Kendra's Kampfire

Well, our 2015 wedding season has officially come to an end. And what a whirlwind wedding season it was! This past weekend we drove down to San Luis Obispo (my alma mater!) for the wedding of two wonderful wonderful people. One of my very best friends from college married the love of her life this past Saturday, and it was such a pleasure to be  a Bridesmaid and stand by her side as they became husband and wife! 

They got married at a beautiful Victorian House in Arroyo Grande, and the venue was so Sam. And if you know Sam at all, you know exactly what I mean. Sophisticated, sweet, warm, welcoming, and cute as a button. The grounds were absolutely beautiful, and they said their I Do's underneath an adorable gazebo. 

Picture Perfect

The beautiful venue

Beautiful table setting

And let me tell you, this woman is amazing. She did most of this decor herself, which included hand painted corn hole, hand painted calligraphy place cards (done by hand by her amazing Maid of Honor), a homemade photo booth, hand-cut lace overlays, and so many personal touches that took her so much time. And believe me, it was worth it. It was spectacularly beautiful. 

Hand-painted wine labels

She rolled those triangles and we filled them with lavender to see the Bride and Groom off on their Honeymoon! Pillows so the Bride and Groom can sit comfy!

It was such a fun day. Her family rented a condo in Avila Beach, so all the bridesmaids got to the condo bright and early to start the primping process. After we all snacked on sandwiches and sipped some wine, we were all ready to go. Her amazing photographer had the great idea to go take photos down by the beach-which was amazing! We were all down at the beach, and everyone was saying congratulations to her, and strangers were taking photos of her, it was so much fun! And this girl deserved to feel like a princess, because she sure looked like one. 

It is something so special to get to see two people who are so in love, pledge their lives together, and it will be a day I will hold in my heart for a long time. Sam and Elliot are two of the warmest, kindest people I have ever met, and I am so lucky to call them friends. 

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to the new Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Morvai!! 

So this past Saturday, we set off on one of the most daunting tasks; finding bridesmaids dresses. Now, Mike and I are tying the knot up in Yosemite, in August, (post soon to come on our wedding venue), so it will most likely be preeeeeetty warm. We are planning for a later afternoon-evening wedding, so by then it shouldn't be too hot (fingers crossed), but one of my top criteria for these dresses were they have to be comfortable and allow the girls to not die of heat stroke, (seriously) and be absolutely fabulous of course. So the 4 of us (we were missing a very important piece to the Petrellese Posse, but she was there in spirit) plus my mom piled into the car and headed down to Cupertino in search of 'the dress.' 

This was one of the days I was most looking forward to because it was a day spent with my girls and what could be more fun than trying on a bunch of fancy dresses?! I had an idea of what I was looking for, but I knew that would most likely change once we got down there. Once we got there, our rep gave each of the girls their own dressing room with a few different dresses each and they went at it. It was so funny to see them tossing the dresses over the walls to each other to swap out. 

some of the most wonderful women you will ever meet

So after a couple different swaps, comparing styles versus cuts versus colors, war finally settled on a dress! It was a win win that it ties in to my dress in a couple different ways and they all liked it! I'd call that a success, people. This process was pretty painless because of the amazing bridal party; they were all so willing to try on multiple dresses, gave their opinion but also told me they would be happy with whatever dress I chose. I mean, how lucky am I? #blessed 

this wedding is going to be a blast with these gals

My dress had also been received at the store the previous week so I got to try it on and they got a sneak peek of the big day. They helped me pick out accessories and gave their insight on earrings vs necklaces vs both, so it was great to have outsiders opinions. Because after all of the wedding detail decisions I have made, it was so nice to have some help on the girly things! 

So moral of the weekend, I have amazing friends who love me and support me and I couldn't be luckier. I'm planning on doing an upcoming post highlighting these 4 wonderful women, so stay tuned for that. 

finding "the dress" is the best feeling!

a few of my biggest supporters and i couldn't be any more blessed

I met Gustavo through my work at the Fairmont, as he was one of our preferred vendors, and he is a true professional. He has shot weddings and events not just in the San Francisco Bay Area, but all over the world as well, and has a ton of experience that will make your special day extraordinary. 

