Tag: Kenzi’s Wedding Events

The Hitchin’s Done… Now Let’s Party!

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The Father and Mother of the Bride… What a great looking pair they are!

Introducing, Mr. and Mrs. Jeff and Mackenzie Dake!

The happy couple finally getting a bite to eat!

The adorable guest book and gift table!

Our beautiful table which included some lovely treats and toys for the girls!

I think the bell says it all. It was fun ringing them though and getting the couple to steal a kiss from one another!

The beautiful and very tasty cake.

Abby and Grady took some time to dance and steal a few kisses of their own! Too cute for words!

All the kiddos hit the dance and boogied down. Who Let the Dogs Out!?

The tracks before sunset. Today could have not been a more perfect day.


The cake has been cut and Kenzi has the look of “DO NOT SMASH THAT CAKE IN MY FACE MR. DAKE”

The tracks ran in front of the barn where the reception took place. But on those trucks stood an engine and two cars that once was part of the Disneyland Railroad back in the 1960’s. Very cool if you ask me, but then again I am obsessed with Disneyland!

The tracks just as the sun began to set on the most perfect day! What a great wedding for a great couple! Congratulations again Mr. and Mrs. Dake!

*Thank you to Nancy, Melissa and Betty for the wonderful pictures. Glad to have some more since I didn’t have a chance to take any that day!*

Gettin’ Hitched!

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Matching San Diego Charger’s jersey’s! What a great gift from the beautiful bride. I see a very happy football season for these two!

A beautiful silver elephant ring holder for the beautiful bride from her handsome groom!
The beautiful bridesmaids and one flower girl stop for a photo op before the ceremony begins. Abby had not yet arrived but we were lucky to have Sophia with us!

The happy couple, finally hitched! I love this picture because you can see the love and the joy. Congrats you two!


*Thank you to Nancy, Melissa and Betty for the wonderful pictures. Glad to have some more since I didn’t have a chance to take any that day!*

Some Fun Before the Hitching!

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Melissa, Ashley and myself getting our toes and nails done!

Lots of pretty tootsies! And a very beautiful hand as well!

Ellie enjoying lots of love and fun at the rehearsal dinner.

Abby and Auntie Kenzi at their rehearsal dinner. So beautiful!

*Thank you to Nancy, Melissa and Betty for the wonderful pictures. Glad to have some more since I didn’t have a chance to take any that day!*

Kenzi and Jeff’s Wedding Weekend

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Wow what a weekend! It was a whirlwind but absolutely wonderful.

On Saturday morning Shaun and I packed up the girls and all of our needed wedding items and headed up to San Luis Obispo for Kenzi and Jeff’s wedding weekend. We made it into town just in time to meet up with the girls to get our nails and toes done. It was nice to relax and get together with so many lovely ladies.

After nails and a bit of lunch, we checked into the hotel. Shaun and I tried to get the girls to nap but that failed miserably so we got ready for rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. After a small meeting and a quick rehearsal it was off to dinner. Because of the lack of nap, Shaun spent most of the rehearsal dinner driving around as the girls napped. We missed them very much! However, I enjoyed dinner very much!




Rehearsal dinner was at McClintock’s Steakhouse in Shell Beach. During many trips up the 101 to Northern California, I have passed McClintock’s and I have always wanted to stop and eat there. I finally had the chance and it was fantastic! The fun part of the evening was watching as the “turkey balls” were passed around. Yes I mean a part of a turkey’s anatomy that would be part of making him a boy. Several people gave them a try, including Melissa and Betty. I stayed away but it was certainly fun to watch. Shaun, Abby and Ellie did eventually join us once nap time was over and fun was had by all!

The following morning all of the bridal party, met in Kenzi suite to get beautified for the big day, which was finally here! We had a great time getting ready, having a few drinks and champagne to celebrate the day. Kenzi, of course looked beautiful and once the bride was ready we headed off to Santa Margarita Ranch.



