Archive for the ‘Real Wedding’ Category

The Couple:  Seija K. Murphy and Craig D. Zimmerman

Wedding Date:  May 21, 2011

Photography by Siegel’s Portrait Design

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Seija: I grew up in Saudi Arabia, the child of a pilot and a housewife. I have one older sister who was born with mental disabilities. My father worked for the oil company ARAMCO until 2003 when he retired and moved to Oregon with my mother. I lived in the Middle East for the first part of my life and then having attended boarding high-school in Pebble Beach, I stayed in California to finish university at UCLA.

As an undergrad I studied psychology with the intent of working to support individuals with disabilities. It took the better part of the next three years (2006 – 2009) after graduating for my life to gather momentum; not only in my work interest, but my personal life as well. I struggled with alcoholism and when I began on the road of recovery in 2008 my life changed drastically.

I never had much of a life, because I was very afraid to pursue it. I was very insecure and had been in a tumultuous relationship for almost nine years. I knew that I had more to offer and took a chance on changing my life to fulfill my purpose. I was making great strides to better my life and change my situation when I met Craig at work in November of 2009.

At the time I knew that I loved being a recovered person, I had a passion to support others, and I trusted that God would take care of me no matter what. I learned throughout the next year and a half (Jan 2010 – May 2011) that indeed God would take care of me. Coming from a life of fear to a life where I was encouraged to pursue my interests and supported by an incredibly loving man was a miracle for me.

We both work at a non-profit providing vocational support to individuals with disabilities. I am pursuing a career as a marriage and family therapist. Along with a passion for psychology I have learned that I love music (both creating it and listening to it), I love art, and my close friends are treasures.

Craig : I was born and raised right here is Sacramento. I am the youngest child, and have an older sister — Renee’ — who is six years older than me. My upbringing was pretty boring compared to Seija’s due to the fact that I lived in the same home for 24 years, rarely strayed from California, and never had been in a serious long term relationship. All kidding aside, as a child, I was happy. I went to good public schools, had (and still have) the best parents in the world, and was very busy with sports.

Later in life, I went to Sacramento State University where I got a B.A. in sociology as well as picked up a nasty habit called alcoholism. By 2009, I was a mess and began to live a life without alcohol. I was working full time by then, bought a home, and I met Seija through work. After that, well, I lived happily ever after.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  The most amazing part of the day were the ” I will’s ” (we said “I will” vs. “I do”) at the ceremony, the speeches that were given during the reception, and the picture slide show that Nick (Craig’s brother-in-law) put together for us (pictures of us separately as children, growing up with our families and together as adults)… even though Craig would make a reference to the wedding night as the best part of the day!

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Before walking down the aisle, it was important for me (Seija) to take some quiet time to reflect on the past year. We worked so hard to make the wedding happen, and I had to go through some family issues to get here, but it was so worth it.

I lived with Craig’s parents for the five months preceding the wedding. We respected our parents wishes not to move into together before we were married and although it was difficult not to live together it was definitely worth it. So, on our wedding day right before the ceremony I sat alone and reflected in gratitude.

Also, Craig and I made sure that during the reception we stayed by each other’s side and held hands as often as we could. We also tried to make sure that we thanked all of our guests for making the trip: personally by going around to tables and publicly by saying thank you over the microphone after the speeches were given.

Ceremony & Reception Site:  Carvalho Family Winery at Old Sugar Mill

Photographer:  Siegel’s Portrait Design

Caterer:  Jackson Catering & Events

Cake:  Shelton’s Wedding Cake Design

Flowers:  Garden Wishes

Favors:  We made them! Personally recorded CDs of music from our band The Two Steps

Wedding Dress & Bridesmaid Dresses:  David’s Bridal

Hair & Makeup:  Terri Wangler from Space 07 Salon. She’s absolutely one of the most wonderful people I know.

Invitations:  Wedding Paper Divas

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Extreme Productions Entertainment

Honeymoon location:  Orlando, Florida

First Dance Song:  ”I Won’t Let Go” by Rascal Flatts

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  I would suggest to give yourself at least a year. Pay attention to each other’s needs and wants for the day. Craig didn’t have many opinions, so the things that he wanted to have (black and white table cloths for a supper club feel, vanilla cake on the top tier for our one year anniversary, and no roast beef) I was happy to honor.

Keep in mind the budget. We didn’t have a fixed budget at the beginning, so when Craig’s mom took over the planning we had spent a little bit that was unnecessary. Thankfully she got us back on track!

If you have the chance to do premarital counseling I would suggest to do it! We learned a lot and our pastor counseled us very wisely.

Lastly, get registered on the The Knot and follow the timeline suggestions on the To-Do list. That Web site saved us so much time and effort!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  No! It was a perfect day!

