Bakersfield California Wedding from Mariel Hannah Photography
This wedding is like a dream come true in wedding form. It's magic from each of the ruffles on the Brides's gorgeous gown to the bounty of beautiful florals from Uniquely Chic to the lineup of gorgeous maids. But where the magic really begins is with the couple. A couple who couldn't look more in love if they tried. Lucky for all of us, we get to see their gorgeous day unfold through the lens of Mariel Hannah Photography (who just so happens to be the Groom's sister), and it's all sitting pretty right here.
From the Bride... The vision for our wedding was surprising to many people. Growing up, I've always been bold, outspoken, bright and a little wild. I always wanted to be fancy, I just didn't know how. Over the course of dating Chad though, I've learned from his family and his mother and sister in particular how to soften it up a bit. Instead of picking hot pink sparkles, black and lime green, I noticed they'd usually pick something like cream and light pastel pink along with other softer tones and shades. They introduced me to the wonderful world of elegance, sophistication and texture - a more mature and natural beauty. This is what I wanted my wedding to look like. After all, I did see my wedding as a cross roads as becoming a woman from a girl.
This whole new world I'd been introduced to is what inspired the soft champagnes, golds, and creams as the wedding colors. We needed a color to 'pop,' so my mom and I chose the soft pastel pink roses to incorporate in my girls' bouquets and the table centerpieces. We wanted to add a touch of sparkle (the old me is not ALL gone) so we chose to wrap some sparkly ribbon around the top of the candle holders. They gave off a nice shimmer, and since the ribbon was translucent and wrapped around the top of the candle holder instead of the middle, it actually softened the candlelight glow.
The last little bit of the old me was brought out in my dress. I wanted something different - not something you'd seen on a million other brides. I definitely did not want a trendy dress. I was in love with it before the lady could even walk it all the way over to the dressing room. It was breathtaking and unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It had feathers which looked like wings of an angel. The entire top was pure white feathers with a sweetheart neckline. It made me feel glowy and princess-like. It was so beautiful and stunning. Ladies and Gents is the only place I'd go for a wedding dress or evening wear now.
Our photographer, Mariel Hanna is one of the most special things about our wedding. She just so happens to be Chad's sister! We couldn't decide whether to have ask her to be our photographer (her work is exquisite), or to be one of the first bridesmaids, as it is a place of honor. We wanted to have her do what she wanted to do-- so we decided to ask her instead of guessing. She chose to be our photographer! We were SO stoked to hear that she wanted to do this. It was an absolute honor for us to have Mariel as our photographer, not only due to her breathtaking photography style but also the thought of her being Chad's sister and my sister-in-law. What a blessing it is to be related to one of the most talented photographers in today's business. We love you, Mariel, and we thank you from the bottom of hearts for your kind and loving gesture of working hours on end on our very special day.
I had been seeing brooches in bouquets all over Pinterest. I loved that it threw a little extra pizzazz into my bouquet. For the wedding shower, we had our special ladies each bring a brooch. It could be old or new - didn't matter. I was blessed enough to get both kind! From some of the younger ladies, I received some very pretty sparkly diamond ones which were special simply because they were from that particular girl and I'd get to carry a memory of them down the aisle with me. I also received things like grandparent's wedding rings, great grandmother's (who had passed away before I met her) jewelry, and also some brooches from other important ladies that had sentimental meaning to them. It was a great way to include all my girls in the whole ceremony. The 'something blue' was my Grandma Julie's blue diamond brooch. She died when I was young, but I still remember playing dress up with her. She's the closest person to me that has passed away so her particular memory was very important to capture here.
