Day 4

Day 4- Wedding Day / 4th of July 2011

I awoke feeling strangely hungry after last night's pizza party. And after forgoing my workout in favor of a hot coffee in the sun, I indulged in a gigantic gooey coffee roll dripping with icing. And then I went back to sleep!

No workout today! I awoke in time to get zipped into my very tight dress, which didn't feel so good since I had a food baby, but I sucked it up (literally) and went to work on my hair and make-up.

...And just like that, it was time to go! These days have been flying by!
Humming a little "goin to the chapel and we're gonnnnna get married..." Mom, Em and I joined the girls at the casita (a.k.a. the bridal suite) and after getting the bride and the dress into the limo, we were off!

Jess and her 'maids'

La Venta

The wedding location was absolutely breathtaking (and I thought the resort was beautiful!)

The ceremony and reception were both held at the La Venta Inn, located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles. It's actually a restored 1920's villa nestled in the hills of Palos Verdes. The main building has a courtyard entrance leading into two giant rooms with domed ceilings and a massive stone fireplace that opens up onto a veranda and sprawling lawn with panoramic (I mean, postcard-worthy) views of the ocean. The entire building, and it's smaller surrounding villas are designed in Spanish architecture and everything about them was so beautiful! I loved it all--Can you tell?

Night view of La Venta

I snuck around to get a few pictures of the main dining room. The colors were "tiffany" blue and cherry red, punctuated with white. A gorgeous color scheme that also happened to be very patriotic--fitting since it was Independence Day!

check out the centerpieces!

...Then I meandered through the rest of the building to check out some of the beautiful rooms and of course, the gazebo and chairs where the ceremony would be taking place. And the view from there?
There are no words. So, take a look!

I fell in love with this little room!

Can you believe this view?

...I finally made my way back to the room where all of the ladies were putting those finishing touches on. I offered to help where I could. But Jess was ready as could be. And totally cool, calm and collected. No Bridezilla here!

We toasted the bride with (even more) champagne

And then Em and I were called on to take pictures with the boys...

our their pleasure!

The Ceremony

mother and son

best man, maid of honor, and pretty little Cadence (the flower girl)

mom & dad, and of course, the bride!

They both said yes!

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Therrien!

Dinner & Toasts

Father of the Groom

Best Man, Phil

Dinner...All 5 courses!

From the moment the ceremony ended, food was
An impressive raw bar, canapes, an open bar, chilled champagne...

Oh, and then it was time for dinner!

I could literally manage only a bit or two of each course or I'd have had to stop eating altogether...
And I definitely wanted to taste everything on this menu. If you can't see the menu, here's a breakdown:

MENU

1st Course-Heirloom Tomato Soup
2nd Course-Oakleaf Lettuce Salad
                  -Maytag Blue Cheese
                  -Spiced Pecans
                  -Hard Cider Vinegarette
3rd Course-Chilean Sea Bass in a Thai marinade
                 -Asparagus with lemon zest
4th Course-Lemon Sorbet
5th Course-Grilled Filet Mignon (with Jack Daniels Peppercorn Sauce)
                 -Mashed Potatoes
or
                 -Garden Vegetable Ravioli in a Marsala Mushroom Sauce *vegetarian entree=YUM!

And of course, cake!

Two cakes, actually. The wedding cake, and a special Reeses Pieces peanut butter cake for my cousin Brian because he LOVES Reeses!

wedding cake

Brian's cake

After the cake cutting it was time to dance the night away...But not before stealing a few shots of the gorgeous sunset!

All the single ladies!

And finally...Fireworks! I love that the wedding was so beautiful and elegant, but comfortable and casual enough for us to all sit outside and enjoy the 4th of july Fireworks coming from the harbor.

And after the Party...

When we were all dropped off at the resort--Emily and I traveled with the cake-and-liquor limo-- We went to check on Mom, since she'd been not feeling well, then we changed into some cozies and went to the Casita where the party raged on. Fancy dresses, suits and shoes, gone. From 1 a.m. until dawn, it was all about laid back music, chatting, noshing on tortilla chips and drinking Heinekin.

Can you think of a more perfect ending to an already perfect day?

Neither could I!

Congratulations Brian and Jessica!