Nina and Doi were truly a wonderful couple to work with. They were one of my “long distance” clients as they were planning their wedding here in the OC all the way from Conneticut. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting these two face to face until July when they were in town to finalize all their vendors and for us to do their walkthrough. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon with them visiting their two venues, going over all the specifics, as well as getting to know them a bit better.
Well, on to their beautiful Winter Wonderland Wedding… They selected the very quaint, rustic, and quiet hidden gem known as the Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course for their ceremony. If it didn’t happen to rain that day, their ceremony would have been outside overlooking the majestic laguna mountains and golf course. Because of the weather, we moved the ceremony inside to their smaller ballroom for an intimate afternoon ceremony. I know it wasn’t what Nina had hoped for to have it indoors, but I think she’d agree that it was still lovely, personal and perfect. Michele from Magnolia Designs did all the gorgeous florals which truly transformed both of the venues into a winter wonderland fit for a queen and king.
Reverend Michael did a fantastic job of integrating both Nina and Doi’s wishes for their ceremony and guests enjoyed watching the two glow the first time they saw each other as Nina walked down the aisle to the live tunes from Richard at Ambience Music Company.
I loved working with Yun from Cloud 9 Photography too. She and her team did a great job of capturing the truly lovely Nina and handsome Doi, plus their fun bridal party in some great moments through the whole day. I especially loved this one of Nina below. You’d never know she was absolutely freezing in the wind that afternoon! Oh, and who could forget the dynamic duo of Tiffany Monday and Makeup by Berit who truly made Nina feel and look like the queen she deserved to be for a day!
After the lovely ceremony, guests slowly made their way over to the Pacific Hills Banquet Center to be wined and dined for an evening of bliss. This venue was wonderful and Tamin was such a pleasure to work with too. I loved that Tamin went above and beyond the call of duty by assisting in placing all the ceremony florals we transferred into great places around the head table, including giving us candles and extra lovely tables to place the gorgeous manzanita trees on from the ceremony.
After dinner, Nina and Doi greeted all of their guests at their tables with a toast, a very typical chinese tradition. And to add another tradition to my “wedding list” the groom and his brothers honored their father by toasting to him… very sweet!
As guests danced the night away to the tunes of the great Essential Mobile Music company, I smiled as I watched Nina and Doi grinning from ear to ear. It truly was a winter wonderland wedding! Thanks Nina & Doi for letting me be a part of it!
For more wonderful pics from this couple’s wedding, check out their photographer’s website at: