Carolyn and Jeffs Star Wars chic wedding at Stone Brewing Co. ep1

Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

one sunny day a while back carolyn was perusing wedding blogs to find a photographer for her and her man jeff. enter ohana photographers on off beat bride.

perusing ended.

zoom forward, pass their awesome engagement session at petco park, and here we are on the day of their sudsy san diego wedding at stone brewing world bistro and gardens.

we started at the doubletree hotel in downtown san diego. nice hotel but man do their elevators lag. after waiting like a kabillion years for an elevator, a door finally opened and we rushed in. once inside, we noticed a weddingy (yes, that’s a word, but don’t challenge me) dressed girl.  she looked at us and said, “hey, i think we’re going to the same place!” she then introduced herself as liz, carolyn’s maid of honor. (we later re-classified her as carolyn’s “super sweet & bubbly” maid of honor.) on the insanely long, stopping-at-literally-every-floor-even-though-no-one-else-could-get-on-because-it-was-so-packed trip to carolyn’s suite, liz told us how much she loved carolyn and jeff’s engagement photos and almost started to cry just talking about them. not gonna lie, that made us feel really fuzzy inside. i think the pictures had more to do with how rad carolyn and jeff are, but we’ll take it. *smile*

when we finally got to the room carolyn, her bridesmaids, and her brides-man were all smiles. (just what we love to see on your wedding day.) there were surprise prizes, stripey socks, wee little boots, and something blue that definitely said carolyn. the laughter started early and continued throughout the day.

if you don’t know carolyn and jeff, we can sum them up by saying they are just all around ridiculously sweet, funny, and kind people. not only did they make this day special for each other, they made it special for everyone. you should have seen everyones faces when carolyn brought out her bag o gifts. wait, actually you will see them when you scroll through this post. never mind.

without  going on and on even more, which i promise i can easily do with these two, lets get to it and show you their wedding while i’m talking about it.

carolyn and jeff, thank you both for being the most chill, beautiful, and fun people on the planet to spend a day with.

( after you see all of episode 1, scroll back up and click here to see part 2 of Carolyn and Jeff’s awesome wedding! )

let’s start things off with a…

SLUG BUG!

Doubletree Hotel wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

lipstick and luster were wrapping up as we arrived. they did an amazing job and helped all the girls look their best.

Lipstick and Luster makeup artist for Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

Lipstick and Luster makeup artist for Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

we were in love with all of carolyn and jeff’s details, starting with their super rad steampunk wedding invitations from royal steamline, complete with quotes from some of their favorite movies and books (like star wars and spaceballs).

carolyn wore her grandma’s mikimoto pearls to put a check in the something old and something borrowed boxes. her grandpa bought them for her grandma in japan in 1972.

Royal Steamline vintage steampunk wedding invitations by Ohana Photographers

loved carolyn’s dress!

Lazaro wedding dress by Ohana Photographers in San Diego

here is surprise prize number one. custom mi adidas samba for michael, and all the groomsmen, so they would be comfy and matchy matchy with the wedding. notice the wedding date embroidered on the side. remember that.

green and gray custom Adidas shoes for wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

i’m not totally sure, but i think michael liked them.

custom Adidas shoes for wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

next came gifts for all the girls. you know i love me some tiffany colored boxes.

tiffany necklaces for bridesmaids at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

tiffany necklaces for bridesmaids at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

love liz’s laugh!

tiffany necklace for maid of honor at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

ignoring carolyn’s warning that her cards may cause uncontrollable sobbing, michael read his in front of everyone. eyes getting glassy.

our friends at murasaki media probably got some awesome footage during this whole scene. (we loved working with you guys!)

custom adidas for best man at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

speaking of eyes, here’s that something blue i was telling you about. classic carolyn.

something blue for wedding at Stone Brewery in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

Lazaro wedding dress for Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

Lazaro wedding dress Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

it was pretty awesome how carolyn made everyone at her wedding feel special. she let her junior bridesmaids, grace and alice, pick which of her favorite socks she would wear. mismatched stripey socks rule!

bride wearing striped socks Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

bride wearing cowboy boots Stone Brewery wedding San Diego by Ohana Photographers

honoring the time she spent in texas, carolyn wore these special super comfy cowboy boots with her wedding dress. heels shmeels.

bride wearing cowboy boots at wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

bride wearing striped socks at wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

so fun!

bride wearing cowboy boots for wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

any question as to how funny carolyn is will be answered with the next image. friggin hilarious! the funniest thing is none of us can even remember what was happening at this point. all i know is we nearly peed ourselves laughing.

Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

all the girls chipped in to help put on the veil.

bridesmaids putting in brides veil for wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

Doubletree downtown San Diego wedding by Ohana Photographers

these are carolyn’s notes from spring 2010.

april 24th 2010 – upon hearing that jeff was moving here and wanted to be roommates with her she wrote:

“i win at life.”

less than a month later, on may 18th (our anniversary!), he visited her in texas and officially moved out on july 14th (bastille day!)

one may later they said “i do!”

winning at life letter from Bride to Groom before wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

the flowers from ashley elizabeth were so beautiful and i love the hand-made boutonnieres that carolyn and jeff’s friend ryan roots fabricated from vintage silverware.

Ashley Elizabeth floral design bouquets for wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

romantic bridal portraits for wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

carolyn has already shown you her funny side, so it must be time to break out the sizzle. you know that’s right.

beautiful bridal portraits for wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

bride waiting before wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

who’s ready to see jeff? we are! how’s about that first look?

bride and groom first look before wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

this is my favorite part!

able bodied bride and disabled groom in wheelchair before wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

air force!

wounded warriors wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

romantic bridal portraits before wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

a quick pre-brewery brew. let’s see, he started with 10… minus 2… now jeff just has an 8 pack.

Stone Brewery wedding with wheelchair in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

not to be outdone, jeff showed us what he brings to the set. for fear of causing all women within a 2 block radius to instantly lose their minds, he kept his shirt on.

able bodied bride and groom in wheelchair wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

able bodied bride and groom in wheelchair wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

double hotness!

Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

i think this is one of my favorites from the day. they both just look so good.

wheelchair wedding in San Diego at Stone Brewery by Ohana Photographers

groom in wheelchair and able bodied bride wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

i have to tell you that carolyn put in a crazy amount of work on her wedding. using her event organizing skills and her craftitude she made a ton of diy decorations for the reception and called on our friends brenda and ania from swann soirees to help set everything up at stone brewing world bistro and gardens. our heads were spinning trying to look at all the detail goodness. if you’re looking for someone to help your wedding get to the next level give the girls at swann soirees a call.

Swann Soirees wedding at Stone Brewery in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

all the tables were named after breweries from the various places jeff and carolyn have lived and each table had centerpieces with beer growlers (and guests) from that specific area of the country. sadly the growlers no longer contained beer, but the flowers ashley elizabeth arranged in them were pretty.

let’s check out all the other diy awesomeness!

Swann Soirees wedding at Stone Brewery in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

carolyn personalized every detail, like this happily ever after card box. it had musical notes on it because jeff is a musician.

rustic diy wedding in San Diego California by Ohana Photographers

diy wedding beer growler centerpieces by Ohana Photographers

“give me a woman who truly loves beer and i will conquer the world.” check out the wedding libs cards that carolyn came up with.

diy wedding mad libs by Ohana Photographers

i gotta admit, when i read “the force, and these thoughtful words, will be with you always” i geeked out a little. ok, a lot.

like us, jeff is a huge star wars fan, so they had just the right amount of little hidden gems like this throughout the wedding. jeff had a darth vader and/or storm trooper ring for every guest. also, notice the crystal bowl the rings are in. that’s no moon, i mean bowl. it’s actually one of jeff’s tennis trophies. just another personal touch that made this wedding perfect.

Star Wars rings for wedding in San Diego at Stone Brewery by Ohana Photographers

some of the other diy decorations were cigar boxes and stacks of old books tied with twine (made by ashley elizabeth). carolyn, liz, and emily made the paper flowers from pages of old books.

old books centerpiece at diy wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

this is my absolute favorite! as a surprise for jeff, carolyn bought a legit replica mini lightsaber and had their friend tom at vesco metal craft fabricate a one of a kind wedding cake knife out of it. how sweet is that!? i want one!

Star Wars lightsaber cake knife for San Diego wedding by Ohana Photographers

diy wedding cigar box at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

diy wedding centerpieces at Stone Brewery in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

beer growler centerpieces at Stone Brewery diy wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

beer growler centerpieces at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

beer growler centerpieces at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

carolyn and liz worked at the same coffee shop back in high school/college so another personalized detail were these little burlap bags that carolyn filled with coffee beans, tied up with old keys, and had placed at every table setting.

beer growler centerpieces at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

diy decorations coffee in burlap bags at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

diy wedding decorations coffee in burlap bag at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

these cards completely blew me away. jeff actually hand wrote every card with the guests name on one side and a personal note to them on the other. who hand writes stuff anymore? awesome people like jeff, that’s who!

custom hand made place cards for wheelchair wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

diy wedding decorations at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

all the rustic details went perfectly with the wood, stone, and concrete decor at stone brewing co.

diy rustic country wildflower centerpieces at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

beer growler centerpieces with wildflowers at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

carolyn and jeff’s toasting glasses were star wars themed. one had a jedi emblem and read “there is no emotion only peace.” the other had a sith emblem on it and read “peace is a lie there is only passion.”

