All about US: Day 18

WEDDING

Lila: It’s been 14 years as of this typing. Our wedding was funny really since I planned it myself on a relatively meager budget, 2000 miles from the event. I was living in Nashville but we were getting married in California, Los Angeles Temple. My dad gave us $5000.00 to spend on everything so we needed to use that to make it all work (pretty generous seeing as he has a million children to pay for weddings). I think it would be fun for my posterity to list what I used that money for and no, I did not use it all. We were very frugal:

  Round trip plane tickets for Mike and I (I flew out one week early to finalize cake and get décor in order)

  Mike’s “custom” wedding ring (since been replaced twice)

  Announcements, Thank you notes and stamps. (that costs a lot of money!)

  A T.V. stand

  An HP Desktop computer! (it cost $1000.00!)

  An Alfred Angelo floor sample wedding dress ($299.00 + tax) – borrowed veil from my friend Jenny McKee (I was told it was made for her, for $450.00!). White heels.

Mike took this picture in his "Grannie's" back yard where I was living. I wanted some shots of me in my dress under the beautiful dogwood trees.

This picture of Mike's tux is just an excuse to blackmail he and his brother Matt in this "awesome" picture of them shaking hands? lol That's what Michael gets for not answering all these questions with me. I hope you've learned your lesson mister!

Mike's Tux rental

Catering by the Sanoja family. yummy (venue was my parents house=FREE)

  My delicious $400.00 cake from The Bread Basket in Camarillo. Mmmm fruit basket filling, I dream about you all the time. If it's still there, I should go for a slice of cake for old times sakes, the next time I'm visiting. The best thing I payed for and the only splurge on something, although I was disappointed with how the cakes 'look' turned out :/. It didn't stop me from eating it.

  Spun glass Los Angeles Temple Cake topper that is now shelf décor. (I’m so practical)

  Flowers by my brother’s friends mom

  Photography by our friend Susie St .John who didn’t want us to pay but we set aside $300.00 for her. When we tried to pay her she refused to take it and insisted on doing it as a gift. She is not a ‘professional’ but she really captured special moments of our day and since she is a family friend, we had a great time with her. We always think of her, especially when we look at our beautiful moments on film. xo

  Décor for reception at my parents house.

The 'decor' I speak of is the fake ivy and burgundy ribbon behind Mike on the fireplace mantle. Fancy, I know. :) Our colors were burgundy and forrest green. It was 1997 ok? See my cute baby niece Amber? Yeah, she's taller than all of us now. lol Also, what's up with my sister Katrina's hair color in this picture? I don't remember it ever being that dark.

  Marriage License

The morning of our wedding, despite my wishes to have my hair expertly quaffed (sp? Lol), I quickly round brushed it and decided that would have to do. Mike and I actually drove the 45 minutes to the Temple together. To people of the persuasion that it’s ‘bad luck’ to see the bride before the wedding… oh well. J (he also was the only one that went dress shopping with me as I had no friends here in TN yet). We had about 50 guests, most are in a picture with us after but a few had to leave early.

In the L.A. Temple, you exit out the back steps where you get like 15 minutes of photography time before the next couple comes out. There were probably 3-4 other couples married at the same time as us (there are multiple ceremony rooms) and waiting for their ‘turn’ to reveal “Mr. and Mrs”. We stepped outside triumphant to a cheering paparazzi crowd. He he he.

The "groomsmen". I just think it's "so" funny that my brother Bennett is pretending that I'm so heavy that he has to writhe in agony as he holds me up. "ha ha ha". :)
Our friend Stephen was serving his mission in the area at the time so he got special permission to be at the wedding.

I should mention I didn’t eat that morning and didn’t sleep much the night before for the excitement. After pictures in the sun for hours on a beautiful day, I was TIRED and not feeling well. On the way home together Mike stopped so I could get a carrot juice. This was his introduction to carrot juice of which he said it was the most disgusting thing he’s ever tasted. J ha ha ha. We went back to my parents for our reception. It was totally boring, like an open house at a funeral home in retrospect. Lol. Mike and I had been in our love bubble for the few months we dated before getting married so I BARELY knew his family that came all the way from Tennessee and were hopefully being entertained somewhere in the house, my church family I grew up with was there with my siblings etc. A few of my friends from High School actually came (that was a pleasant surprise). I enjoyed the visiting for myself but I’m sure it bored everyone else to death. Ha ha ha. Also, I had to force Mike to do a ‘dance’ with me. Throwing my bouquet went well, the boutonniere was hilarious, the guys all stepped away as it approached and my friend Heather’s (future husband) had no choice but to put his hand out to catch it. Otherwise it would have bounced off his hip. Lol. It was like the plague Ha ha ha.

You see what I mean?? So cruel. Poor Darren. Even our older than dirt dog "Puppy" turned his back on it. Look at all the guys laughing at him like "sucker!". He is happily married to my beautiful friend Heather now and our garter had I'm sure nothing to do with it. lmbo.

Why do we do these dumb traditions exactly? Sorry but I guess you could say I’m a cynic. If I could do it all over again I wouldn’t have put Mike through the dance and especially wouldn’t have tossed or had a garter. ;) I did however think throwing bird seed was cute

Later I found bird seed... everywhere. They were REALLY throwing it at us. Dang!

 and I LOVED that our friend Jacqui wrote with soap on our get away car

(she also prepared a picnic basket with food from the reception for later. LIFESAVER). Her husbands twin however scratched with soap “if the car’s a rockin’, don’t come a knockin’”. Thanks.

In my dad's Caddy. I just love this picture. Such youth and innocence. No idea what we are getting ourselves into but willing to take the steps. We are still that way really. And I must say... (still) Happy. I love you babe.

 What our guests don’t know is, my friend Heather worked at a very nice, somewhat exclusive? Inn, Westlake Village Inn and was preparing our room. We weren’t in a hurry to get to it and needed to ‘leave’ so everyone else would. We went to my dads gas station in Moorpark to see my ‘brother’ John Padilla. He was nice enough to work the station for my family members to be able to be at my day. I surprised him by walking in the gas station, in my wedding dress, to come give him a hug. I think that was cute. He was my brother Jesse’s best friend and I was both of their big sister, especially before they could drive and wanted me to take them places. That was fun… We eventually made it to the Inn. Heather was soOOO excited to decorate and prepare my wedding night room. She knew my religious beliefs well, being my bff and all so… she wanted to create a perfect environment for us. It was the sweetest really. She and her helpers even pre-filled the bath tub for us. MUCH needed. By that point I was really not feeling well. We bathed, showered and went to bed. We woke up a couple hours later and took Mikes tux to his Tennessee friends to return for him and then… life began. JMike:

Mike: {I'm he says, "ditto" but hopefully we can get some of his impressions of our day... one day. :)

(i really don't know what's going on with this post. wierd, sorry for all the black lines)