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Last Thursday, Mr. Meatball and I witnessed the marriage of our very dear friends—one of whom (the groom) will be officiating our wedding! It was beautiful. It was very beachy, very lovely, very them. Broke-ass brides, listen up—this was a very budget-friendly event, but came off extremely luxe and personal.
The wedding was held at the Pacific Edge House at the Vacation Village Hotel on Laguna Beach. Basically, there’s a beach house that’s part of the hotel, designed specifically for hosting large events such as weddings. It comes with three refrigerators (whoa momma) in a gorgeous cook’s kitchen, an incredible patio with waves crashing right up to it, and loads of space for party goodness. What’s brilliant about it, is that the families can all stay in the one house (they had 12 sleeping there), and it can be a hub for major wedding activities, such as the rehearsal dinner or day-after brunch… as well as the main event.
The night before, they hosted a delicious Mexican fiesta rehearsal, with a taco bar and margaritas that the families made earlier that day! We ate cocktail style, very informally, which was great because it gave us all a chance to catch up with old friends and to get to know new ones.
On the day of the wedding, most of us hung out on the beach, riding the huge waves right in front of the beach house. I even braved the ocean and swam, too! I’ve never seen such big waves on such a tiny shore. It was nature’s wave pool. 
The weather was perfect, and we got to see dolphins swimming just off shore.
Then, it was time to get down to business!
The very handsome Best Man, working on his toast.
The even more handsome groom, and the glowing MOG
The stunning ceremony scene, and dinner tables in wait.
Your intrepid program-maid (moi!)
She was one of the most beautiful brides, ever. Girls, that is a bridesmaid’s dress she’s wearing, and it cost a fraction of normal gown prices! Woot!
Look at his face! SO sweet.
Stay tuned for the ceremony, reception, and more!
Is your wedding dress one other than a dress specifically made for a bride?
What a gorgeous beach wedding! Hurray for budget brides. 
I love her dress, but I love *yours*, too!! That wedding looks absolutely gorgeous… ah, CA weather…
I had my dress made for the wedding but in a dark champagne tone with colored accents, so I can also use it to perform in after the wedding. If I’m going to spend a bunch of money on a dress that [hopefully] fits perfectly, I want to be able to wear it again! I also really wanted to have a concert dress with built-in good karma.
Beautiful wedding. My mother will also be walking me down the aisle
This is totally, TOTALLY WEDDING PORN FOR ME!!! I’m in the lowest budget ever marrying sea side (*a beach house someone lend us*) and very possibly using a BM dress! She is the most beautiful bride ever!
omg i love that dress!!! do you know the designer or where she got it from?? i’m a lowwww budget bride also!!
@GeorgesViola: Thanks! It’s my engagement party dress that I recycled for this event
@Gery: stay tuned for more delights, then! Glad to help!
@Misspanda: Its a Jim Hjelm BM dress. We budgeteers have to stick together, yo!
Aweeeesome dress! Cant wait to see more of this wedding…will you be able to release their budget, do you know? I’m dying to know
Beautiful wedding! My sister lives in Laguna Beach, I am very tempted to visit soon while looking at these images!
That looks nothing like a bridesmaid dress, and everything like a wedding dress! What a smart little bride she is (and budget savvy!)
Beautiful budgety goodness…you’re right, looks luxe. Everyone looks joyful.
She looks great! Did you tell her you posted about her wedding? My friend Rachael got so excited when she saw her wedding on WB. Weddings really are like porn for engaged girls, eh?
[...] When we left our happy couple, they had just both arrived at the altar. Karissa’s sister, Julie, officiated a ceremony they had all designed together. It began with a 60-second silence, in which the guests set their intention to clear their hearts and minds and create a sacred space for the ceremony to take place. [...]
I just got engaged and this is the EXACT type of wedding venue I’ve been looking for. I live in Huntington Beach so Laguna is close by and I love it there. I have a modest budget so it’s been challenging to find a venue that would work in that area. Did she rent the house for the day or weekend? Would love to learn more. If you can divulge more details I would appreciate it. Can you give a range of the cost if she wouldn’t mind? I went on their website but it didn’t offer too many details.
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Mrs. Meatball, Hollywood Age and Occupation: 30, Actor/Writer/Office Maven Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Actor/Writer Engagement Date: October 7, 2007 Wedding Date: May, 2009 Blogging Since: September 16, 2008 Venue: Private Garden/The Bungalow Club About Me: I love melty cheese and diet coke almost as much as I love my man. I'm from Chicago, he's from NYC, and we both miss public transit and great pizza. We have an adorable muppet dog called Paco. I'm part hippie with a healthy dash of hip hop superstar, have excessive empathy for animals, and have not one, but two bionic eyes (long story). We're broke and it ain't no joke. It can't stop us from planning the bold and whimsical wedding of our dreams, but we've had to get pretty creative to make it work, yo!
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