carol and ted just celebrated their anniversary a couple of weeks ago and it made me think about what a great time their wedding was! they were married at lake forest academy, a beautiful, beautiful place! it was a perfect day, the weather was warm and sunny, the ceremony was perfect, and the reception was a blast. don’t we all look so tan and fresh in this photo?!
[jaime, pam, marina, carol, and moi…we are missing, from the picture, the other bridesmaid kelly]
carol and i have been friends for years. to date, we have been friends for about 29 years?? omg…does that just age me?! ok, just keeding. we’ve been friends for only 20 years and we met when we were just wee little ones at 5 years old 😉
we were neighbors and our families still live in the same houses! our infamous first meeting is still talked about with lots of laughter. just ask carol about the monkey bars…hahaha!
carol and i have been through everything together. we met at such a young age and have grown up together with life’s ups and downs. we went to middle school and high school together. i was probably at her house more than i was at my house! her parents would call me the other daughter. when she came home from college and switched schools, i practically lived at her apartment in chicago that she shared with jaime and amber.
although she currently lives in seattle with her husband and two beautiful children, we remain close as ever. friends for life, friends forever. or how bout best friends forever. whatever cliche statement you want to say, it fits. i’m lucky to have such a wonderful, longtime friend in my life!
having a friend like this is hard to come by. reach out to a close friend and say hi today. life is too short to let simple, meaningful gestures like that pass you by! happy friday y’all!
even though the planning process was quick, their wedding day was a long, anticipated wait! i was so excited this day had come!
hc and i dropped olive off at my parent’s house and we headed into the city. we went in early to set up the venue for them. i was super excited to do so…i love stuff like that! andrea and i had been in close contact during this entire planning process, exchanging ideas and thoughts around the wedding decor. she had decided to go with a map theme. since jamie currently lives in san francisco and andrea lives in chicago, it was fitting for their situation.
i volunteered to be their ‘day of coordinator’! so, with that, hc and i got there to set up her place cards, table signs, sign in table, favor table, and random decor. super easy! i was in contact with the harpist, the photographer, and the manager at the venue. making sure they were on time, able to find the place, get them paid, and making sure things were running in order. it was fun!
i had made the boutonnieres for ollie and jamie. i used feathers, twine, stamens, green twigs, and accented them both with vintage compasses. they turned out soooo stinkin’ cute! unfortunately, i should have hot glued the twine a little more because it unraveled mid way through the day 🙁 i was so sad to hear & absolutely disappointed!! the good news was that they totally got all the pics they needed! phew!
i made their favor sign and provided the paper tassels for their ceremony site. the tassels looked so pretty for the ceremony and looked magical at night during the reception.
[the ceremony site with the pretty silver, grey, and pink tassels]
[the welcome table]
[guest sign in poster with their engagement photos and book]
[place cards that hc alphabetized and i helped set up]
[the ‘at last’ banner with the map background]
[katheryn and me, excited for the ceremony!]
[me and the beautiful bride]
[favors with the ‘take me home tonight’ sign]
[with love from san francisco to chicago // a + j 8.31.14]
so, it was time. we gathered the guests to the courtyard and had them form a walkway for andrea to walk down. we didn’t plan for the sun to be so strong, so i moved the guests over so jamie, andrea, and johnathan weren’t directly in the sunlight! once all at the guests were in place, i cued the harpist and andrea and ollie walked down the aisle. so perfect!
[here comes the bride!]
[their friend, johnathan, was the officiant! so awesome]
[look at ollie! so cute]
[exchanging of vows and rings]
[husband and wife!]
once they were married, the party really began! we mingled around the cocktail area a bit more {while the delicious hor d’oeuvres were being served}, before we sat down for dinner. i was so excited for the food! boka has received michelin stars in the past and if the hor d’oeuvres were any indication how the amazing the food was going to be…we were in for a treat!
[wowza! super bling!]
[the happy couple]
[literally chillin’ at the bar]
[the beautiful ginger and gorgeous nikki flanking my hubs]
[selfie!]
[her amazing swarovski christian louboutins]
[the lovely sunset during cocktail hour]
[ginger, me, and nikki]
[selfie with ginger]
as the food was being served, in between courses, hc and i were mingling with the other guests. we were having a grand ‘ol time. it was fantastic to be able to visit with everyone and meet new people.
the first course, the heirloom carrots, were amaze. no, seriously delicious. hc was in love. but he does love cooked carrots in general. a fave vege of his. it was a lovely hearty dish that was so flavorful.
my fave…the ricotta gnudi. oh. my. goodness. i could have eaten several plates of that. i loved the bits of corn in it and the sauce was so tasty.
[heirloom carrots were amaze]
[grilled spanish octopus]
[katrine, andrea, and moi]
after the wonderful dinner, the desserts were served {hello! macarons!} and the first dance ensued. so sweet…um, referencing to both! the macarons were decadently sweet and their first dance was sweet {until by swan dive}. perfect combo.
[any wedding or occasion is not complete without macarons!]
