Welcome back to another Real Weddings Weekend! Today is all about Siena and Matthew’s beautiful estate wedding, with so many gorgeous touches you might just swoon. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! Keep scrolling to read all about the lovely couple, and to get in on more amazing photos from Wander Love Photography.
Tell us a little about you and your beloved.
Matthew and I met in high school when we were both 15! I had just transferred to a new high school when I saw him for the first time and I went home and told my Mom Matthew was, “the cutest boy I’d ever seen”. Matthew asked me to Homecoming that year and then on my 16th birthday he asked me to be his girlfriend. We both love being outside and a few of our favorite hikes we have done together are Half Dome in Yosemite, and Angels Landing in Zion. After many years of new adventures together, Matthew proposed in December of 2022. Our families were staying in a cabin in Lake Tahoe and skiing together. We left skiing to go on a “date” which turned out to be Matthew’s proposal at Sand Harbor Beach. Planning our wedding by ourselves was a ton of fun, but I could not believe how many details it involved! Our families are very close, and we share a lot of the same friends which added to the excitement on our wedding day. As high school sweethearts, we looked forward to our wedding day for over five years, so the whole planning process and wedding day was long awaited and filled with so much joy and anticipation.
What else would you like to share about your big day?
One of the most amazing things we experienced was reading our personal vows to each other, followed by celebrating with our whole bridal party after the ceremony! There is nothing like the post ceremony celebration with everyone you love and happy tears realizing you just married your best friend! It felt entirely surreal. Seeing friends and family from all over the world there to celebrate with us was also one of the most amazing things we’ve ever experienced.
What was the best part of your day?
Three things we prioritized were staying in the moment, centering our wedding around God, and including sentimental touches. A few of the sentimental details we included were the flower girls throwing petals from my engagement bouquet, choosing songs from my childhood for the father-daughter dance, and using the same getaway car that my grandparents left their wedding in 50 years ago.
Advice from the couple:
Soak up every day of your engagement and prioritize your relationship and marriage more than the wedding day. You won’t remember all of the tiny details, family drama, and time and effort of the planning a few months after the wedding, but you will be grateful for premarital counseling to strengthen your relationship before you are married! Delegate tasks to keep wedding planning stress from dividing you and your fiance or family. Getting everything done by the week before the wedding is ideal so you can relax and spend time with everyone coming to town before your wedding day. Invest in a great photographer because they are the one you spend your entire wedding day with, and they are responsible for capturing and creating all of the visual memories for everyone to look back on. Choosing vendors that are kind and thoughtful is so important. Don’t let any vendors with strong personalities make decisions for you if you’re not fully on board – it is your day and you’re paying them to bring your vision to life!
Anything you would have done differently?
My bridesmaids and I were planning on making a transition TikTok but we totally forgot to film the rest of it once we had gotten in our dresses! So I would’ve finished that (LOL). I also would’ve loved to spend a bit more time with family members that flew from New Zealand and Norway.
Photos courtesy of and copyright Wander Love Photography used with permission.
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