In case you missed part one of their wedding, make sure you check that out first! And now onto their portraits and reception – and to those of you planning your wedding right now, be sure to read their advice, it’s really sweet + I think super helpful. :) And don’t you just love the giant heart Jesi Haack Designs created as the ceremony backdrop!?
While the main dinner served organic and healthy fare, they also included a taco truck (King Taco) as a late night snack. They wanted to bring in Carmen’s heritage into the food mix, and King Taco was greeted with, perhaps, the loudest applause of the night!
The favors were put together by Carmen’s family and consisted of the phrase: “Our Love is Full of ShuGar and Spice. Thank you. The ShuGars!” Included were chocolate covered cherries from Michigan (to represent Pete and his family) and a small bottle of Tapatio Hot Sauce from Mexico (to represent Carmen and her family).
Their first dance was “Real Love” (written by John Lennon performed by Regina Spektor). They also had a choreographed bridal party dance to a mix of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” and The Beatles’ “Twist & Shout.”
And be sure to check out their sweet film from Floataway Studios!
From Pete: The wedding day can be very busy, to say the least, and it can pass by extremely fast. Remember to take a few brief moments to say “hello” or share some thoughts with those you love who came to the wedding. If at all possible, have a rehearsal dinner and invite a few extra people. This way you’ll be able to visit with some of them before the wedding. It will be difficult to spend time with everybody during the wedding and reception, so understand that it’s okay if you can’t connect with them all.
From Carmen: I purposely incorporated Pete from the very beginning of the wedding planning process. Even though traditionally men just show up on the day of the wedding and have everything planned for them, I didn’t want that kind of a wedding. I wanted the wedding to be “us” not just “me.” Take time to hear his perspective and his needs. Sometimes his opinions will clash with yours, but you will also be surprised how creative your groom can be. Pete was amazing throughout the whole process and our wedding truly was the story of Pete & Carmen.
I love creativity and art, although I am not a DIY kinda gal. I respect those who are and wish I were, but I just don’t have the talent. Not to worry. That’s what wedding planners or friends/family are for! We were very lucky to find our soul-sister in our wedding planner Jesi Haack. Our families were very busy or lived far away and we didn’t want to bother them with wedding details. Jesi came to the rescue! She literally made our vision a reality. It was so much fun bouncing ideas off of each other. Also, if you can’t afford a planner for the whole process, at least hire a day-of coordinator. It will ease your nerves on the day of your wedding. Jesi & her team took care of it all!
Finally, find inspiration all around you. Discover who you and your groom are as individuals and as a couple. This will help you depict your story. I started every morning with my morning cup of “Green Wedding Shoes” and began to explore the story I wanted to tell in our wedding. Don’t worry if you can’t have the most expensive or creative wedding. Make it about your love and what you love together. In the end, your wedding will be about the union of the two of you and your families, not about your color scheme or the boutonnieres.
p.s. You are bound to argue with your groom throughout the process. Don’t worry; it’s normal. If you don’t fight, you can’t enjoy those beautiful make-up kisses :)
Thank you so much to Carmen + Pete for sharing your beautiful + one-of-a-kind wedding with us today! So happy that your day was truly a reflection of the two of you. :)
vendors:
photography: Ashley Rose // event design + coordination: Jesi Haack Designs // venue: Smog Shoppe // wedding dress: Watters Too purchased at Bella Wedding Bridal, short dance dress from BCBGMAXAZRIA // groom + groomsmen outfits: J Crew // flower girl dresses: handmade by Pete’s mom // shoes: Seychelles bought at Anthropologie // hairpiece: Lo Boheme // floral design: Effusive Flowers // invitations: Posh Paperie // video: Floataway Studios // catering: Eco Caters / taco truck: King Taco // dj: Tony at Red Shoe // dessert bar: Hot Cakes // bouquet: Surroundings Online + Jesi Haack // necklace: Jennifer Jones Jewelry // hair + makeup: Susie Chhuor // music: Trio Los Franco, The Backbeats (Beatles cover band) & Al Stewart (surprise guest!)
Ashley Rose, Smog Shoppe, Posh Paperie and Floataway Studios are all featured vendors of Green Wedding Shoes. Check out their vendor profiles to see more of their work or discover other GWS recommended vendors for your wedding day in our Vendor Guide.
OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THIS!!! The Beatles are my favorite band in the whole wide world – my dogs are named after their songs. Love ALL these ideas – plus the colors are amazing!! Love love love.
Hoo-RAWR! This needed pt. 2… i was secretly hoping!
I love how she got him involved right away. We, too, wanted an “us” wedding, not a bride wedding.
Look how special the day was because of that! And the great vendors… lol, of course!
What a great couple; long happy love and live to them both!
PS: I just LOVE how happy they look just to be married!
I wouldn’t have thought to pair those two colors together but in this theme it looked great!
This is fab! (As the fab four themselves might have said) – I love the musical theme and the colours of the day, it’s very Sergeant Pepper with all those glorious colours.
Carmen & Pete, your wedding was really beautifil, and the pictures came out amazing! I just loved them!
I am very grateful and very happy that you let me be part of your big day. Thanks for letting me be part of your story.
Hugs!
dream wedding and dream clients. THANK YOU jen for the support, you are beautiful.
Thank you Jen & GWS team for this honor to be featured. What a dream come true for us! Everything about our wedding felt like magic from the start. A big hug to all our vendors for so much love they gave us and a big THANK YOU to GWS for being my inspiration and helping us see our wedding truly can be our story told our way!
I love this wonderful wedding!!!! :)
What an amazing wedding & theme! Love the vibrant red & aquas and how cool are the cassette tape escort favors?
Love the advice! The wedding should be a collaboration between the bride and groom representing both of them and their relationship. Get your guy involved and remember, there are no wrong ideas in brainstorming. Even if you don’t like something he suggests, try to make it fit together.
I love how personal this wedding is and how much it represents what the couple loves about each other and what they love together.
Oh my goodness, I love this! Obsessed with the heart ceremony and the escort cassette tapes! Jesi Haack, you are my idol!!! ;)
Love it. Best wedding I’ve seen on any blog thus far.
You’re right, Lauren! The escort cassette tapes are adorable!
A pure pleasure to look at! What a great concept and look!
Weddings should be like this, a celebration of the couples union, not just an individuals dream party:) I love how they conceptualized and execute the theme they wanted. It also showed in the video how happy the couple is during the wedding!!!
Awesome wedding! Did you just buy white cassette tapes in bulk to make the escort cards? My friend wants to do this and we are trying to find a budget friendly way to do so.
HIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!! I JUST WANT TO SAY : WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING YOU GUYS HAD!!!!!!! WHERE COULD I SEE MORE PICTURES? I LOVED THE IDEA OF THE HEARTS!!! XOXO
**Jenn: Thanks so much! Yes, the cassette tapes were blank and bought in bulk. I believe Amazon is a great place to find them for cheap :-)
**Vanessa: Thanks so very much! It’s always wonderful to hear great things about our wedding. You can check out our amazing photographer’s (Ashley Rose) blog for more pics at –> http://www.ashleyroseblog.com/2011/09/carmen-pete-beatles-smog-shoppe-wedding.html