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REAL WEDDING | Colorful Wedding Filled with Love and Laughter | Laarne Photography

Today’s wedding is a true explosion of color and it all comes from the bride’s belt. She found the belt the belt in a shop in LA and that just started the whole wedding color palette.  They weaved the colors throughout their wedding, including it in their bridal party colors and even a piñata. I love when people take a piece of something and infuse it into their wedding.  And as you can see they truly made this wedding a stunning product of the amazing festive colors of the bride’s fabulous wedding dress belt. Check out more below.

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Karen & Bridger

 

 

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Tell us about your wedding:  We knew we wanted a daytime wedding filled with color! We are often drawn to exploring missions and old homes on our adventures so we were hoping to find an affordable venue that would have some of those architectural charms we enjoyed. The Hacienda in Santa Ana was perfect!T he style of the wedding was centered around the essence of our venue and the embroidered belt that I found at a shop on Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. With the help of some dear friends (one being a costume designer), we crossed our fingers that all these elements would come together cohesively because we wouldn’t truly know until the day!

 

Our wedding turned out to be above and beyond what we imagined! It was the warm and festive setting we were hoping for. The best (and most important) part was that our friends and family laughed with us and cried happy tears with us throughout the day. We had people from all facets of our lives come out to celebrate our union. It was a day filled with joy and love and some sore dancing feet! 

How did the two of you meet? We met online using Plenty of Fish. Our first date was at the Belmont Veteran’s Pier in Long Beach, CA.

Describe your engagement: It was the holidays and we had been looking at rings. The one thing I asked was that he not purpose on Christmas. Well, he was so excited that he purposed the day AFTER Christmas. He was too nervous to try to “plan” anything so he ended up proposing in our apartment while I was warming up leftovers. We were supposed to walk to down to the 99 Cent Store but decided that wouldn’t be the best way to celebrate. We ended up “reenacting” our first date by going to the pier and the restaurant we had dinner at.

Personal or handmade details: 

The flowers in my hair were from my mother-in-law’s garden. I knew I wanted to use them but in the hustle and bustle I forgot to pick some to bring with me to the hotel where we were prepping. My now-husband and mother-in-law picked them for me and brought them to the hotel. The fact that they lovingly chose each flower for me made this little detail so memorable! They included a yellow rose which is the color of the rose he had picked and given to me on our first date (which I still have). Honestly, in all the activity of planning, choosing a yellow one hadn’t even occurred to me when I was thinking of the roses for my hair. It wasn’t until I saw the bunch they had chosen with the single yellow one that the memory came rushing back! Plus, the pop of vibrant color that it provided helped bring everything together! Every time a see a photo from the wedding, my heart fills with joy at the sight of the yellow rose!
The centerpieces were originally going to be the ones the venue provided but, after some encouragiment, decided to make them. A friend of mine’s parents live in Mexico and found the handmade pots. My husband and I had an adventure going to Tijuana to pick them up along with finding the paper flowers to go in them. They turned out beautifully! It’s been so fun to see them at my friends’ homes and on my co-workers desks!
Describe your flowers: Since the belt was so detailed, I wanted to keep the flowers simple. I chose white calla lilies. The florist is located next door to me so I provided them with the leftover ribbon from my belt to use on the flowers.

Memories and Stories about the Day: 

So many wonderful memories: A dear friend and colleague was our officiant who brought humor and love to our service while trying to keep himself composed. Another friend, Licia, accompanied the spanish guitarist on the violin during the ceremony and cocktail hour. Two of my friends, both named Nancy, are costumers and helped make sure the wedding party looked good coming down the aisle. We were also overwhelmed by the number of people who graciously traveled to CA for the event!
We ended having a “scene stealer” that day! Instead of having a card box, we wanted a pinata for people to put cards in. Once we finally found the pinata, we didn’t have the heart to cut it open! We ended up naming it Jorge and he became very popular! Most of our guests had their pictures taken with him and, to this day, he comes with us to holiday gatherings and karaoke!
Your first dance song: Lullaby by Dixie Chicks
The thing that we would have done differently is? We would have thought through our “shot list” more. There were people outside of the bridal party that we thought we would have a moment to get a photo with. We just didn’t realize how much of a whirl wind it was going to be.
Your advice for other plus size brides: My nightmare/fear was definitely looking for a dress. I was SHOCKED that the third dress I tried on was the one I went with. It was a style I pulled last minute walking to the dressing room since I wanted to try something completely different than the styles of the other dresses I had picked. I didn’t have that “this is the one” until I was getting ready that day. Once I had the hair, the makeup, and the belt on, I was overwhelmed by how truly perfect it was!
Three adjectives that describe the day: Festive, joyful, genuine
What has surprised you most during the first few months of marriage? The permanence of it. It’s a wonderful feeling to have this person with you on your journey.
Photography:  Laarne | Venue: The Hacienda | Bridal Attire: Morilee by Madeline Garner from Mariposa Bridal Boutique | Hair Stylist: Valentina Kunasz | Makeup Artist: Gabriela Gutierrez | Bridesmaid Attire: David’s Bridal* | Groom and Groomsmen Attire:  Men’s Wearhouse* | *AFFILIATE LINKS