After spending a week in Northern California, we drove down on Friday, May 22nd for the much-anticipated wedding of our dear friends Megumi & Daniel! The rehearsal dinner was on Friday evening, and the wedding was on Sunday, and we were honored that Megumi and Daniel had asked Mio and I to part of their bridal party — I was so touched that Megumi had asked me to a bridesmaid, and Mio a flower girl in what was to us the wedding of the year! We were  all so excited to see them and our mutual friends again since it’s been so long since we were last together, but it was truly extra special to be there by their side as they tied the knot.

We drove down on Friday and got to Glendale in the afternoon, in time for the rehearsal at Vertigo, where the ceremony and reception would be on Sunday. The rehearsal went well, full of heartwarming moments and hugs with friends we had missed so much!

Megumi & Daniel's ceremony rehearsal
After the wedding rehearsal on Friday

 

After the ceremony rehearsal, everyone was invited to Daniel’s parents’ beautiful home in Alhambra, where a taco truck catered a delicious rehearsal dinner, along with lots of amazing sides and desserts cooked up by Megumi and her family and friends.

Mirei and Kanoa at the rehearsal dinner
We got to meet Ali and Tim’s adorable son Kanoa for the first time! He’s only a few months older than Mirei, so it was cute watching them play together.

 

Mirei and Kanoa at the rehearsal dinner
Cuties at the rehearsal dinner in Alhambra.

 

Mirei and Kanoa at the rehearsal dinner

 

Leila taking selfies on my phone
I loved meeting Megumi’s adorable niece and nephew! Here’s sweet Leila-chan.

 

Kaminaga kids' selfies
The Kaminaga kids! Leila and Julian. 🙂

They loved taking selfies with my camera, so I took a bunch of videos of the adorable kiddos.


 


 


 

On Saturday evening, we had dinner at Granville in downtown Glendale with some of the other bridesmaids and friends from San Francisco/Nakayoshi who were in town for the wedding. So glad we got to spend some extra time with them. 🙂

Dinner at Granville with friends
Dinner at Granville with friends

 

Dinner at Granville
Mirei cried when Uncle Graig held her, but was pacified when he fed her his fries. lol

 

"Mama, take a picture of panda!"
“Mama, take a picture of panda!” Mio feeding a sprig of rosemary to the panda doll that accompanied our travels.

 

Sunday started bright & early for the bridesmaids, as we got breakfast together at the hotel and gathered in Megumi’s suite for makeup and hair.

Getting my hair done
Getting my hair done as a bridesmaid on the wedding day.

 

Megumi getting ready
Megumi getting ready!

 

Sam enjoying some In-N-Out during bridal party prep!
Sam enjoying some In-N-Out during prep! The bridal party’s got to eat, and these were some pretty satisfying provisions! 😀

 

Gorgeous bride in her wedding dress
The gorgeous bride in her wedding dress.

 

The stunning bride!
Isn’t she just breathtaking? *sigh* Megumi was truly stunning!

 

Selfie with the bride!
Selfie with the bride! I don’t recognize myself with all the heavy makeup. lol

 

With lovely MOH Sam!
With the lovely Maid of Honor, Sam!

 

Room for the ceremony
Room for the ceremony. Those hanging white flowers were made out of coffee filters and pipe cleaners, and many hours of hard work by the bride and the other bridesmaids (I only helped a little at the end when I came into town). They turned out gorgeous!

 

Even the bathrooms were gorgeous!
The venue Megumi & Daniel chose was so glamorous. Even the bathrooms were gorgeous, with these huge, ceiling-high leaning mirrors!

 

Daniel & Megumi's first look
First look between the bride and groom. ♥

 

Of course, I had to get it on video, too.


 

Love my flower girl!
Mio getting ready as the flower girl!

 

Can't believe Megumi sewed the flower girl dresses!
Can’t believe Megumi sewed the flower girl dresses! The inspiration was Carrie Bradshaw.

 

Mio with MOH Sam
Shy Mio with beautiful Sam.

 

The happy couple with the kids
The happy couple with the kids in the bridal party. The cutest flower girls and ringbearers 🙂

 

Signs at the wedding

 

pre-wedding libations
The bride & groom enjoying some pre-ceremony libations

 

Lovely wedding cake!
The wedding cake was gorgeous, with gold ombre and beautiful details. Everything was perfection — not a surprise, considering that it was Megumi’s wedding!

 

Mio being silly with the photobooth props
Mio being silly with the photobooth props

 

Mirei with Daddy
Dan arriving with Mirei. He was on babysitting duty during the ceremony, since Mio and I were in the bridal party.

 

With our little Mirei

 

Because I was in the ceremony, and Dan was busy wrangling a cranky Mirei, we unfortunately don’t have any photos from the actual ceremony, but it was beautiful and tearjerking, and so fitting for Megumi & Daniel!

Afterwards, we had fun mingling with friends, and Mio had a ball playing with the photobooth props.

Mio with a mustache
Mustached Mio

 


 

Mio with a mustache
Mio showing Megumi’s mom her mustache. lol

 

Megumi changed into a gorgeous purple kimono for the reception. It went perfectly with her wedding color scheme, and she looked absolutely beautiful in it!

Megumi changing into kimonoMegumi changing into kimono

 

Daniel & Megumi in kimono
The bride & groom looking amazing in their kimonos

 

The bride with her proud parents
Megumi surprised her parents with the kimono! So sweet ♥

 

Mr. & Mrs. Xavier making their way to the reception
The kimono was gorgeous, even from the back. Look at that obi!

 

With the bride in kimono!
With the stunning bride in her kimono.

 

Table numbers made by Dan
Dan made the table numbers for the wedding. The centerpieces came out gorgeous!

 

During the reception, Megumi surprised Daniel by serenading him with John Legend’s “All of Me” during the slideshow. It was so romantic, and Megumi has such a beautiful voice. 🙂


 

Megumi and Daniel cakecutting
Cakecutting time! Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Xavier!

 

Megumi's bouquet toss
Megumi’s bouquet toss!

 

Flower girl Mio
Mio caught a small part of the bouquet… a single rose head. 🙂

 

garter toss
Garter toss!

 

garter toss
Daniel kept hilariously pulling out random items (like this rolling pin!) out of Megumi’s dress.

 

Alas, we couldn’t stay too late into the wedding, as we had to catch a plane very early Monday morning, so we had to say our goodbyes and return to our hotel to pack and get a couple hours of sleep before we had to depart the following morning.

Saying goodbye to Ali and Sam
Saying goodbye to aunties Ali and Sam

 

Polaroid with fellow bridesmaids Ali and Sam
One last photo with fellow bridesmaids Ali and Sam

 

Congratulations Daniel & Megumi!
One last photo with the happy, beautiful couple before we had to say goodbye.

 

Congratulations Daniel & Megumi! We were so happy we could be there for your big day. Thank you for letting us be a part of it! ♥