Posts Tagged ‘Sacramento Wedding Venue’

The Couple:  Morgan and Michael Motia

Wedding Date:  July 2, 2011

Photography by The Goodness Photo & Design

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Morgan and I are both trying to become doctors. Morgan wants to be one of those doctors who helps people, so she is in medical school. I am in a doctoral program in religion, so I can ramble on about fourth century church councils or French philosophy, but if you’ve got the flu, I’d go to Morgan.

We met though Morgan’s roommate who was a classmate of mine, and became friends when a group of us started watching that romantic show, 24. Morgan and I found ourselves doing everyone’s dishes. We didn’t mind. In fact, that was our style.

A few months went by and after a facial hair experiment (i.e. fasting from the razor for the 40 days of lent)—I shaved on Easter Sunday, asked her out on Monday, we went on our first date on Tuesday… and we haven’t looked back.

We’ve road tripped across the country and have had our fair share of other adventures, but you’d be most likely to find us sitting on a couch, watching TV, talking about life, or, well, studying. Truth be told, we’re probably at our best sitting in a coffee shop reading material full of words that the average person has never heard (khôratic pyelonephritis), enjoying great coffee (we’ve been all over the country exploring coffee shops), and looking up a little too often to tell a story, to make a joke, or to just say hi.

After a little more than a year of dating, we were engaged June 22, 2010 and were married July 2, 2011 at The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  Morgan will tell you that nothing will ever compare to walking down the aisle with her mom and dad to me and the people we love most (the bridesmaids and groomsmen). Walking into a room full of all the most important people in our lives wasn’t bad either—it is the only time we’ve ever been able to have that many people in our lives in a room for a night.

For me the five minuets or so between the “you may kiss the bride” and when the room cleared out and we started pictures was incredible. It was chaotic, everyone was happy (it was a short ceremony, so people didn’t get bored), people were trying to congratulate us, we were bouncing up and down with excitement. And then pictures started—which was great because we were taking pictures when we were as happy as we had ever been.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Just as we were about to walk into the reception, Morgan peeked into the room, got a look at our cake and screamed. She was crying walking down the aisle; she was glowing after seeing the cake.

Ceremony Site & Reception Venue:  The Citizen Hotel

Photographer:  The Goodness Photo & Design (Lisa and Geoff were incredible before, during and after the reception)

Caterer:  The Grange

Cake:  Freeport Bakery

Flowers:  Blooms by Martha Andrews

Favors:  DIY. Each table had a “theme” based on something about us (coffee, med school, etc.) And each guest got a favor in line with the theme (coffee beans from our favorite coffee shop, a first aid kit for med school)

Road Trip – CD of music

Pizza Night (our Friday night tradition) – Homemade pizza sauce

Coffee – Coffee beans from our favorite shop

Sushi (every Tuesday for the first year we were dating) – Chopsticks

Vegetarians – Mini tomato plants

Dishwashing (how we met) – Dish soap

Baseball (Mike) – Crackerjacks, baseball score card

Harvard Divinity School (Mike) – Moleskin notebooks

Medical School (Morgan) – First-aid kit

Running (Morgan) – Shoe laces

California – Rainbow sandal keychains

Wedding Dress:  David’s Bridal. Altered/detachable black straps at Alterations by Melody.

Bridesmaid Dresses:  We had them get any black cocktail dress, necklaces were from Etsy.

Hair & Makeup:  Ashley Alice Artistry

Invitations:  The Goodness Photo & Design (They were amazing! They did our place cards, logo and thank you cards as well)

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Extreme Productions Entertainment

Photo Booth:  The Goodness Photo & Design

Honeymoon location:  We flew to Paris, then got on a cruise in Copenhagen (Denmark, Norway, Germany, Russia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden), then finished in Geneva, Switzerland.

First Dance Song:  ”Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” by Ingrid Michaelson

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Do personal things. Our favors took a lot of time, but our guests loved them, and (more importantly) they were a reminder of why we were getting married. Or to say that another way, have fun planning. The year of our engagement Morgan was a first year medical student in Scranton, PA, and I was finishing my master’s degree in Boston, and we were planning a wedding that was going to be in California. It was a lot of work and logistics but we made it stress free by having fun with it.

