Today’s wedding touched a special place in my heart, as it was held at the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco – where I got married just a year an a half ago! Lizette and Ernesto also opted to host their reception at the Swedenborgian, in the parish house just behind the church. And how about this: the groom planned the entire thing!
Says the couple, “In Mexico, a band walks behind the bride as she goes into the church, so we wanted to include that tradition. We also made sure to not see each other until the ceremony.”
Centerpieces were arranged in Mexican jarros, purchased at the San Jose Flea Market.
Why did you choose this location for your wedding? We chose the church because it was small, intimate, rustic, simple, had a organic feel. The parish house had the same look and was attached to the church, making it easy for our guests.
What inspired you when you were planning your wedding? Our love for each other and the things we share in common: our culture and heritage, our love of rustic and antique things, and organic and simple things. We also wanted to maintain the feeling of a family get together, just dressed up a bit.
Do you have any budget tips for other brides? We started by coming up with an estimate of how much we initially wanted to spend on the event, as well as what our maximum limit was; in our case we wanted to spend about $7,000, but definitely didn’t want to go over $10,000. Next we prioritized our must haves and assigned a portion of our initial total estimate to each item. Although we wanted to stay as close to our initial number, we also felt that quality was the ultimate priority. Therefore in order to hit budget, our next option after deciding to not sacrificing on quality was moving the wedding day to a weekday. Not only were we able to get weekday discounts from various vendors, but our guest list became a little bit more manageable. Additionally, we were lucky enough to have a professional florist in the family that provided the flowers as a wedding gift, so we only ended up spending on the Mexican jarro vases. Once our must-haves were covered, we layered in all the other items by shopping around for our wedding invitations, rentals, and supplies to make our wedding favors.
What advice do you have for other brides? Always remember that the wedding day is for both of you. A lot of brides have a habit of saying “my wedding” when they should be saying “our wedding.” Make every decision together – what better way to start your marriage off right than working together and being in harmony on your decisions about your wedding. Also, if your family wants to be a part of the wedding and help, you should let them. Lastly, treat your vendors like family and guests because they play a huge role in making your day memorable.
Is there anything else that helps tell the story of the day? The groom planned the whole wedding! From Lizette: I trust Ernesto and his decisions. He has great taste and he has a great eye for beautiful, unique and meaningful things. Brides always seem to overshadow the grooms, so in our case I wanted him to feel just as special and proud of his wedding day. From Ernesto: I can never turn down the opportunity to be creative, especially when it puts a smile Lizette’s face. And I did make sure to get her input on all my ideas.
Vendors
Photographer: Christina Diane Weddings / Venue: Swedenborgian Church and Parish House in San Francisco / Bride’s dress: Rin’s Bridal / Bride’s shoes: Menbur / Flower girl dresses: Mariel’s Bridal Boutique / Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas / Flowers: Bella Flor / Music: Mariachi Trio San Jose / Catering: Mexican Taco Party Catering, 510-538-7205 / Cake: Vanilla Moon Bakery / Rentals: A-1 Party Rental
Wedding Paper Divas is a sponsor of Snippet & Ink.
