HOW HE PROPOSED
Tyler and I have been dating for over 8 years before we got engaged. We met in Las Vegas, Nevada, where we both lived for about 9-10 years. We decided we wanted to be closer to family, so we packed up our things, and made the big move to Washington. Christmas morning 2016 we were opening presents with our two little dachshunds, Tyler’s mom, and my mom who flew in from New Mexico. When it was my turn to open gifts, Tyler had me close my eyes and said he had a surprise for me. When I opened my eyes he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. By the way, he was dressed up as Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf. Really fitting into the theme of Christmas! Of course, I said YES to forever and that’s the story of how we got engaged.
ALL ABOUT THE WEDDING
Our wedding day was everything I dreamed of. We had family that flew in from all over the world to attend our special day. Everyone had been waiting for us to tie the knot. Finally 10 years later we got to do it in front of our loved ones.
To get everyone’s attention, Tylers cousin from Hawaii blew a special conch shell to announce that the wedding was starting . Tyler walked his mom and step mom down the aisle to a traditional Hawaiian love song. Our two little weenie dogs walked down the aisle as the flower girl and ring bearer by my brother and Tylers niece. When it was my time to shine, my soon to be sister in law sang “I can’t help falling in love with you” by Elvis live as I walked down the aisle. I couldn’t believe this was real and it was happening. I still had butterflies walking down the aisle to my husband to be. After 10 years he still made my heart skip a beat. Our good friend Nikki was our officiant, during our vows both Tyler and I couldn’t hold back our tears. Even Nikki herself couldn’t hold back tears as she was marrying us. It was such an emotional, love filled ceremony.
My vision for the wedding was sweet, soft and romantic theme. Lots of pastel colors, floral, leafy green garlands, glass vases and candles everywhere. We had specialty cocktails called “The Ana” (moscow mule) and “The Tyler” (whiskey mule). We had 2 different wedding favors. I ordered ube cookies from Hood Famous Bakeshop in Ballard and little jars filled with jam from Angry Fish a local Seattle company, which is actually Tylers aunts company.
The bridesmaids wore different shades of pastel, they were long chiffon dresses. The groom and groom men’s wore blue chambray suits, navy blue tie and suspenders with sock less loafers. Towards the end of the night we had an outfit change. We wore traditional Laotian wedding outfits. My aunt from Laos had them custom made for us. She brought them with her all the way from Laos.
So many great memories were made that night. From everyone dancing the night away and then getting told we had to leave because we had extended our stay. Our wedding was everything we could dream of.
WEDDING STYLE: Soft and romantic
Dream Team of Wedding Vendors:
Wedding Planning, Coordination & Florals: Shine Event Design
Wedding Venue & Catering & Bar: Hyatt Regency Lake Washington
Wedding Photographer & Videographer: Robbie Negrin Photography
Wedding Makeup: Hailey Opacich of OffBlack Arts
Wedding Hair: Vianna’s Hair & Beauty Bar
Wedding Cake: Cakes by Creme de la Creme
Wedding DJ: DJ Blue Beatz
Wedding Invitations: Minted Weddings
Wedding Dress Boutique: Samila Boutique
Groom & Groomsman Attire: The Black Tux
Cookies: Hood Famous Bakeshop
Breakdown of Costs to Replicate this Wedding Inspiration on Lake Washington:
Initial Wedding Budget: $20,000
Actually Spent: $30,000
Wedding Venue/Catering/Bar: about $20,000
Wedding DJ: about $1,000
Wedding Photography: about $3,000
Wedding Favors: about $300
Invitations & Paper Goods: about $500
Big Foot Ice Sculpture: Gift from the Groomsmen
Loving this Romantic Wedding Style? Check out our Romantic Wedding Ideas on Pinterest for more inspiration!