been friends for a few years. We would go out every week with a group of our friends. One day things changed, and we decided to try going out on our own without our friends. I always knew that Donny was an amazing guy, but it was on our first real “date” that I looked at him in a different light. It was then that I knew he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. You always wonder how you will get proposed to and Donny exceeded any expectations that I had. It couldn’t have been more perfect and more special. My dream, ever since I was a little girl, was to get married at Wine and Roses in Lodi. My grandfather would take my family and me there for brunch when I was little and it was a very special place to me. I was lucky enough to have the wedding of my dreams there with the man I had always dreamed of marrying.

What was the most amazing part of your day? One of the most amazing parts of the day was walking down the aisle and seeing /marrying the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with…there’s no other feeling like it. Another amazing part of our day was having so many of our friends and family present to share our special day with us. All of our guests hold a special place in our hearts and to have all of them in one place, on one day was truly amazing.

What else would you like to share about your big day? With all of the months of planning and preparation that went into our day there’s always bound to be a little bump somewhere in the day. All of the stress/anxiety/nerves I had leading up to the ceremony disappeared as soon as I saw Donny standing at the end of the aisle — that is what made the day perfect for me. With an amazing venue, dj and photographer, we were able to create the perfect combination of classy wedding and a great and memorable party atmosphere that we had dreamed of.

The photo booth we had was a great hit and would highly recommend. It was a great way of capturing our guests and their crazy personalities. We also created a Kodak photo book using our engagement photos. We left a black page between every picture page for guests to sign and leave little notes.

Ceremony & Reception Site:  Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant and Spa

Officiant/Pastor:  Kevin Brown

Photographer:  Beth Baugher with True Love Photo (Words cannot describe how amazing Beth Baugher is! Not only is she an out-of-this-world photographer, she is such a great soul and fabulous lady to be around. She has a great way of making you feel comfortable in front of the camera and was great at catching those “special” little moments when you don’t even know she was taking a picture. Beth will be a friend for life and will be the one I call if ever in need of a photographer again.)

Cake:  Ettore’s European Bakery

Make-up:  Devan Yoder

Hair:  Jenn Homen

Invitations:  Scarlet Design and Invitation Consulting

DJ:  Exquisite Events and Entertainment

Bridal Gown:De La Rosas’s Bridal & Tuxedos

Bridesmaids Dresses:  De La Rosa’s Bridal & Tuxedos

Florist:  The Big Bang Events

String Quartet:  Mersonacta Quartet (AMAZING quartet, and not your “typical” string quartet. They are a young, fresh group who are very talented and great to work with.)

Favors:  Picture Perfect Photo Booth Rental (We wanted to stay away from the “traditional” wedding favors and give our guest a fun experience and something that they would enjoy and enjoy they did! We rented a photo booth from picture perfect photo booth rental and they were great to work with. They helped us create a logo with our names and wedding date in our wedding colors that was placed on the edge of the picture guest received. There was a line for the photo booth the entire evening and our guest really enjoyed the experience and still to this day they talk about how much fun it was and its nice to go to their houses and see their photo booth pictures on the refrigerators!)

Honeymoon:  Maui

First Dance:  “Then” by Brad Paisley

Photos courtesy of True Love Photo.

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The Couple:  Natalie & John Wren

Wedding Date:  September 12, 2009

Photography by Travis Hoehne Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved: We met on Valentine’s Day sophomore year of college when John brought me a rose. The rest is history!

What was the most amazing part of your day? Aside from getting to marry John, it was amazing having everyone who means the most to us in one place to celebrate our love. It was surreal to look up from the alter at so many of our loved ones looking back at us with smiles on their faces.

What else would you like to share about your big day? So many friends and family pitched in to lend a helping hand, creative advice, a vintage car, decorative accents, save-the-dates, BBQ skills, bartending skills, jars of honey, etc… It made the day that much more special!

Ceremony Site:  St. John’s Catholic Church (Chico, CA)

Reception Venue:  White Ranch (Chico, CA)

Photographer:  Travis Hoehne Photography

Videographer:  Philip Briggs

Cake:  Upper Crust Bakery

Flowers:   Cambray Rose

Favors:  Jars of honey gifted from family friends (O’Laughlin Family)

Wedding Dress:  Junko Yoshioko from Gabrielle’s Bridal in Los Gatos, CA

Bridesmaid Dresses:  J. Crew

Hair:  Marti at Genesis (now located at The Last Tangle)

Makeup:  Powder Room Beauty Bar (Ashley)

Invitations:  The Watermark, Denver, CO

DJ/Entertainment:  Platinum Productions

Honeymoon location:  Maui

Any other vendor(s) you’d like to call out? Caterer: Linda Lyons, Food Art Catering; Day of Coordinator: Heather Ugie; Ceremony Vocalist: Susan Wood Lemmons; Ceremony Organist: Kathy Eckhart

First Dance Song:  Harvest Moon by Neil Young

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have a fabulous wedding. Recruit family and friends for their help- you will be amazed at what the people you already know can offer!

To find out more about Travis Hoehne Photography, visit Travis Hoehne Photography online.

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The Couple:  Kim & Chris Williams  

Wedding Date:  April 18, 2009  

Photography by Travis Hoehne Photography  

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  

Chris and I have known each other since we were little kids. We got reconnected three years ago, when I was in college and he was in the U.S. Navy. We began dating and got married two years later. Chris deployed a few weeks after our wedding and just returned in early December. We are beginning this new year together, in a new home, and finally unpacking all of our amazing wedding gifts.  

What was the most amazing part of your day?  

My favorite part of our day was after the ceremony as we made our way to the reception area. Our wedding ceremony took place on top of a hill and instead of walking down, we chose to get a ride in the back of my dad’s 1949 Chevy pickup. We sat on the tailgate as my dad drove slowly down the hill. I remember this time distinctly because it was just the two of us, and we were able to have some “alone” time before the festivities started.  

My husband’s favorite part of the day was when he saw me for the first time. My dad drove me to the top of the hill, for our ceremony, in his old pickup truck. I stepped out of the truck and walked down the aisle with my dad.  

Reception Venue:  RH Phillips Winery, Esparto, CA (no longer in business)  

Photographer:  Travis Hoehne Photography  

Cake:  Timothy’s Bakery  

Flowers:  K&M Floral  

Favors:  We made a monetary donation to Camp Barnabas, a summer camp for people with disabilities, to help a camper go to camp. I have spent 2 summers working at Camp Barnabas and wanted to have their organization be a part of our wedding day.  

Wedding Dress:  Allure  

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Bill Levkoff  

Hair and Make-up:  Melissa Dyk, Ahshe Salon  

Invitations:  Wedding Paper Divas  

DJ/Entertainment:  The Entertainment Team  

Honeymoon location:  Timber Tops Luxury Log Cabins, Gatlinburg, TN  

Any other vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  

Ceremony Music:  Elizabeth Busch, classical guitarist  

Videographer:  Grape Video Productions  

First Dance Song: “Soulmate” by Josh Turner  

To find out more about Travis Hoehne Photography, visit Travis Hoehne online and don’t miss Travis’s blog!  

And check out Travis’s online profile on Real Weddings Magazine’s Web site and be sure to check out his other featured real weddings from Real Weddings Magazine:  

Traci & Greg – from the Winter/Spring 2010 Real Weddings Magazine  

Kathryn & Kenneth – from the Summer/Fall 2009 Real Weddings Magazine   

 Want more Real Weddings? We’re serving them up for you at Real Weddings Sacramento Magazine!