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The Couple: Alice & Lu
Wedding Date: November 10, 2013
Photography by Mia Hope Photography
Tell us a little about you and your beloved: We first met in the summer of 1996 when we both attended a Youth Bible Camp. Then that fall in late November, we met again when my sister and I visited Sacramento, where Lu is from. After my sister and I returned home to San Diego, I called Lu to wish him a happy birthday, remembering that he had told me his birthday was December 2nd. We started talking on the phone after that and writing letters (yes, by mail), getting to know one another better and eventually began our long distance relationship in March of 1997. After high school, I moved to Oklahoma with my family and we decided that we should go our separate ways because it was hard enough doing long distance from San Diego to Sacramento, but now we were in seperate states, it would be even worse.
After four years in Oklahoma, I moved back to California, to Sacramento to be exact. Lu heard about my move and got in touch with me. We reconnected and began dating again and eventually rekindled our love. Since then, we have been inseparable.
One cool summer night in July of 2011, we went out for a drive. Something we often did just to get out of the house and get some fresh air. This night, we ended up at the river where we were just enjoying each other’s company and gazing at the stars.
Eventually, Lu asked “you’re going to marry me one day, right?” To which I responded, “of course!”. He then pulls a little royal blue box out of his pocket and says, “well, I got you something” and opens it to display my beautiful engagement ring that glistened in the moonlight and asked me those four little words that started the next chapter of our lives,”will you marry me?”.
What was the most amazing part of your day? The whole day was amazing, but if we had to choose just one thing, it’d have to be our first look moment. We decided to go the non-traditional route and do a first look so that we would have more time for family photos during cocktail hour. It was super sweet. And, although our photographers were there to capture the moment, it was still so personal and felt like time stood still as we saw each other for the first time that day and embraced each other.
What else would you like to share about your big day? Our DJ had us play the shoe game, which we almost didn’t do because we didn’t want our guests to be bored, but our photographers convinced us to play, and it turned out to be really entertaining. I’m so glad we ended up playing it because we received so many positive comments from our guests about it.
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Ceremony and Reception Site, and Caterer: Arden Hills
Officiant: Neville Bendiola, a family member
Photographer: Mia Hope Photography
Cake/Desserts: Village Cake Shoppe
Flowers: DIY by friend, Arena Sidara
Favors: Candy Buffet
Bridal Attire: House of Fashion
Bridesmaids’ Attire: Von Vonni
Hair and Make-up: Holly Nguyen
Invitations: Mix Book
DJ/Entertainment/Band and Lighting: MorningStar Entertainment
Décor Rentals: Simple County Wedding & Vintage Décor Rentals
First Dance Song: “Better Together” (acoustic version) by Jack Johnson
Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now? The day will go by so quickly, so try to enjoy every minute of it.
Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance? If I could do it over again, I would hire a wedding planner. At least one for the week before and/or day of wedding coordinator. We loved how our wedding turned out, but we were both stressed out and worried about how things would come together before the wedding, so just for peace of mind, I would definitely hire a wedding planner.
Also, we almost didn’t have any decorations for our wedding. If it wasn’t for Ramona and her team from Simple County Wedding & Vintage Décor Rentals, who came by to stylize the decorations we rented from them, we wouldn’t have had candles on the tables, flowers, our guestbook, candy buffet, or anything! We can never thank her enough!
Blog post by Real Weddings Magazine’s Social Media Maven, Aimee Carroll.
Photos courtesy of and copyright Mia Hope Photography.
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