Real Joy Wedding: Agnes & Anthony

What’s the best thing about being a newlywed?

The best thing is the feeling we both have. Even though we’ve been together for 7 years, it still feels like we are starting a new adventure.

What is the most memorable moment from the wedding?

Anthony: The money dance was memorable for of us. It was also our first dance as a married couple. How it goes is the bride and groom dance together and the guests pin dollar bills on the couple. This is to wish them an abundant life. It was fun to see all our guests take part in a cultural tradition. We have never felt so blessed and laughed so hard. I think Agnes had some bills stuffed in her dress for the rest of the night.

Agnes: Also, the first three kisses at the wedding. That moment was unforgettable. All eyes are on us, and we were just announced for the first time “Mr. and Mrs. Escasa.” It was like a dream.

With the wedding over and some time to reflect on the celebration, would you have done anything differently?

Anthony: I don’t think so. Everything went perfect. I think we focused less on the details and more on the memory making.

Agnes: I agree! Everything went great! I’m glad we kept things simple. Well, maybe a longer honeymoon!

The million dollar question: Did you have any time to enjoy the food or the cake?

Anthony: Of course! All throughout the night too! I think the planning, the schedule, it helped a lot with keeping everything flowing. I was able to enjoy a couple of slices of cake and my prime rib.

Agnes: Honestly, I had a few bites of everything here and there. Did I finish my plate though? Nope! I was too busy catching up with all my friends and family that flew in. All I wanted to do was hug people. I haven’t seen some of them in years. I was too excited to have so many people fly to Hawaii to be at our wedding to eat.

What tips do you have for other Joy couples still in the midst of wedding planning?

Use the app and site to the fullest ability! Our guest list was so easy to organize just by exporting it from the site. We also used it to see which guests needed military base access for the venue. Most people cringe of having a venue that has restrictions like that. With Joy, we were able to get all our guests in with no problems.

Joy’s guest list features made it so easy to keep an accurate guest count, diet restrictions, and even helped our put our reception playlist together. The guest list features also ensured no party crashers would be able to view our wedding or try to RSVP unless their name was on the list. That just made it so much easier—knowing there would be no surprise guests. We didn’t even have to call and follow up with any guests. Most of them responded with the app or site. Others messaged or called us way before the deadline. It was so much easier than tracking paper invites. Remember to put as much information about the venue as possible (and frequently)! We used the app not only for RSVPs, but to make announcements to the guests.

The most important tip is plan for the end of the night. The last thing we wanted to do was worry about was taking down decorations and figuring out how we were going to get them home. We planned to bring back minimal items. We did this by giving away our centerpieces, keeping décor to a minimum, and asking for monetary donations instead of household goods. We were able to leave the venue with a box of cake, the guest book, and our box of cards from guests!

How did you stay sane during wedding planning?

We turned our date nights into wedding planning time. Since we were the masterminds of it all, we had fun planning the whole wedding while going out to dinner or coffee. Usually the maid of honor and parents are involved, but not with us. We planned and met vendors on our own. Then when everything was planned, we let our wedding party and family know the details. It worked out great to be planning everything together with no outside input. It gave us an excuse to try a new restaurant or café. We got to take a break, enjoy our time together, and plan. Massages were sometimes included too. It was also a great way to have our wedding vision stay the way we wanted it.

How did you hear about Joy?

Agnes heard about Joy from searching around multiple wedding sites. What caught our eye was the compatibility to use a website and a mobile phone app platform.

What was your favorite part about using Joy for the wedding?

Our favorite part about using Joy for the wedding was it saved us money on sending invitations. Being in Hawaii, we would have easily spent $600 on cards and invitations. Joy’s features made it easy to send invitations via email or even Facebook. We still get “oohs” and “aahs” from people who enjoyed reading our story and viewing photos from the “virtual invitation.”

What’s the one thing you wish Joy did (or did better)?

It would be nice to have a feature just for vendors where they can view the timeline and how they interact with the schedule of events.

At Joy we believe that although a wedding lasts one day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you and your partner?

After contemplating about it, here is what we came up with: People will forget the details of the wedding, but will always remember the joy and memories that came from it.