***********PERSONAL POST****************

PHOTOS IN THIS POST WERE TAKEN BY MEGHAN WIESMAN  AND JAY PAGE

 

So it’s nearly taken me a year to put this up.  I’m warning you all now this is going to be the longest most boring post you will ever see on this page.  But if you were apart of this amazing day it probably won’t be quite as borring!  When I do a post on my page I try and think of both the couple and their friends and family as well as potential brides and what they want to see from other wedding posts.  BUT I’m not thinking of that with this one!  This is purely to show off one of the most special days in my life!

 

Soooo… once upon a time this girl meets a boy.  This boy is dating her friend, she thinks nothing of him.  This girl is actually dating his friend.  Both relationships end.  This boy HATES this girl because she is supsoviely responsible for said break up.  This girl could care less about this boy and his accusations.  This boy ends up becoming this girls boss.  This girl and this boy fight light they are married.  HATE each other even.  Then these two drink WAY too many martinis and fight…. a lot!  This boy takes many notes on many bar napkins from said fight.  That night they end the fight by becoming friends.  Then they quickly fall in love.  Three months later this girl gets pregnant…..oops!  I skipped the part where that happened because said girl’s family all read her blog!  😉  (you’re welcome Dad!) So I’m sure you’ve all figured out that said girl is ME and said boy is Ben, my Husband.  LOL  well shortly into the pregnancy the two of us began fielding parental pressure to get married.  So in order to get my Mother off my back I made an appointment at the classy courthouse that is San Bernardino County Courthouse… don’t be jealous, I’m sure it’s all over Pinterest… NOT!!!  I wanted to wear jeans and flip flops but I was out voted!  So there we stand my about to be Husband, me in a lame maternity dress shirt, our parents and our sisters.  We began electronically filling out the marriage license paper/digital work.  We barely know each other so we have to ask each other where we were born, our middle names, our birthdays, etc.  LOL it was quite hilarious if you ask me!  Then us, the MOST dressed up family there (picture a sea of beat up jeans and wife beaters).  It was similar to the DMV where your name gets put on the screen with a window number “now serving B41 at window number 2” classy I know!  We started to notice that whichever person was at the window you went to, that was the person who would effectively marry you.  There was about 6 freaks and one normal lady.  The odds were against us!  So here we all were laughing in the back all whispering “window 4, window 4 please window 4” (this was the normal-ish lady)  here it comes  …. our number…. window 4!!! YES!  We walk up laughing hysterically to window 4.  She glances at us slightly amused (probably thought we were drunk) and then laughs herself and says “Benifer!” She was perfect!

Before we decided to get married this way we promised each other we would have the wedding we both wanted at our 5 year mark.  We both agreed we wanted kids close together so we knew that doing it after Aidan was born was not ideal.  So we waited…. through those years we had so many amazing times.  I am not sure that either of us were each other’s typical type.  We both seemed unlikely really.  Anyone who knew us laughed when they realized we were dating.  We just weren’t really typical I guess.  But it’s funny how that works.  Through the 5 years we realized just how perfect we were for each other.  We built this amazing family unit that I wouldn’t trade for anything in this world.  So when it came time to plan this vow renewal we knew one thing, we wanted to share it with people who meant something to us, who were apart of our journey to either getting here or apart of our current lives.  So planning some of this we didn’t do a lot of the typical “wedding” stuff.  We chose what we wanted and didn’t worry about some of the other details that you would normally have at a wedding.

WHO DOES A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER CHOOSE TO BE THEIR PHOTOGRAPHER??

Well I thought long and hard on this one.  Ok well not really.  I was faced with two choices.  I could hire my idol photographer.  But I was blessed with something more meaningful.  I could hire my idol photographer anytime I wanted for anything I needed photographed.  But for this special day I wanted something more personal.  My very first client ever, the girl I went to High School with.  She gave me my first shot as a family and children’s photographer.  She brought her daughter to me every few months for follow up photos and really was a very important part to the start of my business.  Back then I was just a brand new Mom with a camera.  I didn’t even know I wanted to start a “real” business until Meghan came along.  Then one day a few years later that same Woman started asking me technical questions about photography.  Wouldn’t you know it months later she skyrockets to being an amazing photographer!  See everything about this Vow Renewal was about meaning.  Things and people that meant something to us.  So it was only PERFECT that Meghan was our photographer.

Then begs the question WHERE DOES A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER HAVE THEIR VOW RENEWAL??

Well, we were on a tight budget since as you know we have 2 kids and I own my own business!  LOL  Some of my dream venues weren’t even possible.  So we had a location nearly booked that was going to do just fine.  Then I went up to Mounts for who knows what (I tend to find many excuses to go up there) and I was chatting with Lana Mounts and I looked around their property like I always do and I just mentioned about what a dream it would be to have our vow renewal there since its one of our favorite places.  What happened next I can not even put words to describe.  But she offered us the property.  I think I’m STILL in shock.  Ben and I went on a wine tasting trip with a friend when we very first started dating.  This was one of the first times I was hanging out with his group of friends and Mounts was one of the places we went.  We both instantly fell in love there!  So it couldn’t have been more perfect of a place for us to renew our vows!

Ok well enough words I’ll go ahead and share a few photos!  I’m warning you there is going to be an incredibly excessive amount of photos on this post….  Ben got ready at our home with Aidan and I got ready at the deLormier Winery suites near Mounts Winery.

One of the most important things to me was getting to wear a wedding dress.  I struggled a tiny bit thinking how ridiculous it was for me to wear a traditional wedding dress to a vow renewal.  But if you know me, you know I didn’t care for long!  I am so glad that I actually didn’t get married when I did because my ideal wedding dress was not the type of dress that was fitting for me.  Ok well if I got married before ever getting pregnant lets face it I could have rocked a trash bag…. darn kids jacked that up!  ok well my eating ice cream everyday while making children jacked that up!  But no really I have become somewhat of a dress snob.  I have begun to admire certain dress designers so of course I just had to try on a few Vera Wangs but more importantly I had to try on a Lazaro.  I battled between the two dresses and landed on the Lazaro.  It was just so fitting for the location.  It had a nice classy satin that gave me the classic wedding dress feel but had the lace that matched the rustic feel of the day. 

The best part about doing this after kids was getting to experience the entire day with them!  Isabella probably had a more show stopping dress than me!  and rightfully so!Nearly all of our friends have kids so we chose not to do a bridal party or any of that.  We know how hard it is to ask people to be there all day getting ready, taking photos, etc.  We just wanted everyone to enjoy the day how they wanted to.  I was fortunate enough to have two friends from HS drive up the night before and stay in the suite next to me and one of my Best Friends brought her daughters and stayed the night with me.  Then the next morning my other BFF came and got ready with us!  It was the perfect morning !  I had my glam squad with me who also happen to be dear friends which made the morning all the more perfect! 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prepped a Bride’s dress for them in just the right spot so her Mom can help her in.  It was pretty surreal getting to do that myself.  Sorry ladies…. I just HAD to ask Lazro himself (yup got to meet him when I bought my dress and everything!!!) I just had to ask him to customize the dress for me and add satin buttons down the entire back of the dress…. sorry!!! but it was sooo worth it!!So we did this shin dig in September!  Shouldn’t be too hot right?  WRONG!!!  It was about 109 I think!  and of course pretty much everything was in the direct sun!  I’m sure Meghan and Jay cursed my name a thousand times over that day!  Our ceremony was in a pole barn but the sun was angled just right so it was still making it’s presence known!  Peonies are my favorite but of course I already knew that they were not a possibility in September so we went with the David Austin roses…. but man did Heather do such a wonderful job!  It’s funny I honestly think the only thing I was more excited about was my tables and chairs!  Encore Event Rentals was my idol that day!  I had dreams about my tables!  I know it’s sick… I blame it on being a wedding photographer!  They have the most gorgeous farm tables I’ve ever seen!  and their staff was so amazing to work with.  They helped us set everything up!!!  For table numbers we wanted to do something creative and fun.  Something we hadn’t really seen much of.  I also really wanted to get our parents involved in the day.  So we asked them to collect photos of us from ages 1-16.  Then the amazing Katie from Kayden Ashley Printable Designs designed these super cute table numbers using the photos!  So each table number represented us at that age!  When we arrived at Mounts I got to hide back on the otherside of the tasting room (the area that later became our cigar and bourbon lounge) It was awesome because I got to sit and hang out with my Step Dad.  He helped distract me and calm my nerves.  When planning this thing I really didn’t think I’d be nervous. I mean I’ve been married to this guy for 5 years who cares right?  … WRONG again!  I was a wreck.  I was worried to talk about my feelings in front of people, to walk down the aisle.  I was TERRIFIED our crazy kids would misbehave and distract from the ceremony.  The greatest thing though.  The one thing I was not worried about was the flow of the day, the tables being set up correctly, or any of the logistical things.  I had the most amazing coordinator, Amanda Vineyard from Vineyard Events.  She and her Mom Anna were so amazing through this whole process that I didn’t even think twice about any of that stuff.  I really honestly thought I was going to… I mean I’m sort of a control freak!  But I just knew that she had it under control.  So then I was left with nothing but time to worry about me at the ceremony!My Mom found an old suitcase of my Grandma’s so she brought it and used it to hold cards and other gifts!  Then I used an idea from one of my couples for wishes.  We had our guests write notes and wishes and put them in the bottles labeled 10, 20, and 30.  Then at each of those anniversaries we will break open the bottles and read the notes.  The idea being that possibly we will be reading notes from people who have passed on and hear their encouragement live on.  My Step Dad also happened to keep Isabella busy before the ceremony as well.  It doesn’t look like she is quite as nervous as I was tough… lol  Good thing Grandpa was there to hold her flowers cuz that juice really needed a good squeeze!

