Here’s How We Had A Tiny Wedding During COVID
Jake and I got engaged in 2018 and we were so excited for our wedding! We planned our wedding to be on May 9, 2020. The invitations had gone out and replies were received in early March. We had the rentals, the food, the cake, linens for the tables, most of the crafts done, hotels rented out before the wedding, our honeymoon to Paris and London was all paid for… pretty much all I had left to do was attend my bridal shower and finish the bouquets and do the seating chart. And then… COVID-19 hit. At work we were sent to work remotely from home on March 17. We figured it would just be a couple of weeks and then we’d be back in the office. Oh how wrong we were.I remember at the end of March when the CDC recommended no gatherings of over 50 people. That was when our wedding was done and over with. All of the work we put into planning our beautiful day for over a year and a half was gone. I was extremely depressed and sad about it for about a month and didn’t want to even THINK about weddings. We had to tell all of our friends and family what was going on. We didn’t know if we could postpone. We tried to find a date in the fall but the dates weren’t working out and I finally just had to stop for awhile. It was a hard time for us, too, since Jake and I didn’t live together. We had “dates” in my parents’ garage standing 6 feet apart and I just felt dejected and miserable. We got to a point where we gave up on social distancing because I needed a hug so badly.Our original wedding date came and went but I had an inkling. What if we just got married anyway? I didn’t want to wait another year and that’s pretty much how we decided to just go with it and have a tiny wedding.The updated invitation that I created (you can see the original faded in the background, followed by the “Postponed”, followed by this updated version).We live streamed the event so our friends and family could still share the day with us since there was no other way for them to be there. We threw out all of our original plans and quickly made plans for a tiny wedding with about 2 weeks notice. Our wedding officiant and wedding planner really came through to help us with this new plan, assisting us out with so many aspects of the wedding and we’re forever grateful to them for their help. Here’s a recap of our tiny wedding!Morning Of The Tiny WeddingThe day of our wedding, Alyssa came over to help me make flower bouquets from flowers I bought at Trader Joe’s. Check out all those clippings! So pretty. Originally I was not going to have any flowers except for paper flowers but in the end, decided two bouquets would be worth it. Alyssa helped me do my nails and then Stacey came over later to do my hair. I was on my own for makeup! I practiced a few times in advance and my original makeup artist helped me over a Zoom call so I could get the hang of it.Getting To The WeddingJake got to the venue early to help set up. I was almost to the 125 when I suddenly hit traffic… a lot of traffic.Alyssa took this screenshot and sent it to me later. She called me to tell me what was going on which was a good thing since I was in a panic.The freeway had been shut down from the protests in La Mesa as I was driving to my wedding. Above is the photo I took from the 8. All traffic was being directed off the freeway to Spring Street.And this is the photo Alyssa took, who was on the 125. Me, 3 of my bridesmaids, and my parents were all stuck in the freeway shut down traffic so we were all over an hour late to the venue. As soon as we arrived we did the rehearsal and my bridesmaids and I went off to the Brides Room to get ready. Luckily I did not look at my phone nor have a watch on so I couldn’t stress about the time. Brides are always fashionably late, right?Getting ReadyAlmost all of the photos below are by Jessica Beamon Photo. She was a great last minute photographer for us!Just a few “getting ready” shots in the Brides Room at the chapel (which our officiant graciously let us use). I was worried those damn buttons wouldn’t button… but thankfully they did.Trying to put some curls into my hair that refuses to curl. The bouquets for the bridesmaids and myself were all made by me (with some help from Alyssa)! They are a combination of paper roses made from old Harry Potter books I got from the thrift store along with sola wood flowers that I bought online. The best part is I get to keep this bouquet forever! Can you see the sparkles in my dress?!?! That