I really wanted to spotlight him to rave about how wonderful he is. After Mike and I got engaged, I instantly hoped that Gustavo would take our engagement photos, thankfully he said yes and our experience was anything less than fantastic. Mike absolutely HATES taking pictures, but he graciously agreed to the session because he knew how much it meant to me (best fiancé award goes to...), but I secretly knew it was going to be a little painful for everyone involved. Mike was dreading the shoot the whole day leading up to it, but as soon as he met Gustavo, he was instantly put at ease. He came right out of his shell and Gustavo totally made him feel comfortable. (About an hour before the shoot I texted Gustavo and told him Mike had a hard day at work and I was going to have a grumpy fiancé on my hands, and he texted back saying 'Lol! I'll fix that!'-awesome). 

Taking photos can be a little awkward, especially in a situation like this where a lot of your shots are going to be semi staged and the close ups of the couple looking at each other and such, so I was a little worried about how the shoot would go. But Gustavo didn't make it awkward or weird, he kept it totally causal and got a bunch of different shots. After it was over, Mike actually said he had FUN (I almost wanted to get that in writing). But ever since our shoot, he has been raving about Gustavo to our family members, saying they are going to love him and he is going to do such a great job (which couldn't be more true). 

Not only was he an absolute joy and pleasure to work with, our photos turned out beautiful! We were so incredibly happy and we are so excited to see how he captures our wedding day. He is a true professional through and through, both while on site and over email; he is always very prompt to respond to our questions and is so easy to work with. Our photographer and photos are the most important aspect of our wedding day to us, and we have no doubt that Gustavo will do an amazing job! 

Whether it be a corporate function, a family photo sesh or if you are looking to get a professional headshot done, Gustavo does it all! But to all my brides who are looking for a photographer to capture their engagement photos or wedding, I HIGHLY recommend Gustavo, trust me, you will not be disappointed. He will bring the fun and take all of the pressure and nerves away, only leaving you with a great memory! 

Don't believe me?! Take a look at some photos from our engagement shoot, and tell me those pictures didn't come out beautiful ;) (but hey, it doesn't hurt having a hunky fiancé to stand beside either!) 

It was only fitting that Mike and I have them be such a special part of our day and we are so thrilled that they are going to be our flower girl and ring bearer! In true Kendra fashion, I had to hit up Pinterest to help me come up with a cute way to ask them. I know they are a little young to understand, but I was hoping to make something that they could keep for awhile or put up on their wall or for their mom to hide it away until they get a little older to understand. 

So after some Pinterest surfing and Michael's shopping, Kendra's craft project of the week was born! 

my supplies to start: shadow boxes (60% off at michaels!), stickers, flowers for muri and obnoxiously large diamond rings for lucas

it says: 'muri, will you be our flower girl? -uncle mike aunt kendra'

it says: 'lucas, will you be our ring bearer? uncle mike aunt kendra'

finished products side by side

it's always more fun when you have a gift to open! my adorable fiancé and the 2 cuties (this was probably attempt at successful picture #7)

yes! a good shot...as muri's box was tumbling off her lap

the aftermath - needless to say it's going to be a pretty fun wedding with these 2 goofballs running around Now, the Sears women and Maciel women have a wedding connection that dates back 25 years. When my parents got married, my cousin Jennifer, was the flower girl in their wedding. 20 years later, when Jennifer got married, I stood beside her as a bridesmaid. This wedding love fest wouldn't be complete if I didn't have some Maciel blood in my wedding. So Jen's (and her super sweet husband Josh) son is going to "my mini Prince." Come next August, he will be walking up a storm, so he's going to walk down the aisle with a special message to Mike. That will round out our bunch of kiddos :) will make a sign something like this

the adorable little james