Having SVV out of work on disability leave (thanks to that pesky shattered wrist from the dirtbike riding accident) for the five weeks leading up the wedding turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as we did a lot of the small things ourselves and it was nice having an extra hand (notice I won’t say two extra hands, as the right one was most definitely disabled). I won’t say it was a DIY wedding by any means, but we did enjoy making the place cards out of the font (“dirty headline”) that appeared on our invites and save-the-dates, as well as the table names (countries we have visited together), which we printed on thick card stock and then mounted. Actually, when I say “we,” he handled all the actual design work; I just did the cutting and punching.

Then, there was writing out the seating chart, which we left until the very last possible minute (not coming up with the seating chart itself; oh no, I had that completed before we even had the official head count and all RSVPs in hand! it’s the important things like these, people, that keep me awake at night). We had procured these old windows from SVV’s brother Jim, but weren’t really sure how to use them. So, after our rehearsal dinner, we found ourselves priming and painting (again, I say “we,” when Scott did the work, and I just sat around offering moral support) in our building’s garage at 11:30pm, hoping to God the things dried before morning. The best thing about having a 5:30pm wedding is that you can get a good night’s rest the night before and have the morning of to finish last minute touches like writing 85 names in rusty cursive on old window panes-cum-seating charts.

(photo by Leah)

The fam and I headed over to the inn around 1pm, while SVV jetted down to San Mateo to pick up 13 dozen cupcakes.

We had a lot of accoutrements to transport, such as the cases of champagne and juice for the makeshift champagne cocktail bar (guests were forced encouraged to show up and mix themselves a cocktail before the ceremony began), the Ghirardelli chocolate for the hot chocolate bar at the end of the night, the old-fashioned Strauss milk bottles to accompany the cupcakes, the dozens of vintage cake plates we had collected for the cupcake display, the basket of metallic-hued flip-flops (“Put on Your Dancin’ Shoes!”) for the gals for the reception, and the camera, printer, backdrop, etc. for the photo booth.

(photo by Leah)

In lieu of a traditional guest book, I created a Shutterfly photo album of SVV and me through the years and left guests ample white space to write us a message with a Sharpie. Something we’ll actually be able to flip through and enjoy in the future! Also, great for coffee table clutter.

The florist team showed up around the same time we did and went to town setting up the floral arch, decorating the aisle with petals and adorning the tables inside.

(photo by Leah)

In fact, I pretty much took it easy that afternoon, while SVV and a couple of his friends had laborious tasks such as setting up the rental chairs for the ceremony. After a year of being the wedding planner, it was nice to get a break for once!

I did, however, watch from my bridal suite upstairs, as it was fun to see everyone while they couldn’t see me.

Since our wedding was in such a secluded spot, I was very lucky to find a hair stylist and make-up artist who was willing to travel all that way. Her name is Anna, and she’s the events specialist at Bamboo, where I normally get my hair styled by Moose’s aunt (the owner) down in Half Moon Bay. She’s as cute as a button, talented to boot and did wonders on transforming Kari and me.

Meanwhile, in the other room, my mother-in-law Joan was spiffying up my nephew Jack, our ring bearer, in the suit she made him.

And a little of this was taking place between SVV and his brother/best man Jim.

I mean, it’s not like we were totally sober down the hall either, of course. My officiant Lemon brought up the champagne, so we had mimosas (in Solo cups, classy broads that we are), a calming agent if ever there were one, and I gave Kari and her the “bridal party” gifts, custom-made clutches to match their dresses (purchased via this Etsy seller).

And we all crammed in one of the cozy upstairs bedrooms in the Pelican Inn to strap me in my dress (seriously, couldn’t breathe), tie my sash and take some last minute family shots.

I wound up wearing a few things blue (undergarments and flip-flops that I found myself in more frequently than my heels), but my something borrowed (also, old) was mighty special. My late grandmother Dede, whose wedding ring I now wear, received this necklace for her 21st birthday from her beloved father in 1942. Two days later, he died. It was her most treasured possession while she was alive, and we wrapped it around my bouquet.

And just like that—after what seemed like hours years, but at the same time mere minutes—it was time to meet my groom. *deep breath*

*****

*All images, unless otherwise noted, were taken by our AWESOME photographer Barbara Ries. The others are screen grabs from Leah’s Flickr. The pixelation is all me, as they’re low-res and Flickr recently made it impossible to download other people’s images; I don’t want to do a disservice to Leah’s amazing photography talent!

**As to not overwhelm you all with our wedding, I’ll post one recap a week until I’m done talking about it and fill the other days with the much-anticipated South Africa, Dubai and Borneo coverage I owe all of you. If you want to read more about the wedding for now, Leah wrote a lovely post, and Moose recapped how she almost ruined the wedding “cake” (*snicker*).