Not only were Anita and Mark my last wedding of 2011, but they’re friends of mine, and friends with the talented Brian & Allie Callaway of Callaway Gable. The Callaways shot their wedding and I planned it, however, we obtained special permission from the Smog Shoppe owners to take off our vendor hats during the evening and celebrate with them as friends. It was a first for me, to say the least.
As you can see from their photos, Mark & Anita are Awesome with a capital “A”. Their sense of humor came through during the entire wedding process from their hilarious wedding website to Anita’s funny post on Facebook asking for random figurines: the weirder, the better. She had friends dropping off statues of Jesus, Napoleon Dynamite, Budda, butterflies, swans, and gnomes, which she then proceeded to spray paint egg yolk yellow and turquoise (pronounced, according to Anita, “Turqwaaaaaz” ) and give to the girls at Holly Flora to use as part of the tablescape. The girls at Holly Flora were tickled to have a bride whose love for Pegasuses rivaled their own. In fact, the Holly girls even spray painted their beloved unicorn statue Turqwaz to put on the guest book table.
Because their wedding took place after daylight savings (11/11/11) and Anita did not want to eat dinner at the “early bird nerd time” of 4:30 if we had had a daylight ceremony, we made a unanimous decision to have the ceremony held after dark with only the light of chandeliers. Originally the chandeliers were supposed to “float” above the courtyard at Smog, but due to inclement weather, we had to move forward with our rain plan. Thankfully we did as the rain began when the ceremony did.
The evening was beyond spectacular. The love emanating from the area was palpable and the laughter was non-stop. It was an absolute honor and joy to be a part of such a special couple’s day!
Anita with her Maid of Honor, Michelle. Michelle, one of my friends also, has assisted me at a few of my weddings and might look familiar from this post
Friends and fellow wedding vendors, Jenny and Joseph Llanes of Llanes Weddings. They got to be guests!
The adorable Brian and Allie Callaway of Callaway Gable enjoying the evening
Me with my red carpet pose. Huge thanks to my associate Nira for taking over the evening and allowing me to put on a pretty dress and dance the night away! Thanks, Callaways, for this flattering photo! xo
The fierce and fabulous Armine Sexenia Ohanessian, owner of R-Mine Bridal. Armine designed Anita’s custom gown, styled the bridal party, and generally was Anita’s fairy godmother of wedding style. She’s fabulous!
Anita and the Callaways goofing around
The team that made the magic
Bar Service: Sunseri’s
Bridal Gown: R-Mine Bespoke
Caterer: Auntie Em’s Kitchen
DJ: DJ Nahchey of Dash Entertainment
Florist: Holly Flora
Groomswear: The Groom’s Valet
Hair: Dessarae of Parlor
Makeup: Brittney of Brows By Brittney
Invitation Design: Lauren of A Fabulous Fete
Invitation Printing: Creative Letterpress
Linen Napkins: DwellStudio for Target
Placemats: Lauren of A Fabulous Fete
Planner: Amber Gustafson of Amber Events (special thanks to Nira, Heather, and Neusha!)
Photographer: Callaway Gable
Rentals: Smart Party Rents
Rings: J.R.’s Diamonds & Jewelry
