Ali Ties the Knot In Cabo

Photographer: Amy Bennett Photography // Wedding Planner: Infinity Weddings, Rachel Hansen

Venue: Hacienda Cocina y Cantina // Ali's Dress: Mariee Bridal // Hair & Makeup: Alan Torres @ Casa Dorada

Here comes the bride!  This past May (May 25th, to be exact) TSS Co-Founder Ali tied the knot to her hubby, Jon, in sunny Cabo San Lucas.  Ali & Jon dreamed of a wedding day on the sand with the ocean as their backdrop, and knew that Cabo was just the place to have it.  They always loved going to destination weddings for their friends' nuptials, because let's face it-- it's the perfect opportunity to take a vacation with all of your family and loved ones!  Not only was their wedding a fabulous night, but they also were able to turn the celebration into an entire weekend long fiesta.  Guests included immediate family and closest friends, for an intimate ceremony.

Ali chose a color scheme of shades of white & soft pink, accented with gold and hints of turquoise.  Guests were given locally handmade maracas (in both light pink & white) as favors... which ended up being a big hit in both pictures and on the dance floor!  Keeping close to their own personal style, Ali wore an elegant 2-piece dress, with a sparkly lace up corset top and a full skirt.  Ali loved the idea of a formal gown in the casual beach setting... not your typical beach ceremony wedding attire, which is exactly what she had in mind!  Jon opted for a more casual suit instead of a tuxedo, paired with his signature footwear of choice... white boating shoes.  Bridesmaids wore mix & match dresses from Nordstrom, each with their own personal touches for accessories.  

The wedding party walked down the aisle to live music.  A Spanish guitarist & violinist duo played to the crowd, and Jon's cousin Shae sang "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri as the couple met at the beachside altar.  Another special touch, Ali's father in law became ordained for the occasion, and conducted the wedding ceremony.  Once the ceremony concluded, a mariachi band led the guests into cocktail hour... it was time to party!

Wedding guests dined on dishes with local flavor.  Margaritas, guacamole, and churros (YUM) were all on the menu.  The wedding cake was classic vanilla buttercream (the couple's favorite) topped with fondant, a dusting of gold shimmer, and fresh flowers on top.  Everyone danced the night away to songs ranging from Rod Stewart to Calvin Harris.  Instead of a photo booth, Ali & Jon decided to have a video booth for guests to record personal messages... check out the video highlights here!

It was a night (and weekend) that Ali & Jon will cherish forever.  To anyone considering having a destination wedding-- their advice is go for it!!  With life's busy schedules, having an opportunity to get away with your loved ones is truly a once in a lifetime experience.  

Special thanks to our fabulous wedding planner, Rachel Hansen, for turning our dream 

wedding into a reality!  And thank you to Amy Bennett Photography for capturing 

each moment so beautifully.  You both were a joy to work with!

Ali's "I Do" Diary: Wedding Planning Favorites

That's right, TSS Co-Founder Ali is tying the knot!  She's excited to share her wedding 

planning journey with our readers.  Read on for more!

Spring is upon us, which for me means one thing... our wedding is right around the corner!  Since we started planning, it seemed as though May 25th (our wedding date) was so far away.  Sure enough, the time has flown by!  Along the way, I've learned so much about the little details that needed to be decided.  Little things... from deciding on a signature cocktail, to figuring out what invitation style we wanted to use.  Luckily, I've discovered a few helpful resources that have made the process a breeze so far.  I'm excited to share a few of my favorite finds, from ordering invitations to setting up a wedding website!

1. Wedding Paper Divas.

When it came to ordering Save the Dates, I wanted a website that offered two things: creative designs, and magnets!  I love putting wedding Save the Dates on my fridge at home, so having it printed on a magnet was important to me.  Wedding Paper Divas offered everything I needed, plus the ordering process was so easy!  They send you customized artwork proofs with all of your requested information before you order, so you can make sure everything is exactly to your liking.  Not to mention, I received them super fast!  I couldn't believe how quickly the arrived on my doorstep, so I could get them mailed out in a snap.

