Los Angeles Wedding from Sarah K Chen Photography
I can't truly express my love for this wedding and all its whimsical bits without gushing just a wee bit. I mean there are pink flamingos involved and bridesmaids wearing big hair bows. It's a bowl full of awesome with a nod to Alice in Wonderland but done so perfectly. Sarah K Chen Photography snapped all the light filled festivities and you can see even more right here.
From Sarah K Chen Photography...His name is Ken and she looks like Barbie, and they share a love that is so incredibly special. It is evident in the way they laugh together and in the way Ken snuggles Andrea as if there is no other place he'd rather be. I had the honor of photographing these two lovely souls and I have to say it was probably one of my favorite weddings ever. There were chickens (real) and pink flamingos (not real) on site as well as paper airplanes, lawn croquet, giant jenga, funny glasses for family portraits, and food trucks. You really get a sense of Andrea and Ken's fun loving personalities in their wedding and how important it was for their wedding to reflect that. I loved everything about this wedding! But mostly, I loved photographing their love, their laughter, and their loved ones on their wedding day.
From the Bride...Our wedding was inspired by the venue. We were married on the porch of the beautiful Hale House at Heritage Square Museum, and we incorporated many elements of home into the wedding design. Im also a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, so Alice was incorporated as well with hints of a mad tea party, pink flamingos, doorknobs, and croquet.
The wedding was truly a labor of love. My mom and I spent months scouring Craigslist, the Rose Bowl Flea Market, antique stores, and thrift stores for furniture, decor, and all of the mismatched china. At least half a dozen times we received strange looks on the freeway as we used my mom's convertible to transport a dresser or cabinet. I also hand-stitched seventy Save the Date postcards, while my husband, Ken, an illustrator and animator, drew all of the elements for the invitations, and Emily, one of my best friends and an amazingly talented graphic designer, took the drawings and created the invitations. She also created the wedding programs, and calligraphied the envelopes, as well as any other handwritten signs. Emily also handmade my garter and my veil, which used the lace of my mothers wedding dress. She also helped me make a unique fascinator for each of the bridesmaids. I asked my bridesmaids to wear a black dress of their choosing, so the fascinators were a way to make them stand out from the crowd. We also hand-polished the mismatched antique silverware, folded a hundred paper airplanes, and handmade the bunting, garlands, signs, and table numbers.
I have so many wonderful memories of the day, but one of my favorites was when Ken dropped the ring during the ceremony. He actually mimed dropping it during the rehearsal, so it was funny when he really did drop it on the big day. Luckily, it landed on the stairs; Ken grabbed it, and quickly shoved it on my finger. My other favorite memory is of our first dance. We were both so nervous about it! Ken took some dance classes, but I could never make it to class because of law school, so we winged it. Our first dance was to the song Midnight, the Stars, and You by Ray Noble, which is the song at the end of our first movie together, The Shining. Just as Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining had "always been the caretaker," Ken whispered to me during the dance, "I have always been your husband. Forever and ever."
Photographer: Sarah K Chen Photography | Event Planning + Design: Bride and Emily Denis, The Party Task Force | Day of Coordination: Wish Wonder Dream | Floral Design: Renee Fontana | Ceremony + Reception Venue: Heritage Square Museum | Invitations: Bride, Groom + Emily Denis, The Party Task Force | Catering: Rounds Burger Truck | Dance Floor, Lighting, Table + Chair Rentals: Town and Country Event Rentals | Crepes: Crepes Bonaparte | Cakes: Fantasy Frosting | Accordionist: Alex Lavruk | DJ: David Brownstein, GD Entertainment | Photobooth Rental: Classic Photobooth | Table Numbers + Bunting: DIY by Bride, available in her Etsy shop | Hair + Makeup: Leann Seto at Kelly Zhang | Wedding Dress: Alvina Valenta | Veil + Garter: Emily Denis, The Party Task Force | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Groom's Suit: J.Crew
From the Bride...Our wedding was inspired by the venue. We were married on the porch of the beautiful Hale House at Heritage Square Museum, and we incorporated many elements of home into the wedding design. Im also a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, so Alice was incorporated as well with hints of a mad tea party, pink flamingos, doorknobs, and croquet.
The wedding was truly a labor of love. My mom and I spent months scouring Craigslist, the Rose Bowl Flea Market, antique stores, and thrift stores for furniture, decor, and all of the mismatched china. At least half a dozen times we received strange looks on the freeway as we used my mom's convertible to transport a dresser or cabinet. I also hand-stitched seventy Save the Date postcards, while my husband, Ken, an illustrator and animator, drew all of the elements for the invitations, and Emily, one of my best friends and an amazingly talented graphic designer, took the drawings and created the invitations. She also created the wedding programs, and calligraphied the envelopes, as well as any other handwritten signs. Emily also handmade my garter and my veil, which used the lace of my mothers wedding dress. She also helped me make a unique fascinator for each of the bridesmaids. I asked my bridesmaids to wear a black dress of their choosing, so the fascinators were a way to make them stand out from the crowd. We also hand-polished the mismatched antique silverware, folded a hundred paper airplanes, and handmade the bunting, garlands, signs, and table numbers.
I have so many wonderful memories of the day, but one of my favorites was when Ken dropped the ring during the ceremony. He actually mimed dropping it during the rehearsal, so it was funny when he really did drop it on the big day. Luckily, it landed on the stairs; Ken grabbed it, and quickly shoved it on my finger. My other favorite memory is of our first dance. We were both so nervous about it! Ken took some dance classes, but I could never make it to class because of law school, so we winged it. Our first dance was to the song Midnight, the Stars, and You by Ray Noble, which is the song at the end of our first movie together, The Shining. Just as Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining had "always been the caretaker," Ken whispered to me during the dance, "I have always been your husband. Forever and ever."
Photographer: Sarah K Chen Photography | Event Planning + Design: Bride and Emily Denis, The Party Task Force | Day of Coordination: Wish Wonder Dream | Floral Design: Renee Fontana | Ceremony + Reception Venue: Heritage Square Museum | Invitations: Bride, Groom + Emily Denis, The Party Task Force | Catering: Rounds Burger Truck | Dance Floor, Lighting, Table + Chair Rentals: Town and Country Event Rentals | Crepes: Crepes Bonaparte | Cakes: Fantasy Frosting | Accordionist: Alex Lavruk | DJ: David Brownstein, GD Entertainment | Photobooth Rental: Classic Photobooth | Table Numbers + Bunting: DIY by Bride, available in her Etsy shop | Hair + Makeup: Leann Seto at Kelly Zhang | Wedding Dress: Alvina Valenta | Veil + Garter: Emily Denis, The Party Task Force | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Groom's Suit: J.Crew