veronica & david | manhattan beach, california

Event Design:  Bobbe Vagel
D.J.: Steve Irons
Dress Store: Lili Bridal
Dress : Watters and Watters
Bakery:  Vanilla Bake Shop  Santa Monica CA

Reception: Verandas, Manhattan Beach

Veronica and David have such an amazing story…when Veronica called me to set  up a preliminary meeting she said that David would not be able to join us since he was not living nearby at that time. Or even remotely nearby. He was in fact serving in Iraq in the Air Force.  Needless to say, I was thrilled (and relieved) when I finally met these two together on the wedding day. They are so madly in love and so GORGEOUS that it made my job incredibly easy.  I also need to give a shout out to my wonderful friend and fellow photographer, Jen Greer Berggren of B&G Photography  for shooting with me. I had the wonderful good fortune of having Jen available as she is a very busy and talented wedding photographer and it’s always lovely to have her to work with.

They had the ceremony in Manhattan Beach and allowed plenty of time between the ceremony and reception to grab some shots on the beach. I love a bride who will sit in the sand in her wedding dress, so worth it!  You’ll notice the details of the reception are Disneyland inspired…and floral designer Bobbe Vagel did an AMAZING job incorporating elements of the happiest place on earth in the most fabulous, cool way!

Per Veronica:

“We met at a bar in 2006 in Marina Del Rey.  He was at the bar and I walked right up and sat down.  We closed down the bar 5 hours later.
What was so great about David was his passion for not growing “old”. I instantly found him so dreamy it was hard to not think I wasn’t dreaming. He has a smile that can knock the wind out of you!  We found out we had a lot in common.  We happened to have the same favorite band, which since there are from Iceland and not well known was a miracle in its self.  Our first song was Hoppipola from them which means hopping in puddles (childish I know) in Icelandic.  We both believe that we can grow and change but don’t have to grow old.  It has been the mantra of our entire relationship.  He gave me my 1st season pass to Disneyland for my first birthday we were together and we have had them ever since.
Disneyland is like home to us.  It’s whimsical and lets you enjoy laughing and being a kid with out anyone staring at you.  On Nov. 8, three weeks after getting orders to deploy to Iraq his family came down to So Cal to say good bye.  We spent the weekend as a family at Disneyland.  Of course Disneyland its where you can lose yourself and step away from whats bothering you and just enjoy the way your heart flutters on the teacups or excitement of plummetting down Splash mountain.   Choose your adventure, you can find it there.
Being someone who never wants to grow up my favorite ride is Pans Flight.  Granted my heart was heavy with the impending departure, I noticed nothing out of sort.  The whole family got on the ride in front of us and right as we were soaring over London he whispered, “Will you never grow up with me, will you marry me?” 
He had to grab my hand I was shaking so badly and put the ring on my finger.  His whole family was waiting outside cheering and waiting to give us hugs.”

It was such an honor being part of your day!