Kristina & Ian: A Californian Beach Wedding

Good morning! How are we today? Today on Marry Me Ink – I bring you a beautiful beach wedding in California!

Kristina and Ian met when she went to have her foot tattoo altered at Ian’s tattoo parlour.. “I remember being really impressed with what great guy Ian seemed to be – funny, genuine and that he gushed about his daughter – he even showed me her picture. A few months later I finally dumped the awful boyfriend and moved back out to the beach where Ian’s shop was – and then went in one day to make an appointment and realized how cute I thought he was.

We friended each other on Myspace (remember that??) and he started commenting on my pictures. When I went in to get my new tattoo, he asked me out for a drink and we’ve been together ever since (Four years).

“We were married on the beach in front of the Hotel Del Coronado in California. We both grew up in Cali and the beach was a huge part of our lives – we both ended up living at Alki Beach in West Seattle because it’s the closest thing to a California beach we could find and it’s why we found each other.

“Ian’s daughter was his best man and it was a family only event. We had a BBQ reception for all of our friends back in WA a few weekends later and ended up getting married again!

“I was really apprehensive at first about choosing a dress – our families know we have tattoos but are conservative and so with extended family coming I thought maybe I should cover up. When I told this to my mom (who was not a fan of my getting tattoos when I was younger) told me that my tattoos are part of who I am, and that I was beautiful and to pick out a dress that made me feel that way too.

“Ian didn’t see me at all until I walked down the aisle and as soon as we saw each other we started crying. We looked into each other’s eyes the entire ceremony and it felt like it was just the two of us – I didn’t even see who was there until we walked back down the aisle as husband and wife. I’ll always have that memory of how it felt to make those vows to each other.

“My husband painted the design for our announcements and my mother hand made all of them, along with programs, decorated candles, and sand buckets with bubbles and fun stuff for all of the kids. She and my dad then drove all of it, along with my dress, from Seattle to San Diego.

“The entire BBQ reception was DIY. Our friends George and Lee let us use their huge, amazing back yard and we rented tables, linens and chairs. We provided burgers, chicken, salads, drinks and my mom made 6 dozen cupcakes. We hung Chinese lanterns from the trees and candles everywhere (used empty wine bottles as I’d seen on Pinterest). It was beautiful and so fun to celebrate with everyone.”