A few weeks ago my whole family jet set off to California to watch my sister Joelle marry her best friend. It was such a magical time that I will treasure forever. 

Danny, my sister Carissa, and I started our journey together flying out of Vancouver at a way too early four in the morning. As soon as we landed we scraped ourselves together and headed to the happiest place on earth. Disneyland is always an adventure and I don’t think I will ever tire of this whimsical place. We all had our ears on and fully embraced our inner five year old – we rode every ride, ate every treat, and completely immersed ourselves in the world of Disney.

When our time in Anaheim was done, we took a leisurely drive down the coast to San Diego where we met with the rest of my family and friends – it was so surreal having everyone we loved in another city together. While we were there it was my Dad’s birthday so we surprised him with a limo ride touring the local San Diego breweries (you can see the utter delight on his face above). Everytime he thought the day was coming to a close there was always just one more stop. We ended our day at a local piano bar – the shout house, which was an evening of even more beer and laughs. 

The days leading up to the wedding were filled with excitement – from watching the Padres game at Petco stadium to biking around the city just the girls, we had a lot of fun. Finally the day of the wedding came – I’ve never experienced a more relaxed wedding day – Joelle was calm and excited all in one, I could tell she couldn’t wait to see her knight in shining armor at the top of Mount Soledad. The ceremony was a dream – fighting off the tears was tough. I think I heard almost every guest say that they’ve never seen a more beautiful wedding and I would agree. It was the perfect day with everyone celebrating the love Joelle and Jose share. 

Our last few days in California we headed back to up LA where we completely relaxed – some good pool time, dining and shopping were just what we needed before heading back to Vancouver. 

California always makes for a beautiful vacation – I can’t wait to return again soon and explore even more it has to offer. 

xx

Tessa