The Couple: Larisa & Eric
Wedding Date: July 5, 2014
Photography by Heather Adair Photography
Tell us a little about you and your beloved: We met on eHarmony in November 2009, and had our first date at Olive Garden. After dinner, I needed to go grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s so I invited him to come with me. It was great to spend time doing day-to-day things instead of a “formal” dinner. We had our next date, glow-in-the-dark mini-golf and dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory, the next weekend, and we’ve been together ever since!
We are huge Gordon Ramsay fans, so for our fourth anniversary [of dating] we decided to go to Vegas and eat dinner at his restaurant, the steak is amazing! After dinner we walked across the street to the Bellagio fountains, and he proposed while “Fly Me to the Moon” was being performed.
Wedding planning was fairly easy. We like to divide and conquer, and we feel that, together, we pulled off a great event
What was the most amazing part of your day? The best part of the day was the dancing! We had a great time letting loose with our friends, we took a huge dance floor selfie (ussie?), and our DJ said we had the biggest conga line he’s ever seen.
What else would you like to share about your big day? It went by so fast! Being with all of the people you love the most in the world is an absolute blast and you wish it could go on forever.
Ceremony and Reception Site: The Flower Farm Inn
Officiant: Eva Lisle, a family friend
Photographer: Heather Adair Photography
Wedding Planner: Obsessed Events
Caterer: Rayna’s Gourmet Catering
Cake/Desserts: Pies from The Nugget
Flowers: Blooms
Favors: The Knot
Bridal Attire: De La Rosa’s Bridal & Tuxedos
Bride’s Hanger, Garter, and Groom’s Ring: Etsy
Hair: All Dolled Up
Invitations: Moo
Signage and Pie Topper: DIY by Groom’s cousin
DJ/Entertainment/Band: Songman Entertainment
Photo Booth: MSP Photo Booths
Décor Rentals: It’s all in the Details – Megan Hodapp Designs
Transportation: Super Shuttle to get our guests from their hotels to the venue and back and we did rent a U-Haul to get all of the décor there and back!
Honeymoon Location: London and Paris
Other Details: We created the centerpieces by buying huge jars of pickles from Costco and having our friends eat the pickles and return the jars. After cleaning them, we put on chalkboard labels (drawn by groom’s cousin) with the name of a place we have traveled together. Those were the table names, and we also put two framed pictures of us in that location on the table to go along. We found these gorgeous battery-operated lighted willow branches to put in the jars instead of flowers. They really added a nice glow to the atmosphere.
First Dance Song: “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra (also the song playing at the Bellagio fountains when he proposed)
Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now? Don’t let your family’s opinions direct you too much, just be resolute in what you want, and make it happen.
Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance? It wasn’t in the budget, so we didn’t hire a videographer. If I could go back, I would have at least found someone to record the ceremony and the toasts.
Blog post by Real Weddings Magazine’s Social Media Maven, Aimee Carroll.
Photos courtesy of and copyright Heather Adair Photography, heatheradairphoto.com.
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