Amber Events: Redondo Beach Historic Library Wedding: Alexis & Steve

Alexis and Steve were such an awesome, on the ball couple! Seriously, at our details meeting they gave me a copy of their finished program. And we were still 4+ weeks out. Awesome, I tell you.

Steve and Alexis hired me to tie all of the loose ends together (my Wedding Supervision package) as they were having a formal wedding at St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach, with their wedding reception at the gorgeous, ocean view, Redondo Beach Historic Library.

December 19 dawned bright blue and crisp with big fluffy clouds in the skies due to rain earlier in the week. Because the reception started at 4:00 PM but access to the Library was not until 2:00 PM, I wasn't even able to make it to the Library until the ceremony at the church was already in full swing. My fantastic associate coordinator Krista took the helm at the Library for set up. Sacha, one of my interns, took on the role of bridal attendant with the 7 bridesmaids at the hotel that morning and kept all of the ladies on schedule took care of anything they needed such as bra straps pinned or Tylenol fetched. Seriously, I don't know how people do this job without staff.

The ceremony was a full Mass and because the church was decorated for Christmas already, Alexis and Steve wanted the elegance of the church and the mass to speak for itself. There were personal touches such as the crocheted ring bearer pillow made by Alexis's mom and the program that had a special note from Alexis and Steve and a section talking about the family members who were no longer with them but were there in spirit.

The reception venue alone was extremely beautiful and unique, but that is where Alexis and Steve really let their personalities shine. The library is no longer an operating library, but the walls are still lined with shelves. They framed meaningful quotes, poems, and pictures and we displayed them on the shelves amidst the candles.

Alexis and Steve are huge wine aficionados and had made several trips up to Napa and Sonoma Valley during their engagement to collect two special bottles for each reception table. They named each table after that vineyard and had a note on the table telling why they loved the wine and a little bit about that trip to purchase it. (sidenote: they also brought me a fabulous bottle from Amber Ridge vineyard!)

The red, burnt orange, and gold Roses, Tulips, and Calla Lilies in the centerpieces looked gorgeous against the Christmas trees decorated with just twinkle lights. Elegant yet Southern Californian Christmasy.

They took my advice and opted to do a short dance set immediately after the Grand Entrance and the First Dance, although they were a bit concerned that their guests might not know what to think about dancing before dinner. What the guests thought was to rush the dance floor and almost shake the building down as they tore it up! I love it when receptions start off on a high note like that.

Dinner was delicious and the guests enjoyed the bottles of wine at their table specifically chosen for them.

It was a perfect wedding….until Steve got tangled up on the dance floor with his six year old niece and flowergirl and tried to prevent her from falling. In trying to prevent her from getting hurt he completely dislocated his kneecap as he went down. As awful as it is to say, thankfully Steve had had this happen to him four times in the past and instead of having to be rushed to the hospital to have it snapped back into place himself (sidenote: after talking to Steve since the wedding, we're still not sure what happened. He might have torn a ligament). I can’t even imagine the pain. Steve and Alexis went outside to get some air and put on the knee brace that my coordinator Krista raced to purchase for him. Steve, while dealing with the pain and the disappointment of this happening at his wedding, was more concerned that his guests and his new wife keep dancing and enjoying themselves. Of course, Alexis wouldn’t move from his side until he felt ready to come back in.

When they cut the cake, Steve gave the MOST incredible speech to Alexis and his guests. He said that while they were outside together Alexis told him that they had promised each other that day “for better or for worse”. Steve said that while he was not expecting the “for worse” to come so quickly, he realized that the most important thing was that he was married to the most beautiful woman in the world and he couldn’t understand how he got so lucky.

These two are so in love and they handled this incident so gracefully together. The way I see it, because of the way they came through this, they had a perfect wedding. Something is perfect only if you see it as perfect.