Wedding Story
Photographer’s Comments: “Here’s the question of the day: If you are an animal lover – who’s love story included the zoo and you proposed at the zoo – wouldn’t you need to have your wedding and reception at the world famous San Diego Zoo…? Of course my bride and groom, Lauren and Brett answered ‘YES!’
“The bride and groom met in the zoo’s gorgeous Japanese Garden for their First Look then we Zipped all around the zoo capturing romantic and wedding party portraits with the couple’s favorite animals. (Cocktail hour included an animal presentation by the zookeepers – the couple met a Sloth, Bear Cat and Hedgehog to name a few.
“The ceremony site was on the Treetops Deck overlooking a canyon in the zoo, with simple white chairs decorated with beautiful flower arrangements of an orchid, grass and a monstera leaf. (The bride’s bouquet included the same florals.) The reception area was beautifully lit with amber lighting, the tables had animal names and a small stuffed animal that matched the name. Their rings were custom made with the couple’s heartbeats engraved on them (Hers on his, and his on hers).
“The evening finished with a stroll through the zoo after dark – for some romantic portraits on their bridge.”
Bridal Q & A
Q: Tell us about your wedding!
“As we are animal lovers, we had our wedding and reception at the San Diego Zoo! The theme was animal based obviously. The reception was done in ivory and chocolate brown. Instead of traditional vows we had a handfasting ceremony!”
Q: Let’s talk wedding decor
“The ceremony site was a deck overlooking a canyon in the zoo, with simple white chairs. Every other row on both sides of the aisle had a beautiful flower arrangement of an orchid, grass and a monstera leaf.
“The reception area was beautifully lit with amber lights going up the walls. The tables had animal names and a small stuffed animal that matched the name. The center pieces and runners were made by the brides mother. The runners are fabric we picked out, and the center pieces are succulents my wife’s mother had grown.”
Q: What were the florals like in your wedding?
“They did not play a huge role in it all, but the idea was to bring nature into small scale and inside. Our honey moon was in Hawai’i and as such we wanted orchids to be the center of all the arrangements.”
Q: Did you personalize the day in any way?
“We personalized our wedding by having it as the San Diego Zoo. We had other small details scatted every where throughout the ceremony and the reception.
“Our rings are custom made with our heartbeats engraved on them (Hers on mine, and mine on hers). As she wears a size 2 (yes that’s right!) shoe, we had to custom order her shoes. On the inside it has our names and wedding dates stamped into the sole. In the reception area our love of animals was made clear by all the small stuffed animals at the tables and the ‘guest book’ table. Our book was unique in that it was a large animal puzzle people could sign.”
Q: Let’s talk fashion
“We wanted to keep the traditional white/black but go more simple than tux/gown. I wore a black suit with a blue bow tie and she wore a white cocktail style dress the glittered in the light. Around her neck she wore a sapphire necklace that her grandmother lent her and in her hair she wore a tiara. My bow tie matched her blue reception dress latter on.”
Q: How did you meet?
“We met while working at the grocery store Ralph’s. She was my trainer in the deli department. On my first day I knew she was the one and as I was building up my courage to ask her out, I found out she had a boyfriend.
“After a year of working and hanging out Lauren left Ralph’s. We still hung out and had fun though. A year after she left she came back and started working at the newly opened Starbucks Kiosk. This time I was her trainer.
“Then, 6 months latter her boyfriend broke up with her. Having been through a bad break up a few years before I was there to support her and help her. (I knew the universe worked in strange ways). Finally, 6 months after that the proposal!
“This took a week of planning with the zoo as I was trying to work on getting a red panda (Her favorite animal) to be out. She knew the day was coming just didn’t know when or where. We had to ring shop together as she wears a size 4 ring.
“The big day comes and we get to the zoo early and walk around a near by art village for a while. once the zoo opened we went in and started to explore. An hour or so later we are at the red panda and she was out eating from the keepers hand!
“We were both excited seeing this — my dream had come true! After a few minutes and some difficulty getting Lauren’s attention she finally turned and I was on my knee with her ring out.
“Seeing as how we are answering these questions, you can guess what her answer was!”
Q: What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
“The most anticipated moment was the animal presentation during our reception. It was actually 4 animals in 45 minutes. This moment had everybody talking well before the wedding and we are sure for a long time after!”
Q: Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?
“DON’T WAIT TO THE LAST MINUTE!
“However, you’ll see that the closer you get the more things fall into place. Oh and get a wedding coordinator early on.”
Vendors in this Wedding
Hair Stylist & Makeup Artist: Splash Beauty Studio
Floral Designer: Tom Wholesale Flowers
Event Designer: Aquilone Event Design & Coordination
Cake Designer: Edelweiss Bakery
Reception and Event Venue: San Diego Zoo Global
Photographer: Savoring The Sweet Life Photography
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