wedding Archives - Floradise

03/22/2016

A Wedding at the Farm at South Mountain

Cousins are your first best friends. Growing up, my cousin Paulette, my sister Angie and I were inseparable. So when Paulette’s wedding came up this month, I was thrilled to be able to fly back to Phoenix from Chicago. I was also excited to attend a wedding at the Farm at South Mountain. It’s the perfect venue.

The ceremony was in the Stone Grove, followed by the dinner reception at Quiessence. The decor fit the farm nicely. The bridal suite is spacious and adorably decorated. It has plenty of dress hooks for those must-have wedding dress photos. It also has abundant closet space and a kitchen. The groom used a smaller suite next to the Stone Grove to get ready. Cute little clear and green mason jars filled with assorted white flowers hung on the ceremony chairs. Burlap decor was placed throughout. It was a Pinterest wedding come to life.

I may be biased, but the flower girl is pretty darn cute.

After the ceremony, we headed to Quiessence for the most delicious meal I’ve had in a while. One of the highlights was the apple mascarpone cannolis.

Have you ever been to the Farm at South Mountain? Isn’t it just the cutest place ever?

02/04/2015

6 Etsy Purchases I Loved for Wedding Planning

Etsy vendors helped me immensely as I planned our Maui wedding. I gravitated toward romantic, floral designs in everything I ordered — to match my new last name. In the age of Pinterest, it’s easy to get carried away with DIY, but chances are there’s an item on Etsy that is both beautiful and reasonably priced. And vendors will often customize your item if you request it.

My favorite Etsy wedding purchases:

1. Natty Michelle card for Graham. This was originally a Mother’s Day card that I requested she change to say “I love you.” She happily agreed.

2. Bridal hanger from Passion and Love. I was hesitant to buy this because there are seemingly thousands of options for bridal hangers, but mine was nicely made.

3. His & Hers Vow Books from Noteworthy Designs. The shop will write your names in calligraphy on the first page of your vow books, which I loved.

4. Will You Be My Bridesmaid? cards from Natty Michelle. My bridesmaids loved their cards! Natalie sent me a thank you card with it that I felt was a nice touch.

5. DIY Cake Topper Set from Pretzel Tree. I requested pink and white flowers to match my wedding colors and the shop created a custom listing for me. I then painted my own topper, which I found to be fun and easy to do. The packaging was cute, too.

6. Custom Address Stamp from Note Trunk. I absolutely love this stamp, and I regularly use it. I’m definitely ordering another if we ever move.

Our Maui Wedding

11/27/2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m thankful for friends and family, our dogs, yoga, running, my health and our adventures. What about you?

Photo by Jana Morgan Photography.

10/28/2014

Maui Wedding: Getting Ready for the Big Day

I’ve been reliving our wedding day by looking through our photos. People are right when they say it all happens so fast. I’m glad I let myself feel all the emotions that came with the big day: stress, excitement, happiness, love, gratitude — all of it.

After snorkeling, we went back to the hotel to get ready. Graham worked tirelessly to take care of everything that came up so I wouldn’t stress out. He sent me over to my maid of honor’s hotel room to get ready and asked her to order lunch for me. My sister, mom and nephews also helped out by going to the venue early to set up and deliver the leis.

As I waited for my hair and makeup appointment, my stress became excitement.

My flowers were delivered just before the photographer arrived, but they weren’t what I was expecting. I had chosen light pink and coral roses with white dendrobium orchids, but the light pink roses weren’t available, according to my wedding coordinator. The florist instead used roses that were a little darker and more purple. I had a choice to make: I could let it ruin the moment, or I could just accept what couldn’t changed at the last minute. The bouquet was beautiful as it was, so I decided to not make a fuss about it.

My bridesmaids tended to my every need, made me laugh and showered me with compliments. They are the best!

They helped me put on my dress.

And I slipped on my shoes.

I wore Flora by Gucci perfume, to match my new last name.

Meanwhile, Graham had gotten ready in another room.

The wedding day card I gave Graham.

(I purchased Graham’s card from Natty Michelle on Etsy.)

Graham looked so handsome in his Calvin Klein suit.

The flowers did look nice with his suit, though.

Ready or not, it was time to head to Gannon’s Restaurant in Wailea for our ceremony.

Wedding photos were taken by Jana Morgan Photography.

10/22/2014

Wedding Day Snorkeling in Maui

Our wedding day came and went much too quickly. I woke up after finally getting enough rest to find Graham was gone. He had woken up early to purchase pineapples for our wedding table and get me an iced Granita from Lava Java in Kihei. There was a beautifully written letter waiting for me on the bathroom counter. I couldn’t believe the day had arrived!

This was actually the first time in a long time I was too nervous to finish my food.

He had also brought back a newspaper, because he knew it was important to me. And he had ordered room service — oatmeal with fruit and a breakfast wrap. His thoughtfulness knows no bounds.

We exchanged wedding gifts that morning. I gave him a card and a watch, and I played for him a video I made of our photos. He was so touched. The day was off to an emotional start, to say the least. His gift to me was my wedding jewelry: a single-pearl necklace and matching earrings. They were exactly what I wanted to wear.

There were some stressful moments after that as we tried to corral friends and family and get them to the beach for snorkeling. Graham is my rock when I start the spiral of anxiety. (Yet another reason I married him.)

Snorkel Bob’s outfitted us with our snorkel gear and gave us recommendations for snorkeling in the area. Their suggestion to go to Maluaka Beach was spot on. The water was clear and calm and we saw turtles!

Graham’s turtle selfie 🙂

Spending some time at the beach with our wedding guests was the perfect way to start the day’s festivities. Before long it was time to start getting ready!

**** Note: My wedding trip/honeymoon recaps have been out of order. I’ve been writing about them as I get inspired or as I get my photos in order. I’ve been holding off on wedding updates because I don’t have my photos back from the photographer yet. I’m hopeful those will come to us this week.

10/06/2014

Pre-Wedding Festivities: Bridal Shower at True Food Kitchen

The wedding festivities began the week before our trip with my bachelorette and bridal shower.

The day of my bachelorette was spent battling the first symptoms of a cold and stressing out about what to wear. I didn’t quite feel good in anything. I found a dress I thought I’d like, but then when I got home I felt ~~fat~~ not so pretty.

Graham was incredibly patient with me. He took me back to the store to find something else, only to have me pick the dress I originally bought. He just wanted me to look and feel good in it, and that’s why I love him!

Here are the weekend’s outfits:

My shower was at True Food Kitchen at the Biltmore shopping center. The private dining room was perfect for the occasion — so adorable!

After the night’s fun I needed more than one beverage.

The veggie scramble is delicious and so filling! I took my friend’s offer of some of her beans, too. Can I have this for breakfast every day?

My friends were kind enough to shower me with lots of gifts and cards. It was the perfect weekend!

09/30/2014

Maui Wedding: First Things First

Graham and I got down to business as soon as we landed in Maui for our wedding trip.

We left the airport, along my maid of honor, and headed to Maui Specialty Chocolates to pick up our wedding favors, which were mini boxes of chocolates. The shop owner, Anthony, was kind enough to e-mail me a week or two before the wedding to let me know that a personal matter was closing the store down the week of the wedding but that he would still meet up with me to give me my chocolates. Now that’s the spirit of aloha!

Next we checked in to our first hotel and showered before heading to our marriage license appointment. The agent was based out of her home in Kihei just a couple of minutes away.

It was a surreal feeling signing that license application.