“We met at a bar and grill in San Carlos called The Office,” shares Dorian of her first encounter with now-husband Bill. “It was an ongoing joke that we met at the office.” Company policy or not, the two hit it off and began dating. Fast-forward to October 2014 and the couple is climbing Mount Whitney to pay tribute to Bill’s grandfather, George Meyer, who climbed the peak for his 50th birthday over 70 years ago…with a prosthetic leg no less! “At the top of the mountain, at 14,600 feet, I was filming Bill’s tribute to his grandfather when I thought he was done and turned off the phone,” recalls Dorian. “However, he kept talking. Afraid I would miss what he was saying, I turned the phone back on and began filming. He dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him.”
The newly engaged couple desired a celebration with all of their family and friends. “I wanted my son, Miles Bradford, to walk me down the aisle and my daughter, Delaney Bradford, to be my maid of honor,” says the bride. “Bill wanted his father, William Freeman, to be his best man. Everything about our wedding was what we wanted.”
While many brides and grooms encounter planning hurdles on their way to the altar, Dorian and Bill say their process was nothing short of flawless. “Everything fell into place,” she says. “Our favorite time was surprising our parents with the venue. To be honest, there really wasn’t a worst moment.”
They chose to host a three-day celebration for their nuptials, combining Thanksgiving, an open house at their new home in Granite Bay, and the wedding for the grand finale. “Since we had so many people coming to the wedding from out of town, we wanted to make sure we took care of everyone and maximized the time spent celebrating with everyone,” says Dorian.
The wedding and reception were held at the Flower Farm in Loomis for a beautiful afternoon-into-evening celebration. “We created signature drinks, including Cadillac Margaritas, Lemon Drops and Mai Tais, [and also had] beer, wine and champagne,” shares Dorian of a few event highlights. “We also had an extremely fun photo booth with the funniest pictures ever.”
A sentimental memory still resonates with Bill, who lost his mother not too long after the wedding. “I simply enjoyed everything about the day,” he says, “but looking back, I was able to enjoy what ended up being the last dance with my mother.”
—Darren Elms
