Matt and Sarah's Wedding in Monterey, California

The overall design concept for the wedding was a french country aethetic. I wanted the flowers to feel ethereal with bright and happy colors. I didn't want it to be overwhelming on the color front so everything else was fairly neutral. I contrasted the "juicy" pinks, yellows and oranges with a pop of light teal seen on the napkins, escort cards and special tables (cake, memory table, head table). My bridesmaids were in a very pale blush and the groomsmen wore navy blue suits.

We brought our love of entertaining into the fold for our rehearsal dinner by preparing large pans of lasagna and again on the day after the wedding with tacos for Cinco de Mayo . Everyone thought it was catered but it was actually just my fiance's amazing cooking skills! For the wedding, we had a family style dinner of barbecued tri-tip, chicken, baked beans and salad. Our cake was an amaretto and raspberry filled tuxedo cake and is still talked about to this day! Our favors were macarons.

We brought personal touches into the wedding in several ways. I lost both of my parents within a little more than a year of each other so I knew I wanted to memorialize them in special ways. We had a memory table with their photos and other missed family members and a sign that said "Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near. So loved, so missed and so very dear". Additionally, I had their photos in the first two chairs on the first row so I could look back at them during the ceremony. I also carried two lockets with their photos on my bouquet.

Our wedding weekend was one in which we were truly able to connect with everyone we held close whether it was Thursday (our arrival day), Friday (our rehearsal), the actual wedding or the following two days we were at Mesa Del Sol. We invited everyone to attend all days so we really got to sit down and take time to talk to everyone even if it wasn't on our actual wedding day. I can't imagine having booked a location in which we would have had to leave at the end of the night instead of still having days to connect. We now look forward to spending more special days at Mesa Del Sol. We're planning on calling it a Smurphy retreat (Sarah + Murphy = Nickname Given By Our Friends).