One of Our Own: Married! Noelle’s Wedding Story in Tehachapi, California
Hello everyone! I am Noelle (admin & office assistant of the P3 team), and if you haven’t read the beginning of MY wedding planning journey — check out my featured story, in previous blog Starting Your Wedding Planning Journey! ANYWAYS, the update you have all been waiting for; I AM MARRIED!
Officially, I have begun wife-life & a new list of adulting responsibilities to take on. Which is both exciting & scary! Though, because you are ALL here for the wedding deets… ask and you will receive:
How My Wedding REALLY Went?
This wedding was a bit of a destination for my friends and family, so my bridesmaids, immediate family, fiancé, and I headed to the city our wedding was in on Thursday (our wedding day being on Saturday). I was really excited throughout the entire road trip and when I got to the hotel with my bridesmaids the nerves set in.
I didn’t sleep very well during my wedding week, and for a gal that LIVES for sleep, this definitely was a bummer but I pushed through. However, I had lots of fun with my bridesmaids the two nights before doing fun bonding with them. These girls are seriously THE BEST, and kept my head straight for the wedding. See them below:
Rehearsal Day
On Friday was our wedding rehearsal day! The girls and myself relaxed by the pool, shopped, and tried to relax. Actually, I was on the phone with all the people ALL MORNING who were attending the rehearsal practice & dinner to change our practice time to 4pm because my mother-in-law let me know last minute that she had booked the restaurant at 6pm.
We definitely didn’t need 3 hours of practicing the processional & recessional, haha! And after that, guess what? I was STILL late for practice and arrived at 4:25pm. I took a much needed nap before we got ready and left the hotel before our rehearsal. As Julie Andrews says, ” A queen is never late, everyone is simply early.”
We had a nice dinner ready for us when we got to the Oak Country Club, just short of 5 minutes away from the venue. My goal for this part of the evening was to keep it as small as possible & it was decently sized, probably 32 in total. I was ecstatic throughout dinner & my friends mentioned I wore a smile the entire night.
I left the dinner feeling blissfully happy, and looking forward to our wedding day! My three best friends (and bridesmaids) headed back to our hotel, missing the exit completely and having to drive an extra 10-15min to turn around and get back. Oops! Anyways, we did make it back to the hotel where I spent the night in-and-out of sleep because I was so nervous/excited.
The Morning
The morning of my wedding I woke up a little grumpy (from lack-of-sleep), but also super excited! I had my makeup done by one of my bridesmaids, Kendra Sorani, who is actually an extremely talented makeup artist. We had done makeup trials previously, and on the wedding day we started at 7am in the morning on our routine. Then my personal hairstylist, Chloe (hairbychloebee), came to do my hair in a half-up, half-down braided look.
I felt like we were at the hotel for SO LONG, but it gave me the time to eat fruit & crackers and have my long awaited Celcius. I also went down to the pool to have some quiet time to write my vows (ON PAPER). However, if I could change anything I would’ve gotten ready earlier and tried to get to the venue sooner, because my photographer & videographer arrived to take getting ready photos and a “dress reveal” with my bridesmaids. Which I LOVED, but it made me even more anxious to see my groom and have down time WITH him.
And if you’re wondering where my dress is from — its from a local boutique, Bridal Elegance.
Venue Set-Up
An unexpected hiccup in our wedding was the timeline ended up being so far from what I had planned, which didn’t bother me on the day-of but I wish I would’ve had a younger, more professional wedding planner who helped keep things moving smoother. We had a “family friend” help and lots of help from our family friends to set-up the venue since we were on a tight budget!
The venue set-up went alright, and the team went over the moon to get everything looking perfect for me. Except…the person bringing my florals forgot HALF of our centerpieces (which they fixed by using the bridesmaid bouquets), because she hadn’t labeled the boxes properly. AND she was also the person “wedding planning,” and just did a horrible job. I did not tag nor wish to mention this person again. This was my biggest regret; not budgeting or expanding our budget to hire a BETTER coordinator.
The First Look & Ceremony
Besides the minor hiccups in our wedding day, both myself and the groom felt like our day was perfection. We opted for a first look & private vows, and I was SO glad we did. Once I was able to actually SEE my groom, all of the nerves faded away. He looked like a STUD in his charcoal grey, Friar Tux suit!!!
Quickly after, we rushed through wedding party photos and headed to the ceremony. This part went smoothly, and I even had a few laughs watching our Flower Man (my cousin) perform a dance to “Gimme, Gimme,” by ABBA.
Our ceremony was officiated by a friend from our church who meant a lot to us. During the ceremony, it was bright & blue skies with a small, surprise sprinkle during the ceremony. But you know what they say, rain on your wedding day is GOOD LUCK! Our DJ even told us after the ceremony that rain on a clear day means the “heavens cry with joy;” how precious?!
We got the PRETTIEST photos by Ashley Lennon Photography who was there to capture all of the moments, even whilst pregnant! And that last photo I love, but I’ll tell you…no matter how many times you practice the kiss and dip, your groom might still drop me. And YES, he fully dropped me on my butt, but we got up & did it again, no problem!
The PARTY
Our guests then enjoyed an open bar during cocktail hour and I took photos with my family, then again with my bridesmaids. Taking photos took a little while, but my groom brought me a margarita so all was fine, haha. Our DJ (SK Entertainment) then helped us get a move on to our grand entrance on a Polaris side-by-side, check it out!
Our grand entrance was just us, and went right into our grand entrance. I highly recommend this! The weather & lighting was absolutely perfect from ceremony to reception. We got again, BEAUTIFUL photos and I can’t wait to see the video by Bourbon & Bitters, our videographer & now friend.
We enjoyed tacos by Portillos Family Business, which I had booked over a YEAR ago and was stoked for! They were as yummy as I remember during our tasting & although a few bugs lingered, we thankfully had a nice uninterrupted time eating. We got to say “hello” to some of our friends and family, but then went to take our “romantics” by the lake with our photographer & videographer.
THESE lake photos were the dreamiest, most romantic moments I have ever seen captured of us. I mean:
My only wish was utilizing my dress pockets to carry my chapstick. MY LIPS WERE SO DRY! But, still obsessed with these moments.
After this, we moved quickly to speeches; by my parents, his parents, our BM, and MOH, then ourselves.
The Ending
The speeches were followed by a SURPRISE DANCE, performed by my college gal friends (bridesmaids) and myself! This had been choreographed and practiced since July 2022, and it was just such a fun aspect of the wedding. My groom was totally surprised, and loved it.
The venue had gotten really dark and older guests began heading back. We did cut our cake, a simple & beautiful creation from Cornerstone Bakery in Bakersfield. Then, my friends and I partied on the dance floor, took photos at the photobooth, and simply enjoyed ourselves! I wish we would’ve had a bit more lighting since the venue got SO dark, but it was perfect for silly dancing.
Overall, we had such a good & memorable wedding! It may not have been perfect, but it was our version of perfect! I was able to learn to let go of things out of my control and focus on the love between my now, HUSBAND, and I.
Vendor Credits:
Venue: Cub Lake, Bear Valley Springs
Photographer: @ashleylennonphoto
Videographer: @bourbonxbitters
DJ: SK Entertainment
Makeup: @kendrasorani_mua
Hair: @hairbychloebee
Rentals: Lil N’tertainment
Suit: @friartux
Dress: @bridalelegancestudio@tailored_by_courtney
Catering: @portillos.familybusiness
Cake: @cornerstonebakery19
