Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
I will never forget the surreal experience of walking down the aisle. In all the blissful blur of the entire wedding day, walking down the aisle is the one moment that remains crystal clear in my mind. Have you guys ever seen the movie, “Big Fish”? I felt as if it were like the last scene in the movie, where the dad is heading toward the lake, his final destination, and along his path he sees the faces of everyone who played a significant role in his life - smiling, loving, egging him on. That’s really what it felt like to me, and I finally understood why that was such a perfect ending to that movie! Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
I’ve gotten some inquiries into the specifics of my wedding day look so I thought I’d do a post on the entire get-up!
Dress:Amy Kuschel’s Rachel gown. I bought mine at the Amy Kuschel store, and lucky for me, they had a sample that had only been tried on a few times that was in my size! My sash was white, but it is usually available in gold. It retails for about $3,900 but I got mine for a little less than ~$2,000 before tax. Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
Nothing sets the elegant tone of a wedding more than flowers do. And boy, did we end up with some perdy flowers, if I do say so myself! I was very pleased with the final product! I figured it’d be nice to feature them in their own post to hone in on some of the lovely details and hopefully provide some inspiration to those of you with a similar color theme!
My bridesmaids had some of the brightest and cheeriest springtime bouquets ever! A mixture of pale pink and ivory roses mixed in with some pink hydrangea made up most of it, with dark pink roses and green cymbidium orchids as accents. I thought they were so pretty and went oh-so-well with their dresses!
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
Hey Hive, sorry for the lags in posting… I just started graduate school and life has been nothing short of crazy! But I’m back! And I’ll try to average two posts a week at least for the next couple of weeks or so!
We left off last time after our formal portraits were done, and it was time to head back to the dressing room. Everyone was starving so we all grabbed a quick snack, while I ran through my vows one last time…
OK fine, so I got a snack too. Seriously though, it is super important to eat any moment you get a chance on your wedding day, because those moments really are rare and you are on your feet the entire day! Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
Seeing Mr. D for the first time was a moment that will always stay with me. It was the first of many moments that day that everything felt just too perfect, too wonderful, yet so real… and so completely right. Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
There is just something so charismatic and sharp (or should I just say HOT!) about a bunch of guys all dressed up! The photo above is from our teaser pictures!
Meanwhile, the guys were already getting started on their photography session. Given how much longer it would take the ladies to get ready, we thought this would be a good use of that time! But let’s backtrack a sec though, and take a walk through their morning up to this point!
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
It really does take a village to help a bride get in her dress!
Guess what, hive? Oh yes, my friends, you better believe it. We got all the raw images from our professional photographers back. All 15 GBs of them. And while the beautiful sure-to-knock-your-socks-off post-processed pics are yet to come, I just couldn’t resist starting off my recaps with some of these! So without further ado, here we go! Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
This was the last sunset we enjoyed in Moorea before we bid farewell to the island. The picture is another one of our favorite photos that Mr. D took during our honeymoon!
On day seven or so, Mr. D also began feeling ill. It happened to be the day we were leaving Moorea and heading back to Tahiti for another few days. The plan had been to enjoy the nightlife in downtown Papeete, to visit some of the volcanoes, and to tour some of the more historical sites in Tahiti. We thought we could do it. Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
I’m not sure how many newlywed couples get to put their vows into practice the first week after they are married, but we turned out to be one of them. That’s right… on day five, I woke up and did not feel so good. In fact, I felt horrible. It wasn’t just one of the bugs you could get from traveling to a foreign country. In addition to tummy problems, I had a full-on fever and the worst body aches I had ever experienced in my life.
To be honest, I think I actually started feeling a little bit funny a couple days before the wedding, but the adrenaline had kept it all away. Once we were finally and truly relaxed, my body seemed to have just crashed.
I like this simple picture, which we took that morning instead of heading out to take scenic sunrise photos. Mr. D gave me a big hug and said to me, don’t worry, I am going to take care of you .
If there is one tip I can offer to any honeymooner: Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
We devoted the next couple days of our honeymoon to exploring the island. Given that it was a relatively small place, we made it our goal to hit every major tourist attraction and a few places of interest to us that we saw in our Lonely Planet guide. On one of the days, we hit a bunch of the major attractions by taking a guided tour on a 4×4. The two days after that, we went the DIY route by renting a car and doing some exploring on our own…
Posing by the 4×4. Yep, Mr. D would not stop taking pictures!
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
“Ia Orana!” That’s the welcome greeting they use in Moorea - And what a welcome sight it was! Moorea is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The island itself is a mix of mountains, lush tropical greenery, and palm trees. And all surrounding the edge, you have the beautiful lagoons.
Just check out how gorgeous it was… btw, Mr. D took all of the photos used in this post himself!
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
This is our first picture together on the first day of our married life together!
After possibly the most amazing whirlwind day of our lives (that afforded us only two hours of sleep!), we sleepily headed to Los Angeles International Airport in the wee hours of the morning. We really couldn’t believe that the wedding was over, we were MARRIED, and we were on our way to the South Pacific! Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
“So how is married life?” I get that question all the time these days. “It is awesome!” I reply. It really is kind of funny how Mr. D and I are truly your classic blissful newlyweds! Then, the next question that usually follows is, “So, is it any different?”
Well, yes, for us it has been SO different! For one thing, Mr. D and I were living long distance before, and now we are finally living together for the first time! We both moved together to a completely new city, Mr. D started a new job, and I recently left my company to get ready for grad school in the Fall. New home, new routines, new community…Married life has been completely different!
Anyway, I met up with a couple friends over lunch last week, just to catch up, when we got around to this question again. They were wowed by what a stark change in lifestyle marriage really has been for us. I had to agree that our situation probably was more unique, given that we timed it in a way that so many different major life changes ended up happening all at once. Most serious or engaged couples we know actually tend to be more settled down, and in essence, already married. Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
Before we knew it, the rehearsal was over and it was on to the rehearsal dinner! Nothing like food, family, and friends to get a party going! We arrived at the restaurant… and everyone burst into a round of applause! We were certainly the center of attention, and it was sorta overwhelming! A preview of what our grand entrance come wedding reception time might feel like, I suppose!
We thought it would be fun to treat everyone to a teppan style meal, as Mr. D and I are big fans of Japanese cuisine! Read more…
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
I wanted to add that after my original post, several people who had helped out with our wedding called me to let me know that, indeed, the packet had been extremely helpful and was really key to our uber smooth wedding day…which made me super happy to hear of course! And above is a pic to prove it! So hopefully, this (or something similar) will come in handy on your wedding day too!
Thanks for your patience as I made all the edits. Happy planning!
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Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident PhysicianEngagement Date: December 29, 2006Wedding Date: May, 2008Blogging Since: August, 2007Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LAAbout Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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A preview of what our grand entrance come wedding reception time might feel like, I suppose!
So hopefully, this (or something similar) will come in handy on your wedding day too!
