My purdy dress...................Looking at this picture reminds me that I NEVER take my watch off!



         
My shoes.....................had to get in my Something Blue!


   

  Putting on the Oakland A's garter............................... Mom putting on her final touches..................................Almost ready, veil time!





Ceremony


Our ceremony was amazing, the Monsignor had gotten to know us over the 9 months prior to our wedding and really made everything feel very intimate and personal, even though the Cathedral was gargantuan!



DH looking very handsome coming down the aisle with his parents............................ How adorable are these kiddies!?



My dashing parents and me, the emotional wreck...........................Finally together!



The Monsignor giving us some wedding blessings...............The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, what a church!!



You may now kiss the bride!          Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!





We did it!




Bridal Party and Family Shots




The requisite family portraits




The boys......................................................................................The girls



The whole gang...




Bride and Groom Shots

























Reception
Walking into the reception was like a moment in a movie, everything was exactly as I had envisioned it and it made the 15 months of planning all worthhwhile. Our guests told us it was one of the most fun weddings they had ever been to, which was the BIGGEST compliment we could ask for!


Grand Entrance Time!...................................................Our First Dance



The only 10 mintues we sat down all night!





Cake Cutting!................................................Good view of our venue, with the uplighting


   
The Father/Daughter dance............................................Mother/Son dance



Bouquet toss, bro's DH was hungry for it...............................Garter toss to Foxy lady!


Let the dancing begin!



The requisite Conga line.....found at any good Hispanic fete!



The last dance spin - we danced to Time of Your Life, had to get my cheesy moment in!



Our sparkler getaway....Eric yelling "We Love You All!! as we drove off in style!




Details




The invites that I shed blood, sweat and tears over!!




The bouquets....I gasped when I saw them, so gorgeous!!



Mom's bouquet and the ring bearer pillow...................................................Groom's bout

 
The programs, my other labor of love........................................ Banner for our reception entrance!

                         The placecard trees, bless you mom for helping me...................The placecards, so many crystals, so little time

 
The sign-in table and guest book!



Our cardbox.............................................................and Epic collage!

                                Passed champagne was a must...............................................................Great shot of our gobo!

 
The cocktail napkins, another cheesy must have...........................Bar Menu, we gave up our souls for the open bar


             
The Cake Table ...............................................Chocolate fountain, our guests LOVED it!




           
The menus, favors, placecard bottle openers, and our table numbers
All DIY, my mom is an angel

The head table, round tables and long tables!



Closeup of the tall centerpieces, I loved the crystals!



And they lived happily ever after......or something!

Vendor Information
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Ceremony Location - Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

As much as I LOVED the space, and it had so much meaning for us because we are Catholic, having our wedding at the Cathedral provided for lots of headaches. First off, they are super strict about their decorating and photographing policies…….so much so that we ended up with no décor because you basically can not attach anything at all to the pews. And if we wanted to spend tons of money on altar arrangments, we would have been forced to leave them behind as a “donation.” Our photographer was told to stay in one spot, as was the videographer, making their jobs 100 times harder. Also, the church coordinator is a NIGHTMARE. She is completely power hungry and disorganized and I had to constantly battle her to make things happen the way I wanted them to, even down to the processional order. That being said, our guests had that same “gasp” effect feeling when they came into the church, it is magnificent and beautiful, and I felt lucky to have my wedding there, it just did not come headache free.

Officiant - Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik

Monsignor Kevin is the pastor of the Cathedral and we were lucky to be randomly assigned him for our wedding. He is the type of priest that makes you want to come to church, the kind of priest that makes you feel happy and proud to be Catholic, and inspired to go to Church on a regular basis. He met with us on 4 occasions to make sure that not only we were ready to get married, but that he knew our story enough to make the ceremony personal, and he blew us away. So many of our guests commented on how beautiful, and personal the ceremony was, Catholics and non-Catholics alike

Reception Location - The Athenaeum

The Athenaeum was one of our top two choices, and we ended up going with them over the other one because of how intimate the venue feels. They only do one event a day there, and you have run of the entire place, which means you can decorate everything from the entrance, to the bathrooms. The staff there is extremely organized, and easy to get a hold of. Their coordinator Nellie was one of my favorite vendors, I don’t think it ever took her more than 24 hours to respond to any of my 1000 emails. It is definitely expensive, and one drawback is that they won’t do a per guest , flat fee, open bar….which resulted in our 10k bar tab. They charge on consumption and I think when it comes down to figuring out the final tallies for that, it can get a little cloudy and gray. Otherwise, the food is FANTASTIC, the service is impeccable, and the venue is gorgeous

Cake Creator - deCroupet's Cake Sisters

Our cake was delivered on-time, perfectly designed the way we had discussed, and tasted great, what more can I ask? It was super reasonably priced, compared to other cake quotes and they were really great to work with.

