Alex & Eddie’s wedding took place at Marina Village. Their pineapple themed wedding was the cutest! The groom’s last name being “Pina”, pineapple in Spanish, it was only fitting to theme the wedding with pineapples.
From the Coordinated Bride:
My husband, Eddie and I met in middle school during our 8th grade year. I was a cheerleader and Eddie was the smart kid that everyone wanted to copy off of. He was very quiet and extremely nice! As Middle came to an end and High School began, we went to separate High Schools…But as destiny would have it, we would cross paths again! It had been 4 years since I had last seen or spoken to Eddie and it wasn’t until the end of my senior year in High School that I would bump into him again. One day I went to Del Taco with a few friends and there he was, Eddie in the flesh! Instantly, I was drawn to him and we began to reconnect. A week later I went with a friend to the movies and to my surprise I bumped into Eddie again! Since we both were going to see the same movie, we decided to sit next to each other, after that night we continued to keep in touch via MySpace. During this time we were attending community college and for an entire month I felt like we were constantly bumping into each other. We had instant chemistry and it wasn’t long before I decided to ask him out on a group date! Yes…you heard that right! I was the one who finally worked up the courage and asked Eddie out! 3 years later, in 2010 I got accepted into The University of California, San Diego! Although I was filled with excitement, at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel sad because I would be moving 2 hours away from my “boyfriend”, Eddie. I moved to San Diego and I knew it was going to be extremely hard not being able to see Eddie every day, however he came to visit me very weekend during my Junior year at UCSD. He seriously did not miss one weekend! 6 months later, after I get accepted into UCSD, we received some of the best news!!! Eddie had been accepted into SDSU where he would study Business Administration right here in San Diego! So he moved to SD and we moved in together, which was a huge step forward in our relationship. After dating for 8 years, he finally decided to pop the question on February 14th, 2016. It was the most creative and heartfelt proposal. He exceeded in any all expectations of what I thought was an amazing proposal…Just a little background info – I call him my penguin and when a male penguin falls in love with a female penguin, he searches the entire beach to find the perfect pebble to present to her and when he finally finds it, he waddles over to her and places the pebble right in front of her-kind of like a proposal. So after much thought and brainstorming he had the brilliant idea to put together some pebbles with romantic quotes about how much he loves me and the largest pebble read, “Will you marry me?” That’s when the wedding planning began!
Our wedding day was the most magical day! After an entire year of planning we could finally sit back and watch our fairytale wedding unfold. There were multiple things that inspired our wedding day, one being our families. We wanted to have a large wedding so that every one of our family members could attend to witness our wedding that everyone had been anticipating after 10 years of us dating. We also wanted to have our wedding in San Diego by the bay because we had been living there for 7 years and pretty much established our life as a couple there. Also, being that my new last name would be Pina, which means pineapple, we used that as an inspiration for some of our wedding decor. Although both of our families are very religious, for our wedding ceremony we chose to steer away from the tradition of getting married by a priest/pastor. Instead we chose our really good friend, whom my husband has been best friends with since high school, to officiate our wedding. Josh became an officiant specifically for our wedding in order to bring forth authenticity and a true heart felt blessing over our marriage.
The day I got married not only did I gain a husband, but I also gained a pretty sweet last name, Piña, which means pineapple in Spanish. So I used what would be my new last name as an inspiration for some of our wedding decor. Instead of the groom wearing your traditional boutonniere, my amazing florist found me real micro pineapples. I also purchased black and white pineapple socks for all the groomsmen which peeked through as they walked down the aisle. Some of the best parts of the wedding were the entertainment! We had a live band that later followed with a Dj. I am so glad we chose to have both a live band and a DJ because it helped capture and engage two different audiences.
My advice for future Coordinated Brides is to enjoy the process! Your wedding day goes by so fast make planning your special day a fun and memorable experience for you and your future husband. Also, I suggest you make your wedding an entire weekend event! We had a huge group of family and friends stay at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, which was walking distance from our wedding venue. Enjoy your wedding weekend by relaxing! Spend time at the pool, get a massage and really cherish every moment because getting married is more than just saying “I DO” it’s about the combining of families and creating life long memories with the person you love. Don’t just make it a wedding day…make it a weekend full of amazing & unforgettable memories.
