Real Weddings Sunday: Presenting Candice and Brian Sowden

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.