When Catia and Marcus met it was nothing short of destiny. Although they found each other by way of modern social media, their old world traditional values are what convinced them their love was meant to be. “We knew pretty much from the start that we were destined to be together and that we didn’t want to spend another day without one another,” Catia says. After less than a year of dating, Marcus proposed to Catia on a foggy November evening at Bolinas Beach.
They chose the 100-year-old St. Elizabeth Church in Sacramento, where Catia’s family have been parish members since first immigrating from Portugal in 1985, for their traditional Catholic ceremony. The Mediterranean styling of the church set the tone for their reception, which incorporated both Marcus’s Mexican heritage, as well as Catia’s Portuguese roots. Family members were central to the ceremony, from their nieces and nephews serving as flower girls and ring bearers, to their siblings in the wedding party.
Combining their love of nature with their cultural heritage, the couple planned an elegant picnic reception on Marcus’s family farm in Wilton. Catia explains, “We wanted it to be beautiful, but not stuffy—effortless elegance was the vibe we were going for.” A blend of greens, yellows and blues accented the beautiful outdoor venue, and the décor was highly personalized—featuring many handmade elements, including hand-painted signs and a family tree with framed photographs of family members going back generations.
Catia was extremely hands-on in the planning—from choosing décor to organizing children’s activities and designing the wedding favors—but they did utilize the assistance of a wedding coordinator to make the day-of details run smoothly. “Our wedding was a balance of our cultures, families and values. There was a blend of Portuguese, Mexican and country music, plus great food and drinks,” Catia says. The guests were enthusiastic about the duo’s nuptials, too—dancing and celebrating until the wee hours. The after party continued until 3 a.m. and included a specialized playlist and delivery pizza.
Of married life, Catia says that their love, faith, friendship and overall relationship have deepened. “When you marry, it’s no longer about each individual but rather about us as a team…” She’s enjoying their new life as husband and wife and looks forward to growing the family. “If you’re with the right person, it shouldn’t feel like everything is changing because ideally you’re on the same journey.”
— Abigail Blank
First Dance Song
Original song composed by Sister of the Bride.
Father/Daughter Dance Song
"O Mar Entrola Na Area" by Maria do Ceu
Mother/Son Dance Song
"My Mother's Eyes" by Willie Nelson
Cake Cutting Song
"That's Amore" by Dean Martin
Bouquet Toss Song
"Milkshake" by Kelis
Garter Toss Song
"Legs" by ZZ Top
Details about the cake
Our wedding cake was a princess cake, with marzipan and raspberry filling.
Groom's cake was Kahlua chocolate.
Details about the flowers
Maidenhair plants, bells of Ireland, hydrangeas antique, succulents, dahlias, stock, berries, parrot tulip orange protea, craspedia, green kale.
Anything else you’d like to share about your wedding?
Stephanie and her team at Stephanie Teague Events (STE) are amazing, talented, top notch professionals! It’s no surprise she’s been voted top wedding coordinator in the Sacramento area!!! When we first met Stephanie we were only seven months away from our September 6th wedding date, with 150+ guest list, and not one item checked off our “to do” list. We knew that with our busy schedules we didn’t have the time to do all the research / leg work of locating vendors, and then chasing them down to set up meetings/ tastings, etc. Stephanie was able to save us countless hours and stress in this process. This allowed us to actually enjoy the wedding planning process together as a couple without any bridezilla moments or groomzilla meltdowns.
Stephanie was able to listen to our ideas, adapt to changes, and then effortlessly, with target precision find vendors she knew would meet our specific taste, needs and budget. Her experience and knowledge of who to work with is invaluable! Stephanie has first-hand / behind the scenes experience and working relationships with the best florists, bakeries, caterers, DJ’s/lighting, party furniture, table settings, linens, invitations designers, and yes even portable restroom companies (for our outdoor, country wedding).
Stephanie and her team worked seamlessly with all the vendors to carry out our vision of a family style, old world, elegant, but not stuffy outdoor family farm wedding. Stephanie and her team even went out of their way to buy more wine during the reception, when we were running out, and carried our puppy out to our sunset photo session to include him in our special day.
Many of our guests gushed at how beautiful and unique every detail was and that it was one of the best and most fun weddings they had been to (one of these guests had previously attended Eddie Murphy’s wedding)! Without a doubt Stephanie and her team at STE are a MUST HAVE and the BEST INVESTMENT you can make for your wedding day!!!
If you want an amazing, professional, and charming (not cheesy) DJ you need to hire MR DJ Event Services! When we first sat down with Mike, we were only seven months away from our big day and completely overwhelmed. He took the time to ask all the right questions about the things that were most important to us and what key themes / goals we had for our special day. Mike's organic approach was the reason we successfully formulated the "authentic feeling" for our wedding. It was like piecing together an original Catia & Marcus soundtrack to highlight each moment of our day. So instead of having random "favorite" songs playing in the background, Mike created an ambiance of sound that set the right tone & pace for our cocktail hour, dinner hour, first dances, cake cutting, party and last dance of the night.
Mike was also instrumental in helping me choose my father-daughter song. After months of searching generic playlists on the internet, I still had no idea what song I wanted to play until I sat down with Mike and he explained his approach to choosing a song. I'll never forget the look on my father's face when Mike started playing our father-daughter song; I have never seen my father look so surprised or smile so big! Mike also set up the sound equipment so my baby sister could play piano at our reception for our first dance and the photo booth was great way to capture our guests’ personalities.
But creating beautiful moments is not the only reason you should hire Mike; our guests, young and old, were out on the dance floor (which was lit up by Mike's gorgeous market-street lights) for over three hours having genuinely a good time. We couldn't have shared such beautiful memories with my father, families and friends without Mike's talents. If you want to have a one of a kind wedding that is truly unique and authentic to you and your loved ones, you need to hire MR DJ Event Services.
Any tips you’d give brides and grooms planning their wedding today?
Be flexible and don't lose sight of the big picture. Your wedding day is not about the flowers, decor, cake, dress, etc. It's about the love you share and the commitment you're making to one another. If you keep that as the focus, all the rest will fall into place and you won't stress about the details/stuff at your wedding.
