14 January 2021

#EstradaAndMelTieTheKnot

 Look at me....coming through like I promised with the deets 
of our "BIG DAY".

Warning: It's a LONG post, well not so much long but
photo heavy because well I LOVE our photos.

I still am blown away by how our wedding was 
LEGIT our DREAM day.
Dream venue, dream style, dream FOOD, dream size, dream DRESS AND SHOES.
It was literally one of the BEST. DAYS. OF. MY. LIFE. 
(um, hello I'm a mom.....popping 2 kids out is pretty HIGH up there on life achievements and I'm thinking of keeping them because they are pretty damn awesome)

We knew when we started planning we wanted a SMALL, INTIMATE wedding with only those
nearest and dearest to us. Those who have supported us and love us. Those
with no judgment, no ulterior motives, no BS.
We weren't inviting so and so because we talk to them at the water cooler.
No Lucy from down the street who is an acquaintance.
No friends of our parents who knew us since we were "wee lads".
Everyone who was invited was there because we WANTED them there. 

Covid helped keep the number down which honestly was a bit of a blessing because
I talk a "BIG" talk, but I hate confrontation. LOL
Covid made us keep it small and simple.
There were a few peeps who weren't able to make it due to the situation
and we missed them terribly but we know and understand they had good reason and it was out of their control. There were also people we would have LOVED to have invited, but again
Covid changed our guest count.
Anywhooooo if we offended anyone we didn't mean to. 
 
First things FIRST - The VENUE

AZ Hops & Vines
This winery is our absolute FAV!!!
Not because it's fancy or all chic (not chick - pronounced sheek peeps, sheek).
Nope, we love it because it's simple, eclectic, funky and FUN.
Not stuffy, not snooty, not pretentious.



We also knew our style would go PERFECTLY with the already amazing atmosphere.
We started with our ceremony down in the vineyard.
The arbor was made with LOVE, Sweat, and tears by my amazing father in law.
I showed him my vision and he RAN with it and delivered
something more beautiful than I even imagined.
It was decorated by my aunt who is my heart and soul.
I walked down the aisle to one of our fav past students (Charlize) singing A Thousand Years. 
She is AMAZING!
I will link her deets at the bottom in case you want to check her out on social.



All of the floral arrangements at the ceremony were made by my aunt and I.
I wasn't about spending thousands of dollars on flowers.
Simple is what we wanted.

As I mentioned in the Rehearsal post here we made the wine blends for our Wine Blending ceremony 
with Hops & Vines the night before.
A few months before the wedding we purchased a pretty ROUGH looking wine barrel
that we wanted to turn into a table to use at the blending.
My love refinished it and thanks to our AMAZING friend who is a WOOD wizard, he gifted
us completing the barrel off as a GORGEOUS table.

Here is the before
(not much to look at...try to contain your jealousy) LOL


Here is it during the Wine Blending ceremony:
(Charlize also sang during the Wine Blending - Kiss Me)

I seriously can NOT get over the transformation!!!
It is now my FAVORITE piece in our house.
We have been utilizing it regularly. It has since been upgraded with adorable stools and it's been used
for a few different at home dates. 💕
The sign above the table was my SURPRISE to Estrada and the kids at the wedding.
I got it from Etsy and I'm in LOVE with how it turned out.


I know this piece was a beeeeooochhh to move so thank you to ALL
of the man power who moved it from spot to spot on the day of the wedding.

It became the Gift table after the ceremony. 


Thank you to Gene and Shawna and know that we will forever cherish this piece.

After some cocktails in the vineyard it was time to get the party started up at the reception area.
We could NOT have done any of this without our family.
They were the decorating MAN POWER.


This arbor was in Estrada's family for YEARS....like some serious YEARS.
It had been used for numerous family weddings in the past.
His uncle refurbished it and gave it a fresh life so we could use it on our day.
So much LOVE by everyone.


Our family table was perfection.
Just the four of us. My surprise sign was placed right at the front of the table and
was NOT noticed until I pointed it out during our first dance!! LOL



Eating out under twinkles and stars was EVERYTHING I imagined and more.


This area was the cake and photo guest book area.
To the left was the vintage settee that also made MANY moves throughout the day.
Our guest book was polaroids with props to take a pic and leave us a message.



