Dave and I attended a dear friend of mine's wedding which took place at the beautiful Mission Inn located in Riverside, CA. Frank Miller built the hotel in 1902. He infused various styles into the structure including Spanish Gothic, Moorish Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Mediterranean Revival just to name a few. This was Miller's labor of love up until his death in 1935. Many of the art and furniture pieces were hand picked by Miller on his many travels throughout the world and are rummored to be worth up to more than five million or more in combined value. The hotel is also famously known for the often overly done Christmas decorations. The hotel decorations were mid fall and Christmas and we were one week short of seeing all the beautiful lights lit up at night. This however does not take away from the beauty of the hotel just as itself sans decorations.
The Mission Inn is actually a near and dear spot for me as this was the same place my grandparents had their wedding dinner almost 63 years ago. They were in a rush to be married as my grandpa was soon to depart with the U.S. Air Force to where he was needed in the war in Korea.
They had a small wedding as they both had little money.
There were only five in attendance which consisted of the Judge, my great Aunt Mary, her husband Baldi, and my two young (just out of high school) grandparents.
The bride wore a Navy blue skirt suit and the groom wore his uniform.
My Aunt Mary and Uncle Baldi treated them to a wedding dinner right here at the Mission Inn. I knew it was going to be a magical day for Lindsay and Jeremy when I found out that the Mission Inn was to be their wedding destination
Dave and I spent the morning before the wedding exploring the hotel, browsing through the huge antiques mall just across the street from the hotel, and thrifting at local thrift stores (of course!).
I had fun planning what I was going to wear for this wedding and did my best to keep to a 30's themed styled look. I wore my great aunt Lucille's pearl necklace and green rhinestone earrings that were recently gifted to me from Damon Devine. They used to belong to the amazing songstress diva Yma Sumac. I've been saving them to wear on a very special occasion. This wedding was indeed that very special occasion I was waiting for.
I finally got to wear my 40's coat which I purchased for $8 in Redding, CA while on our road trip. I'm glad I brought it as the ceremony was outside and it was getting quite chilly.
It was a truly wonderful ceremony which included live singing (by the bride's friend Kat), and a few readings done by friends and family which I was honored to be asked to do so. I read a poem that my grandma had passed down a few years back.
The reception was held in the Spanish Art Gallery of the Mission Inn. We were surrounded by some truly amazing pieces of art.
I love this new growing trend of having a photo booth available to guests at wedding receptions. I had a blast posing for pictures with my friend Alisha!
I hope you are having a great week. This will be a short work week for me as I will be celebrating Thanksgiving, like many other Americans, with my family in a few days. I'm truly thankful for a truly amazing year. Dave and I just celebrated our one year anniversary, I'm days away from celebrating my birthday as well as becoming an aunt for the very first time, and I'm a few weeks out from spending time with my family for Christmas! So much to be thankful for!
Till' Next Time,
Suz