Making our day special meant doing something special for the people we love. We put a lot of thought into the food, candy bar, cake, DJ, photobook and favors because these were the things that our guest were going to enjoy. We didn’t want people to feel like we took them coming (especially across the country) for granted.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  We choose to have a served dinner, which I think worked great at the wedding because everyone got to eat at the same time. We hate the waiting in line for buffet food. But it was really difficult the week before trying to make sure we have everyone’s meal correct and it made doing the seating chart that much more difficult.

Photos courtesy of The Goodness Photo & Design.

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

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

Join us for A Day to Remember Bridal Show & Expo at the Sunrise Event Center in Rancho Cordova THIS SUNDAY April 15th from 11 a.m. -5 p.m. Real Weddings Magazine’s offering FREE tickets for our beautiful brides! Just email Aimee@stylemg.com by Friday, April 13th at 5 p.m. to get on Real Weddings Magazine’s “Will Call” list! And, once you’re there, stop by our booth to register to win a $100 gift certificate to Fat’s Asia Bistro! Scroll down for all the details to this great event!

Event details:

When: Sunday, April 15, 2012

Time: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Where: The Sunrise Event Center in Rancho Cordova

Cost: $5 Admission, but Real Weddings Magazine is offering FREE tickets! Email Aimee@stylemg.com by Friday, April 13th at 5 p.m. to get on Real Weddings Magazine’s “Will Call” list!

What You’ll Experience:  Planning a wedding can be fun but overwhelming. This bridal show is designed for brides to visit with quality wedding professionals in a relaxed atmosphere.

For more information, log on to pspros.com/exhibitor.html

And, of course we’ll be there handing out complimentary copies of Real Weddings Magazine along with our newest wedding publication, Real Weddings Magazine‘s The Bride’s Guide! Also, we always have our awesome (and reusable!) Real Weddings Magazine bags to help you carry all of your goodies!

PLUS, ENTER TO WIN A $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO FAT’S ASIA BISTRO AT THIS EVENT!

Be sure to tell them you found out about the event from Real Weddings Magazine!

Hope to see you there!

Blog Post by Editor/Publisher Wendy Sipple.

Photo courtesy of A Day to Remember Bridal Show & Expo .

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

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!

The Couple:  Ashley Cooper and Paul-Michael Sosa

Wedding Date:  October 22, 2011

Photography by Capture Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Ashley and I met while working at UC Davis several years go. After a year of friendship we started dating and soon fell in love. We love exploring California together and can’t wait for our next adventure.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  During the middle of our ceremony, a couple of birds decided to hang out in the tree above us and sing us a song. It was pretty awesome and made the ceremony feel magical.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  We decided to take a set of dance lessons before the wedding and even did a single lesson with our parents for the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dances. It was great because we were able to work out our first dance gitters during the lessons so when it came time for the wedding, we rocked it and had a blast.

Ceremony Site & Reception Venue:  Wilson Vineyards

Photographer:  Capture Photography

Caterer:  Fresh and Quick Catering

Cake:  Timothy’s Bakery

Flowers:  Raley’s (DIY bouquets and centerpieces)

Favors:  Honey from Sola Bee

Wedding Dress:  Miosa Bride

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Nordstrom

Hair & Makeup:  Reflections Salon

Invitations:  DIY

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Pro Mobile DJ

Honeymoon location:  Bali, Indonesia

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  Our officiant, Rev. Jeri Murphy. Dance Lessons from Barbara’s Dancing Tonight and Spotlight Dance Studio.

First Dance Song:  “Oh, It Is Love” by Hello Goodbye

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Take off one to tw days of work right before your wedding to get all the last minute stuff in order. Once family starts coming into town, they all want to visit and you’ll realize you have no time to do those final touches.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  Our entire wedding was a magical evening with all our close friends and family members. We wouldn’t change a moment of that day.

Photos courtesy of Capture 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:  Amy and Justin Buckingham

Wedding Date:  July 23, 2011

Photography by Shoop’s Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Amy is a nurse and Justin is a firefighter. Through a mutual friend they finally found each other and it was love at first sight

What was the most amazing part of your day?  Getting to marry the love of my life.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Everything was PERFECT and it was all thrown together in 60 days.

