Wedding in sunny California was powered by love

August 15, 2009 :: Pasadena, California

Story by Carla @ The Ring

The summer of 2009 was a whirlwind of weddings that I went to and was a part of - four beautiful weddings of eight amazing friends of mine and Tony's (that's my boyfriend, in case you were wondering). I've always loved weddings, even before I found this dream job where I get to write about them, so even though it was super busy, it was also really fun. It's even more fun now that I'm on the inside of the wedding industry because I get to take note of all of the moments, details and unique ways that people personalize their weddings.

The third wedding I went to, I was also lucky enough to be a part of. It took place in Pasadena California (a suburb of Los Angeles) between my elementary school friend, Kathryn (who we call Kat due to the amount of friends in our group with the same name and spelling) and her American fiancé, Justin.

Tony and I spent six days in sunny Cali helping Kat prepare for the big day. I got to celebrate at an orange-coloured shower thrown by the groom's sisters in Orange County, a tame bachelorette party with a tea party and spa pampering. Myself, the other bridesmaids, family and friends also helped create bouquets, centrepieces, favours and decorate the ballroom.

California weddings are about three times more expensive than Toronto weddings, so Kat and Justin did a lot themselves – not to mention, Kat is very down-to-earth and likes things simple, so she probably would have done it this way regardless. And it couldn't have suited their style more.

The morning of the wedding, some of the bridesmaids got their hair done, while the other two, along with some friends, decorated the ballroom with the tulle, lights, Tiffany blue boxed favours and centrepieces we put together the night before.

We then picked up the flowers – dozens of pink and ivory roses – and put together very simple, but elegant, bouquets - ivory for the bridesmaids and flower girls and pink for Kat, plus all of the boutonnières and corsages. Kat's bouquet stem was wrapped with leftover lace from her homemade mantilla veil.

Once us ladies were dressed in our baby blue dresses – each one a different style chosen by us – and Kat was in her Spanish-style dress from Taylor's Bridal Boutique in Elmira, we posed for photos with L.A. Photographer, Kris Dahl from Dahlphotog (who is the creative genius behind the photos you see here).

The ceremony took place in a huge and gorgeous Catholic Church and was dedicated to the bride's father who had passed away about four and a half years ago. I honestly can't think of any two people more suited for each other than Kat and Justin and their eyes when they said their vows just proved that to me even more. It was a great honour to stand up with them at their wedding and be a part of their special day.

The wedding party headed to Old Town Pasadena under the cloudless skies for some fun and artsy photos with Kris, then off to the Pasadena Sheraton's cocktail lounge for a chocolate fountain and mingling (but not before a shoe change).

The newlyweds made their grand entrance to the Star Wars theme song (so them!) and went right into their first dance to Here, There and Everywhere by The Beatles, which was also the name of the head table. In fact, all of the tables were named after Beatles songs (on stationery made by the bride, along with all other stationery for the day), which guests could sing if they wanted to see the bride and groom kiss.

For dinner, we enjoyed salad, chicken, veggies and potatoes, then later chocolate cake with raspberry filling.

Kat and her sisters also got their mother an anniversary cake because she was married to her late husband on August 15, 1980. The coolest part is that Kat's maternal Grandparents were also married the same day in 1953.

But, the most amazing thing about this wedding, aside from the fact that it was an absolute blast, was the fact that Kat's family and friends (including four out of five bridesmaids) came from Canada and joined with Justin's huge family from all over the States (including his three sisters, two brothers and all of their spouses and kids) to share this day with the happy couple. The amount of love that went around that room was overwhelming – even for those who aren't usually romantics.