Wedding Weekend: The Welcoming Party

July 25, 2014

Lets talk, Tradition and Wedding Etiquette…

Traditionally, the day before the wedding you have your rehearsal. At the rehearsal you run through how the ceremony will go, as briefly or as detailed as you wish. After the rehearsal you then have your rehearsal dinner. It’s wedding etiquette for the groom’s family to plan and fund the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner traditionally includes both groom’s and bride’s immediate family and the full wedding party.

My Wedding...

My wedding was anything but traditional. I didn’t have a wedding party. My wedding was very small, only a total of 46 people. Whether they came from near or far, all of my wedding guests traveled. Because of this we decided on having a Welcoming Party in place of the traditional rehearsal dinner.

This was the best idea ever. Let me explain… The group of guests invited to my wedding were my closest best family and friends. Because everyone was so close to me, and because everyone traveled to come celebrate my groom and I, there was absolutely no way I would exclude anyone. The Welcoming Party allowed me to start the partying early. It also gave people the opportunity to reunite after years of not seeing each other, and meet those who they didn’t know. That way everyone could immediately feel comfortable and let loose quickly at the wedding.

Planning: The Welcoming Party…

Planning the welcoming party was not an easy task. I was busy and focused on the final details of the wedding, so I was dreading one more thing to plan. Traditionally, the groom’s side plans the rehearsal dinner, including every detail, down to the invites. The majority of my friends who have gotten married, told me they weren’t involved in the rehearsal dinner planning at all. Well, for me it was the total opposite.

Because my wedding was a destination, my groom was not familiar with the area. My mom and I had traveled out to San Francisco and Wine Country, at the end of April, to meet my vendors, but he did not come with me. While I was out there, I checked out a couple possible venues for the welcoming party. Because of this, it only made since for me to take control and plan the party.

One of the first suggestions, made by my wedding planner, was to have the welcoming party at my Aunt’s ranch, The Tejada Ranch. However, The Tejada Ranch was my wedding venue. I did not want my guests to see the ranch before the wedding. Because the ranch is so charming, I wanted to leave the ranch a surprise for the wedding day. I was nervous that by having the welcoming party at the ranch my wedding day would be less special, because it would almost be like a repeat of the night before. I wanted my guests to experience something different.

As I explored wine country, my aunt, mom, and I came up with two other options. The Blue Wing Saloon, or The Lodge at Blue Lakes.

The Blue Wing Saloon is the restaurant affiliated with the gorgeous Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake. The cool idea about using The Blue Wing Saloon was that we could do wine tasting at The Tasting Room.

Convenience always wins…

However, after a lot of debating, my groom and I finally decided on The Lodge at Blue Lakes. The Lodge at Blue Lakes is where I blocked off rooms for my wedding guests. A big chunk of my wedding guests were staying there, which made it super convenient for them. This convenience was very important to me. I didn’t want my guests to arrive to wine country after a 3 hour drive form San Francisco, and then immediately have to get back in the car to find another place, when they may be tired. Instead, they would arrive to the hotel, relax a little, and get ready, and then head to the back deck of the hotel for the welcoming party.

A review on The Lodge at Blue Lakes…

The Lodge at Blue Lakes is the cutest Lodge in Upper Lake. The best part of this hidden gem is the Blue Lake, which you can swim in. The back deck of the lodge wraps around the lake – it was there that we had the Welcoming Party.

Maryann is the owner of the Lodge. I’ve never emailed someone so many times. Booking the room block with her in January was easier than planning the event. When it came to planning the event, there were times when she immediately emailed me back and then there were times that I didn’t hear back from her, so I would have to call. Turns out she is a really busy lady. And although, I was nervous and had mixed feelings about her during the planning process, she came through. Her team was amazing. The food was delicious. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better Welcoming Party.

The Welcoming Party: Words and Photos…

I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Maryann’s team was concerned about it being to windy outside on the deck. But nope, I wanted my party outside. It turned out perfect. The sun was shining. There was a slight breeze. And I wasn’t exaggerating when I said the Blue Lake was beautiful. Look at that lake.

Erik and I couldn’t have been happier. We were all smiles! Getting close friends and family together is our favorite thing to do. The Welcoming Party allowed us to do that, and start our wedding celebration early.

Everyone seemed to have a really fun time, reuniting, and meeting each other.

Speeches made me speechless…

The best thing ever happened two of my best friends surprised me with speeches.

I will never forget their sweet words. They brought me to tears. Happy tears. I also will always remember looking at my groom and seeing his amazing reaction as well.

Mariana – who now lives in Sri Lanka, Rachel, Me, and Elissa – who now lives in Thailand. I am so lucky my closest friends came even Mari and Elissa who live in Asia.

Hanging with my favorite (Dorsey) cousins…

Another awesome thing was getting to be with my favorite cousins.

Rachel and I…

Me and Colleen

All of us together…

Hanging out with more of my favorites…

Dorsey sisters with Aunt Kathy!

Bride, Groom, Erik’s mom – my new mother in law, and Jax.

Sisters, Dorsey girls!

In the End…

Once again, The Lodge at Blue Lakes was the absolute perfect place to throw The Welcoming Party. Maryann the owner, came though and it was fantastic. Erik and I couldn’t have been happier.