The thing about how we did the ceremony was that it wasn’t just about Ben seeing me for the first time.  That really wasn’t a moment for us like it is in a traditional wedding.  It was more about us as the foundation of our family renewing our vows to each other and to our kids.  Which is why I chose to have my kids walk me down the aisle.  So I think for Ben it was a moment of seeing his family.  It was an incredibly emotional day and it started right here.

If we weren’t crying we were laughing… at Aidan.  The first thing he said the Ben in front of everyone was “Dad are you crying???”  and Ben whispered “yes” and Aidan shouts “What??? Only baby’s cry Dad quit it!” and that was only the beginning of the hilarious things he said and did during the ceremony!  We really wish we had a videographer.  This was one of our regrets.  There are just some things that photography can’t quite capture.  These photos are amazing and will remind me of the moments but I often forget the funny things he says or just quite how he says them.  It was really mainly the ceremony that we wish we had gotten video of!  Yup this happened…. Kevin our officiant (my current Pastor and Freshman High School Homecoming date LOL) whispers to Aidan “watch out man they are about to kiss”  so instead of Aidan stepping aside and sitting back down he rolls his eyes and storms off covering his eyes!  I mean I couldn’t have bribed him and plotted this out if I wanted to !  Most of Ben’s Mom’s Family came all the way out from Illinois it was so wonderful to have them here!  We were so thankful they made the trip!  It wouldn’t have been the same with out them!!! WARNING!!!!!!!  Super awkward !  We have been married for 5 years and have two kids and there is really nothing photogenic about us!  LOL so these always make me laugh…. I really got a taste for what it was like to be a Bride.  I am a wedding photographer and I really wanted nice photos of us together in this moment.  I’ve always felt sad that we never had “wedding photos” and in this moment all I wanted to do was hug my friends and family.  I wanted nothing to do with photos.  I was so eager to see everyone I could hardly stand it.  Oh and it was 109 I wanted a drink!  or 7 !!!  and I’m sure the Pliny the Elder and the bourbon was also calling Ben.

