Weddingbee Blog

It’s funny how, after having gone through the entire wedding planning process, you find a new appreciation for every minute detail of every wedding you attend! I had the honor of serving as the bridal attendant for my new cousin-in-law, Jean, this weekend. You may recall her and Austin’s mountaintop engagement I posted about a while back . I kid you not, it was one of the most perfect and beautiful weddings EVER. Everything about the day was amazing, from the miraculous sunshine (it was forecasted as a 70% chance of heavy showers!) to the flowers, from her gorgeous gown to the venue, and of course, the happy (not to mention hot!) couple!

Anyhow, I just had to share all the details with the hive, both as inspiration and also because I know you all will just eat up all this eye candy! First of all, let me introduce you to the GORGEOUS bride!

Absolutely beautiful, no? I was pretty much head-over-heels in love with her dress! It is a Jim Hjelm, and it was just so romantic and perfect.

Then you add in some lovely ladies donning flowy Romanesque-style BariJay dresses with simply exquisite hair and makeup done by Nicole DeAnne (who also did Jean’s hair and makeup). I couldn’t get over how romantic and classy everything was. I just love this photo. Don’t they all look like they are out of a bridal magazine?!

By the way, both of these photos were taken at the Langham hotel in Pasadena, CA and were posed by her photographers and WeddingbeePRO bloggers Amelia and Justin Lyon! I took these pics from behind them on my very basic SLR camera, which I know just don’t do the real photos justice, so be sure to check out WeddingbeePRO often and keep your eye out for the real thing!

Now it’s time for the much anticipated first look . It was so cool to be on the “onlooker” side and to have been able to witness this moment. Just look at their faces!

The beautiful bridal party looking on, as Austin and Jean see each other for the first time…

Mr. D and BIL Daffodil helping out as the “gophers” for the day, carrying everything around and catering to the bride and groom’s every need…

Shortly after their first look. After savoring a short and sweet moment, they look up and go, “Uhhh, what do we do now?!”

Well, they had some more amazing photos taken, which you’ll have to wait for Amelia to post on WeddingbeePRO. We saw a sneak peak of the shots during the reception… you won’t be disappointed!

Anyway, before we knew it, it was time to head over to the wedding venue! Austin and Jean chose the perfect location for their wedding…Branca Patio at Occidental College.

The floral arrangements were done by Yuri of Fleuretica. The most gorgeous thing was the orchid and crystal backdrop in front of which Jean and Austin exchanged their vows.

A few shots of Branca Patio during the ceremony… just look at that soft and warm sunlight! It truly was a miracle, as it had rained all day on Thursday and Friday, and the weather forecast indicated Saturday was going to be even wetter. The most amazing thing was that immediately after the guests headed inside for the reception, the skies started pouring as if we were in the middle of a monsoon!

By the way, isn’t the back of her dress amazing?

Austin and Jean, as husband and wife for the first time!

Their adorable flower girls: the officiant’s daughter on the left and Jean’s niece on the right.

Then it was time for the fun to begin! Let me backtrack a bit to the save the dates so you get a sense of the theme and overall feel of the wedding! The theme was “lucky in love”, and they had printed these on business-card sized cards and stuck on “scratch-off” circular stickers on top of the numbers! Everything was done in black and white with a splash of either magenta or turquoise here and there.

Back to the wedding! Following the ceremony, the guests headed into a side room for the cocktail hour. Check out these adorable signs Jean and Austin had on the bar.

In the reception hall… can you believe this is in Oxy’s student union?

The beautiful centerpieces, again by Fleuretica.

The adorable place settings and menu!

Their favors were adorable… Diddy Riese cookies, a Los Angeles classic! Mr. D and I had the pleasure of putting together all the favors. I had actually originally bought the 4.5″ x 6.75″ glassine bags off of eBay to use for our own wedding, but we just didn’t have the time in the end, so we were so happy that they could be put to use! Jean made the belly band and labels, which had very cute varying messages!

Their delicious wedding cake from King’s Hawaiian, which is Austin and Jean’s favorite!

Jean and Austin also used DJ Tim Coy, who they discovered at our wedding! He really got the party going!

And the hit of the evening - more than just a photo booth, it was a full-on photo studio! Think prom and homecoming style! Their friend, Joshua Yeh, who is also a photographer, set up the whole thing and everyone just loved it! In fact, it took a while before people actually hit the dance floor because they were getting such a kick out of the photo booth!

A photobooth pic of me and Mr. D

And with the happy newlywed couple!

Congratulations, Austin and Jean!!! It’s so awesome that we are all family now! Thanks for letting us be a part of your wedding day!