When Denise and Kenny first met, it was through mutual friends. At 16 years old, Denise was too young for Kenny, six years her senior. They remained platonic acquaintances until Denise returned from living in Santa Barbara in 2010, when she was 21. Kenny, an automotive technician for Turner Volvo, discovered her on Facebook and took a shot. “I couldn’t believe he wanted to go out with me, but we went,” Denise recalls. “It was horrible! Our first date was so awkward. We’re both pretty quiet and didn’t have much to say.”
The awkwardness didn’t last long though. “Within a month we both new we had found ‘the one’ for us. When you know, you know,” Denise says. Following Kenny’s marriage proposal on a Hawaii beach in April of 2012, Denise got busy planning her dream wedding—all on her own. “That made for some stressful times, but I’m so glad at how it turned out.”
One of the only hiccups in the wedding was not being able to have her dog Charlie as ring bearer. “That just didn’t work out,” she laughs. “But he did come to the wedding!”
The 5 p.m. ceremony took place at the traditional “wedding oak” on the lawn at Serrano, under a perfect 79-degree sky. “We had a chandelier [hanging] above us in the tree and my grandpa performed the ceremony, which was so special.” Denise’s grandma had recently passed away, and she says having her grandpa marry them was like having her there. Family from far away, who are rarely seen, showed up as well, making Denise feel honored.
As a hairstylist at Salon Capelli in El Dorado Hills, Denise has an eye for aesthetics, and the vision she had for her wedding and reception was perfectly executed: fairy tale glamour.
“I wanted it to be very feminine and romantic,” she says. “My colors of blush, pink, grey and off-white, plus lots of candles and bling, gave just the feel I wanted.”
Denise even adorned her bouquet of roses, peonies and hydrangeas with sparkling gems within the flowers. Another unique touch was Denise’s decision to have her bridesmaids choose their own dresses within the correct color range. “I wanted them to find dresses they found flattering and worked for them,” Denise explains.
The reception included an emotional slideshow of the couple’s relationship and dancing late into the night. Denise saved money by displaying a beautiful faux wedding cake and serving strawberry sheet cake instead for their guests.
The newlyweds spent their wedding night at The Citizen Hotel in downtown Sacramento, and rose bright and early at 4 a.m. for a car to whisk them away for an early flight to Cabo San Lucas. It was the perfect way to cap a fairytale wedding.
—Carrie Poggio
