On Friday, May 17th, 2019 Mike and I got married at Saratoga Springs in California. I knew I wanted to get married at Saratoga Springs before Mike even proposed. Which meant finding a venue wasn’t a hard choice for us. We actually only visited Saratoga Springs once and signed the contract without visiting any other locations or doing other research.
This quick-decision making turned out to be the unwritten theme of our wedding. We met with one photographer and decided to move forward; I tried on 3 dresses and bought the first one I tried on; I asked my good friend Lauren to make cookies for dessert and never looked back. We opted early on to make decisions fast and not to dirty ourselves with too many details or time consuming indecision. If you’re not about stress, I recommended this method.
It helped that my drumbeat for the day was unwavering: our wedding had one great importance and that was us. Spending a lot of money of other things wasn’t of value to me. Of course I wanted nice centerpieces, decent food, and flowing drinks, but they had to be simplistic, no stress options, with little monetary investment.
Our centerpieces were thought of and crafted as a collaborative effort between myself, Mike, my mom, and two of my friends, Allysa and Leslie. We were fine with the buffet style meal the venue would provide – which was BBQ – and aside from picking the side dishes, we didn’t think more about it. For us, a huge perk about a wedding a Saratoga Springs was that, if you picked the house options, the wine and beer were unlimited. (Our one splurge was for an upgraded keg because I love an IPA and I’m picker about my beer than my wine.)
When I think back on our wedding day, one word comes to mind: joy. I think, in part, this is a testament to words being powerful, and what you say mattering. Leading up to the day, I repeatedly said a top priority was our friends & family having a good time. As mentioned already, things like the food or decorations just weren’t as important.
If my drumbeat was Mike & Ashley, Mike & Ashley, Mike & Ashley, my mantra for the day was everyone just dance and have fun!
All love, no drama.
Minimum effort, maximum enjoyment.
Before the wedding, I asked Mike if once it was all said and done, would we deem it worth it? After all, even with the laissez-faire attitude I believe I had when planning our wedding, it still had it’s stressful parts…
I’m delighted to report that it was 100%, would-do-it-again-in-a- heartbeat, worth it.
Our wedding day was the most magical, whimsical, wine-fueled, joyful, love-filled, special day of my life. Everyone we love was there, and I believe it was all of their missions to have the best time while celebrating us. ♡
My little sister, Emma, doing my make up 
My mom helping me get into my dress 
Trying not to start crying 
My grandma helping tie my sash 
Right before our first look 
So much joy! 
Sharing some bread and a cocktail together before the wedding 
Mike’s family. Our family. 
My dad’s side of the family. Our family. 
My dad and my sisters 
Our perfect flower girl! 
My mom’s side of the family. Our family. 
Our friend, Ben, and our officiant 
Our simple, beautiful centerpieces 
All hands on deck to set up 
Beautiful Lauren setting up our dessert: madeleines and macaroons that she made for the wedding 
At one point walking down the aisle with my dad, I got very overwhelmed and actually had to stop and turn away from our guests! My dad was the best in this moment and got me through it 
Me reading my vows to Mike (Ben had to hold them for me because I was so weepy!) 
I love my smile in this picture, like: hi, husband! 
The first kiss! 
MARRIED! 
I actually felt pretty silly doing this one but loved how it turned out 
Our little nieces making s’mores 
A big hug for my mom and little brother 
Per usual, taking Mike’s jacket when I’m cold 
So many happy tears that day 
A stolen moment alone, practicing moments before our first dance 
Everyone! 
Cutting loose on the dance floor 
I love Mike’s face here, just jammin out 
VEG VIBES 
Lovely wedding post Ashley! So happy to know it was the perfect wedding day and memory.
Love, Barb
Sent from my iPad
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