We saved this wedding for today, just in case you aren’t super excited to be sitting in your office in front of your computer after you holiday weekend. Mirelle Carmichael Photography’s images are enough to make your desk chair a little more comfortable and your day a little more cheery. The wedding is an ear to ear smile from beginning to end!
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From the glowing bride… My husband Jason and I had been dating for almost ten years before we finally decided to get married, so our wedding was a very special time in our life. Very much like our personalities and styles, we wanted our wedding to embody a classic and lighthearted elegance. It also had to feel effortlessly romantic! We chose pink, green and gold as our wedding colors gold is a lucky color in my Chinese culture and green and pink are our favorite colors. I also have a fondness for pink as it was often mistaken for my Chinese name (Pheng, pronounced Ping) when I was little! The colors perfectly complimented our June wedding, as well as the beautiful Spanish bricks and wooden artifacts of our venue, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. We both love art and the museum, with its Asian influence (Jason is half Japanese, I am Chinese), was able to accommodate our wedding of over 200 guests!
My background in ballet and fashion design greatly influenced the fabrics for our wedding. I love texture and anything airy. My wedding dress, made of lace appliqués and tulle, had illusion rosettes throughout the bottom of the skirt. The bridesmaids wore chiffon gowns and our adorable flower girl wore a dress reminiscent of a tutu! For our reception, we had satin pintuck linens. I accented our sweetheart table chairs with chiffon sashes made by me.
To keep with the romantic and elegant feel we choose blooms like peonies, ranunculus, garden roses, polo roses, freesia, mini roses, lisianthus, hydrangeas, astilbe, and dusty miller for our florals. Metallic pearlescent cardstock were used for our programs, menus, table numbers, escort cards and signs to add a feel of elegance among the museum’s artifacts. All the paper goods for our wedding were designed and made by me. Many hours were spent cutting paper and tying bows for our large guest list!
Having grown up with a family owned business, I tried to be conscious of choosing small and independent vendors. I actually found our photographer (Mirelle Carmichael), florist (Commerce Flowers), makeup artist (All Made Up), and my veil (custom by Crowning Glory Designs) through Style Me Pretty! Each one of our vendors were amazing to work with. They made the whole planning process such a memorable time!
Our main focus during our planning stages was our guests. We wanted them to make sure they left with a full stomach and enjoyed themselves! We had late night appetizers of sliders and warm sandwiches passed around an hour before our reception ended and a photobooth that was open all evening. We also had around 30 children guests. I made gift bags filled with a DIY wedding activity book, crayons, and toys for them. We also had several party packs of bi-colored glowsticks (which could be made into bracelets, earrings, sunglasses, balls, and more) for the kids but a lot of the adults joined in the glowstick fun as well!
One of my favorite parts of the wedding was the ceremony. I remember waiting in the bridal suite, so nervous, yet when I saw my almost-husband waiting at the end of the aisle all I could do was focus on him with a huge smile on my face. We wrote most of the ceremony ourselves, incorporating certain scripts from various faiths into it, all the while keeping it very genuine and us. We also wrote our own vows and I cried through most of them. Jasons Uncle, an ordained Reverend, officiated the ceremony and his mother did a reading during a handfasting ceremony we included. His mother started crying halfway through her reading and I saw Jason start to tear up as well (It is very hard to watch your mother cry, even if it is tears of joy, he says.) It was such a touching, meaningful ceremony to all of us. We did a choreographed jazzy foxtrot as our First Dance to kickstart the reception and it was a fun segway into a night filled with laughs and memories shared with the people we loved the most.
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Venue: Bowers Museum | Photographer: Mirelle Carmichael Photography | Catering: Al Kanjo, The Patina Group | Florist: Commerce Flowers | DJ and Custom Lighting: Brian Lee, Elevated Pulse Productions | Coordination: Love of Whimsy Events | Custom Macarons: Moochie Pops | Cinematography: TK Productions, Inc. | Hair & Makeup: All Made Up Team | Veil: Custom made by Crowning Glory Designs | Wedding Gown: Enzoani | Bridal Boutique: Blush Bridal Couture | Wedding Gown Alterations: Roxie Poynor | Tuxedo: Carrera, Friar Tux | Bridal Shoes: Kate Spade | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bill Levkoff | Cake: Rossmoor Pastries | Flower Girl Dress: Etsy, Little Dreamers Tutus | Monogrammed lace handkerchief: WhiteLinens | Personalized bridal hanger: After the Ring | Table number mini easels: soami | Officiant: Ted Zahn | Rentals: Bridal & Event Lounge | Rings: Custom made by Matt Meis | Bride’s belt custom made by the Bride | Bridal Jewelry: Nordstrom | Bridal hair comb: Hair Comes the Bride | Stationery: The Bride
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Remove the glass top of the desk. Use painter’s tape to outline the edges of the trays.
Use the foam brush to paint adhesive size on one tray, including the sides. Let dry 15 mins, until tacky.
Press the gold leaf on the tray until it is covered entirely. Repeat steps 2 & 3 on the other tray. Press more gold leaf onto any missed spots and use the paint brush to remove any excess leaf.
Spray two light coats of clear acrylic spray to seal the gold leaf. Remove the painter’s tape and place the glass top back on your desk. Enjoy your fabulously luxe new desk!
