Dilip & Stephanie

A few weekends ago, I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of one of my oldest friends to the love of his life. Congratulations to Dilip & Stephanie! The wedding was held in Walnut Creek, and aside from being pelted with falling acorns during the ceremony & reception, the setting could not have been more beautiful. ;)

Jeff (a home-church pastor) and one of his three gorgeous daughters.

Devon & Adri, waiting for the ceremony to start

I met Dilip in the sixth grade; we went to school together and attended the same church, he was a good friend of my brother's. In high school, the girls' friend group and the guys' kind of melded into one big happy family, so Dilip was one of my closest friends growing up. He's the kind of guy who was always surrounded by girls but never had a girlfriend, so when he started dating Stephanie it was a BIG clue that she was special. Seeing him watch her walk down the aisle to become his bride, it was obvious. His best man put it perfectly: He wasn't being noncommital, he just hadn't met his Stephanie yet.

She was positively glowing!

Their wedding ceremony was beautiful and meaningful, and it was so great to see the love that they had for each other. Dilip met Stephanie long after I had moved to Santa Barbara, so I'd never seen him with her before. It was a trip, but so lovely.

Taking their first communion together.

Stephanie reading Dilip her vows.

The reception was just as carefully thought out as the ceremony was, and so full of love! It was whimsical and romantic, with just a little bit of Indian flare. I mean, check out the wedding henna the bridesmaids all had!

Gorgeous centerpieces (one of which MAY or may not have made it home with us... Sorry guys) // Sheri's gorgeous henna

I'm classy with my silver bullets.

My sweet Mama & Daddy, who rarely can take a "normal" picture ;)

Dev & Adri, who are NEXT YEEEEEEEEEE

Our sweet friend Vanessa of Angel Bites Bakery & Cakes did the cupcakes for the event, and OH MY GOSH. Nessa we're still talking about your cupcakes, no joke. If you're in the Bay Area, HIRE HER IMMEDIATELY.

Vanessa's gorgeous cupcakes and equally lovely setup

We couldn't wait to dig into 'em, but of course D&S had to do their cake cutting first. They were nice, no smashing involved. BOOOOOOO haha. I'm all about a good cake smashing.

I need to figure out how to take good pictures with sparklers, no joke. I still thought these were fun, so deal with their sparkly blurry-ness.

The ONE normal-looking picture I got of my parents, and its blurryyyyyy!!!!!

Dilip & Stephanie,

another one bites the dust.

Jordan & Elisse's unique invitation: A letter from the bride's family!
I love unique touches and this whole puppy was letterpressed!!

I ran into a friend last week who asked me if I'd gotten into the wedding planning business because of the amount of weddings (and wedding-related events) I've attended the past few months, and I had to laugh. You'd think I'd be sick of it by now, seriously, but no signs of it yet! 

Introducing the newlyweds!

This past weekend, we had the joy of witnessing the marriage of two friends (Elisse of the swanky Bakersfield shower and Laguna Beach bachelorette party finally married Jordan, Tim's best friend and former roommate).  Their wedding took place at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa (where Desiree from the Bachelorette had her first date with Bryden, and where Jimmy Kimmel just got married). Um, hello gorgeous!!!

The beautiful bridesmaids. They all wore different J.Crew dresses and the same adorable punchy wedges. LOVE!

All of the groomsmen, with Jordan on the far left. Tim was one of the Best Men (he gave a toast at the rehearsal dinner along with one of Elisse's Matrons of honor). The guys to the right of Tim were on a step; he's not that short!!

The stunning bride was escorted in by her dad and step-dad, wearing an absolutely stunningly unique art deco dress. She looked absolutely amazing, I couldn't get over it!

Can you believe her gorgeous DRESS!?! She looked fantastic. 

Elisse bidding goodbye to her dad and stepdad

The couple had written their vows to each other, and I am not exaggerating when I say that there was not a single dry eye in the courtyard. Every word was filled with so much love it was palpable, and this couple has endured a lot to get to this day. I was a hot mess from the instant they began talking and it didn't stop until they were introduced as Mr. & Mrs.

Elisse reading Jordan her vows  // Jordan's vow ended with the phrase "I'm yours"

After exchanging rings, they kissed and were pronounced man and wife. WHOO HOO!!!!!!

Mr & Mrs!!! It's real!

SO HAPPY

After the recessional, the wedding party took a few pictures while the rest of us guests were released to cocktail hour. UM SO FUN. They had so many fun little appetizers like corndogs, two types of fries, quesadillas, coconut shrimp, etc etc etc. I could have eaten my weight in it all *coughMAYBEIDIDcough*. 

Kasey and I during cocktail hour. It was her 25th birthday that day too!!!

Wedding party pictures were over SO FAST, so for the first time in the history of ALL THE WEDDINGS WE'VE BEEN TO EVER (when Tim is a groomsman, that is), I got to hang out with my husband during cocktail hour. Props to photographer Jessica Fairchild!

We matched, more or less.

LOVE THIS MAN!

Donnie & Nat, who left THE NEXT DAY for South Africa // Best Man #1 Matt, Donnie, Skye, and Tim (best man #2)

The Santa Barbara Six, minus one. Tim & I, Donnie (sans wife Natalie), Kasey & Skye. Love these guys.

After cocktail hour, we were released into the ballroom for dinner and dancing. Wives/husbands got to sit with wedding party spouses at the incredibly long head table (there were 18 of us total seated there, including Jordan & Elisse). It was a party.

For favors, Jordan & Elisse roasted their own coffee for each guest. They live in Seattle, so duh coffee is a huge part of their lives, but Jordan also started a coffee roasting business with his cousins right after college for fun so it was doubly meaningful for them.

We very much appreciated the coffee, since the cottage we rented didn't have any. We may or may not have snagged a few extra ones that others had forgotten on their tables when the night was over haha.

Toasts and first dances happened before dinner. Elisse's sister Amanda (one of her two MOHs) threw her prepared toast out the window because she was too emotional and just spoke from her heart, which was so sweet. Elisse's dad and stepdad both gave toasts, as well as one of Jordan's best men, Matt. Tim was the second best man, and he gave his toast at the rehearsal dinner (he knocked it out of the park, btw).

Amanda giving her toast // Elisse & Jordan surveying all the people who love them

Sweet first dance

Elisse also danced with her father and stepfather, and Jordan had a fun salsa dance with his mama before the floor was opened up to the rest of us!  We all had the night of our lives, and too soon the clock struck 11 and we had to pack it up and leave.

Groomsmen lifting up Bride and Groom during the final song.   

It was such a beautiful wedding for such a beautiful couple. We saw them once more before leaving on their honeymoon for Thailand (SO JEALOUS!), come back tomorrow to find out when :)

Jordan and Elisse: Thank you for letting us witness your special day. May God bless your marriage beyond all comprehension and keep you safe in Seattle. AND HURRY THE HECK BACK TO SB.