The finalists have been chosen, and now it’s time to vote! One of these lucky couples will win their dream wedding worth more than $30,000 in the Sunset Whitney Country Club’s Classic Wedding of a Lifetime Contest!

This week, we’re highlighting the five finalist couples so that you can get to know them better, and then cast your vote for your favorite! You can vote once per day, and remember that voting ends on February 1, 2011.

Couple #5…Andrea Massara & Jeff Guy

Why should you win the Sunset Whitney Country Club’s Classic Wedding of a Lifetime Contest?

Wedding Cake?  Most definitely.  Birthday Cake?!  Actually, if we win this contest, there will be TWO at this wedding.  As luck would have it, March 12 happens to be Andrea’s grandma’s 80th birthday and Jeff’s 40th birthday.  With the wedding bringing Jeff’s family from Kentucky and the people closest to the couple together for one day, the Wedding of a Lifetime is the perfect way to celebrate.  Family and friends would be able to celebrate in a beautiful country club setting with great food and drinks, plenty of dancing, and toasting to celebrate three happy life events.

When and how did you meet?

Jeff:With working out of my home office and traveling frequently, I thought I would give internet dating a try. I signed up for match.com and saw “MissBlueEyes.” We had a lot in common in that we bothenjoy traveling, friends, are the same religion, had same life goals, and are both into our careers.

Andrea:I had just about given up Internet dating. Probably in 2008 alone, I had been on 15 dates that did not go so well, but they do at least make for funny stories now! Jeff and I first “met” on match.com and I saw we had a lot in common. We emailed a few times and then Jeff called me. I must admit right away, I noticed his cute southern drawl. Jeff is originally from Kentucky and although he has been here 10 years now, he still has accent. Of course, I thought he seemed really nice and easy to talk to. We set our date for the next Saturday night at Mikuni. The date was May 31, 2008. Our first date, I was nervous! I met Jeff in front of the restaurant and was pleasantly surprised when I saw Jeff standing there. He looked even better in real life than on hi Internet profile. He was wearing a nice button down shirt and jeans. We sat in the sushi bar and even though I was nervous, I still managed to eat a lot of sushi and have a few glasses of wine.

Jeff:Andi is cute girl and looked just like her pictures and she has a nice smile. But at first, I thought she was shy and maybe wasn’t into me. I told her stories of traveling to Japan for work and was pointing out how the sushi at Mikuni was so much tastier than the actual Japanese sushi. I also told her about how I ate poisonous fish that is considered a delicacy. She must have thought I was crazy at least it got her laughing.

Andrea: Yes, I thought he was crazy but at the same time I found it to show he is adventurous. I still tease him about it. Jeff is right; I was nervous so probably more quiet than normal. That is until the wine kicked in!

How did you know that you were meant to be a couple?

Andrea:I felt pretty early on that Jeff was the one for me. We enjoyed our time together regardless of if we wine tasting in Amador or grilling in his backyard. He enjoys cooking and some of our best times have been just barbecuing at home with friends or with just us and his Rottweiler’s. He had a male, female, and their offspring, a boy puppy. At first, I was skeptical of them – they are large breed and there were 3! After being around them a few times and seeing how Jeff cared for them, I could see that they were good natured dogs. I also saw what a kind, loving person Jeff was in the time he spent training the dogs and taking them to the park or lake. It was fun to take them in his truck (and they would get a lot of attention) and teach the 6 monthold puppy how to swim. Sadly enough two of the three dogs have since passed away within the last year. The adult male was older and had cancer and the puppy had a congenital lung malfunction. I am glad that we were able to spend the time with them that we did. That first summer was great and I already felt as though I found someone special!

Jeff: I asked Andi to go to Hawaii with me later that summer. I had accumulated enough mileage for us to both fly free. I knew that Andi was a special girl and I wanted to spend a vacation with her and really get to know her. The vacation was great! We not only relaxed by the beach and hotel bar, but we went kayaking, did some hikes and I really got to know her and learned that she isn’t high maintenance; instead she is silly and fun. Our room was small, it was probable 8×8 and the bathroom was tiny and when we walked in I was nervous at the size. She looked a little shocked but started making humor of it and was excited about the walking distance to the beach.

Andrea: Flying makes me nervous. He was so sweet and held my hand during take-off and let me eat his airplane cookies. At that point that I loved him because just having him sit next to me calmed my nerves tremendously. Of course I waited for Jeff to say he loved me first and he did soon after! We got along so great on the trip and had a blast.

Jeff: She was so cute on the plane in how she squeezed my hand so tightly at take-off and landing, at one point she even squealed loudly on rough landing in Maui. The fact that we were in that close of quarters for a week and got along so well made me realize she was definitely the one. I had only known her a short time but felt like I had known her so much longer.

What is your favorite characteristic about your spouse-to-be?

Andrea: My favorite characteristic about Jeff is his caring and kind personality. He treats everyone with respect and looks for the good in all people – Jeff is not a judgmental person. And of course, as I mentioned, his caring and kind personality really reflects in how he treats his animals. I have also seen him around kids and even though he claims to not have a lot of experience with them, he is kind towards them. My niece and nephew always get excited to see their Uncle “Jiff.” Also, I believe his caring personality makes him a good salesman. A lot of his customers have been with him for many years because he is genuine.

