It’s been over a year since we tied the knot and although weddings are currently not in a “normal” state (thanks COVID…!) I figured I would share a wedding round-up of all the wonderful vendors we used! This was our absolute DREAM day: we wanted guests to feel as if they were transported to a different country in another time, and our Spanish courtyard wedding in historic San Juan Capistrano, California did JUST that!
My heart goes out to everyone in the wedding industry and to any brides frustrated with planning during such uncertain times. I have to admit I am feeling SO grateful we decided to get married in 2019 rather than waiting until 2020. To all my fellow brides: Remember to relax, soak it all in, and try to ENJOY the planning process, because it goes by FAST!
WEDDING PLANNER: PURE LAVISH EVENTS
- Website: https://eventsbypurelavish.com/
- Instagram: @purelavishevents
- Planner: Alexa Infranca
- Designer: Lauren Eckmeder
- We actually found Pure Lavish through tagged photos on Instagram! They did a few weddings at the venue we loved and we were really impressed with their style. I initially reached out to two different wedding planners on January 1 (the ultimate responsiveness test) and even though they were out-of-office because of the holiday, I received a response from Pure Lavish within a couple hours! (The other company did not get back to me for DAYS!) We were SO HAPPY with our choice!! Pure Lavish gave us creative control, helped shape our ideas and were super supportive every step of the way. We chose the “Full Service Planning & Design” package, which was so nice to have that unlimited communication right away with our planners. I would highly recommend Pure Lavish for all my brides, y’all have a true fan for life over here!
- Blog Post about our wedding: https://eventsbypurelavish.com/2019/12/02/jessica-jerome-serra-plaza/
PHOTOGRAPHER: JARROD J. PHOTO
- Website: https://jarrodjphoto.com/
- Instagram: @jarrodjphoto
- Jarrod was an easy choice for our wedding photographer. He came highly recommended by our wedding planners, had an incredibly impressive portfolio AND he was able to shoot our engagement photos the weekend I was in California! (Note: I still lived in Dallas when we got engaged and moved across the country to Los Angeles all while planning a wedding! Talk about chaos!) We LOVED how our engagement and wedding photos turned out! Shooting with Jarrod was such a delight: his easy-going and professional manner helped to effortlessly capture our candid love. We are so blown away by all of the photos taken by Jarrod (every single photo in this post is by him!) and we love keeping up with his content on social media! Fingers crossed he can do our family portraits someday…!
HAIR & MAKEUP: VANITY BELLES
- Website: https://www.thevanitybelle.com/
- Instagram: @vanitybelles
- Hair: Taylor Maddox
- Makeup: Karissa Lorinne
- Vanity Belles are one of the few that I completely TRUST with my hair and makeup! My bridesmaids and I knew we were in good hands – many of us are former NFL/NBA cheerleaders and *slightly* picky with our makeup, and they completely NAILED the “Smokey Glam” look I was going for! They also provided an intimate “Bridal Trial” complete with champagne and full hair/makeup test-run beforehand. So fun!
BRIDESMAIDS GIFTS: ETSY & KENDRA SCOTT
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- I loved gifting my sweet bridesmaids with these Etsy Robes (The girls wore Champagne and I had White) and Kendra Scott Bracelets!
- I also wore Kendra Scott Earrings on our wedding day! (Found while in Austin for my bachelorette party!)
- A few fun facts:
- I had 11 bridesmaids (4 former DCC’s)
- DCC Tradition #1: We performed Thunderstruck on the dance floor!
- DCC Tradition #2: I wore one of my DCC stars on my garter!
FIRST LOOK: MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
- Website: https://www.missionsjc.com/
- One of the main reasons we chose San Juan Capistrano for our wedding location is because we LOVED the idea of having wedding photos photos at the Mission! (I mean seriously – how beautiful is this place?!)
- Important to note: A reservation is REQUIRED in order to have professional photos taken here, so call ahead and book at least one week in advance!
WEDDING DRESS: LOVELY BRIDE & LULUS
- Reception / First Look Dress: Lovely Bride
- Ceremony / Dancing Dress: Lulus Weddings
- Yes.. I am that bride that had two dresses! This was completely unplanned, but necessary. I had a lot of FITTING DRAMA… as in, I had about a dozen different alteration sessions and had a VERY hard time fitting my dress. (In hindsight, a backless dress on a very petite frame was probably not the best idea, but you live and learn.) I bought a second dress online literally one week before the wedding as a back-up dress (anxiety level = 100000%) and I loved that second dress (which of course happened to be a fraction of the price) so much that I wore it for the entire reception!
BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: SHOW ME YOUR MUMU
- Instagram: @mumuweddings
- I had the girls pick from 3 different styles so they would feel empowered, beautiful and comfortable. (And so that it was flattering to their shape!) I didn’t want something too pink or too orange, and I LOVED how this “Rustic Mauve” color was a great neutral with a pop! It looked great in the photos with our venue!