Ceremony Site & Reception Venue:  Barra Winery

Photographer:  Shoop’s Photography

Videographer:  Kristen Colvig

Caterer:  A family friend who owns a catering business

Cake:  Maggie Stephens

Flowers:  DYI with flowers from Costco

Favors:  Small elegant black satin bags filled with pillow mints. The bags had our name and wedding date printed on them.

Wedding Dress & Bridesmaid Dresses:  David’s Bridal

Hair:  Sara Travis from Scissorhands

Makeup:  Roxy from Matchbox

Invitations:  DYI and printed by Vista Print

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Ryan Runyon loaded 7 hours worth of our favorite songs on my iPod and used the surround sound at our venue. Incredible music!

Honeymoon location:  We had a “Pre” wedding honeymoon in Hawaii

First Dance Song:  “I can’t wait” by Runner Runner

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Just do it! The most important thing about your day should be the man standing up there waiting for you, everything else will work out!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  Not one thing!

Photos courtesy of Shoop’s 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:  Rebecca and Chris Mathews

Photography by Ford Family Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Rebecca and Chris met by chance before a San Francisco Giants game in May of 2008 and were married in September of 2011. Chris grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and has lived there his whole life. He has worked in Downtown San Francisco for 10 years for a commercial insurance company after graduating locally from San Jose State University.

After being adopted from South Korea as a baby, Rebecca spent her youth living in Kansas City, Missouri and Fresno, California before her family moved to Sacramento, California after she graduated high school. After high school she spent her first year performing with the Sacramento Ballet Company as an apprentice before attending her parents alma mater; the University of Arkansas. After graduation, coming back to California proved too much to resist and she settled in San Francisco. Today, Rebecca works in Product Management at Peet’s Coffee & Tea.

Chris and Rebecca are avid sports fans and attending games, watching on TV or cheering together with friends at a bar is a frequent weekend event for them. Chris has eagerly adopted Rebecca’s Arkansas Razorbacks although he has had less success convincing her to be a die-hard Giants fan. They take any chance they can get to travel whether it’s New York, London, Tokyo or even much closer trips to visit family in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Rebecca is hoping to take Chris to his first live SEC Football game in the fall.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  Near the end of our reception, after a whirlwind of a day, we were told to make our exit outside as our guests waved us off. Unbeknownst to us, there was a horse-drawn carriage waiting outside to whisk us on a ride down the street to our hotel suite. We got to climb up and ride off as all of our guests waved and cheered for us. It was so unexpected and such a wonderful send-off. It was a fantastic way to spend our first moments really alone together (besides the horses) as husband and wife.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  We heard over and over again how fast the entire day was going to pass by. Even after experiencing it and making sure to take time to savor plenty of moments we still could not believe how quickly the time had passed. Not everything went flawlessly – the bride even put his ring on the wrong finger! But, those were the lighthearted moments that have made for the best stories and the biggest smiles afterwards.

Ceremony Site:  Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament with Deacon Anthony Pescetti from St Mel’s Church

Reception Venue:  Sacramento Grand Ballroom

Photographer:  Ford Family Photography

Wedding Planner:  Barbara and Brice Harris

Caterer:  The Culinary Specialists at Mulvaney’s B&L

Cake:  Shelton’s Wedding Cakes

Flowers:  Ambience Floral Design

Favors:  Silver plated bells with ribbon. My mom purchased them online and bought custom ribbon with our names and wedding date on them. We tied the ribbons on the bells.

Wedding Dress:  Priscilla’s of Boston

Bridesmaid Dresses:  House of Brides

Hair & Makeup:  Hoshall’s Salon and Spa

Invitations:  Papyrus

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  SJ’s Disc Jockey

Wedding Ceremony Music: Rex Rallanka, Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

Photo Booth:  Custom made by Brice and Barbara Harris

Honeymoon location:  London and Italy for a total of 3 weeks.

First Dance Song:  “When I See You Smile” by Bad English.

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Once you make a decision in the wedding planning process, don’t question yourself or second guess. Remember it’s your day and no matter what and enjoy every minute of it.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  We wish the reception could have gone all night!

Photos courtesy of Ford Family Photography.

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

Subscribe to the Real Weddings Magazine Blog!