If I could have put any more attention on one aspect, it would have been the music. It wasn’t THAT bad, but it wasn’t the best, only because I didn’t do the proper research and planning on that aspect. But what I did have, I LOVED.

I found it incredibly hard to find appropriate songs, and the lack of resources were a little baffling to me. It was definitely an aspect that I literally had to dig deep down into the depths of Google searches to find suggestions and ideas. I didn’t get too into the music, but we did have some fun songs that I thought were a little different than the usual wedding playlist out there.

I would definitely suggest creating a playlist as early as possible. Simply add songs as you discover or remember them. When you then go to create the actual playlist, you will have a group of songs to choose from rather than racking your brains trying to remember as many songs as you can.

Here is a short playlist:

Bridesmaids walking down: “Forever” Ben Harper
Bride walking down the aisle: “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver
After Ceremony: “I Feel it All” by Feist
Couple entrance song: “What I Wouldn’t Do” by A fine frenzy
First Dance: “Islands in the Stream” Feist and Constantine’s
Father Daughter Dance: “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele

Other songs that I contemplated but didn’t quite make the cut

“First Day Of My Life” by Bright Eyes
“Marry Me” by Train
“Wagon Wheel” by Against Me!
“Question” by Old 97′s
“You and I” Ingrid Michaelson
“My Favorite Chords” by The Weakerthans

Though Islands In The Stream was our first dance, I still consider Skinny Love to be our actual song. He loved that song and had no idea that I was going to be using it. I think it was a particularly emotional point when he heard it come on and it made me burst into tears far before I even got up to the alter. When I think of our wedding day, that song is always that one that goes along with it.

I’ll leave you with a few of the dancing shots from the wedding. At least these people had a good time…

The wedding day can be FULL of mistakes, surprises, and potential disasters. I don’t know what to say, it just is. Years later you can look back and laugh about some of the imperfections, but at the time, they are definitely trying. For me, that was an understatement.

I had so many things happening the day of, it was definitely exhausting. Luckily for me I had literally the best planner of all time, Shannon Leahy. I couldn’t believe how professional and on top of things she was. With every disaster from rain and hail to wine all over my dress, she was there and was literally my rock through the whole thing. Not only was she my saving grace, but I actually had members of the family, wedding party and even guests comment on how calm and together she was.

When I walked into Holman Ranch for the first time on the day of the wedding, I was totally blown away. We had mocked things up. drawn photos and talked about it all, so I was pretty sure I had a really clear vision of exactly how it was going to end up on the day of. She took all my ideas, DIY projects and props and created something that made my original plan look blah-zay compared to the magic she created. Everything literally beat my exceptions by a long shot. I couldn’t believe how good she was.

She was one of the most fun people to talk to during the planning process. Not only did she totally understand my ideas and what I wanted, she really helped me hone in on what I needed and didn’t need to create something awesome. I trusted her completely and knew that she was totally getting me the entire time. And on the day of, she really did exceed every exception ever, and how she stayed calm through it all was just beyond me.

I fell in love with her in the beginning because her body of work is all so magical. I loved every single one of her weddings and styled shoots so so much. I knew her and I had a similar style, and I was quite right. Of course I would totally recommend her in a second to anyone planning their wedding. She is just so talented. Check out Shannon Leahy’s website!

All photos are of weddings and styled shoots she has done in the past and can al be found on her website.

I have completed the most difficult and daunting task on my wedding planning list, thus far. We have officially locked down our venue! HOORAY! Vinnie and I will be getting hitched on November 4, 2012 at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach, California. Originally, we wanted our date to be October 20th, which is a Saturday, however, that changed when we saw the premium places charged for a Saturday evening wedding. (FYI, for those of you brides out there scouting out venues, you can save close to $10,000 just by switching your celebration to a Friday or Sunday.) We opted for a Sunday and pushed back our date to the first weekend in November, which gave us an additional 15% off… Score!

Now that we have our venue, I’ve realized that my color scheme may have to be tweaked a little bit. What I know for sure is that I LOVE succulent plants, so my palette should complement that cool sage green. I also want to have some bright colors to add to our killer outdoor ambiance at the Maya. The decor and vibe there is ” Mayan Mystique meets Urban Chic…. alluring fusion of Latin American and Southern Californian style.”

You might be reading this thinking, ‘wait a minute, didn’t Taya say her dream wedding would be in Palm Springs?’ Yes, you’re right. In my last post I wrote about how I fell in love with the Colony Palms Hotel in the desert. Well, when I got back to Los Angeles I decided to reach out to a friend of mine, Laura, who also happens to be a wedding planner. She and I met for a glass of wine and french fries (that’s how I roll) to brainstorm other locations that had a vibe I wanted, and were more affordable and easier for people to travel to. I told her how I loved the old Spanish charm of the Colony Palms, along with its cool mid-century chic vibe, and that I envisioned getting married somewhere unique… somewhere with palm trees that felt like an escape. She recommended the Hotel Maya.

Hotel Maya Color Inspiration

Long story short: I went on my own to tour the grounds. Later that week Vinnie, his parents, my MOH and I enjoyed Sunday brunch there, and that pretty much sealed the deal. (PS, the food is AMAZING!) The hotel is owned by Hilton and they recently had a $10mil renovation. The secret is slowly getting out on what a fabulous location it is for an event. In 2009 they had about 45 weddings, last year almost 100, and in 2012 even more!

Hotel Maya Color Inspiration

Side note: When Vinnie’s parents got married in San Pedro 30+ years ago, his mom wanted to spend their wedding night at this hotel!! Even though they ended up staying somewhere else, she always remembered how special the location was. It was cool to hear them reminisce about it ;-)

Now that we have our venue it’s time to send out save the dates, design invites, etc.

So, what’s my new challenge? Setting the tone and vibe of our wedding through COLORS. It’s likely that our save the dates will be similar in design to our invitations. I’ve let my creative juices start flowing over the holiday weekend and this is what I’ve been inspired by so far. I want something modern with a hint of Spanish/Latin American influence.

As previously mentioned, I LOVE succulents! They will definitely be  in my floral arrangements and table centerpieces. I’m also really digging the grey and yellow. What do you think?

Hotel Maya Color Inspiration