Enjoy this interview I had with Jacqueline today! Jacqueline is one of my OG brides from back in 2017 and she has supported me through my whole journey 🙂

Question #1: What did you love about planning your wedding?

That’s a super hard question because I genuinely loved every part of it. And it was probably because I met my now husband at 15, so I was thinking about it since then haha. But it’s really hard to choose just one thing, but I did really enjoy just designing what it would look like – colors, flowers, decorations etc. I got married in November, and I went with the fall colors like burgundy and threw in some mauve. It was definitely a romantic and garden-y vibes, I had a lot of wood decor, but not rustic.

Question #2: What were some not so fun parts?

I would say the first hard thing was the guest list, and it’s something you kind of have to do early because it matters what venue you pick. I come from a big family, and my husband’s was smaller, but they all came from across the country. It was basically one big party, and we wanted to make sure all our family could be there. But the hardest part was the RSVPs haha! Before having my own wedding, I normally forgot to RSVP to like.. all events. But when you have a wedding you learn to RSVP right away to every single event. It was hard because that’s something you just can’t control.

Question #3: What was important to you when planning your wedding? Style, experience, time, etc.

So when we first started planning, my husband and I had very different things that were important to us. In one aspect he was super easygoing because he didn’t care what the colors were and things like that but he did care about the food and the experience. So I wanted to make sure I made that a priority because that was his priority, but for me, I really wanted a local wedding because my family is all close and I wanted to keep the wedding close too. And I wanted a venue only, because I wanted to be able to create and design how I wanted (basically, I wanted to make it like how my Pinterest looked haha) so I didn’t really want limitations on what I could do.

Question #4: What was something you wished you spent LESS time stressing about or working on?

I always made jokes about how I hand wrote all of the invites in my handwriting, and how in reality people just throw that aspect away haha so I guess that’s probably one area that I didn’t necessarily need to spend that much time on!

Question #5: What was your favorite part of your wedding day?

So my favorite part was definitely when I walked down the aisle. I had envisioned that for so long and I didn’t want him to see me – I really didn’t want anyone to see me haha – and I utilized this HUGE white umbrella that covered both me and my dad as I walked over to the aisle so that no one could see me. I even knew what song I wanted right when the aisle doors opened! I think that was my favorite moment by far, because I don’t know if I would have had those same feelings if I had done anything different. I don’t think anything can replace the feeling I had in that moment!

Question #6 & #7: What was your thought process for choosing a photographer? And what stood out to you the most about Kate Garcia Weddings?

I met Kate at a bridal show and I actually went to that bridal show having already met with another photographer and we totally thought we were going to go with them, but then I met Kate at this bridal show and I totally felt like I had already known her for a really long time. I think that’s one of the great things about Kate. I wanted a photographer that was not awkward or too-staged and someone who was just as excited to do weddings as I was to have a wedding. So we walked past her booth (which was a SUPER cute set up) but literally as soon as I met Kate, I was like “Yep! This is the photographer that I want!” and it was totally and completely meant to be. She has done my wedding, my sister’s wedding, maternity photos, senior photos, newborn photos, Christmas photos – all for my family – and she will continue to do so! God just had us in the right place at the right time.

Question #8: Did you feel like you booked an adequate amount of time?

I had full-day coverage for my wedding day, and I think that was the perfect amount of time. Even before I booked Kate that was something that I for sure knew that I wanted because I wanted a sparkler exit (and that sparkler picture is by far one of my favorite photos), I wanted getting ready pictures, and we were able to do all that and not rush or “stage” anything. I’ve seen/been apart of weddings where they are like, staging the sparkler exit – which is totally fine! – but I wanted to be able to have that captured as part of the natural flow of the day, and I wouldn’t have wanted anything less than a full day of coverage! Photos are the only thing you have after wedding day!

Question #9: Was there any other vendor that you couldn’t imagine not being there?

We had a super awesome day-of coordinator. We had no worries, nobody came up asking us questions, and so the day wouldn’t have gone any smoother had she not been there! She was awesome. But we also had a super awesome DJ as well, I feel like DJ’s can make or break it and so those two vendors are probably the ones that I couldn’t imagine not being there.

(Quick side note from Kate: Jacqueline has actually started her own wedding planning business and I could not be more happy for her! She is the perfect wedding planner you would want on your day – detail oriented, friendly, organized – so if you want to check out her work feel free to follow this link: Serenity Event Planning. I highly recommend her!!)

Question #10: If you could give advice to all the newly engaged couples out there, what would it be?

I asked my husband this and he so quickly and so casually said – “Hire Kate!!” haha but really, I would say just talk with your partner about what you guys want, talk over the guest list, and if you can’t afford a professional planner I would suggest at least buying a wedding planning notebook because that will at least help get you started, and start a Pinterest board if you haven’t already!

I am so happy and so thankful that Jacqueline was able to take the time to go live with me on Instagram. If you want to tune in to the next interview with a past bride, follow me on instagram @kategarciaweddings and I go live every Wednesday evening at 6pm PST with one of my past brides. The plan for March is to actually interview planners so I would definitely prioritize watching those videos at least! All live videos can be accessed for 24 hours after the live happens.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below, and I cannot wait to share next week’s interview!

Kate