VENUE: SERRA PLAZA
- Website: https://www.serraplazaevents.com/
- Instagram: @serraplaza
- Now what you have probably been waiting for: OUR WEDDING VENUE! (Insert heart eyes emoji) This inspired EVERYTHING for the wedding. I found Serra Plaza on Instagram pretty quickly into wedding planning research, and it truly influenced the entire “Spanish Courtyard” look. We wanted something unique to us; we’ve both been to dozens of ballroom, beach and barnyard weddings, but had never seen this style done before! We loved that we were able to have the reception and ceremony in ONE location (they flipped the space during cocktail hour) which made everything super easy for our guests!
FLORALS: PENELOPE POTS
- Website: https://www.penelopepots.com/
- Instagram: @penelopepotsfloraldesign
- These florals… OMG. One of our absolute favorites from the wedding was our floral display in the fountain! Seriously breathtaking – thank you Jackie!!!
STATIONERY & CALLIGRAPHY: PIROUETTE PAPER CO.
- Website: https://www.pirouettepaper.com/
- Instagram: @pirouettepapercompany
- Kaylyn absolutely slayed the invitations, calligraphy, and our SEATING CHART. Since we met on a plane and Jerome proposed on a plane, we wanted to hide little airplanes in as many places as we could, without being too cheesy or obvious!
- #1: Check out the “Love is in the Air” sign along with our seating chart.
- #2: Each table setting had the guest’s name along with a specific color for their meal choice (pink for steak, maroon for fish, white for vegetarian) on a custom wax seal. Not sure if you can see in the photos, but the wax seal had a plane along with our initials!
- Blog Post about our wedding: https://www.pirouettepaper.com/blog-post/jessica-jerome
CAKE: GRACE & HONEY CAKES
- Website: https://www.graceandhoneycakes.com/
- Instagram: @graceandhoneycakes
- SO STUNNING: we loved our smooth buttercream 3-tier cake, which had edible gold leaf and included fresh florals provided by our florist! We chose two flavors: Dulce De Leche and Posh Red.
- We actually bought a Mr & Mrs cake topper from Etsy and forgot to put it on! But honestly, the cake was so beautiful that it really didn’t need anything else.
PHOTO BOOTH: FOCUS PHOTO SUITES
- Website: https://focusphotosuites.com/
- Instagram: @focusphotosuites
- Not sure if you want a photo booth for your wedding? Trust me: DO IT. We were on the fence at first about a photo booth (or if it was worth the additional expense) but I’m SO GLAD we did because I think this was everyone’s favorite part! The glossy black and white filter was super classy and made everyone look FABULOUS; a lot of our guests used these photos for their Christmas cards that year!
CATERING: 24 CARROTS CATERING
- Website: https://24carrots.com/
- Instagram: @24carrotscatering
- Some of the most DELICIOUS food we have ever had… period!
- HORS D’OEUVRES:
- CALI MINI SLIDER
- GOAT CHEESE OREO
- SPANISH TART
- CARAMELIZED ONION & GRUYERE ARANCIN
- SALAD:
- BUTTER LETTUCE SALAD
- ENTREES:
- HANGER STEAK
- FINE HERB-CRUSTED AHI TUNA
- RATATOUILLE (VEGETARIAN/VEGAN/GF)
- HORS D’OEUVRES:
BAR SERVICE: COCKTAIL CONCIERGE
- Website: https://cocktailcrg.com/
- Instagram: @cocktailconcierge
- We went with the DIAMOND BAR – TOP SHELF package! I know our guests really appreciated and enjoyed this!
CEREMONY STRING QUARTET: OCDAMIA STRINGS
- Website: https://ocdamiamusicgroup.com/
- Instagram: @omg.ocdamiamusicgroup
- I always envisioned walking down the aisle to a string quartet playing Cannon in D. They played while guests arrived and it created quite a beautiful moment.
LIVE MUSIC & DJ: ZACH CHURCHILL
- Website: http://www.zachchurchillmusic.com/
- Instagram: @zcmentertainment
- PRO TIP: Find a DJ that can ALSO sing and play acoustic guitar! We truly had it all with Zach, he was not only an amazing emcee and DJ for our wedding, but such a talented singer and performer.
- Favorite moment: He played an acoustic version of “Crazy Love” for our first dance! It was a special moment we will never forget!
VIDEOGRAPHY: LOREN HIEW
- Website: https://www.tigervows.com/
- Instagram: @tigervows
- Loren is a good friend of my husband, and we appreciate all the footage he captured of our special day! We actually watched it all over again on our one-year anniversary. It was so sweet to hear everyone’s speeches and our vows again and relive that magic!
SPARKLER SEND OFF
- DO IT. It’s seriously worth the photos and memories!! Just make sure you check with your venue beforehand because they will probably have restrictions about the length of the sparklers!
Ok wow, that’s all I have for now it and it was definitely fun reliving our big day! I have way more photos, videos and info on my Instagram *WEDDING* story highlight if you want to check that out!
Let me know if you have any more questions, I had fun sharing with y’all!! XOXO
