April and Rich first met in high school. “We were in the same trigonometry class sophomore year,” says Rich. “If it weren’t for my math skills, April probably would never even know who I was. I would like to say we just hit it off from then, but that was not the case.” Fourteen years later, they would connect at a Warriors game that did not go in their home team’s favor. They decided to meet up and commiserate together and discovered, all those years later, they had a strong connection.
April says it didn’t take long for her to realize Rich was “the one.” “Well, except for those 14 years between the time we met and when we first started dating,” she laughs. “Not only was he the most kind-hearted, genuine, and giving person I had ever known, but he was my perfect balance. The yin to my yang. The Clyde to my Bonnie. The Jay to my Bey. After four years together, I still felt the same way after first spotting him in a crowd as I did when we first fell in love.”
Once engaged, the pair knew they wanted a traditional ceremony and a “really fun” reception. “Between my extended family and all our friends, from the youngest to the oldest, we knew this was definitely a group that liked to party,” says April. “That’s why one thing we agreed on from the start and was non-negotiable throughout the planning process was an open bar.”
April and Rich decided to have custom bobble heads made of each of their bridesmaids and groomsmen. “We were determined to make these bobble heads resemble our wedding party as much as possible, so there was a lot of back and forth with the bobble head makers,” she says. “They did a great job and it was hilarious to see these bobble heads transform into mini statues of our friends.”
Two weeks before the wedding, the couple still hadn’t found a wedding coordinator and both were starting to get overwhelmed and stressed. “By then we were so close to the wedding day that most of our free time was consumed with scrambling to finish making arrangements, and we hadn’t been on a date in forever,” recalls April. “Rich saw that the San Jose Jazz Festival was going on that day. We had gone to the festival years ago when we first started dating and it was one of our favorite dates. It was a great way to just take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember that at the end of the day this was about the two of us getting married and spending the rest of our lives together.Everything else would fall into place.”
The wedding took place at St. Vincent’s School for Boys. The ceremony was held at the beautiful church, and the reception followed in the outdoor courtyard.
“We had a couple of themes to give the reception a personal touch,” shares April. “Because we met in high school, instead of a seating chart we had a wedding yearbook. The back of the yearbook included a photo image of the actual message Rich wrote in my yearbook senior year, with pages for the guests to write their own messages.It was fun to see our guests looking through the yearbooks and finding old photos of themselves and all our friends and family.”
—Darren Elms
First Dance Song
“One and Only” by Adele
Father/Daughter Dance Song
“Lullabye” by Billy Joel
Cake Cutting Song
“Cake” by Rihanna
Last Dance Song
“Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (from Dirty Dancing)
Details about the cake
Our cake was one of our favorite details from the wedding From the front, it was a traditional wedding cake, three tiers, with our theme colors – white base with peach petals and gold accents. But from the back, it looked like the outer frosting of the “traditional” cake opened up to reveal a hidden cake underneath that was Golden State Warriors themed! Each of the three tiers on the back had a different logo used by the Warriors throughout the years. It was like a wedding cake and groom’s cake in one. Each layer was a different flavor – chocolate mocha, red velvet, and tiramisu.
Details about the flowers
Bouquets: Textured/Lush hand tied bouquet with garden roses, astilbes, ranunculus in peach, cream soft white
Guests: Folding fans from Amazon; Romeo Y Julieta Cigars by JR Cigars; Match boxes by ModParty
Anything else you’d like to share about your wedding?
We had a couple themes to give our reception a personal touch. Because we met in high school, instead of a seating chart, we had a wedding “Yearbook” that included a freshman class picture in which Rich and April happened to be sitting next to each other. The back of the yearbook included a photo image of the actual message Rich wrote in April’s yearbook senior year with pages for the guests to write their own messages. Finally, the yearbooks included high school or baby photos of each of our guests with their name and table number under each photo. It was fun to see our guests looking through the yearbooks and finding old photos of themselves and all our friends and family. We also put together a list of songs for our DJ to play during the cocktail hour and reception that was made up of a bunch of hits we loved from when we were in junior high and high school… lots of Tevin Campbell, SWV, Jodeci, Aaliyah, etc.
Because of our mutual love for the Golden State Warriors, we also had a Dubs theme sprinkled in to the reception. Our wedding cake was traditional on the front, Warriors themed on the back. Our cake topper was bobble heads of ourselves – April in her wedding dress, Rich in a tuxedo holding his dress shirt open with a Warriors t-shirt underneath. Big heads of Steph Curry and Draymond Green were some of the props in our photo booth.
Any tips you’d give brides and grooms planning their wedding today?
Planning can be a very time-consuming, and at times, stressful process. It’s easy to get lost in the details, that’s natural. But it’s also important to just take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember that at the end of the day this is about the two of you getting married and spending the rest of your lives together. Everything else will fall into place.
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
We had decided before the wedding that at some point during the reception we would take a short walk alone to get away from the crowd just to take a moment to ourselves. It got so hectic we didn’t have a chance to do that. If we could do it again, we’d make sure to take that moment. We also planned an after-party, which was fun but in hindsight we think we could have done without it.
Vendors
Ceremony Site:
St. Vincent's School for Boys Officiant:
Father Mark Reburiano Ceremony Music:
Music by Daphna Photographer:
Satostudio Videographer:
Satostudio Wedding Planner:
JM Wedding and Event Planning Services Reception Site:
St. Vincent's School for Boys Bridal Hair:
Martha Tafoya at Beauty Innovations Bridal Make-up:
Martha Tafoya at Beauty Innovations Bridal Attire:Essense of Australia from Novella Bridal Bridal Veil:
Novella Bridal Bridesmaids' Attire:
Trudy's Bridal Flowergirl Attire:
David's Bridal Groom’s Attire:
Black Tie Tuxedos & Couture Menswear Groomsmen's Attire:
Black Tie Tuxedos & Couture Menswear Ringbearer Attire:
Black Tie Tuxedos & Couture Menswear Bride's Rings Jeweler:
Blue Nile Groom's Rings Jeweler:
Blue Nile Save the Date Cards:
Wedding Paper Divas (now part of The Wedding Shop by Shutterfly) Invitations:
Bella Announcements Place Cards:
Fran Johnson House Thank You Cards:
Shutterfly Wedding Party Flowers:
Blushing Florals Ceremony Flowers:
Blushing Florals Reception Flowers:
Blushing Florals Caterer:
Alta Cuisine Bar Service:
Alta Cuisine Cake:
The Cake Queens DJ/Entertainment:
DJ Go! Lighting:
Joe Squared Productions Transportation/Limo Services:
BSW Limo, Inc. Favors:
Hello Mini Me Favors:
JR Cigars Favors:
ModParty Photo Booth:
Boogie Booth Decor Rentals:
Joe Squared Productions Decor Signage:
DIY by the Bride's sister (Maid of Honor) and a Bridesmaid Table Rentals:
Joe Squared Productions Chair Rentals:
Joe Squared Productions Linens:
Joe Squared Productions Chair Covers:
Joe Squared Productions Rentals:
Joe Squared Productions (lounge furniture) Additional Resources:
Melvin"DJ Mel" Enriquez (MC)