Photos courtesy of Siegel’s Portrait Design.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

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The Couple:  Candice and Brian Sowden

Wedding Date:  June 18, 2011

Photography by Lexigraphics Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  We are both agriculturally-based people. We are close to our families (his family farms prunes and mine farms peaches). He works for the California Canning Peach Association. I work as a 7th/8th grade teacher at a small country school. We both strive to make our relationship our first priority among all of our others. We truly are best friends to each other and love spending time together. I feel that he is the person most like me that I’ve ever met: our morals, our interests, etc. We also have our differences: he is tall, I am really short, I am much more schedule-oriented than he is, etc.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  The best part of our big day (and it’s hard to choose; it was all great!) was the first time we actually saw each other, or more precisely the first time Brian saw me. We did a reveal where one photographer took Brian outside and the other walked out with me to meet him a couple hours before our ceremony. He had his back to me, so I could see him as I walked out toward him in my big white dress. I was all smiles, just waiting to get to him and see the man I was about to marry.

When I finally reached my destination, under a huge tree, I put my hands over his eyes and invited him, “Guess who!” He turned and I saw the amazement in his eyes. He was pretty speechless for a minute, while I shed an unexpected tear. We caught up on the night before and the day’s events while the photographers snapped away. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime feeling that reminded me of the day he proposed. From then on, his nerves were calm, and neither of us could wait to say our vows.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Everything seemed to go smoothly; we had no unforeseen issues to deal with the entire day. The day went by like a whirlwind and was nonstop from the ceremony onward. A perfect ending had us watching the sun set while drinking champagne in the limo on the way to our hotel.

Ceremony Site & Reception Venue & Caterer:  Peach Tree Country Club

Photographer & Videographer:  Lexigraphics Photography

Cake:  Cakes by Request

Flowers:  The Country Florist

Favors:  Two red golf tees, two aqua golf tees, and a golf ball that read: “Brian and Candice, June 18, 2011” all put into little silver silk bags

Wedding Dress:  Off the Hook Bridal

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Pearl’s Place

Hair & Makeup:  Mackensie Menth of Tangles Salon

Invitations:  Gartner Studios

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  DJ Alex Sanchez

Honeymoon location:  Maui, HI

First Dance Song:  “Then” by Brad Paisley (it’s our song)

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  There is so much stress involved in planning a wedding! I stressed a lot! Try not to sweat the small stuff; whatever happens, happens…you’ll still be married at the end of the day!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  The only thing we would have liked to have been different was the weather. A little cooler would have been ideal

Photos courtesy of Lexigraphics Photography.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

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The Couple:  Cristina Buss and Eric Halverson

Wedding Date:  July 9, 2011

Photography by Kris Holland Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Cristina and Eric met in the “nerd” dorm at UC Davis, and were friends for five years before dating for another five years, before finally getting engaged in Italy in June 2010. They are avid ultimate frisbee players and have spent many weekends traveling around the country (and world!) for tournaments — Eric is a current National and World Champion with his team, Revolver, and Cristina won the 2004 National Championship with her U.C. Davis college team.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  We wrote special vows to each other in the form of “I love you because _________,” followed by “Because I love you, __________.” Some were sincere, and some were funny, but all followed the pattern of loving something unique about the other and what we’ll “put up with” in exchange! Our friends and family really enjoyed hearing those.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Our friends surprised us with an impromptu rap and a planned, choreographed dance to “Thriller” during the reception.

Ceremony Site, Reception Venue & Caterer:  Kirkwood Mountain Resort

Photographer:  Kris Holland Photography

Cake:  Laurie Hedden (Eric’s mother)

Flowers:  1) Bouquets: Gordon Hill Flower Shop

2) Kathlynn Angie-Buss (Cristina’s step-mother) arranged loose bulk flowers ordered through Gordon Hill Flower Shop to create our centerpieces.

Favors:  Fun-Size Skittles (bought at Target). Our programs challenged people to a game of guessing the Skittle’s color based on taste alone, a skill at which Eric proclaims to be an expert.

Wedding Dress:  House of Fashion

Bridesmaid Dresses:  David’s Bridal

Hair:  Carina Port (Cristina’s friend)

Makeup:  Lauren Soest with Mary Kay products (Cristina’s friend)

Invitations:  David’s Bridal

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Playlists put together by Kevin Cissna (Eric and Cristina’s friend)

Photo Booth:  Photo booth with digital camera organized by Carina Port and Megan McKenzie; costumes from Lauren Krugman (Cristina’s friends)

Honeymoon location:  Albion River Inn in Albion, California

First Dance Song:  Lucky by Jason Mraz

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  After some contemplation about how to do our bar tab, we ended up hosting wine and beer but not liquor, and it worked out really well because most people could have the thing they wanted, and groups of friends started buying each other shots, etc., which was fun! And like you’ve heard already, keep it in perspective — it’s easy to panic during planning but it will end up being unforgettable. Get a good photographer, because that’s all you have afterward (besides each other). :)

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  We had a basket for people to write us notes/marriage advice, and got some GREAT sincere and humorous comments from friends and family. In retrospect, I wish we had put the cards and pens at the tables during dinner, instead of just out during the reception, so more people would have seen and done this.

Photos courtesy of Kris Holland Photography.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

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The Couple:  Christina and Eenon Pak

Wedding Date:  September 25, 2010

Photography by Grandeur Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  We knew each other during my time in college. He had already graduated, but we were going to the same church at the time. We never really interacted too much, but apparently Eenon had a growing interest in me for about two years until a chance meeting occurred.

