We were so thrilled to share in the planning process of Jenn’s big day, and now we are excited to introduce our new bride-to-be, Alyson {with her fiance, Wes}!
From the bride herself…I was so excited that Laura picked me to be the new bride to be on her blog site and then I sat back and thought oh goodness I have to put all of my wedding planning madness into words. So here we go my first experience in blogging world.Here is the beginning…Wes & I met in in June of 2007 when I got the opportunity to move into a condo that was located right next door to Wes. We then became great friends. Wes even convinced me to sign onto eHarmony (which I went on no dates with) he told me it would be a great place to meet people. Wes taught me the “joy of hiking”, spinning and working out all through out our friendship. We went on some unofficial dates over the next few months (Christie’s cabaret, sushi, and even Yard House) until Wes officially asked me to Pizzeria Bianco where I met his friends, had great wine, and ate amazing pizza. If only I would have listened to my family sooner I would have been dating Wes for much longer. Though to his friends I am still considered “neighbor girl”.
After that Wes and I were official and he decided to propose to me on November 21, 2009. It took us a while to figure out where we wanted to have the wedding but we knew we wanted it to be small and not in Arizona. In April we planned a trip to Santa Barbra wine country with a few wedding spots in mind. When we drove into the Montecito area we knew that San Ysidro Ranch would be the perfect location. I called my parents (they were in LA at the time) and they met us there. Since we loved the time of year and how the flowers were in bloom we decided on April 30, 2011 as the DAY!!! Then, the planning began. Over the past few months we have pretty much just sent out the save the dates and booked a photographer…oh boy do we have so much to do.
This brings us pretty much up to speed …….This past week has been crazy busy. Wes and I just got back into town from planning/playing in Santa Barbara. Since we are from the Scottsdale, Arizona area and the wedding is in Santa Barbara wedding planning has been quite difficult to meet with people. But we decided to take the long weekend to go out and meet with some vendors and decide on flowers, musician and officiant as I have decided to do this wedding sans planner. I think I forgot to mention my parents just moved to Dallas, Texas – even further away than Wes & me. We came away from the weekend with at least an officiant and an idea of our musician. But for some reason I feel more overwhelmed than before on what all needs to still be done. The list of to do just keeps growing …. rentals, cake, place settings, hotel room, stylist…. at least I have my dress and I know I am not walking down naked!Wedding planning status:|Venue – San Ysidro RanchInvitations/Calligraphy – Laura Hooper Calligraphy Photographer – booked Kirsten Ellis of Beaux Art PhotographieFlorist – deciding Bride’s stylist – decidingMusician – contract negotiations Wedding dress: purchasedOfficiant: Richard TobinRegistry: William Sonoma Groom suite: purchasedWebsite: completedAlways with love,Alyson