Dana Point Wedding: Carrie + Josh

I met Carrie and Josh at a previous job of mine while working in hospitality. The crazy part is that I met them both separately and began friendships with them individually. I had no idea they were dating. Fast forward about a year and they put all their trust in me to plan their wedding! Not only did I have the pleasure of being their planner but you will also see me in the photos as a bridesmaid.

Being both the planner and a part of the bridal party was a wild experience but definitely something that helped me gain knowledge from a new perspective.

Getting Ready

All of the bridesmaids spent the morning at a local Dana Point airbnb to get ready and be dolled up by Nat Payne MUA. We actually all opted to do our own hair which is always an option to save on costs. Typically when couples ask what “protocol” is, I recommend to at least definitely have everyones make-up done professionally and hair as optional.

Carrie spent the morning getting ready with the help of all her loved ones surrounding her. Typically as a planner I’m not with the bridesmaids for the entire morning so this was definitely a new experience for me.

It was so much fun sipping on my white claw and seeing the behind the scenes of everyone’s beauty transformation from start to finish. Naturally, I was still thinking about how set-up was going but I had a trusted team member there handling everything as planned.

The gentlemen had enough time that afternoon to grab a drink at the groom’s favorite bar before the ceremony! This was such a fun and special touch and when creating the timeline we made sure they had extra time for this.

A fun fact about this wedding is that Carrie and Josh live together in Dana Point, work in Dana Point, met in Dana Point, and had their Dana Point Wedding dream come true!

Ceremony

The ceremony took place at Heritage park in Dana Point overlooking the harbor. After spending the entire morning with Carrie it was even more special to see her walk down that aisle to another one of my close friends- Josh. His reaction was a tear jerker and their vows had everyone crying and laughing!

I’ve worked with Savannah Rae Photography many times as a planner but seeing her work her magic as a member of the bridal party was amazing. Her ability to capture everything but stay focused and kind is unmatched. She directed us perfectly to capture these epic photos.

Couples Photos

We took a ton of fun photos of the entire bridal party. However, Carrie and Josh didn’t do a first look so it was important to make sure that they had a lot of time for couples photos. They even had a private 20 minute yacht ride around the harbor before the reception.