When tax accountant Amber, 29, closed her eyes and blew out the birthday candles on her cake, she wished that her amazing beau Derek, 30, an IT engineer, would propose. When she opened her eyes, he was on bended knee with an engagement ring in hand. On June 9, 2012, they were married at the North Chapel in San Diego. Share their love!
Amber wore blush pink Badgley Mischka shoes on her wedding day. Derek’s mom gave her diamond earrings to wear, and his grandmother gave her a sapphire ring.
Amber’s bridal bouquet featured lovely pink peonies, which she carefully chose to match the theme of her big day. “They are very elegant, soft and romantic,” she says. “I wanted simple elegance.”
When Amber and her mother set out to go dress shopping, the bride-to-be let her mother make the initial selections for her to try on. When she walked out of the dressing room, wearing this beautiful ball gown, the entire room froze and burst into tears. “That’s when I knew it was The One,” she says. “Momma always knows best.”
“I had a traditional ball gown with lots and lots of tulle,” says Amber. “That was a very important detail. It was the second gown that I tried on and I just fell in love.”
Meet Amber’s little flower girls: angels.
“Derek wanted he and the guys to look like James Bond,” Amber tells us.
“My bridesmaids wore Mori Lee dresses,” Amber tells us. “I have always been into ’50s- and ’60s-style dresses. I love how women were always dressed up and always looked like women. I knew their dresses had to be fitted at the waist and flare out.” Excellent styling, Amber! Instead of bouquets, she had them hold matching clutches.
“I think some of our fondest memories to date would be just how hard we worked to be together,” says Amber. “There was so much excitement when we knew we were going to see each other and disappointment when we had to leave one another.”
Amber’s smile is just infectious — she made a beautiful bride.
“It was important for Derek and I to get married in the church,” Amber recalls. “The North Chapel was the most traditional-style church we could find in San Diego.”
How adorable is this? We love the flower girls’ head pieces and pretty, pretty ball gowns, which complement the bride’s gown perfectly.
Both Amber’s mom and dad escorted her down the aisle to meet her Prince Charming at the altar. She sure planted quite a kiss on her new hubby. Hooray for Black love!
“All I knew is I wanted my hair up,” says Amber, who wears lovely long dreadlocks. “It had to be high and elegant.”
“We had a lot of help from our families, which helped us cut costs big time,” says Amber. “I wouldn’t say we had a tight budget because our families wanted us to have what we wanted, but we did end up sticking to our original budget, which was a big relief in the end.”
After meeting online, long distance lovers Amber and Derek instantly knew they’d found something special in each other. “I knew he was ‘The One’ about six months after meeting,” she tells us. “ We immediately clicked and became best friends. It was just easy.”
Their reception venue, the Liberty Station, was just a short walk away from the church where they said “I do,” and an equally stunning venue, making it the perfect choice for their big celebration.
“My entire wedding was pink!” says Amber, who loved every second of seeing their beautiful pink color scheme come to life.
The newlyweds chose a four-tier cake design with an invisible middle double layer. The bottom was made of red velvet cake with chocolate ganache, which Amber chose to keep guests happy, and the middle layers were key lime and coconut cake. Sounds like the guests were in heaven!
Money saving alert: Love Amber’s and Derek’s pretty pink peony centerpiece displays? They’re made of paper. The budget savvy bride found the idea on Martha Stewart Weddings earlier this year. It saved the couple thousands on flowers and they didn’t compromise their style one bit.
“I chose décor that screamed ‘Amber,’” she admits. “It was girlie, elegant and chic.”
In addition to their delicious wedding cake, the couple’s guests were able to visit their custom candy bar for a bonus dessert. We’re not sure what’s sweeter: The décor or the selection.
“Everything had to be soft and elegant,” says Amber, who went for classic romance with this custom gobo light on their dance floor.
“We hired one of the best deejays in San Diego,” brags Amber. “He kept our guests dancing all night long.”
Amber describes their wedding day style as “pink shabby chic,” something she carefully thought out while aiming to work with blush, fuchsia and rose colors.
As guests took turns letting loose on the dance floor, they were able to break for photo opps in Amber and Derek’s photo booth. We can see why they chose this option. They’re such a photogenic couple!
Brides often swap dresses between their ceremony and reception party, but Amber and Derek’s guests were totally surprised to see the new Mrs. Robinson make her grand entrance in a pretty pink Vera Wang gown.
The bride and groom rode in style on their wedding day with this fancy vintage Rolls Royce rental.
“We just felt like celebrities the entire evening,” says Amber. Join us in wishing the new Mr. and Mrs. Robinson all the best as they continue to journey through life together as husband and wife. Want to see your wedding featured on Bridal Bliss? Email us now!
