Sami and Alex's Lemons and Lace Wedding at Progress Park West in Paramount, California 06.14.2014

Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we? With this being our second blog post we have a lot of catching up to do! We thought why not start from the beginning and highlight some of weddings along the way -

If you did not already know, Rock n' Willow Events started in May 2013 as Different Events. Our first year was full of promoting our butts off!! We were planning and coordinating quinceaneras, baby showers and children birthday parties left and right just trying to get our name out there. Before we knew it we booked our first weddings!! So here is where we begin our journey back in time to where it all started, to where we started!

Our first weddings were partial day of coordination for Brittney + Ben Huang and Jose + Tasha Cortez. We did not know what we were getting ourselves into and did not even offer full day of coordination or planning yet. Brittney and Ben had the catering staff from Sea Empress to help and Jose and Tasha had an intimate wedding at the Albertons Chapel so we definetly had training wheels on in the beginning. But that all changed when we booked our first back to back full planning clients. Thanks for trusting us and putting your whole wedding in our newbee hands by the way!

Samantha + Alex Mendez were married at Progress Park West in Paramount, California as a nod to Samantha's Grandfather who was previously Mayor of Paramount. They came to us with a date and venue and we helped secure the rest of their wedding details. This included making our own lemonade stand inspired dessert table. We came up with a Lemon & Lace theme based off their vision for their big day. Centerpieces were filled with limes and the dessert table had lemon flavored treats. This was definetly our big welcome to the wedding world when we were faced with our first wedding emergencies. Beverages that were nowhere to be found leading to the caterer scrambling to purchase last minute drinks and one the bridesmaids fainting during the group photo session, the slideshow wouldn't play, oh and a guest spilled red wine on the carpet, whoa!

We could have quit right then and there and walked away from event planning but no! We went back home that night and let it all sink in and remembered that feeling when the couple thanked us in front of all their guests, or when the guests praised us for a job well done. My best friend was a guest (yea, no pressure at all right) and she was amazed at our ability to coordinate the wedding so smoothly that she did not even notice all the hiccups that occured that day!

Well there you have it, our first wedding and the trials and tribulations we endured and learned from. Always remember where you started and humble yourself, learn from mistakes, and continue to grow! There are highs and lows to any event and we are so grateful for the learning experiences we were given. The couple has since welcomed the birth of their first son, Zander, in January 2017.

Planning + Coordination: Rock n' Willow Events / Photography: B. Rodriguez Photography / Cake: King's Hawaiian Bakery / Flowers: Romero's Orchids