Jeff: Andi thinks of other people before she thinks of herself. I travel frequently for my sales manager job and she would care for the dogs. Her schedule is already so busy with her job and 70 mile round trip commute but her being there is saved money of having pet sitter come and put the dogs at ease. I never asked her to do this, she simply volunteered. When we got a new puppy this spring, she helped care for her and when I traveled, she would actually stay at the house to be with the puppy so she wouldn’t have to be alone. She also is the first one to offer help if anyone needs it and she is there for her friends and family. If a friend has a problem, she will be the first one to help. She is also one of the few people I know who gives homeless people food. Andi has low blood sugar and keeps granola bars handy and if she sees someone with a sign she will give them a granola bar or change.

Tell us about your proposal. When did it happen, how did it happen?

Jeff:I thought it would be fun to do a weekend away before we moved. Later that month I was moving into Andi’s house. Even though a short move (Rocklinto Lincoln), I knew the next month would be busy so wanted to get out of town. Plus, I think Andi really wanted to be engaged before I moved in!

Andrea: On August 7, 2010, Jeff and I headed down to San Francisco for relaxing weekend. Jeff and I had romantic afternoon and lunch, walked through Union Square and laughed at all of the ridiculously expensive clothes in Saks, then headed back to room to get ready for night in North Beach. Jeff knows I love a good Italian meal so we went to a local restaurant called Sodini’s. It is a hole in the wall restaurant off the beaten path, so we figured it would be a good local spot! The food did not disappoint.

Jeff:The lasagna was good and of course I cleaned my plate. We are going back there. After dinner I suggested to Andi that we walk around North Beach to Washington Square and maybe go to a bar or two. Andi saw Coit Tower and wanted to walk up there. That was the plan actually and I was afraid she knew what I was up to! At this point, I was nervous and hoped she could not tell.

Andrea:I had no idea, I just saw the pretty lit up tower and all of the steps and figured it would be a fun way to burn off our pasta dinner. I had never been up to Coit Tower and ever since the Bachelor featured a date up there, I had been wanting to go! I should have thought to not wear my 4 inch platforms, but we made it! It felt good to work off my platter of linguine and clams. When we got up to the main walkway, the view was a breathtaking 360 degree panorama of the City. I sat down because my feet were hurting and Jeff became very affectionate and smiley. When no one was around, he got down on one knee and had a beautiful sparkly ring in his hand. I said yes before he could ask me and we hugged and kissed.

Jeff:That night we celebrated at a little pub in NorthBeach and met an out of town couple on their anniversary. We had drinks with them and when the bartender found out about the engagement, he gave us free drinks. Andi kept staring at her hand in awe and was on the phone a lot (that night and for the next 24 hours). The next morning we went back and took pictures. My camera battery died, not a good weekend to have that happen. But, the way I look at it is that that night will be just our memory and not all of Facebook. She puts everything on Facebook.

Why should we pick you to win the Sunset Whitney Country Club’s Classic Wedding of a Lifetime Contest?

Jeff: We would truly turn this into a celebration! Not only of our wedding day but also because on March 12 is my 40th birthday and Andi’s grandma’s 80th birthday. Most of my family and old friends are from Kentucky so it would be so much fun to have everyone come together to not only celebrate the wedding but these milestone birthdays too! Andi wouldn’t have to throw me an extra party! The party would already be there.

Andrea: Like Jeff mentioned, my grandma is turning 80 on March 12. She has never really had a big celebration and has always been the type to underplay her birthday. She and my grandpa came here in 1950 when my grandma was only 19 and pregnant of my mom. She learned English, raised 5 kids, and worked at Macy’s for many years. For fun she enjoys hiking in Yosemite, her poodle Marcel, traveling, shopping, and crafts. She had a stroke 5 years ago and hasn’t let it slow her down. If we won this wedding, we would have special dance for grandma and of course address her big day too. With all of the family in town, the next day we would do a nice brunch for her and open her gifts and let the focus be on her.

Jeff: Another big milestone is that this will be the first “meeting” of the parents. Due to work schedules and distance, our parents have not been able to meet yet. They have been looking forward to meeting and I want this to be a special day for them.

Also, both Andi and I own homes we bought in the real estate boom. We are fortunate to be able to rent one and live in the other but still definitely pay an inflated mortgage and have to plan for vacancy in my house. Andi really needs a new vehicle (hers has 150,000 miles on it) and we really need to focus on saving money in event either one of us loses our job or also in event her car dies out. Had we have done our own wedding, we would have been able to afford about a simple wedding but this would have been a significant piece of our savings. We both work really rigorous schedules and planning a wedding is not only financially straining but also just finding the time to plan. If we could win this prize, we would be able to save our money to buy Andi a much needed car and use the honeymoon to Half Moon Bay. We had just planned on not taking because our budget would not cover.

Click here to vote now!

Be sure to check out all of the participating wedding professionals who are part of this extraordinary dream wedding giveaway! They include:

Sunset Whitney Country Club

Real Weddings Magazine

Always Elegant Bridal & Tuxedo

Encore Photo Booths

Wedding Tulle Invitations

Paul Martin’s American Bistro

Randolph Jewelers

Diamond Bridal Gallery

Sugar & Spice Specialty Desserts

Jensen Wedding Films

A Creative Cover

First Class Entertainment

Half Moon Bay Inn

Old St. Mary’s Chapel

Double U Carriages

Designs by Desirae

Mix Masters

Image Outfitters Photography

Accents by Sage

SpringHill Suites

Photos of the couples by Image Outfitters Photography.

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