was my favorite part about my wedding dress. I tried on 5 dresses before selecting this one. I actually saw it on the rack on my second visit to David’s Bridal and I already knew that it would be my dress. The Tiny WeddingHere’s the details from our tiny wedding!The hand sanitizer is a dead giveaway that this is a COVID wedding. Ha.Jake and his sister, Amy (the Best Woman), walking to the altar. The bridesmaids with the groomsmen followed after this. My mom walking down the aisle with our “flower girl”, little Miss Maya.Walking down the aisle with my dad!Aww! First look!Saying our vows.We paused for a moment of silence for family and friends we have lost. Then we did a Whiskey Unity during our ceremony as well. I bought a small oak barrel so we could pour some moonshine into it to make our own whiskey. The date on the barrell has our original wedding date on it, ha. We used Cutwaters Devil’s Share Moonshine for the pouring.We poured two glasses and inserted the funnel so we could pour the moonshine together to make our whiskey. There are lots of ways to do this but we just used one kind and we actually drank the whiskey about 6 weeks later (it was very strong).Just pronounced Husband and Wife!Hooray, married! The First DanceWe bought a 100 toy lightsabers so we could walk under a lightsaber arch for our grand exit for our original wedding… so for the tiny wedding, we had our family and friends hoist the lightsabers up as we walked back into the gazebo for our first dance. We danced to “I Wanna Grow Old With You” by Adam Sandler.But! Then we had a lightsaber battle!We mixed in the dialogue from the sword fighting scene between Inigo and Westley from The Prince Bride. You can watch it below!Tiny Wedding Reception and Cake CuttingWe didn’t have a dinner, just some veggie snacks plus chips with salsa. We were going to have a full taco bar reception and now we hope to do that for a future anniversary party. Our wedding planner did a great job setting everything up!Various dips, gucamole, hot carrots, tomatoes, and carrots.Mexican Cokes were one of Jake’s “must haves”.The cake and favor table! I really loved the lightsaber touch.Amy had these adorable Star Wars cookies made for us!And inside these little bags (which I thrifted for $2) are caramels from Sugar Mamma Caramels.♥Before the cake cutting, our friends did some toasts.I thrifted these champagne glasses. I got heart chalkboard stickers to put on the outside. The stickers washed off so we still have them.And we did that intertwined drinking thing (sparkling cider) and Jake had to stoop way way down to be on the same level as me. Ha! Our very simple wedding cake done by my friend Faye of Faye’s Desserts. The cake toppers are Leia and Han Amiibo figures with some of the balsa wood paper flowers that are in my bouquet. Somehow I got frosting on my nose…Jake trying the frosting, which you can clearly see that he loved. PS – I made that boutonniere that he’s wearing which is a Lego R2D2 with a little spray of fake flowers. His bow tie was bought off of Etsy.His turn.The cake was a white cake with berry puree and a chantilly cream frosting which was so nice and light! Faye did such a great job with this cake!Feeding time.Lightsabers lit up (after the cake cutting).My beautiful bridesmaids after the cake cutting!Yay We Got MarriedHere are some other photos from the tiny wedding day! A selfie shot taken by Alyssa.And a photo from the silly selfie by our photographer. I love both viewpoints.I’ll always treasure this photo. Another reason I’m glad we decided to go ahead with our tiny wedding was that Maya was able to be apart of the ceremony. She passed away 2 weeks after our wedding.I made this to match the sign for our “Achievement Unlocked – Got Engaged” sign from our engagement photos.Our Wedding Party!Just looking all cute and married and stuff!♥♥♥Ring shot!With my family!With Jake’s family!After our wedding we went to the Bahia for our “mini moon”. I was hungry and requested McDonalds. This is us going through the drive thru in our wedding clothes.Happy meal for a happy bride!Venue: Faith ChapelOfficiant & Videographer: Josiah EliasPhotographer: Jessica Beamon PhotoWedding Planner: The DIY Bride SDBrides Dress: David’s BridalBridesmaid Dresses: AzazieWedding Shoes: Clarks Cammy Wedge Pearl SandalWedding Cake: Faye’s DessertsNecklace: Parravi JewelryBrides Ring: ZalesGrooms Ring: Modern GentsLivestream: Event Live
Souffle Pancakes at Morning Glory