[first dance]
[the end]
after that, the dance floor opened up and everyone got groovy on the floor. it was such an awesome time. the wedding venue was beautiful, andrea and jamie are now husband and wife, the food was amazing, and the whole night was absolutely wonderful. we had the most delightful time celebrating their sweet union.
annnnddd, wasn’t boka amazing?? what a great venue for a wedding. it was ethereal, organic, modern, and cozy. such a great pick and find to celebrate their nuptials. the staff was so accommodating and friendly, the food was beyond delicious, and the aesthetics of the restaurant were so lovely.
thank you so much andrea and jamie for letting us be a part of such a beautiful moment in your lives. we feel so blessed to have shared it with you both. many wishes to a marriage filled with love, happiness, charm, and laughter.
the time had come. it was andrea and jamie’s wedding weekend!
i was so excited. andrea had a wedding luncheon the day prior to their wedding at cantina laredo. i was looking forward to meeting some of andrea’s close friends, in for the wedding, that don’t live in town.
we felt blessed we were invited to their luncheon and their rehearsal dinner! unfortunately, our weekend was beyond busy and we opted out on the dinner. boo. no, seriously boooooo. if anyone knows me, i don’t like missing out on anything. it is rare for me to decline any events {unless it is beyond my control} and we had to pick and choose our battles this weekend, on what was best for olive. we had events afternoon and evening three days in a row {yowza}, we needed to figure out care for olive and how much time away from her we really wanted to be. so, after much babbling, the rehearsal dinner was on the chopping block. we needed that break but i am still kicking myself for us not going. like i said…i greatly dislike missing any of my friends/family events. life is way too short!
anyhoozle, i packed up olive and to the city we went {hc was golfing with the groom that afternoon while i was lunching with the bride}. i was hoping she would fall asleep…it was just a tad past her nap time when we left. unfortunately, i couldn’t put her down because we had to go, so i crossed my fingers that she would nap in the car. yup, there she went, she closed her eyes and fell asleep but unfortunately (?) the car ride was so short! we cruised to the city and she barely slept. i was hoping she would stay asleep but as soon as i stopped the car & parked, her eyes fluttered open. darn.
we strolled on in and met up with our party. andrea’s sweet mom and brother jason were there. her friend nikki had her four kids with her and there was ollie, as well! so, little olive had some buddies to hang with.
her friends from college were there, claire {who coordinated the lunch}, jean, and megan. i sat by the ladies and chatted it up with them. it was great to get to know them better, i was glad to have met some of andrea’s closest girlfriends.
[i love her hair…it’s so precious]
[poor olive…the kids loved her so but were so aggressive with her // mia, ollie, olive, conner, chase, and camden]
[andrea and nikki]
[super bling!!! andrea’s huge rock]
[i love the look on chase’s face. who loooooved olive, although olive wasn’t loving being in andrea’s arms]
there were plenty of chips and salsa to devour. i was so hungry! i had such a busy morning with olive, that i didn’t eat breakfast and i always eat breakfast! i looked over the menu and zero’d in on the crab cake eggs benedict. oh yeah! the libations were free flowing on the table and i kept olive preoccupied with her snacks.
it was too cute. i brought olive over to the kids so she could hang out. um, they mauled her! they were loving her so much it scared her a bit! the kids were petting her hair, brushing her arms, pulling on her legs, smacking her cheeks, she was so overwhelmed! poor babes! i then had to pick her up for a bit to calm her down.
[crab cake benedict]
nikki’s son chase was crazy about olive. i mean crazy in love. he was soooo beyond sweet and loving towards her. he wanted to feed her the cereal snacks and he couldn’t stop gushing about how cute she was. he stayed by her side for the rest of the luncheon. he was so adorbs with her!
[chase loved feeding olive]
[megan, claire, jean, andrea, olive, me, and nikki]
after a relaxing lovely lunch, we trekked across the street to the palomar hotel and hung out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. it was a perfect ending to a wonderful afternoon.
i was so honored to have joined andrea and her friends and family at this afternoon event. i love weddings…it brings everyone together and builds the most wonderful bonds! i am thankful to be able to experience such great moments in my life!
the day had finally come for matt and michelle to tie the knot!
we were so excited to see them and see them get married! we grabbed a cab and we were on our way to the church, they were married at old st. pats! the ceremony was at 5 pm…we were just a wee bit late {by 3 minutes!}, she was already walking down the aisle as we stood by the door waiting to go inside. they finally let us in and we snuck up to the front! the ceremony was beautiful and sweet.
[husband and wife!]
i love weddings! it’s just so exciting seeing another couple in love, saying their vows, and experiencing the joys of getting married! or maybe it’s because i loved, loved, loved getting married and hope that every couple that does, goes through the same beautiful high of emotions like we did. i always say, if i could bottle the euphoria you feel on that special day, the wonders it could do for the world to experience such happiness and love!
[the beautiful bride]
[the bride is wearing lazaro]
[the handsome groom]
after the lovely ceremony, we ran into some friends, from rich’s old job, outside the church. we snagged a ride with them to the reception, although matt and michelle had transportation for everyone.
their reception was held at the allerton, at the tip top tap ballroom. we gathered together for cocktail hour…i was hungry! i sampled every hor d’oeuvres they offered. they were all so yummy! after the boys had a few drinks, the chimes were rung and it was time to enter into the dining area.
[the yummy food]
[table decor]
[mr + mrs clark]
[our name is correct 😉 ]
[awwww, so cute!]
it was cozy inside. pretty table decor, cool lighting, and lovely flowers! the speeches were sweet and hilarious. it was so great to see matt and michelle so happy! the food was delicious and the cake was scrumptious!!! i loved the pear and red wine cake, it was heaven! so stinkin’ good! after dinner, the dancing ensued. we took turns in the photo booth, boogied a bit, and had a lot of fun!
[photo booth fun – rich in a golf hat and myself with a black veil fascinator]
it was after 10pm and this pregger lady was dunzo. I had worked so early and was on the go, go, go…i had to say adios. we said our congrats and goodbye to matt and michelle and headed home sweet home!
we love you, matt and michelle!! congrats on the beautiful wedding, the wonderful journey you are now on, and we felt blessed to have been able to celebrate with you guys!
