Our wedding

July 7th 2017,

The day I went from Miss to Madame.

See what I did there ^

If someone would’ve told 19 year old me, at 25 you are going to marry the man of your dreams in one of the most romantic cities on earth.. I would’ve laughed. Everyday I am still in awe of where I am, who I’m with and all of the changes that have occurred in my life this past year… It’s been A LOT.

As you know, my husband and I have families who live in two different countries which left us to make a decision about what kind of wedding we wanted to have. Although the idea of having an intimate wedding was something that we both wanted from the very beginning…The choice behind how intimate it was, was left to our circumstances.

With both of our extended families held close to our hearts on this day, we had an unforgettable day full of love and laughter accompanied by our parents, siblings, and a few best friends.

Here are some of our wedding day details!

Photographers:  Rudy and Marta photography

Venue: Private home in Antony France

After searching for a venue for months and having no luck, we were so incredibly grateful when a family friend invited us to have their home for our wedding.  This place was truly more perfect than I could have ever imagined for our special day.

Dress: La Sposa/Boutique: Pebbles Bridal, Woodland Hills CA 

Dress shoppingggggg!

I’m all about keeping things as simple as possible, when it came to finding my dress.. I just wanted to go with my mom, find it, buy it, love it and be done!

Luckily, it went exactly how I wanted.

During my moms visit for thanksgiving last year while I was still living in Los Angeles we made it our MISSION to find a dress by the end of the week that she was there.

After checking out a handful of stores all around LA and almost feeling like I was going to find NOTHING…we ran into Pebbles Bridal located in Woodland Hills CA. Our experience was nothing short of the best! Thanks to everyone at Pebbles Bridal the process of finding my dress was easy, efficient, and fun. I wanted something simple, yet elegant and romantic. I found exactly what I was looking for and I couldn’t have been happier with my choice!

One of my favorite moments of the day, My mom walked me down the aisle..

This moment was truly something that meant a lot to me. Growing up I thought about this moment a lot, who was going to walk me down the aisle when I got married? I had a fear that I wasn’t going to be like everyone else having a father to share this special moment with. Luckily those insecurities went away as I got older and realized what this moment was about. To think of the person who would give me away on my wedding day and take the most important walks of my life with it would never be anyone else but her. The woman who raised me, and the reason I am who I am today.. I loved this moment! 

Ceremony: by Florence Celebrance Bilingual French/English officiant 

Although I do want to keep the photos from our ceremony private, I do believe one of the most important people that helped make this day possible was our officiant Florence who delivered a beautiful and heartfelt bilingual ceremony in both French and English giving both of our families and friends equal opportunity to be in the moment with us.

With the majority of the ceremony in English Florence summarized each portion in French and also provided leaflets with the entire ceremony written in French for our family and friends to follow along if needed.

My best friends Laine and Taylor flew all the way in from Orlando and California to share this special day with me! 

Thank goodness for these girls.

Our families became one, I have brothers now!

I feel so blessed to have become a part of this beautiful family. From the very first moment I met them they welcomed me with open arms into their family and to now officially be one just feels so special.

Table settings/Decor: Handmade by yours truly! 

There’s something about making things on my own that makes it that much more special to me, so for a day like this I wanted to be responsible for everything that went into it from the table settings, decorations, invitations and more.  With the help of my husband, mom, and a few different craft stores..my vision came to life and I’m proud to say I did it!

My mom also made these for everyone to pin on their clothing, it’s a tradition in my family to have these made for baptisms, birthdays etc. I was excited when my mom told me she had some made for our wedding. Printed with our names and the date our wedding July 7th, 2017 they also made for a great keepsake for everyone to have as well!

Food: Coeur De Crepes Food Truck

Having a food truck for a wedding is the way to Go! My husband and I wanted something different for our wedding and we got it, with an assortment of tastings from different types of savory crepes, sweet crepes and pancake sale (sort of like a pancake sandwich common in France) the crepe truck was a perfect addition to our special day. The food truck also came equipped with a chocolate fountain and a variety of fruits to be dipped as well as coffee and tea  to end the meal. All we needed was to provide a parking spot, and the rest was done, the Duck and Goat cheese crepe was my favorite!

 

Carrrot Cake Cupcakes made by a family friend! 

And the best part about the whole day, I married my best friend and love of my life! DUH

This day was perfect, marrying this man was a dream come true. For what it took to get where we are today was stressful at times but it was all worth it for this very moment. Which leads me into what my next post will be about. Marrying a french citizen was not easy…more paper work fun! In my next post I’ll take you through the steps on what it takes to marry a french citizen in France and why marrying in France was a better decision for us rather than in the United States.

I dedicate this post to our family and friends who couldn’t be there on this day. Love you guys ❤

 

Shalize ❤