Rachel had always known what her dream wedding would be like — she would be wearing a light & beautiful wedding dress, a flower wreath on her hair, it would be a garden wedding with a sit down dinner with family & friends & a lot of dancing. Fast forward into the future, here comes the beautiful bride with her handsome groom in the wedding of her dreams! I love all the dainty details of this special moment. The earth color tones provides for such a relaxing feeling. Rachel looked absolutely breathtaking & flawlessly beautiful. Cheers to such a lovely couple!
What is your story as a couple, how did you meet & fall in love?
Jason was a cousin of my best friend. I was still in High School when I first met Jason, who was in college. I thought he was cute and admired him from afar, but when I got old enough, he said he was intimidated to ask me out. While Jason was at his family reunion at Bass lake in California, I texted my best friend, Annie, to see if her cousin Jason was single. Annie happened to be sitting next to Jason so he texted back on her phone and said “This is Jason. Yes, I am single.” When he returned to college a week later, he called and asked me on a date. We saw each other everyday for 3 weeks until I headed to BYU Hawaii to attend college. The distance made us realize we were both falling in love and after one semester, I came back to Utah to see if things would work out. We were married a year after our first date.
What inspired your wedding decor? Why did you choose the things that you did?
Ever since I was little I had imagined and planned out how I wanted my future wedding. Years later, not much had changed and neither did the colors. I always wanted a garden feeling wedding. I wanted it outdoors with a sit down dinner and lots of dancing. I wanted to feel apart of my wedding. My mother wore a wreath in her hair on her wedding day and I knew that when I got married I wanted to wear a flower wreath also. I wanted my dress to be very light and easy to move around in that’s why it hardly had a train. Our reception had lots of fresh flowers that we picked up from the local farmers market.
Do you have advice for couples still in the planning process?
Go with the flow. If something goes wrong on your wedding day or if you forgot to set out a certain decoration, don’t worry about it. The most important thing is that you are marrying the person you are in love with. Forget about the little things and enjoy the day.
Where did you save the most money?
The venue for sure. Rachel’s grandparents had just finished their new house in Santa Barbara and Rachel always wanted a smaller outdoor wedding with mostly family so the space was perfect.
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We went to the Dominican Republic at an all inclusive resort.
What are you most excited about for the future?
Starting a family of our own!
What songs did you use during the ceremony?
Our first dance song was “Marry me” by Train. After that I let the DJ be in charge. He played most of the songs that were really popular at the time.
What was your favorite part of the day?
Being that it was a smaller wedding, it wasn’t too overwhelming to interact with everybody. It gave us time to eat with our guests, visit with them, dance with them, and we were able to enjoy and feel a part of my party. Some people say they don’t remember ever eating at their wedding or talking with certain people but I loved that about mine because I felt apart of it all and didn’t miss out on anything.
Was there any Do it Yourself (DIY) projects? If so, can you describe them in detail?
We had a lot of things that we did ourselves. We had large initials of our first names and last name “JMR” hanging on the front of the gates when people walked in. About a week before we got married, I went on a trip to Ireland and collected a bunch of moss. I covered those wooden initials with the moss that I had collected. All the flower arrangements were done by my family members. We went to the local farmers market to pick them out. I had a cake table with an assortment of different cakes. I had each of my aunts make their “specialty” cake so everyone had different flavored cakes to choose from. We had large flags hanging above the dance floor with our initials on them. My mom and aunt hand cut those and created the whole thing themselves using stencils and fabrics.
How many guests were invited in your wedding and what was the final guest count?
We probably sent out around 400 announcements but only 150 were invited to the actual reception.
Was it difficult to narrow down your guest list?
Yes but having it in California made it easier. I knew if it was in Utah I wouldn’t be able to limit our guests as easily and I wanted an intimate sit-down dinner.
Vendors
Photographer: Gideon Photography
DJ: Music Memories & More
Equipment Rentals: Party Pleasers
Linens and Coverings: Party Pleasers
Bridesmaid Dresses: Urban Outfitters
Bakery: Bread Basket Cake Company
Floral Designer: Debbie Dorion
Invitation Designer: Design by Lauren Ashley
Makeup Artist: Katie Beifuss
DJ: Music Memories & More Custom Events
Caterer: Palazzio Santa Barbara
Dress Store: The Bridal Center
Love her sweet lace dress!