Star Wars Jedi and Sith wedding glasses at Stone Brewery in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

Star Wars Jedi and Sith glasses at Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

solemates save the day!

Stone Brewery wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

diy wedding decorations using old books by Ohana Photographers

able bodied bride with groom in wheelchair wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

carolyn and jeff both separately wrote their own vows and unknowingly included one crucial piece, the same crucial piece.

when they first started dating they were on a bus headed to the iwrf world wheelchair rugby championships in vancouver. on that bus they both had sodas and were playing with the ring tops. jeff jokingly put his on carolyn’s ring finger. for some reason carolyn kept it and put it in her jewelry box when she got back home.

they both remembered that moment as they were writing their vows, but carolyn got to the ring before jeff did. as he was getting ready that morning for the wedding he was panicking thinking the ring was gone and his vows would need some quick revisions. carolyn put his mind at ease when she pulled the ring top out to talk about it in her vows. when she finished jeff told her what he had written. they had everyone in tears.

one quick side note. carolyn and jeff’s officiant is a friend of theirs from birmingham alabama, and a retired divorce judge (ha). both knew him separately before they met each other so when it came time to choose a minister for their wedding he was the obvious choice.

wheelchair rugby wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

groom in wheelchair with able bodied bride at wedding in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

continuing with the non-traditional awesomeness, morey, the best assistance dog on the planet, was the ring bearer…

wheelchair rugby wedding with assistance dog in San Diego by Ohana Photographers

or was he?  stay tuned for episode 2. to be continued…

Darth Vader at wedding in San Diego California by Ohana Photographers

thanks to all the family, friends, and vendors that helped make carolyn and jeff’s wedding day awesome!

coordinator / planner – swann soirees

flowers – ashley elizabeth floral design

hair and makeup – lipstick & luster

photography – ohana photographers

videography – murasaki media

venue / catering – stone brewing world bistro & gardens 

galactic inspiration – george lucas

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if you missed it or just want to see it again, click here to see carolyn and jeff’s engagement session at petco park and balboa park

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contact us by phone at 858-663-3283 or email david@ohanaphotographers.com

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This is the BEST blog post eva! LOVE LOVE LOVE – you all R O C K!

Wow! Overload of awesomeness! Congrats to the beautiful couple!

What a beautiful couple! I LOVE the pictures of them in the big chairs!

Beautifully shot. Yet another wonderfully captured couple in love.

What beautiful souls, love your storytelling of this fairytale couple!

I adore them! She is such a beauty and looks like so much fun! You really can see the love in these photographs, they just look completely in the moment in every single photo.

Legit photos! Holy crap is that DARTH VADER? This wedding if full of WIN!

Their first look is so touching and sweet! Love this wedding!!! Amazing job as usual Ohana!

I love all the real moments and emotions you guys captured here. Perfect storytelling in photographs and words. The portraits are perfection!

They have to love these! On another note, Holy crap, pasties!?!! Already love her! Now THAT’S my kind of bride! I want to be her bff lol!

This wedding is a lovely reminder of what it means to be in love :) The first look moved me to tears. It is the perfect blend of funny moments, artistic photos, beautiful people and honest photos. Wonderfully captured.

So much love and emotion captured here! Those portraits of her…are just wow! sexy time to the max!

[…] we last saw our couple in episode 1 they were at a stone altar waiting for morey, the amazing assistance dog, to bring them their […]

Love the bride rocking the cowboy boots!!! What a beautiful wedding!

Holy…I just love the sincerity. Guys this was really done to the T. I love all the detail shots. Surely this will be featured somewhere.

Oh.My.Gosh these wedding photos are ridiculously amazing! How gorgeous is she and looks like so much fun! Is it weird to wish I was invited =) Beautiful couple!

I adore couples that aren’t traditional and boring!!! The details are amazing! They must LOVE these photos! I know I would if they were mine. Kudos to couples with style!

These wedding photos are just absolutely gorgeous and wonderful and the happiness of this couple captured just leaps off the screen and hits me smack in the face, in a good way of course! This wedding will look amazing in an album. Congrats to the beautiful happy couple!

I could not say LOVE to this enough times. Adorable couple, fun, quirky details.. Great photos, of course. Awesome.

[…] click here to see episode 1 of carolyn and jeff’s Star Wars chic wedding! […]

This bride looks like wicked fun! After being on your blog for over an hour I’ve decided that you really are brilliant at capturing emotions and fun. I feel like I was at this wedding. Really great memories you got for this couple and their future children to enjoy for generations!

The portraits of the couple on the roof! WOW!

I love this whole wedding! Everything about it is epic!

Found you on pinterest. I love how creative all your angles and perspectives are. Beautiful photography! Congrats to this gorgeous and obviously fun couple!

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I want to encourage one to continue your great work, have a nice afternoon!

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