Rain on your wedding day is considered lucky. Let’s just say Emily and Dylan are feeling very lucky! That’s because it rained while the two exchanged vows during an outdoor ceremony at the UC Davis Alumni Center.
The original plan was for the couple to marry at Putah Creek Lodge but when the forecast called for rain, Emily and Dylan switched their venue just two days before the wedding!
“We got umbrellas for everyone and walked down the aisle in the rain,” says Emily. “We cut down the ceremony quite a bit so that we wouldn’t all have to be in the rain for too long. It poured during the ceremony, and, of course, let up almost right afterwards.”
While the whole celebration was originally supposed to be all outdoors, the plan B meant the reception was held indoors. The couple and their 90 guests-—including many of Dylan’s family from Ireland and Emily’s family from Southern California—were comfy inside.
Emily was excited pre-ceremony and recalls everything felt “unreal.” She says it was, “like we were playing make believe except that I was in a wedding dress and he was in a suit and tie.”
Dylan loved seeing his bride in her full gown and makeup for the first time at the venue. “It made the whole thing feel real in a way nothing else did,” he says.
The two first met at UC Davis, where they had the same major: wildlife, fish and conservation biology. She’s an environmental scientist and he’s a biologist. They dated for three years, and then Dylan proposed to Emily while the two were vacationing in Madrid.
They spent a year planning their dream wedding and then those plans changed majorly the week before the big day. They weathered the storm though and credit their vendors with making it a success.
“I felt like the only thing I had to worry about on my wedding day was getting married and having fun, and I thank my amazing vendors for that,” says Emily, who’s grateful for her wedding coordinator and venue coordinator, both of whom helped modify the wedding plans.
She was both surprised and impressed by how many photos they took, which gave them an opportunity interact with all of their guests. “We got to talk to almost everyone at least a little bit,” she says.
Dylan was surprised that he wasn’t anxious on the wedding day. “Excitement took over and replaced all the stress of the planning,” he says. “Knowing that the day you have been talking about and planning for is finally there.”
The newlyweds, who are planning a honeymoon to Barcelona later this year, advise other couples to have a contingency plan and to work with a wedding coordinator. “I didn’t worry at all on my wedding day,” says Emily. “It was great.”
—Kristen Castillo
