Karen and Lane

Polka dots? They never get old to me, and as my wardrobe and life slowly fills to the brim with polka dots. I love to see how someone can take something that is quirky and fun and translate it to their wedding. Today’s wedding has hopped across the ocean from the USA and I’m delighted to share it with you- In N Out trucks catering the reception? Check. Sentimental moments? Check! Personal details? Check, and polka dots? Triple check!

Karen recalls how she met her husband Lance. “We met while working a summer job at a waterpark. We were both dating other people and had no interest in each other, then realized after a month or two that we had the same sense of humor and actually liked hanging out. The rest is history!”

Planning and design for today’s wedding was by Jesi Haack and her team at Jesi Haack Design (I’m so excited, I’ve been admiring Jesi’s work from afar for such a long time!) The beautiful images are captured by Aaron Shintaku Photography. I love the warmth in Arron’s captures- stylish, fun and capturing the most important parts.

Karen wore a gorgeous strapless gown from Claudine for Alyce Designs and paired it with hot pink heels from Kate Spade. Honey and Poppies styled the flowers which fit in with the theme, Karen explains, ” We used anemones throughout to continue the polka dot theme.”

Karen says “We had a first look before the ceremony. It gave us a chance to see each other and relax a little before the ceremony…it broke some of the tension and helped us both mellow out a little before the ceremony.”

Karen and Lane held their ceremony and reception at Red Horse Barn, California “We wanted somewhere that would allow us to bring in whatever vendors we wanted, mostly because we wanted In-N-Out! Letting us use In-N-Out as our caterer was pretty much a deal breaker, so the fact that they would let us sold me on it. Aside from that, it is a gorgeous venue, with so much natural beauty from the tress and flowers that it didn’t need a lot of extras to make it look amazing, and it was unusual – I don’t think anyone we told about it had heard of it. Plus, hello, the horses. Amazing.”

The polka dot theme was one of Karen’s favourite parts of the day. “I loved the polka dots! We loved the clean look and feel of a black and white color scheme, but wanted it to be fun and a little quirky rather than formal. I was beyond excited at all the ways the polka dots were tied in (the backdrop, along the aisle, place cards, the dots thrown in the air after the kiss) without being over the top or cheesy.”

Karen made sure to put her own touch on the day. “I wanted to do as much DIY as possible. I made the invitations, programs, favors, “here comes the bride” signs, and the Mr/Mrs signs. Lane’s mom made the pocket squares, shoe clips, and the flower girl dress and purse. Jesi took care of the rest, but made sure to give it that DIY feel that I really wanted.”

The music was personal with the bridal party walking to ‘Canon In D’. Karen explains “I walked to the traditional here comes the bride/wedding march.  We had Lane’s sister’s boyfriend play for us on the keyboard to make it special and more personal.”

Karen says “I looooooved our bouquets, anemones with polka dot ribbons for the girls and black lace for mine. Perfection. And the shoes. They’re the loves of my life.”

Special details were added to the reception to keep the sense of fun, polka dot escort cards, tables named after parts of burgers, paper pom poms hung from the roof,  and black boxes filled with blooms decorated the area.

The guest book was a special nod to Lane’s passion. Karen explains, “The bike tires used for the guest book were a special nod to Lane and his love of mountain biking.” Guests wrote on pre printed mad libs cards and stuck them into the wheel spokes.

The couple arranged for an In N Out truck to arrive at the venue and cater the reception. Karen says “This was Lane’s one must-have for the wedding, something we had decided we wanted long before we were even engaged. We even switched the time of the wedding to make sure we could get the truck! The french fries and fast food treats were delicious and having In-N-Out was huge because it was so quintessentially Lane and I, and everyone loved it, along with the ice cream sandwiches from Coolhaus.”

The day was filled with special moments for the newlyweds. “There are seriously so many stories I loved from that day.  One of my favorites is my 9 year old nephew unexpectedly  asking to make a toast, directed at Lane and giving him the important wisdom he’d gained over his 9 years of life: ‘If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy’. Another sweet one is my dad performing a magic trick during his speech, because anyone that knows him would expect no less.”

Sweet and Saucy Shop created the three tier wedding cake topped with a personalised cake topper with a little Karen and Lane and Lane’s mountain bike.

The dances of the night, my favourite part were filled with sentimental moments. Karen recalls “We danced to “Smother Me” by The Used.  We wanted something that held some kind of meaning to us, but that wasn’t overly sappy.  The Used has always been one of Lane’s favorite bands, so it was a good fit, although Lane wasn’t really a fan of dancing at all! I also surprised my dad by bringing our “indian princess” vests (a father-daughter YMCA program we were in when I was little, and which he is still hugely involved in) for our first dance.”

Congratulations Karen and Lane on your wedding day! Thank you for sharing it with us today! A big thank you also to Jesi of Jesi Haack Design and Aaron of by Aaron Shintaku Photography. for sharing today’s wedding with us!

Photos by Aaron Shintaku Photography.