Welcome to the world, sweet Carina Violet! We love you so much already. <3

Remember the day we found out it would be a girl?? Click here to read the story.

For career day in Kindergarten I walked into class pushing a stroller with two dollies in it, holding another baby doll on my hip, and wearing a hawaiian dress with a pillow underneath (I was “pregnant”) because what I wanted to be when I grew up was my mom. She got married when she was 19 and had 5 kids by the age of 30. She was fun and silly, but so loving and tender. She worked harder than anyone I had ever met and never complained. She woke up first and went to bed last (still does). And I wanted to be exactly like her.

When I got married almost 3 years ago, I never even considered wearing her wedding gown. I had obsessed over it as a child, during those few special times that she let us put it on during dress up time, but had somehow forgotten about it throughout my wedding planning process. I did the usual dress shopping, found the “perfect dress”, and wore it on my wedding day. A few months after I got married, we were back home for a holiday and I went looking for something in my childhood room. There, hanging on the door, was my mom’s wedding gown. The light was shining through the window behind the dress and it looked almost heavenly. There was something different about it. I ran my fingers across the ivory fabric and lifted the bib. I instantly noticed roughly cut fabric around the arm holes.That’s right! There used to be sleeves. I thought. Then it hit me. Had cut off the sleeves hoping I would consider wearing it at our wedding? Had it been hanging here for the months leading up to the wedding as a subtle hint? I couldn’t remember. I felt a pang of regret. Why hadn’t I even considered wearing it, even if just for the ceremony? I touched the daisy (my favorite flower and hers) detail of the veil. The veil! Why didn’t I wear the veil? I replayed my walk down the aisle, but this time, I was wearing this gown, her gown. My eyes welled up when the thought left me, realizing it was not a memory, simply a vision of what could have been.

For the next two years, each time I would see the dress, regret would fill my heart. A few months ago I had an idea: Instead of having an internal pity-party each time I saw the dress, why not do something about it? As we got ready to leave my parents’ home in Central California, I secretly put the dress in my car before we headed back to our home in San Diego. A few weeks later I put it on (more like squeezed into it) and Jacob photographed me in her dress.

I think I will always feel a bit of sadness when I think about the missed opportunity of wearing my mom’s wedding dress, but I also know that creating this memory, these photographs, will be something she and I both cherish forever.

So, Momma, Happy Mother’s Day. Thank you for loving me, teaching me, and cherishing me for the last 25 years. You have brought more joy to me throughout the years than anyone else on earth. I love the way that you’re so playful and so humble. I love when people tell me that I look like you. I love the fact that when I get sick I still want my mommy. I love that you have shown me to love Jesus. These photos are a gift from Jakey and me. Know that you are the best mom in the world (I have 4 siblings to vouch for me on that one) and that I love you. Chrissie <3

***For more of our Little Love Stories, click here.***

This is a Little Love Story by Jacob.

Trying to surprise Christin with anything is just about impossible. She is constantly looking for anything out of the norm. In the month leading up to our engagement, I went from being a perfect boy who would never tell a lie to Pinocchio. Every day I had to come up with some story about what I had been doing. At times it was hard to keep all my stories straight. Let’s just say, she probably thought it was pretty strange how I was “washing my car” every couple of days.

I knew that I couldn’t take her out for a fancy dinner on the evening of my proposal because she would undoubtedly suspect it. Basically anything that appeared to have anything to do with her would be a reason for her to suspect something.

Thankfully, Christin has a tight-knit family that spends a lot of time together so I knew that I could use some family event as a disguise. A birthday party for her brother on the beach where we first held hands was the perfect scenario.

On the day of the proposal, time could not move fast enough. I knew it was pointless to go into work because I would get nothing done so I spent the morning at home getting the final details together. Around 10am I had everything done. Now it was time to sit and wait… for eight hours. All I could think about was the fact that everything needed to line up perfectly for this plan to work. Would her sister remember to call us on our drive up? How could I make sure none of her friends acted weird? Would her brother be too obvious when he asked us not to show up early? How would her roommate act, knowing today was the day? Would her sister-in-law remember to bring the dress and shoes I had picked out for her to change into after the proposal? There was too much that could go wrong.