Our cake was gifted by the family of one of our absolute FAV students. She was
my TA at work and I still remember the day she gave me the little
card with the cake surprise after she found out we were engaged. 
I just LOVE and adore her.

I can't WAIT to dig into that top layer.
The bottom two layers were yellow with lemon filling and the top is red velvet with
cream cheese filling.
It was BOMB!!!
Um, funny story. I got a SUPER cute cake topper from Etsy.
Do you like it?
Oh you don't see it? 
It's because it never made it onto the cake and is still in the original
packaging it came in. 😂
Hey not everything goes PERFECTLY on the day of, but the BEST part....
we didn't even notice THAT day. We noticed it in pictures AFTERWARDS!!!
I'm totally throwing that baby on the top layer when we bring that beauty out. Stay tuned
for a picture of that!! I'm sure it will look GORG! ;)

Another Highlight - The CIGAR Bar

We knew from day one of planning that we wanted some type of "cigar bar".  We 
just weren't sure how we wanted to do it. I kept looking at different
free standing type of tables we could use, but then on one of our MANY visits out 
to the venue (hey we needed to keep trying the wine and look at the space 😉) I 
saw the PERFECT area!
So perfect that it's already there and we were able to just decorate it and make the vision
come alive.






Let's not forget about everyone's TOP priority (besides Open Bar, LOL)
The FOOD

We were all about merging both cultures so since we did the Mexican food truck for rehearsal night 
we went with Italian food for the wedding day. In keeping with our style we went the unconventional way and had the MOST kick ass food truck EVER!!!

Yep, our dinner consisted of:
Charcuterie
Pizza
AND
a Cannoli/Tiramisu Cart

I can't EVEN. The day that we went to taste Ciao Down's pizza was 
LOVE at FIRST BITE.
We ALL loved our taste test day. Not to mention the owner and ALL of his guys
are MACHINES and super talented.
I have NOT one regret on our food choice.
Everyone got an individual pizza in their OWN personal box!
Soooo stinking cute!!!!
Pizza and cannolis is like a dream come true for this Italian girl.

Us on our taste test day.

Our charcuterie was seriously a work of art!




His pizza is AMAZING! Definitely follow him on social media and find out where
his truck is in Tucson. It will be WORTH your drive!!

Past all of those details I had my literal DREAM wedding. I married the love of my life.
I was by far the MOST relaxed bride. It may be because I'm older now and I know what is important.
I woke up that morning with the mentality that the day would be perfect even if the day 
didn't go "PERFECTLY". 
I had the mindset that I wasn't going to let anyone or anything ruin our day.
The day went perfectly and nope not everything was perfect.
The beginning part of the day was WINDY AF. (by the time the ceremony started it had subsided...phew)
Think on the level that my hair was a shit show for all of the pics of me by myself, 
our first look and all our
family group pics.
I kept on smiling and just kept saying how I wasn't going to let it ruin our day 
and we couldn't change anything.
The arbor fell down an HOUR before the ceremony from the wind. 
Cocktail hour didn't go as planned.
The cake topper wasn't on the cake.
Not everyone knew about the polaroid pics for the guest book.
We never poured the case of champagne for the toast.
We never used all the champagne flutes we bought.
The cannoli lady left too early.
I took one too many shots of tequila.
I never hung out at the cigar bar.
I'm sure there is more but literally NONE of it matters.
In the end it was the PERFECT day to US and US is who matters.
We gave zero effs to what anyone thought about ANY of our choices and
we had a day to celebrate our love the way we wanted.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all our family and friends
for putting in the time, energy, strength, patience, and flat out HARD work.
We are forever grateful.
Thank you for helping fulfill our Happily Ever After.









A sample of the Windy AF situation














Total Divas!













Almost 3 months later, but better late than never.



Where to find the peeps/venues mentioned in this post:
(if you have a question on where anything else was from just shoot me a message. I tried to list all of the main items)

Andreas Gourmet (Cannoli Cart): https://www.instagram.com/andreas.gourmet21/
Hem & Her (dress & suits): https://www.instagram.com/hemandherbridal/
Charlize Diaz De Leon (vocals): https://www.instagram.com/charlizediazdeleon/
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