Not too long ago Jake, Bucky, and I all went out for breakfast at Morning Glory! I’ve been curious about their Souffle Pancakes and we finally found some time to go for a visit.The decor at Morning Glory is pretty top notch.This eye moves around. It made me think of Sauron in the Lord of the Rings.I wholeheartedly agree with this sign. Screw perfectionism. Me and my husband (!) before I got my haircut. It’s been over a year since we got married but I still get a kick out of saying “my husband”!Bucky sitting nicely and waiting for some breakfast.We started off with some coffee. Inside that cup is Jake’s house coffee [$3.50]. Morning Glory also gives you this little platter of raw sugar and creamer.I got a cold brew [$4.00] and swirled some creamer in.One of the first things we decided on at Morning Glory were some potatoes. I love me some potatoes and they didn’t have normal old hash browns. Instead they have scalloped potatoes and “dirty scalloped potatoes” [$7.00]. The difference between this and the “non-dirty” one is there are globs of creamy sausage gravy drenching the scalloped potatoes. And the sausage gravy is WORTH IT. Perfectly seasoned with lots of sausage bits, it was the perfect accompaniment to the creamy and crispy potatoes. Jake decided he would order the Fried Chicken & Waffles [$17.00] with a sunny side up egg on top. Jake really liked this version though he wished the waffle was a bit crisper. He liked the egg on it, too. We tried two different sides of meat, including this Thick Cut Bacon [$6.00]. I thought this would be extra crispy but actually it was very chewy and not crispy at all. Since I prefer crispy, I would pass on this in the future. Good flavor but not the best texture.The Maple Sausage Links [$5.00] on the other hand were outstanding. Not too salty, great amount of flavor and it had that salty-sweet combo from the maple inside the sausage. Yum.Now here’s the star of the show, what we really came to try at Morning Glory – the Souffle Pancakes [$16.00]. I had been seeing these tall, fluffy looking pancakes all over Instagram and it was finally my turn to try these! I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. Like… what can you really do to make a pancake different? Well these souffle pancakes are certainly very different from anything else I’ve tried. The first bite was heaven! They are incredibly light, airy, and fluffy and they felt like they melted in my mouth. I loved the texture and the flavor of these pancakes. I ate them with a bit of butter and syrup but they sure don’t need much. I would definitely come back to Morning Glory just for another plate of these delightful pancakes. All in all we quite enjoyed our breakfast at Morning Glory. We happened to go early in the morning and didn’t have to wait long for a table, though I hear the wait can be pretty long here. I suggest going when they open to try and snag a table right away.Morning Glory550 W Date St.San Diego, CA 92101
Disneyland Food, Mobile Ordering, and Tips in 2021
I’m going to dust off the old blog here to talk about Disneyland, Disneyland food, what’s changed since Disneyland’s closure for COVID-19 and some other good stuff. Let’s get into it!I haven’t been to Disneyland since November 2018 when I was last a passholder. Jake and I got engaged in December of 2018 so I was glad we didn’t have that extra expense as we saved up for our wedding (I wonder if anyone still wants a post about our wedding after all this time…?) but I still really wanted to check out the new Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. We planned to go last March… but you know what happened. We were excited to get back into the park and finally visited again on June 9th while the park was still operating at a lower capacity and was only allowing California residents. Here’s my experience and what we ate and did at Disneyland!First thing – you gotta wear a mask. At all times. The only time you can take off your mask is if you are in a designated dining area AND you are actively eating or drinking. If you’re just hanging out, someone will ask you to put your mask back on. It also has to be a mask with ear loops, it cannot be a neck gaiter or something like that. We parked before 8AM. We were going to park at the Anaheim Hotel, but the parking was full. Instead, we headed over to Anaheim Gardenwalk (400 West Disney Way Anaheim, CA 92802). You get a receipt with a number on it as your parking ticket. When you are ready to leave for the day, text your parking receipt number to 949-532-8293. It