Thank you…

I want to say a special thank you to Erik’s parents for helping out with The Welcoming Party. I also want to thank Maryann for letting me and my groom celebrate at The Lake at Blue Lodge– it really was beautiful. I want to thank Mariana and Rachel, for the kind words and amazing speeches. And most importantly, I want to thank all of my guest for coming to share this special time. Lastly, I want to thank Erik, my groom, I am lucky to have you in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Running on my Wedding Day!

July 13, 2014

From the title of this post…

Thoughts of a run away bride may be passing through your mind…

But nope, hell no… There is no way I would ever run away from this handsome man.

no way… we are stuck like glue!

So I wasn’t a runaway bride, but because I am a runner, I was desperately trying to fit a run in the week of my wedding.

I flew out to San Francisco Monday, June 23rd. I stayed in the Berkley area with my mom, and then drove to Upper Lake (Wine Country) on Wednesday the 25th. I really wanted to run over the Golden Gate Bridge while I was in San Fran, but it was impossible. My mom and I were so busy, shopping, eating, and wedding preparations consumed us.

I had been lifting heavy and running consistently leading up to the wedding, so taking a few days off felt really good. Plus my main priority was getting married and having a fabulous celebration (wedding.)

My sisters and now husband met me in Upper Lake, on Wednesday night. I will never forget that smile my groom gave me when he first arrived. He was so happy to see me his wife to be, and I was happy to see him.

The rest of the week was still busy with wedding appointments and errands. So it turned out, I wasn’t able to fit a run in until the morning of my wedding.

My sister made me a running bib that said BRIDE.

We pinned on the bride bib, grabbed our running gear, and off we went. We run a 3.5 mile loop in Lake Port, along the lake. It was gorgeous. I always wanted to run in Wine Country, and what better day to do it then on my Wedding day.

There is my something blue… So blue…

There I am running… I know you are jealous. This is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever run.

Although, it was a short run, any run is better than no run. This run will be an unforgettable one. It got me sweating for my wedding and relived any stress I had.

When my sister and I were done with our run, duh… we stopped at Starbucks. The Starbucks girl wrote Bride on my cup.

With a good run and a lot of Caffeine I was pumped to do the damn thing or in other words, get married to my favorite man, and get the party started.

Did you run on your wedding day?

Wedding Planning: ups and downs, all around…

July 7, 2014

Hey lovelies,

Sorry again for being MIA…

I’ve been one very busy lady.

Weddings took over my months, May and June. Many of you may already know this, but for those who have just started reading my blog… I am a Hair Stylist.

You may also know… I got engaged August 29, 2013 (read about the proposal here.) The minute I got engaged it felt like every client of mine did too. Literally, not exaggerating one bit. My client would ask, “What’s new?” I would answer, “I’m engaged.” My client would immediately squeal, “Omg, me too!”

I will admit – although there were many early mornings, and stressful wedding planning days, it was all worth it in the end. My wedding day was the best day ever.

Yes, I was out of my element. I challenged myself to be as type A and as organized as I could be. Being and artist this didn’t come naturally. I never emailed so many people in my life. I never wrote so many checks. I never went to the post office that many times. I was glued to my phone, answering questions, booking plane tickets, making a wedding website, (check out my wedding website,) registering. I have a slight obsessed personality, so weddings became my life.

This was not a bad thing though… Many of my newly engaged clients were going through the same thing I was… We were able to share stories with each other. For example, one of my bride clients used a lady for dress alterations, who was a total nightmare. I told her the lady sounds terribly familiar similar to one I was going to use, but ended up not using. We both had a good laugh when we found out it was the same lady.

Many of my bride clients needed my opinion and advice (beyond hair and makeup) and I equally needed theirs. I shared my mistakes.

I began telling them about my idea of eloping. Everyone thinks eloping is easy and inexpensive… Well not in all cases. My idea to elope while on vacation in Thailand ended up being cookie cutter and expensive. Thank God, I scratched that idea. Always listen to your instincts… I did not feel good about the idea, and was thankful that I planned Thailand as our pre-moon. My husband (fiancé at the time) and I really got to explore and enjoy the country instead of worrying about trying to get married.

Another good mistake I made which I shared with many of my clients is waiting too long to order invitations. I did not know it was going to take 3 weeks to print, and they were really expensive. Average wedding invite for a small wedding of 50 people is around $500.

When it came to hair and makeup, everyone would ask, “Well, what are you going to do with your hair?” I would answer, “Well, I’m going to do my own hair and just wing it that day.” Mouths would drop in shock. I would answer, “Hair is my thing, at this point, it is the least of my worries.”

However, I pinned a ton of wedding hair ideas on my secret, “Vow” pin board. (I just opened it to the public.)

This was a lifesaver for my bride clients who needed hair ideas. I just handed over my iPad and let them scroll down. I have nail ideas, and make up ideas too.

Anyway it was a very special time planning my wedding. There were times when I hated it and there were times when I loved it. But having clients going through the wedding process as well made it even more special. I could relate to them on a a whole different level.

From the hair stylist who never use to check her email, now I can’t go a day without checking. From the girl, who was always spur of the moment, let’s play it by ear kind of girl, who never dreamt up her own wedding… I am proud to say I planned my wedding and it came out exactly the way I imagined it to be. I am happy to say now I am the queen of wedding planning. I know everything about weddings. Woah… never thought those words would come out of my mouth, but they just did, and it is the truth. I only speak the truth.

Check back later this weekend to read…

On Saturday – enjoy reading a post on my Wedding Day Run!
On Sunday – enjoy reading a detailed post on the Wedding. It will be intimate, charming, and funny! Including tons of pictures.