At that point, Eenon began to ask around to see if I was dating anyone at the time. He eventually got the information he was waiting to hear from a mutual friend of ours. She got the okay from him and quickly called me to tell me that someone was interested in me. I was very shocked and didn’t know what to do or expect. After some thought, I decided to give it a try, and we had our first date four days later.

At first, we were both really nervous, and I had the hardest time looking him in the eyes. After about an hour of awkward conversation, we both began to get comfortable and opened up to each other for the next four hours.

After nine months of dating, he gathered up his courage once more to propose. Knowing that my favorite Disney movie is Sleeping Beauty, he surprised me with a trip to Disneyland in December 2009. I was so excited (and I kind of knew that he was going to propose that weekend), but I never expected the proposal to occur in Sleeping Beauty’s castle! It was a happy surprise!

Now we’re almost a year into our marriage! As cliche as it sounds…. time passes when you’re having fun, and we’re looking forward to what our future has in store for us.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  The first look. We were both so nervous. The moment I tapped his shoulder and he turned around to look at me was the best part of the day. At that moment, we both knew that nothing else mattered that day except for the simple fact that we were going to be husband and wife by the end of it.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  We really enjoyed our sunset couple photos. We had our official wedding photo session in the afternoon, but the lighting and time alone together (post-ceremony) made the sunset session all the more memorable. The after-party with our friends was great too because we didn’t get much time to talk to them all at the reception. It was a great way to wind down and relax at the end of it all.

Ceremony and Reception Site:  Auburn Valley Golf Club

Photographer:  Grandeur Photography

Cake:  Divine Desserts by Aguirre

 Flowers:  Sandi’s Design

Favors:  Book Lovers Collection castle bookmarks from Nice Price Favors.

Wedding Dress:  Unknown. My dress was given to me by a good friend of mine who bought it at a sample sale from FIDM in Los Angeles.

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Alfred Angelo

Hair:  Brockway Hair Design

Makeup:  Amelia from Bare Escentuals did the makeup for the bridesmaids. I had mine done by my friend, Elisia Choi.

Invitations:  I purchased the boxed invitation set from Michael’s and got them printed from Zuprinco Printing Co. in Sacramento.

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  DJ JB from Choice DJ Service

Honeymoon location:  Eastern Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean cruise line

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  A big thanks to our Pastor, Daniel Yoon, for officiating our wedding and to his son, Caleb, for being the cutest ring boy in the world. Thank you to Paula and Jon Hoyt for coming all the way from Arizona to allow your daughter to be the cutest flower girl in the world. Last, and definitely not least, many thanks to Michael Fuhr for being the unofficial chauffeur for the guests throughout the ceremony.

First Dance Song:  “I Will Be Here” by Steven Curtis Chapman

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  The day is yours and yours alone. Do what you want your dream wedding to be.

But most importantly, research all of your potential vendors. We were very fortunate to have found the photographer that we did at the last minute because our original photographer turned out to be a con artist who took our money.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  We wouldn’t have changed anything that we did. Our day was surprisingly stress-free, and we were able to enjoy every moment of it with our loved ones.

Photos courtesy of Grandeur Photography.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

The Couple:  Anna and Robert Pierce

Wedding Date: December 31, 2010

Photography by: Kris Holland Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved: Rob and I met five years ago when he was on a trip home from the military. I met him through my two roommates whom he had grown up with. We decided what we had found was worth sticking it out long distance for nine months until he completed his time in the Air Force and moved home. Rob and I fell in love, bought a house, started a family and then decided it was time to tie the knot! Our wedding day was everything I could have imagined and more — but being married is by far the best part!

What was the most amazing part of your day? By far — being with all our family and friends. We decided to have a New Year’s wedding —  that way we were able to share our special day with everyone we love, while at the same time ringing in the new year with a huge party!!

Ceremony and Reception Site:Le Rivage Hotel

Photographer: Kris Holland Photography

Caterer:  Scott’s Seafood

Chocolate Fountain:  Chocolate Fountains of Sacramento

Flowers: Faith Floral Studio

Favors:  Chocolate covered fortune cookies

Wedding Dress:  Alfred Angelo

Bridesmaid Dresses: Enchanted Bridal & Tuxedo Shoppe

Hair: Erika Kearney @ Planet Beauty

Make-up:Kristina Magovac @ MAC

Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas

DJ/Entertainment: Extreme Productions

Honeymoon location:  San Diego, CA

First Dance Song:“Feet Don’t Touch the Ground” by Stoney LaRue

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now? Don’t stress! Focus on a few items that mean the most to you and don’t sweat the small stuff! The day itself will go by so fast and all of your guests will remember only how beautiful you were and how much fun they had.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?I know it sounds very cliché , but everything turned out absolutely perfect!! I would have liked to take a step back the day of and let everything really sink in, because everything goes by so fast and some things about the night are a blur. So to future brides…try to stay calm and EAT!!!!

Photo courtesy of Kris Holland Photography.

Check out the Real Weddings Contest Page! Great bridal loot for real Sacramento-area brides!

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!