There are sooo many excuses to have a long wedding weekend, but the one that means the most is bringing family together. For Ashley and Eric, whose loved-ones stretched coast-to-coast, hosting a Memorial Day celebration was a no-brainer. From her stunning Julie Ireland dress to the dreamy sun-splashed images from Josh Gruetzmacher, their day went off without a hitch. See it all in THE VAULT!
From The Bride…Eric’s family and friends are from the East Coast while Ashley’s are form the West Coast and thus our wedding was truly an opportunity for us to have all our loved ones in one place. Therefore, we wanted our wedding location to be an exciting destination. We picked Paso Robles, CA over memorial weekend as this allowed our guests to spend a long weekend together celebrating our wedding and exploring the beautiful central coast.
We made the day about the two of us by focusing our wedding on being a celebration of the coming together of two great groups of friends and family. It was important to us to make the weekend a celebration for everyone to enjoy and we did that by having a bowling event for all guests after the rehearsal dinner that went on well into the night, a “U” shaped table layout so that the guests felt connected, a large outdoor dance floor and an amazing DJ. Our most memorable moment of the day- dancing – the large outdoor dance floor coupled with an amazing DJ drew quite the crowd.
For future brides, we’d recommend booking your vendors early and remember this is about the two of you so figure out what you want and plan towards that. Stay focused on enjoying your wedding experience and don’t get hung up on the little things that don’t go perfectly. The wedding atmosphere is rooted in the bride and groom enjoying themselves and thus if you are having a blast then so will your guests.
Photography: Josh Gruetzmacher Photography | Coordination: Touch of Style, Event Coordinating & Design | Floral Design: Pink Rose Pretty Girl | Wedding Dress: Julie Ireland Dress Making | Invitations: Vera Wang | Brides Shoes: Christian Louboutin | Jewelry: Jenny Packham | Bridesmaids Dresses: Adrianna Papell | Catering: Thomas Hill Organics | Makeup: The Queens Bees | Hair: Sean Metcalfe | DJ: Malik Miko Thorne | Grooms Attire: Calvin Klein | Venue: HammerSky Vineyards & Inn | Desserts: Ellys Sweet Tooth | Rentals: All About Events