Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
Even though we had taken dance lessons and practiced a lot for our first dance, the dances our guests were really talking about were the ones we shared with our parents. First up, Papa Jelly and I did the father-daughter dance to Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful.”
Now, if I learned anything from my wedding, it’s that when your dad has a specific song request in mind for the father-daughter dance, you should just let him have his song. When my dad told me that “You Are So Beautiful” was his song choice, I cringed. It’s a beautiful song (no pun intended), but I felt weird about it. Almost like it would be embarrassing or something, the same way you’re embarrassed when your mom kisses you in front of all your friends when you’re in seventh grade. I tried to convince my dad that we should go for another song, but he wouldn’t budge on this one. And now, with the benefit of hindsight, I have to say: he was right.
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
I talked about the song selection for our first dance here, and I mentioned that we got dance lessons before the wedding. To be more precise, we attempted to learn the foxtrot starting a mere 5 weeks before the wedding. Sound crazy? I’m here to tell you it’s possible! We bought a package of 6 one-hour dance lessons with Laurie Ann Lepoff of Steps on Toes dance lessons in Oakland. Laurie really emphasizes learning the basic dance steps rather than focusing on a choreographed routine, which she believes locks dancers in and causes the whole dance to fall apart if someone misses a step. During the weeks leading up to the wedding, our hour-long dance lessons proved to be a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of wedding planning. Some of my favorite memories of the days before our wedding involve us practicing the foxtrot to our song in the living room, in Mr. Jelly’s parents’ garage, and in my hotel room the night before the wedding. And I’m happy to report that even though we were by no means DWTS ready, we managed to learn a simple foxtrot routine that we felt proud of, and more importantly, had a blast dancing to on our wedding day. Without further ado, some photos from our first dance, along with the lyrics of our song:
Do you hear me, I’m talking to you Across the water across the deep blue ocean Under the open sky, oh my, baby I’m trying
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
As the cocktail hour drew to a close, the bridal party lined up in the foyer, ready to make their entrance into the reception. Our DJ started playing I Gotta Feeling, the song we’d chosen to kick off our reception. It’s a little cliche and definitely overplayed, but we love it and it’s such a fun, happy song that it was the perfect way to get our guests pumped up for the party ahead.
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
While we were out in the vineyards taking bride and groom portraits, our guests made their way into the Grand Salon for the cocktail hour and reception. Here is what they saw upon entering the reception space:
The tables all set up with Casa Real’s standard chocolate brown linens and a mix of high and low centerpieces. You can see our candy buffet in the background. (Cliff Brunk Photography)
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
After the ceremony ended, Mr. Jelly and I were ushered into our reception space where we got a sneak peek of the setup and shared a quick toast to our new marriage.
We also rehashed parts of the ceremony, and Mr. Jelly told me about his stressful pre-ceremony scramble: he thought we didn’t have a projector for our slideshow and almost paid $300 to rent a last-minute projector before our DOC caught on and told him we already had one. Phew!
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
After the readings, it was time to exchange our vows. Lili first asked us to express our intent: “The promises you are to make today are both the culmination and foundation of a life lived with intention and integrity. Knowing what you know about one another and about the rewards and challenges of being married, are you now ready to make your promises to one another?” Yes, we are.
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
Hi there…remember me? It’s been over a month since my last wedding recap post, and I’m sorry to have left you all hanging. (You were waiting with bated breath, right? Right?!) Part of it is that I’ve been insanely busy, but the other part is that I’m having a bit of writer’s block. Writing about your wedding ceremony is hard to do, because, well, how do you put all that emotion into words? How do you describe such a life-changing moment? So after starting and re-starting this post many different ways, I’m simply going to share our ceremony with you, as it was officiated by Revered Lili Goodman Freitas.
Lili started the ceremony by thanking our guests for coming from near and far to participate in our special day, and taking a few moments to honor those who could not be there with us. Read more…
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
In the moments before our walk down the aisle, Papa Jelly and I waited patiently inside the front entry hall of Casa Real while the bridal party processed through the venue’s large wooden doors into the outdoor courtyard where our ceremony would take place. Papa Jelly and I both giggled nervously and made small talk while we waited for our turn to walk. Like father, like daughter.
After the bridal party finished walking out, the Casa Real staff closed the large wooden doors while the processional music faded out and the song I would be walking down the aisle to came on:
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
Last we left off, the scene was set, we’d wrapped up our pre-wedding photos, and guests had started to trickle in for our 5 PM ceremony. I retreated back to the bridal room to get ready. I reapplied my lip gloss and perfume…
…and then Mama Jelly helped me put on my veil. My veil was my “something old,” and had a very special story behind it, which you can read about here. As luck would have it, the veil matched my dress perfectly.
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
You’ve seen our getting ready photos, our first look, and our bridal party portraits. But before I get to the ceremony, I wanted to set the scene for you, to show you what our guests saw upon arriving at our winery wedding. After all, I didn’t spend 19 months slaving away over details for nothing!
Our wedding was held at Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery, a Mediterranean-style villa set next to a winery in Livermore, CA.
Upon arriving, guests entered through the rustic wooden doors… Read more…
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
After getting a nice moment alone during our first look, we rallied the troops for some bridal party portraits. Literally.
As you may recall, I really wanted a saber arch for our wedding, but we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to have one due to the fact that servicemembers are overseas so much. Luckily, several of Mr. Jelly’s Air Force buddies, as well as his Marine brother, came out from all across the country for our wedding and made it happen. Love these guys!
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
Early on in the wedding-planning process, Mr. Jelly and I decided that we were going to do a “first look.” Neither one of us is very superstitious, we didn’t want to miss our cocktail hour, and we thought that seeing each other pre-ceremony would be a great way to shake off those wedding day nerves.
Right before we went outside to do the first look, our photographer, Cliff, asked me how I wanted to set it up. Me waiting, and Mr. Jelly walking up behind me, or the other way around? Quite honestly, I was caught off guard by this question. I hadn’t really given it any thought, and I had major bride brain going on so I asked Cliff what he thought was best. He suggested the me waiting, Mr. Jelly walking up to me setup, because it wouldn’t require me to move around in my dress. This made sense to me, so I went with it. It was only later that I realized that probably 90% of couples do it the other way around, because—duh!—the bride’s whole ensemble remains a surprise when she walks up to the groom. In our case, Mr. Jelly already saw the back of my dress before he saw me. Now, before you think that I’m complaining, I’m not—I really love our first look pictures, and I also love that they’re a little more unique. I just wish I’d given a little more thought to our setup before the actual wedding day.
Anyway, enough rambling…on to the photos! Read more…
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
My bridesmaids and I arrived at the venue around 2 PM, three hours before our ceremony start time. This would give us time to take our first look and group photos before the ceremony. And since our venue has a special room for the brides to get ready in, I decided to get dressed there. Upon arriving, we were greeted by our fabulous photographer, Cliff Brunk.
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
After sneaking back to my room around 7:30 AM, I managed to get a just few more minutes of shut-eye before our awesome hair and makeup team, Exquisite Faces, arrived at 8. My bridesmaids joined me in the bridal suite and we chatted, read gossip magazines, and snacked on breakfast foods while they all got their hair done.
I shamelessly copied the design of this sign from our very own Mrs. Coconut—right down to the stickers. What can I say? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
