Next up is a perfect little slice of happiness shot by Silvana Di Franco Photography. It may be drenched in rain but we happen to find that utterly romantic and from the big huge smiles on the bride and groom’s faces, it’s clear that they didn’t let the unexpected weather dampen their spirits in the least. Gloomy on the outside but completely and totally gorgeous on the inside – see it all here!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride…Chris and I met in March 2003, during our freshman year at UCLA, at a mutual friend’s birthday party. We hit it off right away, and began dating “officially” about a month later. We’ve been together ever since. Last year, Chris moved with me to Washington, DC, so I could study public policy in a city I’ve always dreamed of living in. Because we met so young, we were never in a rush to get married. But the cross-country move made me realize I was ready to take that next step. Lucky for me, Chris was on the same page, and he proposed in October, in a beautiful spot on the National Mall in DC.
We quickly decided that wanted our wedding to be a warm, happy celebration with lots of laughter and fun, with delicious food and wine, and with our closest friends, many of whom we’d known since the beginning of our relationship, and with our wonderful families. Being natives of the Bay Area, there was no question that we would get married somewhere in that area. We both loved the idea of holding the whole event in an outdoor space – there’s no better backdrop for a wedding than nature, we thought. After lots of internet research from the opposite coast, we found Sand Rock Farm. And after an in-person visit, we knew it would be the perfect spot.
We decided we’d take care of a lot of the details ourselves, in order to make our wedding reflect our personalities and our relationship as much as possible. We asked my Aunt Debbie to serve as the officiant, and we wrote a ceremony that contained elements of our parents’ weddings. Chris made the playlists and stocked the bar (two of his favorite hobbies), and I spent hours making timelines and scouring Style Me Pretty for décor ideas and Etsy for the pieces I pictured. Everything was coming together quite well, until the Tuesday before the wedding, when suddenly there was a 40% chance of rain on the day of the wedding. Sand Rock Farm had a rain plan, but historically, the chance of rain in the Bay Area in June is VERY slim, so we’d totally written off the idea of having to think about rain contingencies. After a tearful phone call to Chris and a friend sent some beautiful pictures of rainy weddings, I began to come to terms with the fact that my wedding wouldn’t be quite what I’d envisioned.
We woke up to pouring rain on Saturday morning. At that point, I was just hoping there would be some breaks in the rain so we could at least take some photos outside. Fortunately, the rain lessened by the afternoon, and we had some opportunities to enjoy being outside in beautiful Aptos. Though some elements of our wedding didn’t go off entirely as expected (the weather being the main thing), it turned out to be an absolutely wonderful day. We were surrounded by people who we love and who love us. We didn’t get caught up in the little details and just enjoyed ourselves. We had fabulous vendors who were total pros and made our day run smoothly and ensured we have beautiful photos and video by which to remember the day. Most importantly – as Chris reminded me throughout the planning process, when I was worried about centerpieces or getting behind schedule – I got to marry my soulmate, and he got to marry his.
Wedding Dress: Jenny Yoo Bridal Alternatives / Venue: Historic Sand Rock Farm / Caterer: Swingtime Catering / Floral Design: Tiffany’s Flowers / Cake: The Buttery / Bride’s Hair: Daniel Lee / Bride’s Make-up: Nicole Kinder / Wedding Coordinator: Raylene Zats / Wedding Photography: Silvana Di Franco Photography