Happy Spring everyone! We’re kicking off the season with Samantha and Thomas’ wedding in sunny San Diego (Coronado to be exact). Before I get to their photos, I have to share a little of the back story here.
Newly engaged couples, take note.
It’s all about teamwork when it comes to planning your wedding. Sam, for example, is the most prolific planner I have ever met. Give her an hour and she can make just about anything happen. Thomas… is perfectly happy to be her water boy. He lets Sam be the little Tazmanian Devil of planning that she is, and he keeps them both fueled with positivity and some of the best fruit/veggie juice concoctions I have ever sampled.
That being said, I witnessed Thomas and Sam absolutely put themselves through the wringer planning their wedding. In the beginning, they wanted to have a huge wedding and invite everyone on the planet to share it with them. As life often does, it stepped in and substantially crushed their dreams. They desperately tried to find ways to share their big day with everyone.
Insert scene of Edison (a non-related Thomas) trying to invent the perfect light bulb.
Several insufficient filaments later, there was still no sustainable glow of hope. There was biting, hair pulling, and sleepless nights (none of which were the good kind) until one day the light turned on and stayed on. They decided to simply have an intimate little wedding with only their family and a handful of friends.
Here’s why.
Newly engaged couples… if you find yourself going crazy trying to decide how many people you’re going to invite, wondering if you can find a big enough venue, hiring a cartographer to chart table maps to decide who is going to sit by who, or considering whether or not to invite one or all of your occasionally alcoholic keg-standing frat/sorority/work/military/church friend(s) for fear your drink budget will be something like a bottle service Las Vegas pool party with Lil Jon, I want you to stop for a minute and think about what this day is truly about. Who is it about?
You found your true love. All you need to do now is tell them how much you love them and give them a hand to hold for all the days you get to share together. Everything else is optional. Above all else, do what makes you happy. Whenever you start spinning off the track, just remind yourself about the what and the who.
That’s exactly what Thomas and Samantha did. For their entire wedding day, all we saw was a super happy couple in love. Being stress-free left lots of room for smiles, laughs, and kisses. Just being around these two made everyone feel happy. It was an unforgettable day.
We LOVE the make up Evelyn did for Sam. If you need an amazing makeup artist give Evelyn Ramirez a call.
Although Samantha and Thomas were getting ready in the same suite, the girls did their best to keep Thomas stashed in the other room until Sam was ready for their official first look. Thomas was getting antsy.
Is this the most amazing smile you’ve ever seen? Yes! Yes it is.
No, Sam is not two faced. She has one face, and it’s beautiful all the time. We just thought it would be a cute mug shot. :)
What? You’ve never seen a man shave with a knife? Guess you’ve never seen a real man before. :)
Laura was doing some last minute prep and getting in some pre-officiating shin lifts. Does she ever stop multi-tasking? :)
I friggin’ love how happy Sam was. She had this smile and an infectious amount of energy going all day.
She didn’t even need that wedding dress to look absolutely stunning, but she didn’t get dressed up for nothing. Wait for it…
waaaaait for iiiiit…
allllmost therrrre…
here she is. asdfghjkl!!!!
and here’s their official first look. gah!
True wedding stories – Behind the scenes. Sometimes you gotta make field alterations on the fly.
#theresnocryinginweddings
Couples that drink shots together…
usually have two :)
SealZ With A Kiss
As happy meters go, most stop at 10. Theirs goes to 11.
Rubs eyes to ensure clarity. Couple becomes even hotter.
They should be models.
Seriously you two?!
We couldn’t keep Samantha and Thomas by the wooden fence for too long. We weren’t about to go to jail for arson.
They did it! I don’t know how, but they did it. They bottled reckless love. :)
Thomas and Sam, congratulations! We are so very happy for you two. For all the stress it caused you, I want you to know that your wedding was absolutely perfect. My only complaint… there isn’t enough time in a day. We wish we could have had more time that day because we could seriously take pictures of you two forever. :)
Special thanks to everyone that helped make Samantha and Thomas’ wedding awesome!
Ceremony Venue: Centennial Park, Coronado, CA
Prep/Reception Venue: Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
Dinner: Il Fornaio Coronado
Awesome Makeup Artist: Evelyn Ramirez
Photography: Ohana Photographers (that’s us!)
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Wow, these are gorgeous! Stunning couple too!