Colorful weddings always stand out in my mind. I think it’s the vibrancy of the day that really gets me and with this Marrakesh House, that vibrancy is palpable. A couple with smiles as big as the state of Texas and a wedding crafted to reflect that energy and love is one you can’t go wrong with. Take florals beautifully designed by Seed Floral and images captured by onelove photography, weave them all together and BOOM! We have ourselves a looker with a whole lot of heart. See it all right here.
From the Bride… We wanted our wedding to truly be a labor of love. We were so thrilled to tie the knot, surrounded by our favorite people, after seven and a half years together, and we were so excited to share with them a visual representation of ourselves. Sean is a big-picture thinker, and I notice details, so we made a great wedding planning team. He could articulate his visions for the day in the larger terms — great food (mac and cheese was a must!), great drink (why not have a scotch bar?), honest vendors and danceable music. I was in charge of the details — vintage, Moroccan-looking magazines for the tables, a Marlene Dietrich movie (Morocco, of course) screening in the library and details that highlighted my Italian heritage. Working on it together made it feel like our day, which is what a wedding is, rather than just the bride’s day. We both had a hand in everything that made our day special, making it all the more memorable and drawing us even closer.
I have a strong affinity for our table numbers. They were fairly simple — we got dollar store 8×10-inch frames and painted them, then collected all the family wedding photos we could find. We copied the photos and added numbers for each table, as well as an explanation of their relationship to us and the year they were married. We learned so much about our families through this process, sitting with our grandparents and hearing their wedding stories. We even found wedding photos for some of our great-grandparents! It was a great way to incorporate the whole family into our wedding.
Once you’ve decided on your total budget, make a list of your priorities. Some things are worth the money, and some aren’t — it’s different for everyone. We picked food and photography as our priorities. The venue and music were next. This gave us a sense of how much money to allot to each element of our wedding. The items we had to be more frugal with ended up being just as great because it forced us to be creative. We only had a little bit of money for invites, so we found a way to make our own. We couldn’t afford a rental photo booth, so we used an inexpensive program and our laptop to make our own, complete with goofy props. In the end, you will be married, and everything else is just a detail that you can emphasize as much or as little as you want.
The whole day was so memorable and wonderful — lots of warm fuzzies from being surrounded by friends and family and getting to marry my best friend. One of my favorite moments though was at the very end of the night. Our venue required a shuttle as there is no parking nearby. My husband and I took the shuttle down with the last few remaining guests. Someone mentioned that they had been hoping to hear the Chicken Dance and were sad that we hadn’t played it. The shuttle driver heard, pulled over and put it on his iPod so we could dance. People and cars were stopping to see what we were doing, but we didn’t care. My husband and I, our best man and bridesmaid, and about six of my dad’s cousins chicken-danced proudly in the bus for all to see. Such a sweet gesture by the driver and such a memorable end to the party!
Wedding Photography: onelove photography / Wedding Venue: Marrakesh House in Culver City, California / Floral Design: Seed Floral / Wedding Day Coordination: Michelle Rodriguez of Eco Caters / Officiant: Rev. Clint Hufft / Catering: Eco Caters / Wedding Cake: Lisa and Mo / DJ: Ian Gotler of Red Shoe / Lighting + Rentals: Town & Country Event Rentals / Wedding Dress: Lea Ann Belter via Ivory Suite Bridal Boutique / Bride’s Shoes: ModCloth / Hair: Christine Crest of Chrome Salon & Spa / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew / Groom’s Attire: Express