Apologies for the lag in response time. Hopefully, you are still checking back in on this site. The ceremony was at 5pm, cocktails and pupus at 6pm, and dinner at 7pm. The cocktail hour gave guests time to walk through the amazing galleries at HiSAM. Our dinner was stationed so guests walked to different areas around the courtyard to grab small plates of food. We catered from downtown@HiSAM and it was fantastic! Not to mention, one of my favorite restaurants (along with TOWN) in the world. The food and presentation was so chic and elegant. Keoni is the GM and he was a joy to work with. Definitely consider them for your food. Hope that helps!

DRESS: When I started looking for wedding dresses, I tried on a number of different white dresses, but none of them felt unique. I knew I wanted something architectural, but simple. And everything I saw was same over and over again. Then I found a Vera Wang bridesmaid dress that had a neckline and details that stood out to me. The dress was noted as “color: ivory/green”, which we all took to mean that it came in both colors. Once I tried it on and started thinking of the ways I would alter and redrape it, I really became attached to it. It was only when trying to order it, I found out the “ivory” was just a ribbon sash that came with the dress. I stood in the store for about an hour trying to visualize how I could make a green dress work and in the end, I LOVED the idea of switching out the colors. It made perfect sense that I would wear green and everything I wanted my wedding to be: modern, non-traditional, unique, just went with the idea of a colored dress. I called my fiance to tell him about my idea, and he just said, “yeah, that sounds like you”. It was really a serendipitous and wonderful circumstance that ended up defining the event. I ended up also using that ivory ribbon as a belt that I sewed a handmade silk flower onto for my afterparty dress… which was also green!

On a side note, I would really recommend that brides consider bridesmaid dresses for their own gown. So many are well designed now, and for brides that are not into the “puffy, princess” outfit, it makes for a very chic and inexpensive alternative. Since it is so economical, the bride can spend more money on beautiful jewelry that she can wear forever! That was what I did – with my Tiffany’s necklace. I probably won’t ever wear my dress again, but I will definitely make use of that beautiful white gold necklace.

COOKIES: A dear friend made them for me, but she does cookie baskets and other baked goods for purchase. Her goodies are hands-down THE BEST I’ve ever eaten. The shortbread cookies are amazing, but she also does dipped chocolate cookies, lemon and other fruit bars, brownies, etc. Her prices are also a steal since she does everything herself. Her name is Angie and you can contact her at agy57@aol.com.