The Couple: Kayla & Chris

Photography by Weddings by Scott and Dana 

Tell us a little about you and your beloved: Chris and I met at work. Our first date didn’t go so well but I’m so glad I agreed to go on a second one because after that night, I wanted to marry him! Just about a year after we started dating, Chris took me to Yoshi’s in San Francisco for dinner and a show. Towards the end of dinner I was both delighted and shocked that he proposed!

Because I was in the middle of nursing school at the time, we knew our wedding could not happen that year. Luckily, we did decide to start looking at venues more than a year in advance. After seeing multiple places, we finally decided on the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite. It had everything we wanted: an outdoor wedding ceremony location, beautiful scenery, an indoor/outdoor reception area, a place for our guests to stay, a restaurant, and of course the famous Yosemite Valley at everyone’s finger tips.

Next, we booked our amazing photographers Scott and Dana Halverson. Choosing them was the best decision we could have made! They’re kind, professional, and insanely talented!

What was the most amazing part of your day? The best part of our day was having our entire family and closets friends their to share our special day. We were both shocked and honored that so many people traveled such a long distance to be there for us!

What else would you like to share about your big day? Having a wedding in a location that people have to travel to was actually a great decision for us. Majority of our guests came Friday-Sunday so we were able to spend a lot of time with all of them. We didn’t want the kind of wedding where you spend thousand of dollars and barely get to say hi to all of your guests let alone spend time with them.

Ceremony and Reception Site; and Caterer: Wawona Hotel

Ceremony Musicians: Kirk Moulin of Spin City DJ’s. He and several other band members played instruments for our ceremony, then Kirk DJ’ed the wedding. He was amazing and had everyone dancing all night long!

Officiant: A Family Friend

Photographer: Weddings by Scott and Dana 

Cake/Desserts: Copenhagen Bakery

Flowers: Sweet Dreams Cakes and Flowers

Favors: Candy and Dessert Buffet

Bridal and Bridesmaids’ Attire: David’s Bridal

Hair: My hair was done by my sister, Crystal Stofan, who is a professional hair stylist in San Mateo.

Make-up: Makeup My Mickie. She works a lot in the Yosemite area so many brides use her…and for good reason!

Invitations: DIY

Signage: All signs were made by my sister and myself. They were a labor of love! I have since given them to other friends getting married.

DJ/Entertainment/Band: Spin City DJ’s

Honeymoon Location: The Caribbean

First Dance Song: “Marry Me” by Train

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now? I know a lot of people will tell you this when you’re planning your wedding, but remember it’s just a day! Have fun, enjoy your spouse, and roll with the punches.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance? Nothing at all! It was an amazing day that both Chris and I will cherish forever!!!

Photos courtesy of Weddings by Scott and Dana .

Blog post by Real Weddings Magazine’s Social Media Maven, Aimee Carroll.

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