“Louis and Samantha met at their mutual friend’s wedding in November 2012. While they were sitting next to a campfire, Samantha’s younger daughter, Brook, spent the entire evening squirting Louis with a water gun. The constant stream of water didn’t scare him away, if anything Louis was so excited for his first date with Samantha that he arrived at her front door a day early. That evening for their first date they enjoyed some delicious frozen yogurt. As Samantha likes to say, she has “been coordinating his schedule ever since.” “We got engaged during a Disney Cruise last year. Louis was going to surprise Samantha by presenting her with a large clasped shell, with the rings inside. We were going to get all of Samantha’s family members to go on a “shell hunt” while docked on a tropical beach. The plan was for everyone to present Samantha with their shells and other findings as a gift, all at once, then Louis would walk up with the biggest finding, the engagement rings {yes, one for her daughter Brooke, as well}, tucked inside a beautiful seashell. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. So in a pinch, Louis scurried to change plans. The whole family met at the same table each night for dinner… Louis asked concierge to see if they could get a “Prince” costume to wear just for a few minutes, to propose to Samantha, dressed as one of Disney’s magical characters. They were able to get a standard issue tuxedo for him to wear, which worked out great. Louis came into the dinner fashionably late and got on one knee, before Samantha even realized what was going on, or even that he was there! e proposed just before dinner!” When Louis asked Samantha if she would marry him he had to ask her twice because she was so shocked. Louis the second time said, “Is that a yes or no?” With glee Samantha responded “YES”. Not only did Louis present an engagement ring to Samantha, but Louis gifted Brooke a ring too! So much romance and love filled that Disney Cruise ship that evening.” –April Maura Photography

What is your favorite wedding day memory?

From the Bride: The time which Louis and I had alone together during photos, the first look and post ceremony photo session, stands out the most for me. It was a serene moment exclusively for us, amidst the excitement and attention we were adorned with throughout the day and evening.

From the Groom: Since we hung the canvas we made during the ceremony in the heart of our house, the kitchen, which has “established 11/28/2015” on it… I feel making this fun and beautiful piece together with all our family and friends there to support us stands out the most.

What did you DIY for your wedding?

Where do I start?! We bought 48 cylinder glass from the dollar store, put rubber bands around them, then had the bridesmaids and our daughter helped us spray paint the cylinders with frosted glass paint. We then filled them with pieces of rustic wood chunks and river rock pebbles to random heights and placed LED votive candles inside each. Thanks to Pinterest for this idea, our centerpieces turned out amazing!

We bought white lanterns from Ikea and laced the vents on the lanterns with accent color ribbons. We had LED candles inside and used them both for the ceremony then had them moved into the reception where they were also centerpieces on the tables. We also used the same ribbons from the lanterns as runner decorations down the aisle, hanging off the top corners of the chairs, adorned with simple flower arrangements on top.

We had a dozen different flavors of Bundt cakes ordered for our cake and in light of the many flavor selections, we custom made posterboard labels for each flavor. We printed them out on the cheap via the Costco photo center, then cut and glued the stands on them literally hours before the ceremony started. As for the cake stands, we took some thrift store wine glasses and plates, glued them together and spray painted them with one of our theme colors {turquoise}!

We like to take paths less traveled, and aren’t big on knickknacks. So the keepsake result of sand and candle ceremonies seemed like something which we wouldn’t cherish or hold of a high value over the years, so we thought outside of the box, bought a $20 white canvas, adhered a vinyl sticker to it saying “Established 11/28/2015” at the bottom. We bought acrylic craft paint and filled squeeze bottles. During the ceremony, in lieu of the typical sand or candle ceremony we walked to the blank canvas, and our officiant said the following, which we wrote. “The Bride and Groom have chosen to create an art piece to symbolize their union. Samantha, Louis, and Brooke: The individual colors sitting in these bottles, symbolize each of you in your individual uniqueness. The canvas, blank and ready for painting, Is to symbolize your coming together to share a new life with one another. Each of you has brought to this moment, a wealth of personality, of experiences, of strengths and weaknesses. Now you are joining in a new life together. Bring the colors of those traits forward now and apply them to your life. May all the colors blend, overlap and cover the canvas with the brilliance of your love for each other, And the establishment of a unique work of art, your family, will be produced.” We let Brooke, our 7 year old daughter, squirt the paint on the canvas. Samantha and I followed. It came out amazing!

We also handmade the reception place cards using washi tape as a symbol for the plate selection and we also made three poster-board signs, {again, printed by Costco} one as a welcome to our guests, one for our “Espresso Bar, Love is brewing”, and one to communicate the open seating. My Father-in-Law made a ceramic bowl to hold our wedding rings and My Mother-in-Law made our slump-glass cake plate! She also hand-crochet all 115 guest gifts, which contained chocolate covered coffee beans. On top of all this, we assembled a dozen “kid kits” which contained goofy glasses, wedding-themed coloring books, candies, fuzzy mustaches and some other good stuff to keep everyone entertained!

Did you have a something old, new, borrowed and blue?

My Something Old, Borrowed and Blue was my Husband’s Grandmother’s handkerchief. It was crocheted with light blue trim and was a wonderful way to include her in the wedding, as she passed in 2000. My Something New was my Husband’s Aunt Vivan’s handmade rosary beads.

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

My advice to other couples planning their wedding would be to learn to delegate early on! Organize a place for everything “wedding”, before you begin. Keep track of addresses, phone numbers, gifts received and anything else in an excel file. -Sam, the bride

Event Credits

Photographer: April Maura Photography // Venue: Tempe Center for the Arts // Florist: Fred's Flowers // Catering: Santa Barbara Catering // Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes // Invitations: David's Bridal // DJ: Birkett Entertainment // Engagement Ring: Ganem Jewelers // Bride's Attire: Almond Tree Weddings // Bride's Jewelry: Charming Charlie // Bride's Shoes: Kohls // Bridesmaid's Attire: David's Bridal // Hair + Make-up: All Done Up Salon // Groom + Groomsmen's Attire: Men's Warehouse