Besides our vows and actual marriage ceremony, the song that Chad composed, "Toni's Song" was the most romantic part of the whole day. He played it on the piano in front of the whole congregation. He was inspired to write it because he said I'm a symbol of a real princess in his life as my Father is the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, which in turn makes me a real live princess, and Chad a real live prince. Chad says he wanted to capture the princess aspect with a classical sound and also make it sound feminine with higher notes, instead of lower ones. He also said he wanted to capture my graceful beauty. When he was writing it, he was thinking about my hair in the breeze, white smile and pretty eyes. "They all coincide so beautifully well and graceful. Towards the climactic part of it, I was trying to compose your heart as the overarching beauty over all of it because you let God take control of it and shape it," he told me. *heart flutters*
Wedding Photography: Mariel Hannah Photography | Ceremony Venue: Valley Baptist Church | Reception Venue: Petroleum Club of Bakersfield | Floral Design: Uniquely Chic | Wedding Cake: Anamie's Sweets | Wedding Dress: Ladies and Gents | Groom's Attire: J. Ferrar | DJ: Freestyle Entertainment | Hair + Makeup: Alivia Daniels with La-Tee-Da Salon & Spa | Bridesmaids' Shoes: Rock & Republic
This whole new world I'd been introduced to is what inspired the soft champagnes, golds, and creams as the wedding colors. We needed a color to 'pop,' so my mom and I chose the soft pastel pink roses to incorporate in my girls' bouquets and the table centerpieces. We wanted to add a touch of sparkle (the old me is not ALL gone) so we chose to wrap some sparkly ribbon around the top of the candle holders. They gave off a nice shimmer, and since the ribbon was translucent and wrapped around the top of the candle holder instead of the middle, it actually softened the candlelight glow.
The last little bit of the old me was brought out in my dress. I wanted something different - not something you'd seen on a million other brides. I definitely did not want a trendy dress. I was in love with it before the lady could even walk it all the way over to the dressing room. It was breathtaking and unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It had feathers which looked like wings of an angel. The entire top was pure white feathers with a sweetheart neckline. It made me feel glowy and princess-like. It was so beautiful and stunning. Ladies and Gents is the only place I'd go for a wedding dress or evening wear now.
Our photographer, Mariel Hanna is one of the most special things about our wedding. She just so happens to be Chad's sister! We couldn't decide whether to have ask her to be our photographer (her work is exquisite), or to be one of the first bridesmaids, as it is a place of honor. We wanted to have her do what she wanted to do-- so we decided to ask her instead of guessing. She chose to be our photographer! We were SO stoked to hear that she wanted to do this. It was an absolute honor for us to have Mariel as our photographer, not only due to her breathtaking photography style but also the thought of her being Chad's sister and my sister-in-law. What a blessing it is to be related to one of the most talented photographers in today's business. We love you, Mariel, and we thank you from the bottom of hearts for your kind and loving gesture of working hours on end on our very special day.
I had been seeing brooches in bouquets all over Pinterest. I loved that it threw a little extra pizzazz into my bouquet. For the wedding shower, we had our special ladies each bring a brooch. It could be old or new - didn't matter. I was blessed enough to get both kind! From some of the younger ladies, I received some very pretty sparkly diamond ones which were special simply because they were from that particular girl and I'd get to carry a memory of them down the aisle with me. I also received things like grandparent's wedding rings, great grandmother's (who had passed away before I met her) jewelry, and also some brooches from other important ladies that had sentimental meaning to them. It was a great way to include all my girls in the whole ceremony. The 'something blue' was my Grandma Julie's blue diamond brooch. She died when I was young, but I still remember playing dress up with her. She's the closest person to me that has passed away so her particular memory was very important to capture here.
Besides our vows and actual marriage ceremony, the song that Chad composed, "Toni's Song" was the most romantic part of the whole day. He played it on the piano in front of the whole congregation. He was inspired to write it because he said I'm a symbol of a real princess in his life as my Father is the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, which in turn makes me a real live princess, and Chad a real live prince. Chad says he wanted to capture the princess aspect with a classical sound and also make it sound feminine with higher notes, instead of lower ones. He also said he wanted to capture my graceful beauty. When he was writing it, he was thinking about my hair in the breeze, white smile and pretty eyes. "They all coincide so beautifully well and graceful. Towards the climactic part of it, I was trying to compose your heart as the overarching beauty over all of it because you let God take control of it and shape it," he told me. *heart flutters*
Wedding Photography: Mariel Hannah Photography | Ceremony Venue: Valley Baptist Church | Reception Venue: Petroleum Club of Bakersfield | Floral Design: Uniquely Chic | Wedding Cake: Anamie's Sweets | Wedding Dress: Ladies and Gents | Groom's Attire: J. Ferrar | DJ: Freestyle Entertainment | Hair + Makeup: Alivia Daniels with La-Tee-Da Salon & Spa | Bridesmaids' Shoes: Rock & Republic