Before I start raving about this wedding and how GORGEOUS it was I wanted to preface this post by thanking Josh and Ana for the honor of joining them on their big day. I loved being their event coordinator and they truly put together a beautiful wedding. They thought through all the details and had so many cute touches. It was also great to see them grow and learn together as they walked through this process. They are married now and that is a covenant before God - I look forward to see how God uses them both to draw them both closer to him and to each other. I see God all the time in my marriage and I pray that for them as well. They're wedding was honoring to God and their relationship and it was great fun to enjoy them both so much.
Ok sappy-ness aside, lets look at how gorgeous it all was.
First off we started with a rehearsal the night before the wedding. They were getting married at Minoru Chapel in Richmond, BC which is a gorgeous little church in a park. The bridal party listened well to the officiant, Allan, who was obviously very used to leading people through this process.
The girls were lined up in the bride's room....as well Paul lined up with them for some reason.
Ah well, you can see he kept Irene entertained.
During all this I was helping the officiant and answering questions. As event coordinator my job is to take all the wedding knowledge out of Ana and Josh's head so they can just enjoy their day and to be the person that "knows it all". The rehearsal is always a time of a lot of learning and question answering for me.
Then it was off to Moxies in a flurry of activity. There were 40 of us at the restaurant and it was a great place for it. Lots of fun, lots of conversation and great food and drinks.
Here's Paul trying a tester of beer
My food was awesome.
And I had my favorite appies - can't go to Moxies and not get it!
I tried to get a picture with Paul.
It's much harder than it looks.
And he is much sillier than he looks here.
Then we headed home by 9:30 to get some rest for the big day. Paul and I made sure to sleep in as best we could. We got up around 10 since our friends Rachelle and Adam had spent the night - they were in town from Portland. We had brunch with them - Breakfast Taco's and were very glad to for the food and fun start to the day.
We headed over to Heritage Hall to confirm that the set up there was going well before heading over to the Chapel. We got there at 1pm and found out that actually the doors weren't going to open until 1:30, despite the initial time we'd been told. Since the wedding was at 2 and we were there to decorate we were feeling a bit rushed! I quickly found a bathroom nearby to get dressed in before the chapel opened so that in the last half hour I could focus on getting it all set up.
Paul was a huge help all day
Thanks babe!
The programs and celebration flags were such fun touches.
Paul was trying to look ironic here
Mostly he looked creepy or pissed.
Meh.
The Ceremony went off without a glitch. It was perfect. Great little moments of humor and solemnity. There was laughing and crying and great prayers. My Dad did a blessing speech and prayer which was really beautiful. It was lovely from start to finish.
And then they were Mr. and Mrs. Whitton!
It was time for photos - and this is when I have to start bossing people around, especially if there's family photos involved. You need people to get in and out of place as quickly as possible. It's tricky but it's important otherwise it can run into the time for other things. I led the families to the side and directed them in and out of photos as needed. I'll admit I do love it.
Here is the couple with Ana's side of the family.
And here is Lizette, the amazing photographer.
So happy - and in love
After the family photos the bridal party headed over to Steveston for some group shots. Paul and I headed over to Heritage Hall on Main street to ensure that the last of the decorations and things were going smoothly. I pulled out my Josh + Ana binder out because it was even more so a time when I needed my coordinator A game. There were questions a flurry when we first arrived but we got it all settled and even got to enjoy it all!
The decor was fun and quirky. Ana worked at and ran a starbucks for many years, so they had a coffee bar in honor of that, as well as a regular bar. They also had a legit photobooth and lots of neat touches around. It was gorgeous.
They even had bibs for when the ribs were to come out later!
After speeches and food there was dancing - including a traditional mexican dance where money is pinned on the bride and groom. My shot was fuzzy but you can see the money on them!
All in all it was a great night. The couple headed off on their honeymoon successfully, the hall was put away successfully and everyone left happy and full. Success.
