This blog post is very dear to me.  My mom, Julie Fujii, married Stan Sakai and I am so happy for the both of them!  Their wedding was absolutely beautiful (yes, I might be biased) at the enchanting Villa De Amore in the Temecula Wine Country.    
This is the second time I’ve had the privilege of being the photographer as well as the maid of honor for this year.  I would have attempted to be the makeup artist and hairstylist as well, but I think that if I did, I might have had a meltdown.  Thankfully, my two talented classmates, Danielle and Alyssa from Paul Mitchell came to my rescue.  

Isn’t the bride’s dress gorgeous and so amazingly unique?  My Mom and I had a blast and a lot of laughs whenever we did her dress fittings.  Custom bridal gown designer, Jennifer Sitchler of Eden Couture, did an amazing job creating my Mom’s Japanese inspired dream dress using new and vintage kimono fabric.

I love the invitations!  My mom, an artist at Create in Me as well as an art teacher, enjoys drawing her chibi creations.  After coloring the mini Julie and Stan on the computer and several trips to Hobby Lobby, the invitations were finished and ready to be sent on their way.

My friend’s uncle is a jewelry designer in Temecula.  He custom made my Mom’s beautiful engagement ring.  Stan is so thoughtful and wanted the ring to represent not only a promise to my mom, but a promise to our family by including my brother and my birthstones.  

The mix and match dresses look wonderful together!  It was the first time we saw what we looked like together since part of the bridal party was from Japan the other from America (California and Arizona).  One of the reasons why the bride decided to have a traditional ceremony was so that her nieces could be flower girls.  I’m so thankful for my sweet photographer friend, Jenna, who photographed while I could not be behind the camera.  

All the guys look so handsome!  Thank you to Maria for capturing these gentlemen.  Stan looks especially sharp in his suit from J.Hilburn (Stylist, Debbie Leander). 

Did you notice that the groom’s pocket square is made out of the same gold Japanese material as the bride’s train?  

The ceremony was so precious as it represented the Bride and Groom’s sweet and whimsical personalities.  Bud Louck brought in some retro ’60s music by singing, “There is Love” by Peter, Paul and Mary.  The bridal party walked down the aisle to the music from My Neighbor Totoro, and celebrated by exiting with the dance music from Peanuts!  Oh, and the weather was absolutely perfect!  

Because Stan is a talented cartoonist, they decided to have fun with the seating chart and named each table after a comic or animation.  

From our house to yours.  All the guests favors were made in our home town of Temecula: the delicious mini Mango Ginger Habanero pepper jellies from Mrs. G’s, fragrant Temecula Berry Patch tea from the Old Town Spice & Tea Merchants, and homemade scones from Lexi Cakes.  Even the boxes were from Temecula’s The Goat and Vine restaurant.  By the way, if you’re in Southern California, you need to check out The Goat and Vine restaurant in Old Town Temecula!  It wasn’t voted the Best of Inland Empire for nothing.  The Thailand Pizza or Jalapeño Lime Carnitas Pizza are my favorite menu selections from their delicious restaurant.          

The first dance was so sweet!  I’m so proud of my mom for making it through the whole dance without fumbling (I was a bit worried as my brother and I would watch them practice on our balcony!)  Stan and my Mom took a few dance lessons from Dunamix Dance and were able to memorize the choreography.  🙂

After some heartfelt speeches, I snuck the bride and groom out for pictures.  And no, I will not post a kissing shot of the bride and groom for this blog post. 😉

After bride and groom photos, I hurriedly ran in my uncomfortable heels to the bridal suite to prepare for my surprise hula dance.  My mom kept hinting that she would love for me to perform, especially since Stan is from Hawaii.  I proudly squeezed into my custom-made recital dress (hey, the last time I wore it was when I was 16), dabbed on the red lipstick which I so often use for polynesian dance performances, and placed on my plumeria headpiece.  After my shortened version of Ka Nohona Pili Kai, I felt so relieved!  Afterwards, guests told me that I brought tears to their eyes.  I hope those were tears of joy and not of horror/laughter…

My surprise performance wasn’t the only one!  We had a rowdy special guest visitor – Banzai Man!  My 85 year old grandpa wrote a hilarious skit that he performed with my brother, Daniel.  The audience reaction was priceless.  I noticed that Stan’s cartoonist friends especially got a kick out of my Grandpa’s gig.  

After the show, Stan presented my Grandpa with his latest Usagi Yojimbo Saga 5 which he lovingly dedicated to my Mom’s parents.  

I’m so happy for the both of you and I pray that God will continue to bless your journey together.

Vendors:
Wedding Venue: Villa de Amore
Officiant: Steve Dockery
Ceremony Musician: Bud Louke
Bridal Hair: Alyssa Reyes – Color Lounge
Bridal Makeup: Danielle – Temecula MAC
Wedding Gown: Eden Couture
Rings: Acclaim Jewelry
Groom Suit: Debra – J.Hilburn
Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal
Florals: Soriee Designs
Cake – Elegance on Display
DJ – Ross Creations
Guest Favors – Mrs. G’s, Old Town Spice & Tea Merchants, Lexi Cakes
Photography – Emi Fujii Photography