Jonathan proposed to Caroline on Christmas. She wanted a treadmill, so he filled an empty treadmill box with restaurant gift cards, her favorite chocolate and the ring! Her brother recorded the proposal, which, according to Caroline, “was absolutely perfect and the best Christmas present I will ever get.”
A year and a half later, they married in front of 100 guests at a family friend’s residence on El Macero Golf Course. They loved the private venue for its large trees and shade, as well as sentimental reasons. “We’ve had many special memories there and figured [we could] have our wedding there and make a very memorable memory that we can look back on every time we go there,” says Caroline, an office manager at a landscaping company.
Since the reception was at the same location, guests were seated at their tables during the ceremony. “We are so happy we did it this way, as it was so much easier and laid-back,” says the bride, noting post-ceremony, guests “were already sitting down—drink in hand and comfortable.”
The wedding’s royal blue and white color palette reflected the ocean theme. “If we could have, we would have gotten married on the beach,” says Caroline, noting a destination wedding was pricey and not many guests could attend. “We chose to do it locally, and it was as close to the beach as it could be for being in Sacramento…sea shells and sand everywhere.” Even their cake had an under-the-sea theme, featuring a dark blue bottom with seashells, a middle layer with waves and a top layer using graham cracker crumbs as sand. The cake topper? Two white beach chairs with a pair of flip-flops and a glass of Champagne on each chair.
Caroline loved the moment she first saw Jonathan. “I felt filled with such happiness to know that I would get to see that smile for the rest of my life.” Jonathan, a shop manager at a heating and air company, enjoyed the first dance. “It felt so magical with everyone’s eyes on [us] and all [we] could do was stare into each other’s eyes—almost like none of the [guests] were even there,” he says.
Two days after the wedding, the newlyweds went to Maui for a honeymoon, where they went snorkeling and to a luau. Back at home, their next project is moving into a new house. In lieu of gifts, they encouraged guests to donate to their new home fund. Says the bride: “From the help of our guests, we are able to buy our first home together and couldn’t be happier.”
—Kristen Castillo
