Real Weddings Wednesday: Nikka + JR's Elegant Elk Grove Church Wedding

It’s Wednesday, so you all know what that means… it’s Real Weddings Wednesday! So kick your feet up and grab a snack as you peruse today’s beautiful, elegant church wedding in Elk Grove, featuring Nikka and JR. You’ll find beautiful purple florals, a gorgeous reception with purple accents, and amazing photos from the talented Karissa Wright Productions. Keep scrolling to read all about their love story, and to see more gorgeous photos!

Tell us a little about you and your beloved.

We met online on OkCupid. We connected online talking about 49er football around Christmas of 2014. We met in person on 12/31/2014 for a coffee date that lasted three hours because the conversation was so good. JR was the first and only person Nikka wanted to meet in person. JR proposed at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. This is a church that [they] would go to together and eventually would get married here. JR proposed doing a performance impersonating a dancer from the Jabbawockeez and dressed as Bruno Mars for a lip sync performance. He had a gathered a lot of [their] closest family and friends for the surprise engagement. They watched from inside the church lobby secretly as JR performed in the church courtyard Then JR walked me (Nikka) to the side of the church in the garden devoted to the Virgin Mary where I saw all of the surprise guests waiting for me. Wedding planning took a lot of time. We had to wait to save money and because of Covid. As a the youngest, and only girl out of three, I always dreamed about a big, Filipino and Catholic wedding. JR shared the same dream. There was a lot of stress and doubt of being able to pull off a large wedding. We just wanted to be around people that loved and supported us in front of God.

What was the best part of your day?

Our ceremony. Being in front of God in front of our family was the best thing. When we got to showcase our love during the ceremony, it was the best.

What else would you like to share about your big day?

Getting married on 1/7/2023 wasn’t by accident. We chose this date because it was our anniversary date. We were married on our 8-year anniversary. When we saw that our anniversary was on a Saturday in 2023, we knew we had to get married on this day.

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Advice from the couple:

Try not to sweat every single detail because a lot of things you’re stressing about now won’t really even matter on your wedding day. Also, take every moment of that day in because just like everyone says, it really goes by so fast. The whole day you’re going by a schedule. Make sure you have fun and enjoy the day and enjoy each other. Make sure you take a moment to yourselves to soak it all in.

Anything you would have done differently?

I wouldn’t stress over too many of the small details because in the end, a lot of the things I stressed about didn’t matter. Also, we should’ve utilized our photo booth more.