Florist - Kate Baker Florals

Kate BLEW me away on the day of our wedding……..first off, when I saw our bouquets, and then later at the reception. It was all I had envisioned and more. She was great to work with from our initial meeting on, was always very excited about my ideas and my colors. She even went an extra step and put individual flowers on my head table’s placesettings for free. I highly recommend Kate…….she had an eye for detail and high-end design, that many other florists I met with didn’t come close to, at the same price point.

Photographer - Evoke Photography

Review - Pending final pro pics

Videographer - Today's The Day Weddings

Still have yet to see our footage from the day of, but I can say that Joe is an amazing vendor to deal with, and he was virtually non-existent the day of. He really knows how to shoot great footage without being obstrusive. I know he covered the day exceptionally, however, because I remember seeing him at all the key moments.

DJ and Lighting - Brady Westbrook from PropsFX

Brady and Propsfx turned our venue from beautiful, to spectacular. The Ath on it’s own is a wonderful space, and is gorgeous without lighting….but the added lighting turned it into a magical spot. I can’t say enough about their talent when it comes to lighting, they really know what they are doing, and can accommodate any color combos. I will not be writing a review on their DJ services, email me if you want a full review.

Transportation - ULC Limos

Great service, they were on time and the bar was fuly stocked, even though we had not talked about including that in the price. Their prices beat all other quotes for our 10-pass Lincoln Limo.

Invitations - Prim and Pixie, Inkspot Thermography

Prim and Pixie created the design, and provided the pocketfolds. They had innovative ideas and great customer service, and won't quit until you are 1000% happy! Highly recommend!! Inkspot Thermography in El Monte (818-443-1987) was used for all thermography and cutting on invites and inserts. Highly recommend!!!! Their service was amazing, and the turnaround on the printing was less than 10 days.

Jeweler - Icing on the Ring

For wedding bands, Icing on the Ring, EXCELLENT customer service and competitive pricing for downtown LA! For engagement ring, Mission Jewelers in San Francisco, great deals and amazing service!

Tuxedos - Friar Tux

Friar Tux gave us a great deal on our tuxes, and we all had great service at 3 different locations where our bridal party had to pick up. Some tuxes needed alterations and they accomodated them within 24 hours.

My Dress - Santa Barbara Bridal

I purchased my Spring 2006 Reem Acra "Make Me Shine" from SB Bridal. Kyle was my consultant and after having tried on dresses at over 25 stores, I can confidently say she was THE best and most helpful!! They have a great selection there, and they definitely will negotiate with you on pricing.

Bridesmaid Dresses - Custom Made by Seamstress Laura Bravo

Great seamstress at great prices, she definitely has talent and I have since already gone back to her to custom make me some party dresses. Contact me for her contact info!

Hair Stylist - Sherri Young from The Artform Studio

Sherri did an amazing job on my hair on the day of, her team came to the hotel room, were on time and ready to go. My hair did start to fall immediately after the ceremony, which was a HUGE disappointment, but that being said, my hair is super thick and heavy and is hard to keep up in an updo, even with a can of hairspray and 100 bobby pins.

Makeup Artist - Carina Lindgren from Beautiful Bride

Carina was one of my favorite vendors....aside from making me look and feel BEAUTIFUL the day of my wedding, she also acted as my zen-master when things started to go awry. I can't say enough good things about her, she is super professional, a huge sweetheart, and knows how to emphasize everyone's best features. I hate having people do my makeup because I usually end up looking like a scary trannie, but Carina knows her stuff!

Veil- Candi Merle Veils

HIGHLY recommend!! Candi was the sweetest lady, and all she cares about is giving brides something beautiful to wear on their wedding day at an affordable price. My cathedral length, pencil edged veil couldn't be more gorgeous, and was under $60.

Alterations - Mahtab from Wedding Alterations

Mahtab did a great job on my dress....there was a super complicated bustle and hemming to be done, as well as work on a heavily beaded bodice. That being said, I feel like I was a bit over-charged compared to what her other brides have paid.

Getaway Car - Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car

DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! After having booked this car, a cute 1959 convertible baby blue Cadillac (perfect fit for our retro theme) a year in advance, they informed me the morning of my wedding that they wouldn't be able to rent the car to us because it had been taken to the shop days before. My DH explained it was our wedding day and that they had to work it out,and to appease him, they told him to take another car(an ugly pimp car straight out of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), and they would drop off our car and switch out cars by the time we got out of our ceremony. This never happened. They did however, refund half our money the next day on the rental we did take, but in my mind, it should have been a full refund.

Honeymoon Destination - Italy 12 days in Rome, Venice, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast!!

Contact Me:

Please feel free to page me on the LA Boards or email me at Paola@JustChicEvents.com with any questions!!

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