When I picked her up, she wasn’t wearing anything fancy, which meant she wasn’t suspecting a thing. We got in the car and began to make the hour drive north. Luckily, Christin is a little chatter bug so making conversation for the entire drive wasn’t hard at all. She asked me about what I had done that day and I told my final lie: “I just went to work.”

As we got close to the beach, I had Christin call her brother to find out the gate code for the complex where the party was going to be. In perfect form, he let her know that we needed to kill time for a bit because they “weren’t ready for guests yet.” Little did she know that she was the guest they weren’t ready for.

After I forced my idea of taking a walk on the beach on Christin, we got out of the car and started the one hundred yard journey to the moment where she would see the signs I had made in the sand. Then she would know exactly what was happening. I had run out of things to talk about and was way too nervous to come up with new topics as we walked. Fortunately, Christin was totally focused on the ground making sure she didn’t trip on any of the rocks. I wondered if she had any clue what would be happening in a few moments. As we walked I realized she was completely clueless.

We kept walking until we were about just a few feet from the signs and she still had not looked up to see them. I stopped and looked at her. She looked at me and got the hint that she should look ahead. As soon as she saw the signs, she was so excited and so surprised. She said, “WHAT are you doing???” But I knew that she knew exactly what to do. She started picking up and reading each sign one by one. I couldn’t believe that it had all gone according to plan.

The moments following the proposal were sweet. We hugged and laughed and she couldn’t believe that I had actually surprised her. She had no idea that an even bigger surprise was in store for her. At the house where the “birthday party” was to be held, her entire family and our friends waited to congratulate us.

(She’s going to hate me for posting this picture because she thinks she looks like a hyena.)

***For more of our Little Love Stories, click here.***

Watch their wedding video by the amazingly talented Josh Harney.

From the bride, Paige: 

We are adventurous and passionate people who like to create ideas and make them happen. We are starting our married life off in Boston, a drastic change from the Southern California college world where we met. After years of on and off long distance, we can’t wait to be roommates! And in the same zip code :) We love each other and the beauty in everyday life.

I wanted the wedding day to be authentic, local, and organic. We had a lot of out of town guests coming to California, so I wanted the wedding to be an experience for them. We chose muted grays and pinks to compliment the organic whites, tans and greens. We used local start up companies like Alissa Bell Press, Josh Harney Productions and Lilify, who were incredible to work with. Finding and collaborating with passionate artists who share your vision is inspiring.

The goal was to plan and pull off a DIY wedding without it looking like one. I went for crisp and simple DIY projects like the chalkboards, place cards, tone-on-tone burlap runners, table numbers, the invitation design, and succulents that complimented the overall aesthetic. The key is picking one or two trends and implementing them in your own way. For everything else, do what you love, not what everyone else is doing. I’ll be posting these DIY projects on my blog, Words on a Paige.

Favorite Moment: Our first look, for sure. Carter would say my walk down the aisle. I loved seeing him just the two of us. It removed all the pressure from the ceremony and we got to enjoy it and be present in the moment. Also, the guacamole and margaritas. So good.

Advice: Don’t compare. Instead, be inspired by blogs, Pinterest and your friends ideas. Use them as a launch pad to come up with your own ideas, or change them in ways represent your creativity. It is easy to compare, but this is your day. Do what you love and be confident in your selections and hard work! Spend more time focusing on your marriage than the wedding. Planning an awesome party is a blast, but don’t forget the reason you are doing it all–to be married. Also, finding a photographer that has mastered their craft while being organized and quick is rare but necessary. Jacob and Christin were able to get breathtaking shots while taking very little of our time. Find an artist who you trust who also allows you to enjoy your day. We Heart Photography was that for us–they are incredible!

Processional: Come Thou Fount by live acoustic musicians, Page and Aaron Mitchum; recessional: Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, performed by live acoustic musicians, Page and Aaron Mitchum; first dance: Real Love by Regina Spektor; exit song: Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake

Favorite Photo: LOVING those tree shots. And the green path one that looks like we got married in Narnia. Also that one with my dad literally makes me cry every time I see it. YOU GUYS ARE TOO GOOD. It’s like you should do this for your job or something.

Venue: Holman Ranch | Catering: Baja Cantina | Florist: Lilify | Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes | Gown Designer: Sarah Seven
Men’s Formalwear: H & M | Linens: Chic Rentals | Entertainment: DNA Entertainment | Videography: Josh Harney Productions