2. Minted.

I went into a few invitation stores to look in person, before deciding to order the actual wedding invites online from Minted.  The invitation stores overwhelmed me, plus they seemed to be super pricey.  I loved the design selection from Minted-- they really had a custom feel to them.  They even allow you to choose which type of "edge" you want for the paper (I chose a scalloped edge) which made it more fun than a standard rectangular piece of paper!  I also decided to go with pearlized paper, which gave the invitations a pretty sparkle finish to them.  Just like Wedding Paper Divas, the ordering & proofing process couldn't have been easier.  They arrived fast, and looking beautiful!

3. Stamps.com.

After ordering the invitations, the next step was getting them mailed out.  I went to my local post office to talk to them about how to go about mailing them... after all, how was I supposed to know how much postage to put on the envelope?!  While I was there, the person helping me told me about Stamps.com.  Not only could I order the stamps with exactly the amount of postage that I needed (I took the completed invitation to get weighed first) but I could also upload my very own picture to the stamp!!  OMG-- a custom stamp with our photo on it?!  I was sold.  I ordered them with one of our engagement photos on the stamp... it made for an adorable personal touch!

4. Wedding Jojo.

Since we're having a destination wedding (hello, Cabo!) having a complete wedding website was a must for us.  We needed a place that we could put every last detail... from hotels to activities.  I searched high and low for the right wedding website host that had every function that we needed, plus one that offered nice looking layouts that weren't cheesy.  I came across Wedding Jojo, and fell in love with their beautiful templates.  For an extra fee, they even let you have your very own custom domain name!  We also were able to get a password protected site, which I liked as well for privacy.  The website was fun & simple to make, and our site came out looking great!

I hope that my favorite resources helps other Brides-to-Be!  Finding the right tools to help make these little details simple was a big relief to me.  No need to stress about invitations (or stamps!) when you know where to look!

xoxo, Ali

Ali's "I Do" Diary: Bridesmaid Proposal Boxes

Craft Supplies: Michaels

Here comes the bride... and it's our very own TSS Co-Founder, Ali!  Yes that's right, Ali and her honey Jon are tying the knot in May of next year, and we will be documenting their journey along the way.  We love weddings, and Ali is beyond excited to share her tips and ideas with all of our readers.  And yes, we will be there when they share their "I do's" too!  For other brides-to-be or those dreaming of their big day, we hope that we can provide a little dose of wedded inspiration!  We are thrilled to announce Ali's "I Do" Diary column... take it away, Ali!

Ali's "I Do" Diary: June 19, 2013.
Little girls dream of planning their big day with their prince charming, and I am so lucky to have found the man of my dreams.  Now that we've set a date and started putting our plans together, I needed to do something else that was very important-- ask my best girlfriends to stand by my side!  My wedding day wouldn't be complete without the girls (and sorority sisters) that I've shared my favorite memories, laughs, and cries with too.  Because they mean so much to me, I wanted to do something special when asking them to be my bridesmaid.  So, I decided to "pop" the question!

I'm a bit of a Pinterest fanatic, so naturally I went right to Pinterest when looking for bridesmaid inspiration.  I came across a few ideas involving Ring Pops, and I knew it was the perfect way to ask my girls!  Sweet, creative, and a little silly, it described what I was going for perfectly.  I headed straight to Michaels with my color scheme (light pink) in mind, and got down to crafty business!

I used natural cardboard gift boxes, scrapbook paper, rubber stamps, stickers, pink paper shreds, gift ribbon, and of course the key ingredient- Ring Pops.  Double sided tape made for an easy (and less messy) adhesive to attach the scrapbook paper to the boxes.  Testing out the rubber stamps on some scrap paper first was helpful to get a system down just right.  Once I put the boxes together, I tied them with a bow, and voilà!  An adorable little bridesmaid proposal box was complete!  I added a personal note with each box, and sent them on their way.  Hearing each of their reactions was priceless; I'm so happy to have asked my bridesmaids to be a part of our special day in a creative way!

I can't wait to share more bits and pieces of our wedding planning with all of you!  More to come soon!