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June 11, 2019
Ojai Wedding: Simon & Destiny
Filed in: Uncategorized, Weddings
This is what it looks like when the best man and maid of honor fall in love! We first met Destiny when she was a bridesmaid in a wedding we photographed years ago. Then we then got to see her again when she was the maid of honor and Simon was the best man in Mark and Kara’s wedding. They made the cutest “couple” as
Up until Mark and Kara’s wedding, Destiny and Simon had not hung out. Destiny was in Santa Barbara and Simon had been working in Nepal in the Peace Corps. They vaguely remembered meeting one time at a friend’s barbecue, and Destiny was seeing someone else at the time, but she always remembered Simon’s beautiful blue eyes. Leading up to Mark & Kara’s wedding they spent months talking on the phone in preparation of speeches and coordination for their best friend’s wedding. It started to seem like a spark could be there. Then the wedding happened and the rest is history…
Simon and Destiny were engaged in Baja California, Mexico. Early on the last morning of their trip which also happened to be Destiny’s birthday, Simon woke up early, decorated the AirBnb with streamers, and they ate breakfast by the pool while sipping on celebratory champagne. Eventually Simon asked if she was ready to do presents and then he got down on one knee and asked Destiny if she would “Please, marry me.” Such a great proposal story!!!
Their wedding took place at Destiny’s parents’ beautiful home in Ojai California. It was an incredible day filled with laughter and happy tears. We loved the sweet father-daughter first look, and we adored Simon’s face as Destiny’s dad walked his girl down the aisle.
Simon also surprised his bride with a wedding gift that blew us all away. He wrote dozens of letters to her for each season of life. The first one started with “open on our wedding day” and the rest proceeded as their life continues together. There was one for the honeymoon, one her first day of residency one for the last day of residency, one for when Simon is deployed, one for their first home together, one for her 30, 40, 50th birthdays (all the way up to 100!) and one for all of their anniversaries too! He wrote her a letter for every milestone they will experience in life together and he handed her the box of letters on the first day of their marriage. Needless to say we all cried as Destiny opened the box and started reading the first letter. It’s so clear that these two are madly in love and express their feeling for each other through the sweetest ways!
The ceremony was beautiful in every way and Mark, the officiant, had some amazing words to describe Simon and Destiny. He said, “Time seems magically suspended when they’re together. When I’m around Destiny and Simon, I’m always enjoying myself. That’s what makes them so special to each of us – how happy and content we feel when we’re around them. Marriage is truly the most exciting and transformative commitment we can aspire to. Marriage is flourished over years of experience, compromise, laughter, and even tears. Through love and patience, perserverance, supporting and believing in each other, learning to forgive, appreciate your differences. We celebrate the path your set out on.” It was the perfect depiction of their relationship, how much they mean to the people in their lives, and the celebration that their marriage was!
During the reception, Destiny’s Dad gave a hilarious and heartfelt speech. He said, “From the start, Destiny prompty showed me who was going to be the boss from the beginning. When I held her for the first time, she pooped on me. I did what any self-respecting, great dad would do, I held out my hand and she pooped in it.” True fatherly love. He went on to talk about how Destiny is enlightened, intelligent, briliant, and a person who he hopes other people will emulate. He gave a shoutout to Kara for getting Destiny her first career AND her man! He told a hilarious story about how after some failed dates, Destiny proclaimed she was going to become a cat lady and started going out and bringing back her lineup of cats. They were thinking…she doens’t need to be cat lady, she’s got everything going for her, why can’t she find the right guy? And as time would have it, she found the right guy. He said, “We found out why Destiny fell in love with Simon, because we fell in love with him. He is a genuine person and the perfect gentleman for her.”
Destiny’s Maid of Honor, Kara, also said a few words. She had an incredible introduction where she said, “I knew Simon for 9 years and never introduced him to Destiny. I’m not sure why, but it could have been his lack of style, disheveled appearance, or his desire to live in the remote mountains of Nepal. Of course fate always has a funny way of working and in this case it worked out in the Hallmark kind of way.” She talked about how cute it was to watch them meet at her wedding and she even told each of them on that day, “You’re welcome for introducing you to your future husband/wife.”
During the reception, it started to rain a little, but it couldn’t keep the guests from celebrating Simon and Destiny! They danced the night away! It was a truly incredible celebration and we loved celebrating the bride and groom!
Location: Private Home Ojai, CA
Planner: Smith & Murphy
Hair: Sierra Blush & Bridal HMT
Makeup: 805 Makeup
Dress: Grace Loves Lace
Catering: DJ’s Catering
Florist: Shells Petals
Cake: Lilac Patisserie
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