by: Relaxed and very personal... that's how Cesar and Angela would describe their wedding style. I might also add patiently enduring and adaptable~ to their list of qualities too! This beautiful couple was actually supposed to get married last August, but Cesar is in the military, and was deployed to Iraq for longer than expected {thus the 2 different Save the Dates}. Instead of a planned summer wedding, they had a tropical wedding {reflecting the 2 years spent in Hawaii} on a Minnesota November day! Filled with sentimental touches, from their memory table to their something old, something new ... Cesar and Angela's wedding details reflect all things near and dear to their hearts. Enjoy.
Ceremony: Brooklyn Park Evangelical Free Reception: Courtyards of Andover in Andover, MN
Photographers: HalleMae Photography and All Occasion Photography
Save the Dates {top, bottom}and Gate-fold Wedding Invitation from MagnetStreet Weddings
Here's Angela describing their big day ...
Colors: Aqua colored bridesmaid dresses to reflect the colors of Hawaiian waters. Blue is also Cesar’s favorite color!
Sweet Details I wore a pair of bright turquoise shoes for a little pop of fun color! My gorgeous bouquet was wrapped in lace and fastened with buttons from my Mom’s wedding dress. For my something old I wore my Grandma’s garter that has been passed down to each of her granddaughters on their wedding day.
Decor: We bought gorgeous leis in Hawaii to line the aisle and adorn the head table. Cesar’s Mom handmade our aqua colored table runners. We had two different centerpieces; half were tall and half were short. The tall ones consisted of a 12 inch cylinder vase filled half-way with sand with tall bunches of green bamboo stretching about 2 ½ feet above table. The shorter centerpieces were hanging tea light lanterns that stood 9 inches tall.
Our table numbers were one of my favorite touches! Cesar and I spent hours on our favorite beaches in Hawaii writing numbers in the sand for each table. We printed the pictures, matted them on various blue paper and hung them from a table number stand. Guests were escorted to their tables using glass photo coasters, each with a guests name and assigned table number. Inside each coaster we inserted a card that read:
From Texas and Minnesota,
To Hawaii and Iraq,
We thank you for your love and support,
We could never pay you back!
The cake It was a small, two-tiered cake that coordinated with the colors of the day and was trimmed in an aqua colored ribbon. The bottom layer was also wrapped with the vellum band we used on our invitations from MagnetStreet! We loved how it turned out and how it incorporated a piece of our invite and words that mean a lot to us in our marriage.
Memory Table We placed a picture of both of my Grandpas who have passed by a note in a candy bowl that read, Sneak a sweet treat before dinner in remembrance of Grandpa Wollak, who always had candy stashed for his grand kids (even if Mom and Dad said no!) or treat yourself to a little something sweet after dinner in remembrance of Grandpa Jarl, who always needed just a little something sweet after a meal. We miss them both and think of them often, but know they are celebrating this special day in heaven!
Our gift box was even a work of love! Cesar and my Dad screwed together four 11x13 picture frames making a box, then fastened it on a lazy-Susan. We put engagement pictures in each of the frames that a friend took of us on the beaches in Hawaii.
For our guest-book we bought a photo album that has memo space next to each picture. As guests arrived, a photo was taken of them, they signed in a memo spot, and we later put each guest’s picture next to where they signed. This will be a great thing to look back on in the years ahead!
Biggest highlight of the day was the moment we finally got to say “I do!” We waited so long and endured a year long separation through a deployment to Iraq. That moment was a dream come true!
Advice you're glad you took: Don’t sweat the small stuff! Your guests won’t know the things that didn’t get done or notice that your table runners aren’t all identical or if your votive holders are different sizes or if your singer isn’t at rehearsal and you have to wing it for the ceremony! The day after your wedding most of the guests won’t remember your centerpieces that you worked so hard on, but plan a fun, love-filled day and your guests will remember your wedding forever!
Advice you wished you took Don’t try to please everyone. I am a people-pleaser so this was very hard for me! Even at my reception I wanted to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. I wish I could have let that go a little and realized that people will make their own fun. There was music and drinks so people were going to have fun without me worrying about it!
Best part of the whole wedding day was the moment we saw each other at opposite ends of the aisle. We felt there was something so sacred about waiting to see each other until the ceremony began. So many people tried to convince us that seeing each other beforehand would help the flow of the day and be much more intimate. Not seeing each other all day created so much build-up, excitement and anticipation. We experienced a breathtaking moment surrounded by the people we love the most and wouldn’t change that for anything. The pictures of us in that moment will forever bring us back to the second our life began!
Thank you Angela and Cesar for sharing your precious wedding details with the world. Filled with love and sweet sentiments, your wedding was a beautiful dream come true! Congratulations to you both. And thank you Cesar for your service! We wish you both blessings and joy always!
