La Jolla Woman's Club Wedding | Katie & Sean

La Jolla Woman's Club Wedding | Katie & Sean

Feeling sentimental as hell as I gear up for my 2022 wedding season and get to be back at one of my favorite venues, the La Jolla Woman’s Club in just a few short weeks! Resurfacing from an unintentional blogging hiatus to start sharing some of my favorite work from 2021 and am so excited to share images from Katie & Sean’s stunning day! I personally LOVED the low-key Hawaiian elements and choosing mustard yellow as the statement color - this was so fun to shoot!

Q: What did you love about your wedding venue?!
The first time we saw The La Jolla Woman's Club we knew we found our wedding venue! We were looking for a lush green garden space that had both indoor and outdoor options for the different events of the day and there were so many options to choose from at this venue - it was perfect for us. We loved that it was a historical building. Not to mention that it was over 120 years old! It was also special to us that it was founded as a Woman's Club at the turn of the century where female activists would gather. The building has to have some good juju from all of the celebrations it's hosted over the years. :) 

Q: Do you have a favorite memory from the day?
Our first dance!!! We slowed danced just the two of us to a cover of "This Must Be The Place" by The Lumineers and then invited our friends and family to join us on the dance floor and then started playing the more upbeat version by Talking Heads. Dancing together surrounded by all of the people we love was such a surreal and special moment, especially after the past year and half we had. Kami absolutely killed it and captured the special moment that might be my favorite picture from the whole day!

Q: Tell me a bit about planning a wedding during a pandemic (if you want!). How did it affect your plans, how did it change your plans, etc etc etc.
Luckily (and unluckily) for us we were forced to postpone very early into the pandemic (May 1, 2020 - one month to our originally scheduled date). After trying very hard to coordinate a new date with all of our vendors it became very apparent that posposting an entire year was our best option. I shed some real tears over it, but in the end I am so happy that we were able to really have the celebration we had always envisioned. We did end up cutting the list by about 25%, and I wouldn't have changed a thing. 

Q: What advice would you give to future couples who are getting married? During a pandemic or in general?
No one ever wants to hear this in the middle of planning/postponing a wedding, but everything will work out exactly how it's supposed to.This was the wedding we were always meant to have and I couldn't have imagined it any other way. Your day will come and it will be absolutely perfect. It will all be worth it, because you end the day with your partner by your side. 

Q: How did you two stay positive / keep whats important in mind through all the planning craziness of 2020-2021?
After ten years together, what's another year?! Haha. It took awhile to really wrap my end around the fact that it was really happening for us this year. I honestly didn't believe it until the night before the wedding... like we're really doing this, nothing is cancelled or postponed this time, okay let's do this! I think that feeling is what got us through. Knowing that it will all be worth the wait and it was ten fold. 

Q: Is there anything else you'd like people to know about your experience?!
I planned a fun date night the weekend before the wedding for Sean and I to get some time together before all the craziness started. We went to Candles on Tap in Encinitas and made our own candles, which was so fun and was a great activity for us to do and take our mind off everything wedding related and enjoy each other's company. Also, make your appointment for your marriage license as soon as you can, so you don’t have to get it the day before your big day! That was one of the biggest curve balls outside of postponing, so book that appointment ASAP. 

Q: Did you have a favorite part of wedding planning?
There is a lot of hype built up around wedding planning and that should be this fun and enjoyable time. And if you're in the middle of planning you know that's not always the case. Haha. I took planning as it came in waves. Sometimes I was super excited and others I wasn't and went with the flow, but something that I loved was our guestbook. We have saved blank postcards from all the places we've traveled over the past ten years together and used those for guests to sign. It was really special having friends sign cards from the place that we visited them 8 years ago and people really took the time to pick the perfect postcard for them. We love how it turned out!

Q: Your wedding was SO GORGEOUS. What was your original vision for the day and how did you go about executing it?! Any details or design elements that were really important to you?
Mustard yellow was such a bold choice, and one that I second guessed a lot until we saw it all come together, but we love how it turned out! It was such a joyful day and the relaxed fun vibe of it all really comes through in all of the pictures. 

VENDORS!
Venue: La Jolla Woman’s Club
Planning: Olga, Here Is To Love
Photography: Kami Olavarria Photography
Dress: BLDHN
Suit: Bonobos
Desserts: Sugar and Scribe, Dark Horse Skinny Donuts
Food: Buona Forchetta
Florist: Tiny Victories
Hair: Jamie Brack
Makeup Artist: Christine Williams
Musicians: Vox DJ’s
Videographer: Sunbeat Films