I’m not sure I could love a photo more!  I’m a HUGE believer that weddings and other big events are such wonderful memories for children!  I love that all these kids had such a good time!I always laugh a little when Brides will tell me they are not inviting kids to their wedding.  Not because I think it’s a bad thing, to each their own, but because we had 33 kids at our vow renewal !  LOL !!  The kids even ruled the dance floor!!!!!I’m so sad we never took a photo with our photographer and dear friend Meghan!  But there she is in the background, her and her cute pregnant belly!!  So…. we might like our bourbon and whiskey…. just a little!  I think that is one thing this event was not lacking, alcohol!  We had pretty much a full bar, the best Mounts wine ever, and we even spent a week scoring cases of Pliny !! and a keg of Lil Sumpin from Lagunitas and Tricerihops (I”m pretty sure I spelled that all wrong but you know what I mean right?)So the funny thing is we had heaters on hold in case it was cold and in a last minute panic I made my Mom run to Ikea and grab 80 purple blankets in case it got really cold up there at night!  It was 109 in the day and probably 80 that night!!!!  Pretty sure not a single blanket got unwrapped!  We had SO many left.  If you happen to see homeless men and women around Petaluma and Santa Rosa with these blankets you know who they came from !!!  LOL  My cousins came from Las Vegas, LA, and San Diego just to spend the day with us!  It was so wonderful!  and my Aunt flew from Washington!!!!!!  I can not even tell you how happy I was to have them there, it meant the world to me that they all came!Ben’s childhood friends!  all together for the first time in a really long time!  I love how weddings can bring people together!  If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with deserts.  If I’m at a wedding and there is cake or desert of any kind I almost can’t focus until I have some!  So I brought all the deserts I could possibly think of to 2 tables!!!!  YUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMM  My Mom made all the cookies, the amazing Patisserie Angelica made the amazing french macaroons, Mustache made the salted caramels, and the WONDEROUS Goddess of carrot cake and WICCI frosting made us the most delicious carrot cake EVER, Carolyn from Your Sweet Expectations… my “Godmother”  ok I’m not Catholic and I have a real Mom but she is about as darn close as my Mom as I can get.  They are best friends !!! and I love them both so much so “godmother” it is! So this part needs a tissue warning possibly.  When we talked about most of the “traditions” for most weddings, cake cutting, flower toss, bridal party, special dances, etc.  we opted to not do many of them.  But the dances we went back and forth on.  This sort of needs a back story so I’m sorry for the long winded reason behind why we danced with who we did but…. so when I was little I was very close to my Dad.  As I went off to college his addiction to drugs grew stronger.  Eventually he was detached from the normal world and out of touch.  I spent many many years in search of him and really just re evaluating many memories with him with the new understanding of his drug problem.  But with every wedding I did, I would watch Father after Father walk their daughter’s down the aisle and give their daughters away.  I always knew that my Dad lost the right to ceremoniously give me away.  My Mom and my Step Dad filled in for him in his absence for so many years.  But no matter what he is my Dad and I love him very very very much.  So when I would see each of the Father Daughter dances at each and every wedding I photographed I would often times feel very sad knowing deep down in my heart that I would never get that moment for myself and it always made me so sad.  But then my Dad entered back into the picture and I had started to re build a new relationship with him.  But as the vow renewal got closer I began to realize that the logistics of including him in the day and really just his presence would be more distracting than rewarding.  Our relationship hasn’t been repaired enough yet.  But when it came time to think of the Father Daughter dance it always brought me to tears.  I watched my Sister get to dance with my Dad at her wedding and I felt nothing but jealousy every moment of that dance.  But I just knew that although in a perfect world I would fly him in just for that dance and fly him home right after, it just wasn’t going to happen.  So Ben and I talked about alternatives.  We decided that since this day was about him and I and our family that we would dance with our kids.  Life is short and I’m not guaranteed to dance with my kids at their weddings like I wasn’t guaranteed to dance with my Dad at mine.  Ben mentioned that his Mom wouldn’t feel comfortable dancing in front of so many people anyways and him and I agreed he would dance with her and I with my Step Dad during the evening anyways.  So we each chose a song and Ben danced with Isabella and I danced with Aidan.  Leading up to the day I thought these dances would get a little emotional… I mean I cry at every single Mother Son dance at every single wedding picturing me with my son at his wedding.  But by this point in the evening Aidan had been running around like an insane patient on crack and was covered in sweat and dirt head to toe!  So when we first started dancing I had to basically force him.  So then I though ok well maybe this won’t be as emotional as I though.  But of course as he relaxed and began to really hold onto me and the words to the song kicked on, I LOST it.  I of course attempted to hide from the camera only to find the other camera!!!!  and then stopped paying attention all together and allowed my ugly cry to take full effect.  Then of course when Ben began to dance with his baby girl he did the same!!!!  I am pretty sure as I then looked around to all our friends and family I didn’t see a dry eye!  The love we all have for our children is so powerful! It was still so hot as the sun set so most of us were cooling off with deserts and bourbon!  LOL  but the kids were not phased, they seriously ruled the dancefloor all night!Where’s Jenn…. check the desert bar!Dancing with the girl who taught me how to let loose and have fun! Shay Shay!!!Don’t even ask why I rolled on the floor in my Lazaro dress!  Kids get me to do all sorts of things! the kids were having a “dance off” and of course Isabella just decided to join the boys and do her own made up little yoga move!  and won the whole thing!  My favorite is her ending pose!Honestly I have no words for the Mounts Family that even come close to carrying the right amount of love and gratitude.  It’s funny, or not really, but we sent our our thank you cards with our Xmas cards this year.  But I held onto the one for the Mounts Family because I wanted to get them a thank you gift to go along with it and to really write something in the card.  We bought them a nice bottle of wine, then I kept thinking it just wasn’t good enough.  So then I started to put together this basket of things, nope not good enough.  Then I designed this cool sign, had a frame made, and had it printed… nope still not good enough… then I had photos printed from her birthday party.. nope not even close.  I just can’t seem to find something to hand to them with a thank you card that even comes close to showing them how thankful we are for the gift they gave us.  Now I’m left with out a thank you and with a bunch of random gifts that don’t even go together!  But wow I mean what do you say to someone who gives you the gift of the most perfect setting for the most perfect day in your whole life?  Thanks?  I guess we will just spend the rest of our lives showing them how much we love them and hopefully over our lifetime we will collectively be able to show them just how much it meant to us…. and I’ll bring one huge basket with the most random gifts in it ever!  But at least now this blog post will explain it!  David and Lana Mounts words just can not explain how thankful we are for the gift you gave us !! 