Well when choosing a wedding dress I had to really ask myself how do I want to feel on my wedding day. So I closed my eyes and tried to envision what I wanted my wedding day to look like and what I wanted to look like and how I wanted to feel. Because the venue we had chosen had a very boho chic feel I wanted my dress to have that same whimsical, fairytale essence. My dress was a Justin Alexander strapless tulle ball gown. It had a sweetheart neckline and the bodice was hand beaded and embellished with very intricate beading. It had a chapel length train and satin buttons to cover the back zipper.
The groom wore a cobalt blue tuxedo with a white button up underneath and paired it with some brow leather shoes and black and white pineapple socks. I chose the cobalt blue for the men because I think I paired nicely with the bridesmaids blush pink dresses and also looked stunning next to the water since we were by the bay.
Our first touch. In lieu of a first look, we decided to do a first touch prior to the ceremony, because we wanted the first time he saw me to be when I was making my grand entrance down the aisle. During our first touch we both stood by a curtain that separated us so we couldn’t see each other. The moment our hands touched, I felt an indescribable rush and realization that in a few moments, I would be marrying the man that loved me for nearly a decade.
Our wedding ceremony was located on a lawn overlooking the San Diego Marina Bay. The location was beyond perfect! For the ceremony we had white chairs a long white aisle runner. We filled mason jars, that I spray painted rose gold, with baby’s breath and hung them on chairs down the aisle. We had a beautiful Boho-Chic arch that was made out of birch wood. There were white linens loosely draped on the arch along with two large/full flower arrangements on each side of the arch.
Our floral arrangements played a huge role in the overall aesthetic of our wedding. Since our wedding ceremony was outside by the bay we chose to use very soft colors and flowers. The colors we chose to use were blush pink and ivory. My bridal bouquet was very full, it was made up of all ivory peonies. The bridesmaids’ bouquets had an assortment of ivory and blush pink O’Hara Roses, Peonies and hints of dusty miller leaves all throughout each bouquet. The Groom, father of the bride, father of the groom, and the best man all wore micro pineapples in lieu of the traditional flower boutonniere. For our ceremony we had a birch wood alter that had loose white linens draping from it. On either side of the altar there were two large floral arrangements that consisted of ivory and blush pink flowers. During the reception we had beautiful centerpieces at each table. We chose to alternate between tall and short centerpieces for every table. For the tall centerpieces we had tall silver candelabras that we placed floating LED tea light candles on. Placed on top of the candelabra were large beautiful floral arrangements that included flowers such as; O’Hara Roses, Hydrangeas, and dusty miller leaves. For the lower profile arrangements they were placed in silver mercury glass vases. Placed on all the tables were LED tea light candles in different sized candle holders.
The moment would be my walk down the aisle. After all the anticipation leading up to our wedding day I could finally make my grand entrance and reveal myself in my wedding gown to the man I was just about to marry. I will never forget the look Eddie had on his face the first time he saw me, his eyes lit up and he had the biggest smile on his face. That moment was OUR moment. It would be the walk that led me to the man I was about to make a vow to love and cherish for the rest of our lives. It was a very magical moment.
Our space for the reception was also very beautiful and extremely convenient for all of our guests because it was located on the same property facing directly in front of the marina. It was an indoor venue, but had open access to an outdoor space were cocktail hour, sundae bar and taco bar were held. From the decor to the lighting and the floral arrangements the venue for our wedding reception was decorated so beautifully. There was market lighting hung throughout the venue, large white draping that hug from the ceiling and large gorgeous chandeliers. The venue had floor to ceiling windows all throughout that faced the marina so you could see the bay and it gave you a feeling that you were also outside and not just in a confined space. We had 20 large round tables that sat 10 people per table. Our table linens were made of satin and were a light dusty blush pink. The napkins we chose to use were an ivory satin and they were folded into a square and placed on round silver foil doily placemats. Because my husband is a poker player I wanted to tie a deck of cards into some part of our decor. We had a few deck of cards personalized with our engagement photos on it and placed one card in the fold of each napkin for each guest. We had white chiavari chairs.
Vendor Collaboration
Photographer: Bob Hoffman Photography & Video // Dress Store: 2000 Dreams Bridal // Hair Stylist: Bryll Hair Lounge // Band: The Flashback Boyz // Event Designer: Marina Village // Event Planner: Benny & Blaire Events // Floral Designer: Francos Flowers // DJ: Sage Productions // Caterer: Ranch Events // Reception Venue: Marina Village // Submitted via Two Bright Lights
