We got married!
Milan’s Dress (size 6) + ballerina flower shoes | Meadow’s dress (size 18 months) + flower shoes
Bride:
Wedding Dress: Lulus | Shoes: Lulus bow satin heels | Peony & Rose Bridal Bouquet (Gelson’s florist) | Veil: Amazon | Hair pins + Hair Clip | Earrings: Chanel pearl earrings (wedding gift from hubby)
Groom:
Tux: John Varvatos | Tuxedo shirt + bow tie + cufflinks: Amazon | Leather oxfords: Saks off 5th | Silk pocket square: Amazon | Faux peony boutonniere: Amazon
Wedding extras:
His & Hers Vow books | Ring pillow
I married the love of my life. My best friend. The man who healed my heart and showed me how to live again. It’s surreal (still). I honestly can’t believe it. Husband and wife. I am beyond happy. It’s so crazy how much we have been through together in such a short amount of time yet here we are, stronger and more in love today than ever.
Since getting engaged last May, we both agreed that eloping was the way to go. It’s not that we didn’t want our friends and family to share our special day, we didn’t want all the stress and drama that comes with weddings. It’s all too much and trying to make everyone happy takes away from the importance of the day. Plus, both of our families are from out of state which makes it complicated to coordinate. We wanted to keep it simple and focus on what really matters. Us and our kids.
We originally planned on a simple courthouse wedding just to make it official but I decided against it at the last minute and planned this sunset elopement wedding in about thirty days. Not too bad huh? Even though we eloped, there were so many details that goes into it. It’s a ton of work especially with kids. I think I did pretty well considering how little time I had. 🙂 It certainly makes it easier when I know exactly what I want.
Windansea Beach is one of my favorite beaches in San Diego and holds a special place in my heart. We took our gender reveal baby photos here when I was pregnant with Meadow and I knew that it would be a perfect spot for us to get married. I obtained a permit from the city of La Jolla for the ceremony even though everyone says as long as it’s under 20 people, you don’t need one. We could have absolutely gotten away with not having one and saved a couple hundred bucks but I wasn’t going to chance anything on our special day.
I knew I wanted our wedding to be elegant and classy but didn’t want to spend a ton of money. Haha 🙂 I proved to myself that you can have an amazing and beautiful wedding on a budget! Now we can put the money we saved towards a family vacation in the future.
My wedding dress was only $170 (ordered only 2, HERE is the other one I tried). Mr. Right’s John Varvatos tux was on sale for $250 (purchased a year ago) and fit like a glove – all we had to do was hem his pants. My bow heels were $40 and my veil was only $16. Milan and Meadow’s dresses were both under $40 and their faux peony bouquets were $10 from Marshall’s. I wrapped the stems in lace from Michael’s and they turned out beautifully! The only things I splurged on was my hair/makeup and bridal bouquet. I typically don’t wear much makeup and wanted to be glammed up for my special day. I was going to wear my hair down with my veil but decided the day of to do an updo because I knew the humidity by the ocean would flatten my hair and make it look like a hot mess. Plus the wind is not my friend!
I designed my bridal bouquet and ordered it from Gelson’s Supermarket instead of paying a premium at a florist company. I was able to get my pink peonies and rose bouquet for under $100. It turned out beautifully and beyond my expectations. We had a friend of Mr. Right’s officiate our wedding so we also saved money there too. I had no idea how expensive officiates were! They range from $300-$500 for basically 15-20 minutes of work. Crazy!
Since we weren’t going to have a reception or guests, we decided to have an intimate dinner at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar Resort. The hotel is spectacular and the grounds are stunning. Since we had dinner reservations that evening, they were kind enough to allow us to take photos in their beautiful courtyard before the ceremony.
The only thing I regret is NOT taking family photos before the ceremony while we were at the hotel and before the kids got tired. The wedding ceremony was during sunset on a cliff overlooking the ocean so it was a little windy and chilly for the kids. It was past Miss Meadow’s bedtime (she goes to bed at 5:30) so she was super tired. Poor baby. Milan was the best flower girl and ring bearer. Both of my babies looked so precious and like little princesses. I’m so bummed only got a couple family photos and I didn’t get any photos with the girls holding their bouquets. 🙁 Good thing I didn’t spend money on real flowers for them! I may put them in their dresses holding their faux peony bouquets and take photos another day.
It’s crazy how fast your wedding day goes by. You blink and it’s over! I’m glad I was able to be present and soak up the day. We did the traditional vows and also wrote our own. I couldn’t even get through my vows, I was bawling. It was such a special moment hearing him read me his.
All in all, the day went exceptionally well and we kept to the timeline. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect and stress free day. I made a 60 second video HERE of our wedding day if you want to check it out. I am over the moon and finally got my happy ending. XOXO
Annie, your wedding and pictures are so beautiful!!! Everything is so elegant. I can’t believe the prices and for a petite woman. You have come a long way baby.😊 You are an inspiration for others that may be going through what you did. There is rainbow at the end and you show it. Thank you for sharing your beautiful elopement.💕💐
Aww Susan…you are such a gem. Thank you for all your kind words and support. It’s been such a ride and I cannot believe I found my true love and we are officially husband and wife. It’s the best feeling in the world and if I had to do it all over again knowing I would find him and be here today, I would in a heartbeat. XO
Congratulations! From e the photos your special day looked beautiful!
