Meet Larissa and Justin Block

We feel so lucky to feature the beautiful wedding of Larissa and Justin Block. They are a beautiful couple with a heart of gold. Larissa is an amazing photographer (check out her site here) and Justin is lawyer. We just learned that this fantastic couple will be welcoming a new baby in October. Enjoy reading about their amazing wedding and looking at the breathtaking pictures. It truly was an unforgettable night!

How did you two meet?

OK, here's the story: Justin and I met in college. I attended UCSB and he was at Pitzer College in LA. He came to Santa Barbara to visit a friend and we ended up meeting at a party sitting on a couch. We continued dating for a month or so but the distance was hard and we went our separate ways. Five years later we connected on Friendster and got to know each other all over again. We picked up where we left off and have been together ever since!

What was the theme | design inspiration for your wedding?

Because we both have a love for the beach, we wanted to get married in a location that had an ocean view. We chose the Bel Air Bay Club for its beautiful ocean view and rustic spanish charm. I wanted a romantic and antique feel so I selected pink and silver. To contrast the pink, I chose blue for the bridesmaid dresses because I thought it would "pop" in photographs. Lastly, I am a photographer, so we used photography as a theme, with a photo booth strip as our save the date, a photo booth for guests and photo frames with personal photos of each of our guests at each persons seat. This was a very personal touch that took a lot of time to plan for!

Tell us about the attire for both bride and groom:

I wore a dress by Renella de Fina (www.renelladefina.com) in a style called Charlize. The shoes I wore were by Giuseppe Zanotte. The antique jewelry was on loan from my mom. Justin wore a suit that was custom taylor made.Bridesmaid dresses were Melissa Sweet www.priscillaofboston.com

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome when planning your wedding?

Our biggest challenge was making beautiful choices that would fit into our budget. Many of our touches were handmade by me and my mom, such as the invitations, programs, tags for the pashminas, table cards, menus, etc.

What advice would you give a couple planning a wedding?

My advice to a couple getting married would be to hire a wedding planner at least for the week of the wedding (or more if it fits into your budget). You don't want to be stressed in any way on your wedding day. Also, don't sweat the little things. You can plan and plan until you are blue in the face, but not everything will be perfect. That is what makes it real and special. Once your day comes, trust that you did a great job and just enjoy every minute of the day.

Any specific reasons behind certain choices you made for your wedding:

Justin was in charge of the music. We chose songs that were close to our hearts and not your traditional songs to walk down the aisle. Justin selected Tiny Dancer by Elton John for the wedding party and I entered to Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles (a song I grew up listening to). As we ended the ceremony we exited to the theme song of Austin Powers... because it made us laugh! Our first dance was Barry White "Can't get enough of your Love Babe." We took dance lessons and thought this song was fun and upbeat to dance to.

Our little touches: bubbles as the ceremony ended, shawls for all the women given before the ceremony, picture frames with a photo from their past, candy bar for dessert (along with cake), photo booth for guests.

List of Vendors:
Flowers- Fiore Designs www.fioredesigns.com
Photography- Andrena Photographyhttp://photography.andrenaphoto.com
Venue- Bel Air Bay Club www.belairbayclub.com (on site catering)
Wedding Cake- Cakery Bakery www.cakerybakery.net
Band- West Coast Music www.westcoastmusic.com