Teiona + Micah
Wedding Venue: Long Beach Museum of Art Photographer: Palos Studio Friar Tux Selection: Tan Allure Suit with guava vest and tie
From the beautiful bride As we started planning our wedding, we were a bit surprised at how quickly the cost of everything was adding up. I had recently completed graduate school, and had hefty student loans, so we decided to have a simple laid-back wedding. Our family and friends were so supportive and helped us in every way possible. My mom made our programs, escort cards, and maps for our invites; my bridesmaids helped put the invitations together; Micah made and stained wooden signs; my step-dad spray-painted dozens of bottles to hold flowers in; and my auntie made our flower girls sash and went to nearly every fitting, tasting, and meeting with me. On the day so many relatives help set up and clean up there was SO MUCH love poured into our wedding day!
What mattered most to us was having all our favorites together in one place; both our families are scattered across the world, so having everyone together was (almost) the best thing about getting married. We really wanted to focus on providing a good time for everyone! As soon as we arrived at the Long Beach Museum of Art during our venue search, Micah and I knew that it was THE venue. It was a perfectly relaxed, beachy, and timeless place for our big day. We loved the ocean view, the brick house, and that it was a space that allowed us to have a sweet intimate ceremony and reception.
The space was open and breezy with a big huge lawn, and inspired me to incorporate summer brights into our wedding. Along with hues of corals, pinks, and yellows, we also incorporated some fun Hawaiian traditions and tropical elements since Micah and his family are from Hawaii. We opted for taupe suits, café lights, white orchids, and DIY projects to keep with the relaxed and casual feel of the venue. We also opted for a bar, awesome DJ, and amazing cake to party the night away with our best friends and family. I think dancing and being lifted into the air to the song Shout was a strong indicator that our guests were enjoying themselves as much as we were! (Continued below the images...)
Some of my favorite parts of the day were getting ready at Hotel Maya with my leading ladies and having my Peace Corps-volunteering-sister home from Africa. I also loved how we were able to incorporate our families into our big day: Micahs sister and brother-in-law married us, and Micahs dad played Hawaiian Wedding Song on the ukulele as I walked down the aisle. But my absolute favorite part of the day was seeing Micah for the first time that day at the altar. Keeping tradition was the one request Micah made during all our planning, and even though I had wanted to have a first look, it was so special to have that moment right before our vows. I have to say, it did make it harder to not go running down that aisle!
Aside from the aesthetics of the venue, our coordinator Andrea was beyond amazing. She was so sweet, easy to work with, and someone that I could totally get excited about our wedding with! She was always quick to respond to e-mails, flexible to schedule last minute appointments or change appointments, and helped our day run so smoothly- I could not imagine having planned our wedding without her! The food was provided by the on-site catering company, Claires, which was nothing short of amazing. We got so many complements on it and people kept talking about it even after our wedding. Our gorgeous blooms were dreamed up by the local florists at Sweet Peas Flower Shop I still cant get over the stunning peonies they put in my bouquet! Our wedding cake that people went back for seconds for, was made by the amazing ladies at Sweet and Saucy Shop. All of this was captured so beautifully and so perfectly by our photographers, Palos Studios, and cinematographer, Perryfield Films. They were amazing people to work with; I knew I could trust them to catch every moment in the most memorable way possible. Their photos and video brought back the emotions and excitement of our wedding and really focused on the beauty of all that marriage is- the anticipation of spending eternity with your best friend, exchanging vows, the union of family and friends, and KISSING for the first time as husband and wife!
This wedding was featured also on Style Me Pretty.
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Videography: Perryfield Films | Florist: Sweet Pea Flowers | Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero | Cake: Sweet and Saucy | Cake Topper: Better Off Wed | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Shoes: BCBG | Bridesmaid Dresses: Jessica Simpson | DJ: All the Best Tunes | Getting Ready: Hotel Maya | Table Numbers: The First Snowfall
