Jen & Tom at the Japanese Friendship Garden

A few weeks ago, Jen & Tom were married at The Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Their wedding day was amazing- DIY details all over the place, unique music choices, yummy food & a delicious candy bar (mainly chocolate!).

Here is a glimpse into their day captured by the fun Furious Photographers:

Jen got ready at the beautiful US Grant. Lucky girl- two of her bridesmaids were stylists!
I love this pic of Jen looking gorgeous in the lobby:
The lovely ladies and their beautiful bouquets by Suzan M Florals:
The guys hanging out at the Organ Pavilion:
I love these two little guys! Jen & her mom made these adorable ringbearer nests:
Balboa park can be a confusing place when you are driving around, so Jen's mom hand made a bunch of these:
How cute are they?

The ceremony:
The Japanese Friendship Garden is gorgeous! Look at these crazy big fish in the koi pond right next to the ceremony. One of them jumped up during the ceremony.

It was a very personal ceremony. Jen's uncle officiated & her dad and sister performed a song during the ceremony. I absolutely loved that they decided to use music they listen to for the ceremony, rather than traditional or classical pieces. For the processional, they walked into Vitamin String Quartet's versions of "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure & "All I Want is You" U2. The song that her dad & sister performed was "Everlong" by The Foo Fighters. As a music lover, I adored this!

Bouquet & bout shot:

Concepts Party Rentals did an amazing job with the lighting & swagging:
*side note about this picture: you will notice that there is nothing on the tables. This picture was taken at the end of the night, so the catering staff had already cleared the tables.

One of my favorite details: The escort cards were hung on Soji screens. This was multipurposing at its best. We wanted to block of a pathway so that guests took the long way to the reception, in order to see the beautiful gardens. Guests grabbed their cards and then headed along the pathway.
The cards were all made by Jen & her mom. Jen also hand made the reception sign. Isn't it so cute? She also made one for the restrooms and one for the entrance to the gardens. I am now the proud owner of these (thanks jen!) so if any of my brides are interested in using them, let me know.

More details to come once all of the photos are posted by the fab photographers.

The rest of amazing vendor team that pulled it all together:

• Catering: Culinary Concepts (Yummy, yummy stations: paella (thumbs up- impressive from the wife of a Spaniard), street tacos & seafood. The street tacos were a hit!)
• Rentals: Concepts (chairs, linens & tables) & Abbey Rentals
  
• Cake: Crumbs of Paris
• DJ: Desi DJ
• Transportation: Top Cat Limousine (One of the best I have worked with)
  
• Valet: Sunset Parking Service
  

Jen & Tom: Thank you for bringing me on board to help bring your personal, beautiful wedding day to life. I am sure our paths will cross again & I cannot wait to see the future has in store for you two!