Santa Margarita Ranch was perfect. I had only seen it through a few pictures that Kenzi sent, but it was great! It fit Kenzi and Jeff perfectly. The ranch is extremely eclectic, but is also still a working ranch and winery. As we came in there was a marquis, an old theater marquis that announced Kenzi and Jeff’s wedding. It was very cute!


The girls got ready in a small old building near the ceremony site. After talking with Kenzi and two of the secuirty staff I learned the the building we got ready in was the old Wells Fargo building which was built in the 1800s. It was originally a trading post. The road that runs behind it was, at one time, the old El Camino Real. And all traffic from San Luis Obispo to Paso Robles passed by on that road. Its doorways were very low, which in the past served a purpose to keep people from riding in on their horses.

After quiikcly getting ready and helping Kenzi get into her dress and all laced up, it was time to go. Emotions were running hugh, but in a good way. It was finally time for Kenzi and Jeff to get hitched! Abby looked adorable as a flower girl and watching her walk down the aisle with Sophia and Grady, who were too cute for words, was a treat.

Kenzi looked stunning as she walked down the aisle with her dad. The ceremony was performed by Jeff’s cousin Bobby and he did a wonderful job. He kept things lite and had us laughing all the while honoring the wonderful couple. The vows were so special and I think had many of us tearing up by the end. What a wonderful ceremony! I couldn’t have been happier then I was at that moment.


After the ceremony and pictures with Kenzi and Jeff we headed over to the barn to start the party. I could tell you every detail of the reception, but I think the pictures speak for themselves. Abby and Ellie danced, ate and enjoyed thier gifts. Shaun and I danced a bit and enjoyed watching the girls have fun. Unfortunately, Ellie hit her limit and we had to go before the party ended. So we went back to the Wells Fargo building, changed clothes and hopped back into the car and headed home. It was a wonderful evening and I am so happy for Kenzi and Jeff. Love you guys and Congratulations!











*Keep your eye out for more pictures from the wedding on the blog. Because of my involvement we didn’t have the opportunity to take as many pictures as I would have liked but Kenzi has set up a site to share pictures. As I find them I will post them!*

Kenzi’s Bachelorette Weekend!

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Its Ladies Night! Well more like Ladies Weekend! This weekend we celebrated Kenzi’s “Final Fling Before the Ring” (thank you Tori for that great phrase!). Ashley, Tori, Melissa, myself and of course the beautiful bride to be headed to Santa Barbara for a great getaway weekend. Thanks to an unfortunate accident with Shaun’s rear view mirror and a pole, Shaun had my car and I got to take the rental, which was a great Jeep Cherokee Laredo. A great car for a great weekend.

We all met early Saturday afternoon at the Harbor View Inn. I have passed this place many times during trips with Shaun to Santa Barbara, so I was very excited to stay there. I am glad we did because the view from our room was incredible. We had our own porch leading out to the pool and a great view of the palm trees and beach. What made it even more breathtaking was the fact that it was a warm and beautiful day.



After settling in and freshening up, we walked up State Street to grab some lunch. This weekend happened to be the Summer Solstice Festival, so we were a tad caught up in the crowd of parade watchers on our way. It was an interesting parade to say the least with an very mixed and interesting crowd of onlookers.


After lunch at Silvergreens, which was very very yummy, we headed back to the room and then out again to get our toes done at Aqua Bar Nail Salon. After walking around on a warm day, it was nice to have our tootsies refreshed and beautified. It was a nice and special treat before the night began! After our foot beautification, a stop was made at Coffee Bean for a caffeine fix. The lot in front of the store itself was full so we decided to park next door, despite the sign that specifically did not allow Coffee Bean parking. What rebels we are! That and it was a Saturday and all the businesses that use the restricted lot were closed.



After our trip to the spa and a coffee fix, we headed back to the room to relax, refresh, make a few drinks and get ready for dinner that night. Tori made some yummy “Flirtinis” which consisted of vodka, champagne and pineapple juice. They were tasty and easy to drink, which is dangerous. Within a few hours we were feeling great, looking good and off to dinner at Enterprise Fish Company.


