Our Summer Wedding Ceremony

Photos by Capture Me Photography 

We’re married! Okay, so we’ve been married just over two months now but I am SO excited to share our wedding photos with you all and relive the day. There are a TON of photos so I’m going to break up our wedding into separate posts and thought I would start with our beautiful summer wedding ceremony.

Both our ceremony and reception was held at Abbott Manor, a gorgeous outdoor garden venue in Temecula. Even though it was early July, the weather was perfect, the sun was shining and Steve and I were both smiling ear-to-ear the entire day.  

Read on>>

But First… Our First Look

Before the ceremony Steve and I decided to do a first look and have a special moment to ourselves. Some couples don’t want to see each other until the ceremony, but I’m so glad we did a first look! We were both feeling nervous and excited and I think being able to have a few minutes before the ceremony helped to calm those nerves. It also gave us a chance to get some of our photos out of the way so we could have more time to enjoy our reception. 

   

I think Steve’s smile says it all here!   

Our Wedding Ceremony

For guest seating, our DJ played a mix of instrumental rock songs from Vitamin String Quartet, The Piano Guys and the like. Our wedding party walked down the aisle to Brooklyn Duo’s cover of Billie Eilish and Khalid’s “Lovely” and I walked with my dad to Haley Reinhart’s cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” 

We both wanted a quick ceremony– no long speeches, readings, activities, singing– just straight to the point. We had our friend and groomsmen Brodie officiate and he did such an amazing job… in fact, he could totally quit his day job and take up officiating full-time! His speech was so well written and summed up our Steve & mine’s relationship perfectly– he had the perfect blend of sweet anecdotes and funny jokes– you’d go from wiping tears one second to LOL-ing the next. 

One of my most favorite moments of the wedding ceremony (well, besides actually marrying Steve!) was when a beautiful butterfly flew by right next to Steve and I just as Brodie mentioned Steve’s father who had passed away a few years prior. Truthfully, I just about lost it– such a special moment. 

After Brodie’s quick speech, it was time to exchange rings and say our vows. I had initially wanted us to write our own vows but Steve vetoed that since I’m the only writer in this relationship. Marriage is all about compromise, right?  We said our “I do’s”, slipped on the rings and were hitched! Oh, and of course the kiss… and yes, we had practiced the night before! 

  

Our Wedding Party

We had the best wedding party and feel so grateful to have such an amazing bunch of people stand up with us and support us. A huge thank you to this group for their love and putting up with all our wedding planning. We’re very lucky and fortunate to have these guys in our lives. I’ll share more about our wedding party in a future post. 

Was our wedding ceremony absolutely perfect? Of course not. There was some neighbor playing mariachi music in the background and Steve was complaining that his feet were hot from standing in the sun (#groomproblems). But would I change any of it? Not a single moment. 

Stay tuned for more wedding fun– I’ll be sharing a LOT more in the coming weeks. Thank you to our bridal party, parents, vendors and everyone who helped make our special day so wonderful! Read more about our wedding planning here. 

VENDORS

Photography: Capture Me Photography

Location: Abbott Manor

Wedding Gown: c/o BHLDN

Bridal Hair: Mishelle at Thomas Edward Salon & Dry Bar

Groom & Groomsmen Suits: c/o Friar Tux

Bride’s Bouquet: Chino Florists

DJ: Dellinger Entertainment