will take a minute or two but you should then get a text back that says “Validated”. Then you can go to one of the walk up parking pay machines (we went to the one on level two because that is where we parked, they are not on every level) and paid $18 for the whole day. Parking at the Mickey & Friends structure is currently $25 and the tram is not running which is why we opted to park a little bit closer to the entrance on S Harbor Blvd instead of hoofing it all the way from the Disney parking garage.There was a long security line to get in BUT it was always moving so it didn’t seem too awful. The park didn’t “officially” open until 9AM but the rides were already open by the time we got through the front gates and made our way down Main Street.We got into the park about 8:45 or so and hopped onto Peter Pan’s Flight since the wait time was listed at 20 minutes (in reality it was more like 10 minutes). Then we headed over to Batuu! I hadn’t eaten anything so while we walked to Galaxy’s Edge, I pulled up the Disneyland App and placed my mobile order at Ronto Roasters. Ronto Roasters accepts mobile pay/ordering but they also have a “stand by” line. After we got there and we were in the correct window time, I clicked the “I’m here!” button so they would start making my order.[Ronto Wrap – Roasted Pork, Grilled Pork Sausage, Peppercorn Sauce, Tangy Slaw, wrapped in Pita / $12.99]The Ronto Wrap had the option to put everything on the side, so I did. I’m not into coleslaw, but I did put a little bit on my half of the wrap that I shared with Jake. It’s more satisfying and filling with the slaw, but I wasn’t a fan of its tangy flavor so I used it sparingly. The peppercorn sauce was pretty tasty on the pork. The roasted pork was just okay but I did like the snap of the pork sausage.[left: Meiloorun Juice – Pineapple Juice, Minute Maid® Lemonade, with Blueberry, Cranberry Juice, Lemon Juice, and Desert Pear / $5.49; right: Tatooine Sunset – Gold Peak® Unsweetened Tea, Minute Maid® Lemonade with Melon and Blueberry in a light up sipper cup / $24.99]We tried both of the special drinks at Ronto Roasters. The bright pink drink is the Meiloorun Juice. Meiloorun is a fruit that pops up in Star Wars Rebels – a favorite snack of rebel pilot Hera Syndulla. This drink is very fruity and pretty sweet. Tatooine Sunset is not as pretty looking (it just looks tan colored) but tastes much better in my opinion. It is less sweet and it’s more like an Arnold Palmer with melon and blueberry juice mixed in. Jake decided he wanted that fancy sipper cup (which has a little creature inside of it when you open the lid and it lights up) because he forgot about the Jango Fett sipper cup (available at Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland).After our morning snack, we hopped onto the Smuggler’s Run ride for the first time – AWWW YES. Hondo (the pirate) is your “guide” through your ride on the Millennium Falcon and it was a super fun ride. We got the ride to ourselves, which is probably something that will only happen during the pandemic. Our next stop was at the Tropical Hideaway in Adventureland. This is next to the Jungle Cruise (which is currently closed). The Tiki Juice Bar is currently closed and this is now the spot to get your Dole Whip. They are also supposed to have steamed baos and other treats, but they were not available on the day we went. This is a nice spot to hang out as they play relaxing music and there is a parrot in the corner that puts on a little show and talks. [DOLE Whip® Swirl with Raspberry and Pineapple / $5.99]I decided I wanted a swirl. They have Pineapple, Raspberry, Mango, or Lemon available which you can also get in a float (with juice on the bottom). It was still in the morning so I decided swirl only was the way to go. I loved this sweet and tangy combo of the raspberry and original pineapple – very refreshing! After Dole Whip – we were off to Tomorrowland! We hopped onto Star Tours and before we got onto the ride, I managed to snag a boarding pass for Star Wars – Rise of the Resistance. This ride is only available via virtual queue on the Disneyland app. You have two chances to get on this ride – at 7AM and 12PM. It’s much easier to get into the 12PM boarding groups. After that – it was time for lunch at the Galactic Grill! I’ve honestly never given much thought to the food at Galactic Grill because I remember it being terrible in the late 90s and never gave it a chance again until this visit. I saw a sparkly dessert that I wanted to try and also added a chicken sandwich to the mix.