Thank you so much Tracy! It was such a wonderful day:)
True happiness at last! You were a gorgeous bride, and the photos are beautiful. What a phenomenal job you did getting through a mountain of details! Your hard work shows, because it turned out great at the end. Please do take a photo of the girls all dolled up and with their bouquets! Wishing you only the best for your future.
Thank you Marie! I didn’t think it would be a lot of work planning an elopement but it was a ton! So worth it in the end and there was no stress. We got to enjoy ourselves and celebrate our day with our babies – perfect day:) I definitely have to take pics with the girls in their flower girl dresses and bouquets soon!
Windansea is my favorite beach in La Jolla. The waves are always crazy! Beautiful photos. I think you did the right thing eloping. We wasted so much money on a wedding and people no showed! We were so busy trying to keep everyone else happy. It was a miserable day for me!
Same here! It’s my favorite spot! The waves and views are stunning! Awww I’m so sorry Sonya! I think weddings should only be about the bride and groom. Maybe you can have a special day for a bow renewal to make up for it?
You had a beautiful wedding and loved that it was small and intimate! That is the way to go plus saving money. I wish you and Mr Right and your girls a lifetime of happiness as you begin your journey as husband and wife!! Much love! ❤️
Awww thank you! It turned out perfectly and we are so glad we eloped with just the kids. I have enough chaos in my life and didn’t want our wedding day to be non-stop stress. Best decision ever! 🙂
Annie, Your wedding pictures are the most stunning I’ve ever seen! The location is gorgeous. You picked the absolute perfect time of day! I seriously would think you took a year to plan this!! I was certain your dress was couture. You looked so beautiful. Your precious daughters being part of your wedding is so special. I did the same! My son was 2 and my daughter was 7. Their pictures might not be exactly what you wanted but you created a priceless memory for your family. I love the fact that your day wasn’t interrupted by trying to please guest. Congratulations and many, many happy years to come! 💕
Hi Miranda! Awwww I wish I could hug you in real life! This was such an amazing comment and completely made my day. I’m so thrilled that everything turned out on our special day. I honestly didn’t know how it was going to work out but didn’t stress about it and had zero expectations. I didn’t even hire a professional wedding photographer because they charge $3k and up! Some of my favorite photos were straight from my iPhone. Crazy huh? So happy to be married! Hehehe
I have chills just sitting here reading and looking at all your photos! So, so sweet and beautiful!
Very happy for you, the girls and Mr. Right. Your story inspires me and many others I am sure.
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous life. Cheers to all of you!!! God bless too!!!
Awww Sherry! Thank you so much. It’s been a crazy journey and I honestly cannot believe where I am today. Who would have thought I would have all these blessings 3 years ago? Still pinching myself ❤️❤️❤️
Seeing this warms my heart and makes me so happy; the joy and love is palpable! Congratulations!
Thank you so much Lyn! It was such a wonderful wedding and I’m relieved everything went well! You never know with 2 little kids lol 😂
Congratulations!
Your pictures are gorgeous! You have such a beautiful family! I wish you all nothing but the best!
Thank you Nicole! You are so sweet. It was such a wonderful and special day for all of us. So happy!
Congratulations!! 🍾
I loved your dress! You looked gorgeous and daughters looked beautiful also!! Wishing all of you lots of love and happiness!!!❤️💙💜💖
Aw you are so sweet Sandra! Thank you so much! Such a wonderful wedding day – got so lucky! Xo
Gorgeous! Congratulations on your beautiful day and happy family. Wishing you happiness always!,
Aw thank you so much Irene! Feeling so blessed!
A 5:30 bedtime? Why do you put her to bed so early? Does she skip a nap during day ? What time does she wake up in morning if she goes to sleep at 5:30?
Yes! She stopped napping during the day and that’s when she wants to go to bed and sleeps through the night until 6:00-6:30 am. Even when she napped, she went to bed around 6 pm and slept until 6-7 am. I also sleep trained her at 7 months old
Anne con.
Congratulations to both of you con. I’m very happy for you that you have found your happiness again sweetie. Milan is getting so tall and beautiful ❤️. Meadow is precious beautiful ❤️. Di Lan sent your links to me tonight, so I thought I would send my love to you all. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Aw thank you so much Co! So nice to hear from you. We appreciate you sending your love. Hope to see you soon! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Annie,
Congrats to you and your family!! So beautiful. So glad you found your Mr. Right and happy ending. When I find my Mr. Right I was thinking of eloping because I don’t want the stress either and want it to be about us. Thank you for sharing your love story and giving us hope!!
Thank you so much Brooklyn! You WILL find Mr Right! Do not ever give up hope. So many nice guys out there still. Eloping is the way to go! No stress or drama and the focus stays on the bride and groom which is what it should be. ❤️❤️❤️❤️