Wedding Day
Two hours outside of LA, in a town called Vista, there is a beautiful country club, tucked in between mountains. The view from inside the Vista Valley Country Club is of rolling hills covered with luscious green trees that seem to stretch forever. Yet inside the country club property, down a long windy path across the golf course, is the garden.
Our wedding was a destination wedding. Well, except for Joey and I. It was incredible to have all our friends and family travel to California for this weekend. Guests from all over the world; Chicago, New York, Florida, Washington DC, Arizona, Connecticut, Dominican Republic and Chile.
Joey and I, along with all of our guests, stayed at The Welk Resort, which was a 7 minute drive from the venue. Joey stayed with his family in their villa. I stayed with my family in theirs.
Okay okay. Let’s get to the day of already… Let me set the scene:
It was a nice, cool morning in mid August. I woke up right before my alarm. My eyes went directly to the light shinning through the window beside me, I felt rested and happy. Then it hit me. I’m getting married TODAY! I turned over to say good morning to my mom in the bed beside me since we slept in the same bed but she wasn’t there. So I walked over to the living room to find my parents, smiling and cuddling on the pull out bed. I jumped right in the middle of them for some hugs and kisses. You could feel the excitement in the air. This was the day we had been talking about every single time we spoke since I got engaged.
Now, I know there is a rule about not seeing your fiancé the morning of the wedding but.. we broke that rule… I had to be at the venue at 9am and I knew if anyone was going to be punctual with the time, it was Joey. So I packed my bags and Joey picked me up in front of my parents villa. That wasn’t the only rule we broke..
Once at the country club, Joey carried my wedding dress up to the bridal room, and left. The next time I saw him wasn’t until the first look. I was there first, and I was so excited to spend the day getting ready with my mom, my soon to be mother in law, my sisters, Joeys sisters, and my best friends. In the bridal suite, there was a breakfast buffet set up and as soon as they all arrived we all ate and chatted over breakfast. The mood was very mellow and relaxing, and after about an hour the makeup artist and hair stylists showed up. Then the photographer and team of videographers arrived. And it was at this point that everything started to really speed up.
At some point during the the photo session in the bridal room, my mom looked at me with a worried look on her face. She told me that my dad was really excited but also really anxious. My dad has a heart condition and whenever his heart speeds up my mom gets really worried. She thought it would be best to do a father and daughter first look before the ceremony so that he can feel a bit more relaxed. So that’s what we did, and it was one of my favorite moments of the day. I will never forget the look on his face. And thanks to our photographer, Julia, we now have that moment captured forever.
The ceremony was magical. The garden looked dreamlike with the vibrant shades of green and beautiful flowers blooming accompanied by the sounds of nature and water splashing from the fountains. The song I chose to walk down the aisle to was Window by the Album Leaf. I doubt anyone there has even heard of this song but it’s special to Joey and I.
With my mom and dad at my side, we walked from the garden entrance gate toward the aisle. It was surreal seeing everyone I love in one place, looking at me with tears in their eyes full of happiness and excitement.
And as I neared the aisle, I looked up and saw Joey. He was already crying and when we locked eyes, we both lost it. The whole way down the aisle, our eyes were locked into one another’s, as tears streamed down our faces. We both describe this moment the same as it seemed like in that moment it was just us and everything around us was just blurry. And as I neared him, it was as if we were talking to each other through our eyes and our minds.
Our ceremony was officiated by Joey’s father’s best friend, Richard Rabinowitz. We customized the ceremony to fit what made sense to us and our beliefs. We had prayers read in English, Hebrew, and Spanish. We stood underneath a Chuppah, which was adorned with a fabric that was a gift from my grandma. Even though she isn’t familiar with the jewish traditions and how meaningful it was to have that fabric as the Chuppah, she had tears in her eyes, as she told me after after the ceremony how much that meant to her. We merged religions and cultures, and it only added more meaning and depth to our ceremony. And it didn’t stop there.
At the reception, which was right next to where the ceremony was, but separated by lush greenery, the dance party began. Actually wait - I have to talk about Joey and I’s first dance and my father daughter dance. And then the dance party!!
Joey and I’s first dance was to the song, Overwhelmed by Tim McMorris. Joey had first sent me that song when we first started dating. And when he sent it, he said, “Hey I wrote you this song.” And sent it. If you listen to it, you’ll see why it was the perfect choice for us.
The first dance with my dad was very emotional. I chose Lulluby by Billy Joel. We would listen to it together when I was young and a couple months before the wedding we were driving and that song came on. We held hands and cried the whole song. He had no idea that I had picked it to be our father daughter dance song. When it started playing, we hugged each other and cried again, non stop. He sang every word of the song to me in my ear and that will stick with me forever. We were so lost in the moment. It was actually surreal when the song ended and I looked around and saw everyone because it truly felt like we were in another dimension just us two.
Then Joey and his mom danced to In My Life by The Beatles. It’s also an emotional song for Joey’s family. It symbolized Joey’s grandma who passed away. And it was so nice to see them smiling through the whole song. I know they did not want to be sad about her not being there. They wanted to celebrate - because thats what she would have wanted.
Okay. Dance party time. Next thing we knew every single person at the wedding was on the dance floor. It was unbelievable. And it did not stop until the very last song. Grandparents, kids, literally everyone. The playlist was a perfect mix of Spanish songs and our favorite songs of all time. We had Outkast playing. Marc Anthony. Lizzo. Even N’Sync came on (Joeys doing).
The energy on the dance floor was palpable, I know this is biased but it was by far the best dance party I have ever experienced. We also did the Hora which was SO much fun. The thrill/danger/fun of it was unlike anything I’ve ever experience before. As soon as we finished the Hora, and Joey and I returned to the ground, Celia Cruz came on for some great Salsa-ing. What wedding goes from the Hora to Celia Cruz!?
The last song of the night was Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader, it was the perfect ending. (Yes, we planned that - Actually Joey and I curated the entire playlist). As soon as the song was over, everyone kept chanting “One more song ! One more song!”
As the most magical night of our lives ended, Joey and I walked out hand in hand and we kept repeating, “This was the best day ever.” It really was. it was perfection.