From what I can tell there are only two Enterprise Fish Co. restaurants in California, one is Santa Barbara and one in Santa Monica. Thank goodness there is one close by because their food is amazing. So are the drinks! I had the Sesame Seared Ahi and it was, well… just wow. I also had a peach Sangria and that was yet another dangerous drink to have. It was yummy and very easy to drink. Our waitress was extremely excited to have a bachelorette party at her table. I mean, very excited but she was also very nice. The one pay off was that she recommended we head to a bar up State Street where she had a bartender friend. He too loves to have bachelorette parties come his way. So, after dinner we took her recommendation and headed that way. Lucky for Kenzi, our recommended bartender was on duty and she got herself a free shot. We stayed for a bit watching several other bachelorette parties that were living it up. One bride to be was particularly inebriated and harassing many of the patrons with a male blow up doll. It was interesting to watch her friends, who most likely bought her the doll and helped her reach her inebriated state, usher her out of the bar in what seemed to be a very annoyed and angry manner. Some friends huh? After a little more people watching and a few drinks we made our way back to the hotel. I think we were in by 10:30. Yeah… that’s how we roll. We stayed up for a bit talking and then hit the hay.


The next morning we were up bright an early, darn internal alarm clocks, so we got dressed and headed up the street for breakfast. I have seen Sambos many times on drives and heard about its interesting history but I have never been there. People watching was fun too. The same bachelorette from the night before, the one with the doll, came in with her friends to eat. While she looked put together, you could tell that she was hurting just a tad. I guess that’s what happens when you get that crazy. Oh well, we did things just right and didn’t wake up feeling like you wanted the world to end. It made for a great weekend.


When breakfast came to an end we headed back to the hotel and packed up our things. It was time for the party to end and for everyone to go home. It was such a wonderful weekend and we all left knowing that the next time we would all be together was just a few weeks from now at Kenzi and Jeff’s wedding. Its hard to believe that its almost here but I cannot wait for their big day!

Wedding Countdown for Kenzi… Shower #1

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Today was the first of several wonderful celebrations for my dear friend Kenzi. She and her fiance’ Jeff are getting married on July 17th and as the day approaches, the fun celebrations begin!

Ashley Welch (the Co Maid of Honor) and myself hosted the shower for Kenzi. When the planning began Ashley discovered that she would be unable to attend due to a planned vacation and an issue with scheduling. But, as we continued to plan Ashley discovered that she could change a flight and surprise Kenzi the morning of her shower and yes, Kenzi was very surprised! It was so nice to have everything work out the way we had hoped.

I guess I shouldn’t say everything worked out exactly as planned. Of all days, the one day we need the weather to behave as we are hosting most of the shower outside, the wind decides to kick up. When I say kick up I am really understating myself. In reality, the wind blew like crazy making it impossible to put up a lot of our decorations and all of the beautiful flowers that Kenzi’s mom found at the Farmer’s Market had to stay inside. Thank you weather! Its April in California it should be calm, sunny and a perfect 70 degrees out!

Despite the wind, the shower was a success and I think everyone had a wonderful time! I know Kenzi did and that is all that matters! The food was delicious and the cupcakes, which were a choice of vanilla and red velvet, came out just the way I had hoped! Yup, I made them from scratch, including the fondant flowers on top!







The shower was a success and Kenzi received a lot of wonderful things! I was very jealous, why didnt some of these cute things exist when Shaun and I were married? Oh well, it is what it is! I have to say though, Kenzi has great taste.

When the shower came to an end, Shaun brought the girls him to pick me up. Abby was excited to see her Auntie Kenzi so we stuck around for a bit just to hang out and talk. Abby had a blast playing out in the backyard with Kenzi and Jeff, which was a great way to burn off all the frosting she licked off of one of the cupcakes! What a great day. I cannot wait for the next shower and all of the upcoming wedding events!