[Fried Chicken Sandwich – Fried Chicken Breast, Spicy Coleslaw and Parmesan Ranch served with choice of Dannon® Oikos® Greek Yogurt or French Fries / $11.79]This is another “mobile order only” station – no walk ups here. I was incredibly surprised by how GOOD this sandwich was. I was expecting it to be “ehh, it’s fine” but the chicken was fresh, crunchy, had a lovely coating, was juicy, and the parmesan ranch sauce was damn TASTY. The spicy coleslaw does give it a little kick and extra flavor and it didn’t make me go “ewww coleslaw” like most coleslaw does. Highly approve! [Galactic Parfait – a galaxy parfait with layers of Chocolate Cake, Blue Cheesecake, and Purple Mousse filled with Raspberry Marmalade and finished with Glitter Glaze, Edible Silver Stars and a Chocolate Truffle Shell / $5.99]First of all – HOW PRETTY IS THIS?! Those edible stars and sparkly glitter glaze on top really roped me in and I had to try out this festive Disneyland treat. At the very top is the “glitter glaze” and right below that is the blue cheesecake layer, followed by the chocolate cake, with the purple mousse on the bottom. The only layer I didn’t love was the mousse – but the rest of it was delicious. It wasn’t overly sweet and the cake provided some texture in between the layers. The cheesecake was creamy and smooth and there was an overall “blue raspberry” flavor going on. Here’s a video of me sampling the parfait so you can see the layers better. After our little lunch, we headed over to Space Mountain, then Winnie the Pooh, and then hung around waiting to get into Rise of the Resistance. Rise of the Resistance actually broke down before we could board so we ended up waiting an extra hour to get in. But, once that was done we got on right away. I loved the immersive experience of that ride and the different parts you go through until the end – SO FUN! [Hand Dipped Corn Dog / $9.79 with chips or mandarin oranges]It was almost 5PM at this point and I still wanted one last treat to eat and I used the Disneyland app again to place an order for my favorite corn dog at the Little Red Wagon at the end of Main Street. The Little Red Wagon looked like they had a standby line so I didn’t need to place a mobile order but I didn’t know that. But it was fine since it gave me time to pop into the Candy Palace for some to go treats. The only thing I didn’t like about mobile ordering this time is that there is not an option to decline the side item. In the past I have always ordered the corndog by itself so I didn’t have to pay extra for a bag of chips (or mandarin oranges). But, it’s fine since we quickly ate the chips. The corndog didn’t taste as fresh as it usually does and it tasted like it was made well in advance… but it was still a pretty good corndog.Earlier in the day, I popped into Jolly Holiday Bakery and got some Matterhorn Macaroons [$2.99] to take home. These are one of my favorite to go treats! I loved the bit of white chocolate on top and all of that coconutty goodness. The Candy Palace did not have my beloved Peanut Butter Squares (CRY) so instead I got this Mickey Sugar Cookie and some chocolate peanut clusters (not shown) and peanut brittle for my parents (to say thanks for watching Bucky all day for us).The only thing I didn’t get to try was the Haunted Mansion Wedding Cake (which looked like a blood splattered cake thanks to some cherry sauce) – but oh well. I couldn’t get a good time for the French Market which only accepted mobile ordering – all of the times were always too far in advance by a few hours. My non-food but still food related purchase – Minnie Mouse Donut ears! After thinking about it all day, I finally decided to get them. I’m not crazy about the pink bow, but I love the donuts and I figured I might regret it if I didn’t get one! These were $29.99 and I got them on Main Street (next to Disneyana) but I also saw them in other spots (like at The Star Trader in Tomorrowland). Disneyland opens to people outside of California next week and more of the restaurants are opening up on June 17th. I’m not sure how long they will be keeping the social distancing protocols, but we really enjoyed a less crowded park. It was nice to be able to actually find a table to sit at for meals instead of lurking in some corner to try and eat (which we did many times as passholders). Will you be headed to Disneyland this summer?
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