I've had this Wedding Wednesday stored on my computer for months! I kept running into problems with Blogger when I'd try to post it but finally, finally!, it looks like it wants to cooperate! I'm tickled pink because not only is this one of the cutest, most personality-driven weddings I've seen, but also because the sweet bride is a dear friend of mine made via blogging! Diana is a true gem. She's the epitome of a classy lady in my eyes. I've always thought she was one of the most encouraging voices in the blogging world. If you don't know her, you're missing out. She pens a lovely blog, takes beautiful pictures and she's starting her own tech-based magazine, targeted to females, called Gadchick! And here is her beautiful day...
Click below to read Diana's interview and learn more about her big day! It's really charming!
Hello gorgeous bride! Let's start from the beginning! Tell us how you met your Prince Charming and how he popped the question!
We met online, on a cheesy Christian website. The only reason I signed up was because I wanted to give my friend a free week (the more referrals you have, the more free weeks you get). The only thing I said on their was I was in school to become a librarian, and of course, Scott was the only one to answer. I had no intention to even attract anyone! It was just a favor for a friend and she ended me doing me the favor in the ned!
As for the proposal, we took our normal stroll to Disneyland. We watched the fireworks from the top of the California Disney Hotel balcony, as usual. Every day, since the first day we began dating, he sends me a text why he thinks I’m beautiful. Cheesy, but I love it. He hadn’t sent me the text for the day but I didn’t think anything of it. When the fireworks were going off, he had a scheduled text sent to say, “You’re beautiful because I want you to be my wife”, and as I was reading it, he got down on his knee, pulled out a little box from his coat and proposed.
When did you get engaged? How long did you plan before walking down the aisle?
We were engaged the day before Thanksgiving in 2007, and since I was still in school, we planned our wedding in March 2008, after my finals. We had 3 months to plan!!
Were you working with any certain budget constraints?
Yes, especially since we had over 300 guests, and such a short amount of time to plan. We didn’t want to depend on our parents, and we budgeted for $10,000, which is unheard of in Orange County. We actually came in at a little under $7,000!
Were you working with a certain theme or color scheme? How did you achieve this?
Yes, our theme was library themed, which was hard to do because there were barely any wedding blogs to inspire from at the time. My color scheme was yellow and gray. We both worked in libraries at the time and we inspired from where we loved being everyday, the library.
What one item did you spend the most money on for your big day? [e.g: dress, flowers, photographer…]
The most we spent on was the photographer, and I’ll admit that wasn’t much of a budget breaker. The photographer was a friend I grew up with and right before his business boomed, we caught him at a great time (financially).
What was one huge misconception you had about your wedding day? [e.g: Everything on your big day should go exactly according to plan]
I was the only friend in my circle to be married first, so I had no idea what to expect. The advice I did get from married acquaintances was to not stress. Some things may have gone awry, but the only one that really noticed was my wedding party.
Did you do any special DIY projects for your wedding day? If so, what did you do?
My wedding was completely DIY. We designed our own invites on Word, printed them at home. My wedding dress was hand sewn from my mom and grandpa, who used to be a seamstress and tailor, and the fabric was special ordered from India (it was handsewn lace and silk!). Our centerpieces were books and instead of passing out conventional wedding favors, we passed out books. In order to come into the reception, people had their own personal “library card” they received in the formal invites. Each table was sectioned by author, and had the books from that author. The wedding party sat at the Bukowski table, my favorite author. There is so much more, but these are just the main ideas.
Did anything go awry on your big day or leading up to it? How did you handle the stress? Did it end up being okay in the end?
Yes! I was stressed but looking back on it now, it was nobody’s fault except mine. The night before my wedding I always imagined myself to be in bed early, getting a bride’s long peaceful sleep. Unfortunately, it was the complete opposite. I didn’t eat much that day, and instead of renting a hotel that night, I stayed at my maid of honor’s apt. The neighbors were having a huge party, which made it hard to sleep, and I had to sleep on the floor. I woke up shakey, anxious, and with back pain. It was okay in the end. My wedding planning had gone smoothly, something had to awry, eventually, right?!
Did you use any online sites or blogs for your wedding inspiration? If so, which ones?
No, but I’m glad I didn’t. I did try to look for what I could at the time. It was Live Journal and some books, but I couldn’t find any real inspiration for such an unconventional wedding. It still blows my mind a little how imagination was the pure foundation of the wedding.
If you could give any advice to a Bride-To-Be, what would you say?
Be careful with who you choose your bridal party, and try to not have family get involved, whether it’s financially or emotionally. I was thankful they donated their time and services, but that’s as far as I wanted them to go. This is not their day. They are there to support and celebrate with you and your new groom, and the most important thing you need from them. Instead of seeing your wedding as a day of planning, try to see it as a day of celebrating love, harmonizing both families together. After that, they can be their crazy selves ;) That was hard to remember when things became more stressful.
Credits and Vendors:
Jack Rodriguez- http://jack-
My aunt is a retired cake maker in San Diego and came back to business just to make our cake.
Our caterer was a woman that was a friend of the family’s.
Our flowers were from the LA Flower District, and with my family’s business license was able to get us fresh flowers for cheaper.
My stepdad is a pastor and he married us in his church.
Like I mentioned, everything was so DIY, I don’t really have any vendors.
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