We also want to thank all the amazing vendors who made this day possible:

 

Amanda Vineyard from Vineyard Events.  This day would not have even come close to happening with out you!  You are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meghan Wiesman, thank you for the beautiful photos and even more thank you for your wonderful friendship and for being my photog partner to bounce things off !

Jay Page, thank you for backing Meghan up!  It was so wonderful to share the day with you!

Hair by Kristy Harris my most amazing hair dresser in the whole world

Make up by the kick ass Jackie Oh! Cosmetics

Dress was Lazaro purchased at the Bridal Galleria

DJ extraordinare Jon Moore from Runaway DJ… you guys rocked!  My kids still talk about the DJ at the second wedding (that’s what they call it)

Encore Event Rentals, Bridgette and Heather you guys were so amazing and I know it seems so silly but the decor pieces and the tables and chairs were such a huge part of my vision.  It was such a highlight to the day to look out and see what I’ve dreamed of so many times!  Thank you so much!

Heather Hendrickson you did a phenomenal job on all the wonderful flowers!!!! xoxo

Katie from Kayden Ashley Designs thank you for the menus and programs and table numbers they were just perfect!

Transportation from Pure Luxury in Petaluma, the best in the biz!

The amazing taco bar was provided by Gus Lopez from Big Boyz BBQ

A huge thank you to my Best Friend Trinity and her Husband Matt for providing the photobooth! Eyes on You photo booth!  Such a fun element to the evening!!!!

A huge thank you to Sammie Lawrence who provided so many of the signs and vintage decor pieces.  I am so thankful for all of your vision around some of the decor and for helping the day of!

The most amazing cake from Your Sweet Expectations seriously the best cake ever

The most delicious french macaroons I’ve ever tasted from Patisserie Angelica!  If I had known about all your amazing petifores (I’m sure I jacked that french spelling up)  I would have added 2 more tables just of those!!!

and last but not least a massive thank you to my most amazing Mom!  She drove up in her Prius packed top to bottom, front to back with decor and tons of alcohol and cigars!  She helped with so many things.  It would not have been the same with out all your help!!!

it’s almost midnight I’m terrified I’ve missed someone but I can’t see straight!