Although Chelsea and Chris were both born and raised in Vacaville, they attended separate high schools and didn’t meet until after college. They were both hanging out at the local In-N-Out when they first connected. “It wasn’t until five months later that I mustered up the courage to message her on Facebook because I hadn’t seen her since,” says Chris. “From there it was history!”

One of the first places the pair frequented while they got to know each other was Mount Vaca, locally known as “Top of the World.” The day he proposed, Chris told Chelsea he wanted to go there to take photos of her since he got a new camera and wanted to test it out. “Unbeknownst to her, I had my best friends already up on the rock that we had watched the sunset on three years before, laying out a bed of rose petals blanketing the rock for me to propose on,” he shares. “After I proposed I gathered all of our closest family and friends to celebrate.”

One of the couple’s first priorities when planning the wedding was securing an amazing photographer and videographer to capture the day. “The choice was easy when it came to booking Rochelle Wilhelms and her second shooter, Randy Jackson, and Leon Films and Classic City Films,” says Chris. “Once we booked our venue and had the photographer and videographer locked in, we felt much more at ease with everything else we had to accomplish for our wedding.” In addition to support from the wedding venue, they hired Aubrey from Alluring Events to help with advice and contracts.

The ceremony was officiated by a longtime friend of Chris’s parents, who had been an integral part of his growing up. “He was someone that always believed in me and pushed me to chase after my dreams,” the groom says. “We shared our own vows and both got emotional while doing so. There’s something so special about committing your life to someone in front of all your friends and family.”

Both the ceremony and reception took place at the same location, with the site of the vows turning into a dance floor for the reception. “Something we loved about our venue was the lighting created to give the reception a dreamy atmosphere,” Chris says. “We had string lights hanging between the trees and cascading around the dance floor, which looked absolutely magical that night.”

But the newlyweds agree that sharing vows were surely the highlight of the day. Says Chelsea, ”It was a unique moment that we prepared for through our years of dating, putting our thoughts into words and sharing our vision and commitments for the future with each other.” 

—Darren Elms