A Richard Nixon Library Wedding

We had the absolute pleasure of coordinating Linda and David's Richard Nixon Library wedding and let me tell you, it was a beauty. From the gold sequin bridesmaid dresses to that view, everything was perfection.

Thank you Linda + David for choosing The Overwhelmed Bride as your wedding coordinators and we wish you the happiest and most beautiful future together!

Richard Nixon Library | Ceremony + Reception Venue
Karl Verkade Photography | Photography
The Overwhelmed Bride | Wedding Coordination
Mary Hansen | Videography
Gladis | Floral Design
DJ Icy Ice | DJ/MC
Mademoiselle | Wedding Gown
Rent the Runway | Bridesmaid Dresses
Bliss Kiss Visuals | Hair
Jason Catered Events | Rentals + Catering

It's Those Moments That Make Us Sweat

Sponsored with love, by Dove Clinical Protection Antiperspirant

We've been preparing for a year or more and the day is finally here. From meeting this giddy, newly engaged bride just a week after her fiance popped the question, through the endless hours of reviewing contracts, booking vendors, finding that perfect place setting to finally finding ourselves here on this day. It's the wedding day I've spent so many hours, meticulously reviewing the timeline and details over and over, to ensure everything is in place.

And the day is finally here. It's her wedding day.

My assistants and I arrive a couple of hours before the ceremony is set to begin as we step into a large, empty room. No tables, no chairs. Just a large, empty ballroom.

Each vendor arrives, one-by-one and it's go time. From the second we step into that blank canvas of a room and begin to transform it into the wedding of her dreams, we don't even have a second to think about breathing. 

Two hours, one hour and then it's half an hour until that 5:00pm ceremony start time and every detail must be set to perfection.

No matter how much time we've spent setting up, that half hour gives me a little bit of sweat, regardless of what needs to be done and what is already finished. Because without every detail in place, I will not give this bride the wedding she has dreamed up for years. Although I don't get nervous for weddings anymore after having planned and executed them for the past eight years, there is still just a half an hour of time that always gives me butterflies. And during that half an hour at each wedding I coordinate, I begin to "glisten."

We're running around getting the last details in place, lining up the wedding party, not to mention the Malibu sun beating down on us. 

20 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes...

And it's go time.

My blazer goes on and I begin sending the grandparents, the parents, the groom and his groomsmen, the bridesmaids, the ring bearer, the flower girl down the aisle. Then the guests all stand as I cue the DJ to change the song to the bride's processional.

It's in that moment that those butterflies come back in full force and I am reminded of my wedding day three years ago when I was in that same position as the bride standing here today. With tears in her eyes and sweaty palms grabbing onto her dad as if she's holding on for dear life, I plump her train and send her down the aisle to marry the love of her life.

Even after hundreds of weddings, I always get those sweaty palms and those butterflies. And it's moments like this that are so worth the sweat, tears and late night planning sessions. It's moments like this that make my job so beautiful. It's the moments that make you sweat, that end up being the most amazing moments.

I am so excited to be partnering with Simply Stylist and Dove on their Amazing Moments campaign, to share one of the amazing moments that makes me sweat -- the moment where I get to help a bride's dream come true and the moment where I get to be the one who sends her off to a beautiful marriage full of happiness and love. I cherish those moments forever.

In their campaign, Dove goes behind the scenes as a real woman prepares for her marriage proposal to her boyfriend (an coincidentally her 12-year-old crush). As a man, getting down on one knee to propose must be nerve-wracking, but when the roles are reversed, well Dove's Clinical Protection Antiperspirant is definitely put to the test! The product offers undeniable wetness protection and has 1/4 moisturizers to care for skin. Watch to see what happens when he sees her preparing to get down on one knee, in the same location they first laid eyes on each other.

Sunday's Most Loved // Serra Plaza Courtyard Black + White Wedding

Today we are throwing it back to one of our most gorgeous weddings of the year 2015, and one that I was the wedding coordinator for! Black and white with subtle touches of gold, this courtyard wedding displayed a simple yet sophisticated beauty that their guests (and myself) will never forget!

Click on the image below to see the full wedding and vendor credits!