Sacramento Wedding Inspiration: Urban Oasis {Get To Know Our Real Couple Models} from Real Weddings Magazine

Our Urban Oasis photo shoot brought in many modern elements, including our Real Couple Models, Taylor and Nick, who met on Instagram. “A very 21st century love story,” as Taylor says. Read on to find out about their unique love story, and what it’s like to model with your significant other.

What made you want to model for this photo shoot?

We wanted to take advantage of everything “engagement/wedding/newlywed” related. When we heard that Real Weddings Magazine used real couples as their models we thought, why not us?

What was your favorite part of modeling? What was the most challenging part?

TS: My favorite parts were the gorgeous gowns and the hair and makeup! Getting to feel like a princess all day was amazing. Nick enjoyed the tuxes, but I think his favorite part was the snacks! We both loved going through this experience together; it was definitely something different from our daily lives. And for me, the most challenging part was figuring out when to smile and when to be serious!

NS: The most challenging part for me was not getting food on the tux!

What was your favorite part of this concept? Did you relate to the concept?

We loved the mix of urban and elegance in this shoot. It was simple yet modern. It was a very different theme than what our wedding was like, but if we were to do our wedding over we would definitely incorporate some of what I saw in this shoot.

What do you do for a living?

I am a Park Ranger and Nick builds pools and outdoor water features. We both get to spend the majority of our time outdoors every day, which we love.

What do you do for fun?

We both love the outdoors and enjoy camping and taking trips as often as we can. We also have a love for all things vintage, especially classic cars. Our free time is usually filled with traveling and spending time with our family.

Tell us about your love story.

We met on Instagram, a very 21^st century love story. We’d connected through mutual interests in classic cars and ended up chatting and found out we had just about everything in common. The day we met in person we both told our families we knew we had found the one. We got engaged eight months later! Nick had asked my parents for permission to ask me to marry him over Thanksgiving, and was given my great-grandmother’s ring to propose with. He told me we were going to go take Christmas card photos with our 1955 Cadillac, and while I thought he was setting the timer on the camera, he was actually recording a video of our proposal. He came back and got down on one knee and I thought “this is a strange pose for a Christmas card” and he asked me if I’d marry him. I said yes, and cried happy tears for about a week straight. Once I met Nick I realized it’s completely true, when you know you’ve found the one you just know. Everything seemed to fit, we hold the same interests, values, and have never had any doubts about spending the rest of our lives together.

Tell us about your own wedding.

We had an October wedding at Nick’s parents’ property. We wanted to have the flexibility to make our big day as personal as possible, so we opted to have it at a private residence and plan it all ourselves. We got married in front of 220 of our closest family and friends under one of the oldest and largest oak trees in the county. We had a country/rustic theme, the girls wore cowboy boots and we brought a lot of elements of nature into the décor. Nick and his parents spent months preparing the property and landscaping to make our day what we dreamed of. There were personal touches everywhere, twinkle lights on every tree and structure, a photo booth, games, dancing, a campout and we even had a car show. Our wedding day turned out to be more perfect than either of us could have ever imagined, and it was truly “us”.

What was it like modeling with your significant other?

Nick loves taking photographs so being in front of a camera together is nothing new for us. Especially after just getting married, that whole day feels like one giant photo shoot itself! We had a lot of fun on this shoot and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

If you could offer any advice to future brides, what would it be?

I think it’s important for brides to remember what the day is really about. As your wedding day gets closer, you may feel overwhelmed and focus all of your attention on small details and wedding planning but remember that the day is about sharing your love and happiness that you have for one another with the people who are most important to you. You probably won’t remember what your centerpieces look like years from now, but you will remember that feeling you get when your partner sees you in your wedding dress for the first time. Remember, it’s all about the love!

-Interviewed by Kelley Saia

“Urban Oasis” was produced by Aimee Wendell—2Chic Events & Design, Vicky Marco—Bella Bloom, Emily Peter and Wendy Sipple—Real Weddings Magazine

THE DETAILS

VENUE Studio 817 | 916-798-4292 | studio817events.com

PHOTOGRAPHER Sweet Marie Photography | 707-685-7694 | sweetmariephotography.com

DESIGN, STYLING AND COORDINATION 2Chic Events & Design | 888-542-CHIC | 2chicevents.com

STYLING, FLORAL DESIGN, SELECT DÉCOR AND CUSTOM COPPER ARCH Bella Bloom | 916-498-8588 | bellabloomflowers.com

CAKE Ettore’s European Bakery & Restaurant | 916-482-0708 | ettores.com

CATERER The Waffle Experience
832-797-6576 | 916-285-0562 | 916-805-5938 | thewaffleexperience.com

HAIR AND MAKEUP Nor Cal Natural Beauty
Melissa Rascon, Hair and Makeup | 916-792-8896 | norcalnaturalbeauty.com

TAYLOR’S MAIN LOOK GOWN AND NICK’S TUXEDO
Always Elegant Bridal & Tuxedo | 530-755-4282 | 530-487-7110 | alwayselegantbridal.net

ADDITIONAL LOOK GOWNS
Always Elegant Bridal & Tuxedo | 530-755-4282 | 530-487-7110 | alwayselegantbridal.net
The Bridal Box | 916-742-4638 | thebridalbox.net
Diamond Bridal Gallery | 916-521-9856 | diamondbridalgallery.com

JEWELRY (TAYLOR’S ADDITIONAL LOOK) USA Bride | usabride.com

HAIR ACCESSORIES (TAYLOR’S ADDITIONAL LOOKS) Revel by Veil Trends | veiltrends.com

PAPERIE Paper n Peonies | 903-780-7772 | etsy.com/shop/papernpeonies

TABLES, CHAIRS, GLASSWARE, FLATWARE AND PLATES
Celebrations! Party Rentals & Tents | 916-773-2133 | 775-773-8900 | celebrationspartyrentals.com

LINENS La Tavola Fine Linen Rental | 916-321-9333 | latavolalinen.com

CUSTOM ESCORT CARDS, CHAIR APPLIQUES AND DECOR SIGNAGE Swoonable | swoonable.net

VIDEOGRAPHER Justin Buettner Wedding Photography | 916-220-0159 | jbweddingphoto.com

Special thanks to our real couple models, Taylor & Nick, and all of the professionals who contributed to this feature!

Blog post by Real Weddings Magazine’s Associate Editor Emily Peter.

Photos by Sweet Marie Photography / copyright Real Weddings Magazine.

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