wayfarers chapel palos verdes and portofino redondo beach wedding / kimmy + Juan
Vendors: Ceremony Venue: Wayfarers Chapel / Getting ready and Reception Venue: Redondo Beach Portofino / Wedding Planner and Florals: Vivian from Love Anne Joy Design + Events / DJ MC and lighting: Hilo Productions/ Hair and Makeup: Maira Gonzalez / Cake: Torrance Bakery / Band: Lucky Devils Band / Videographer: Impressive Creations Treats: Beverly's Bakery
I love Kimmy and Juan, they are the sweetest souls. I've gotten to know them from shooting their friends wedding and I was ecstatic when they hired me. I'm obsessed with this wedding, the details, the light, the setting and most importantly the love that was in the air.
Words from the bride:
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to get married somewhere near water. I've always envisioned something outdoor, with gorgeous scenery and the man of my dreams standing there at the end of the isle. Before we were even engaged I came across a picture of Wayfarers Chapel, I was blown away by all its beauty and I couldn't believe it was actually in Southern California. Once we were finally engaged, and we went to see the chapel in person, we fell in love with it even more, and we began searching for several reception venues in the surrounding areas. We knew Portofino's Hotel and Marina was the perfect ballroom that fit along with our vision. Our wedding was everything that we ever hoped for and we couldn't be more happy with our choices. Juan and I can't stop talking about how special we felt and how much fun we had throughout our entire wedding weekend. Our sole vision was to celebrate the two of us by spending time with our favorite people, in a fun-filled atmosphere with good food and great music! We couldn't have asked for better weather on the day of our wedding and things seemed to flow effortlessly. One of the highlights from our day was having The Lucky Devils Band perform (a live band) who really turned the party up! The entire evening the room was filled with energy and we loved every minute that flew by.
The best part of our day was definitely when we saw each other for the first time as I came down the isle. Juan described his thoughts and feelings as he stood at the front of the alter moments before I came down the isle, while having all of our friends and family there sitting in front of him as he patiently waited. He said it was exciting, yet sort of nerve wrecking to be the center of attention. The look on his face was priceless as I saw him for the first time. I shared my feelings about coming in the chapel while holding my dads arm and how if felt to see everyone stand up for us, as I looked soley into his eyes as the room slowly began to shrink and everyone around us began to disappear. Then we laugh and talk about how we don't remember much of anything until our first kiss. How I completely forgot that I actually had on bright red lipstick and gave Juan one hell of a kiss, which ended in a lipstick mess all over both of our faces! Moments like that made our day the Best!
One of the most sentimental pieces that I will always have to cherish from that day has to be the gift that Juan gave me. Juan made a shadow box using stones, pebbles, shells, twigs and some greenery to create a scenery that represented the two of us beneath the trees at Wayfarers on our wedding day. We actually have a picture from that day that looks exactly like the shadow box. That gift means everything to me.
Words for future brides:
A wedding is only as stressful as you allow it to be. You've already spent months planning and making decision after decision so on the day of, try your best to relax and go with the flow! Definitely do the things that make you and your groom happy. Listening to too much advice can be stressful as well. Have as much fun with the process as you can because it's the only time you'll ever get to be a bride and it goes by fast! Know that no matter what there will be hiccups throughout the day, things will not go perfectly how you envisioned but as long as you have a good team of wedding vendors, (and I highly recommend a strong day-of planner) you won't even know about most of them. Be strategic in how you organize hair and makeup timeline. For example if you are getting hair and makeup done together with your wedding party, make sure you are the priority. I think I made the mistake of scheduling my 5 bridesmaids, my mom, mother in law and my two flower girls before myself, that there wasn't enough time for me and in the end I felt extremely rushed to get ready (and that was stressful). Perhaps my hair and makeup should have been done sometime in the middle so I would have had more time to put on my dress, jewelry and to take pictures. Lastly, enjoy every minute that you spend with your new husband. Even if things aren't going exactly as scheduled, as long as you and your husband are enjoying each other that's all that matters!
