HOW DID YOU MEET?
We met on Hinge. Marina asked Jennifer what her Mount Rushmore of Musical Theater was, two months later we went on our first in-person date and we never looked back. Musical theater became a big part of our relationship after that, and we have seen 16 shows together since!
WHEN DID YOU BECOME ENGAGED, AND HOW?
9/29/24, Jennifer proposed to Marina at a SF Giants game in front of Oracle Park, under the guise of taking pictures with the stadium behind us. Our parents were with us and were all in on the surprise and helped make it happen. Marina proposed back on 11/17/24 while we were at Mettler Family Vineyards. They have a beautiful pond with a small dock that jutted out into it, and when Jennifer wasn’t looking she got down on one knee. The sunset was beautiful as we were surrounded by a gorgeous winery and just the two of us having an incredible moment.
#WEDDINGGOALS
Because we were so hands-on in every bit of wedding planning, we were able to make our vision a reality. We knew we wanted it at a local winery and to work with vendors who were allies to the LGBTQ+ community.
HOW DID PLANNING GO?
We protected the peace of our wedding by never making decisions while in a negative headspace. We enjoyed the creative process of making our own invitation suites, menus and signage. A tough part is that once you have chosen vendors, it’s high stress making sure everything runs smoothly and comes together.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
When you’re doing it on your own, it’s hard to find the right place to start the process of finding vendors. You do lots of research and legwork to find the right vendors to suit your needs, but in the end it’s all worth it.
HOW WAS THE CEREMONY?
We had a beautiful ceremony between two redwoods on the winery grounds. We had a split aisle where we walked in from opposite sides escorted by our parents, and met where the aisles converged. We hugged and thanked each other’s parent and continued up the main aisle together. We walked into an instrumental version of “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, and walked back the aisle as wives to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. The officiant customized our wedding vows specifically to us, and we still have people talking about the ceremony to this day.
SPECIAL MOMENT
Jennie’s dad, Marina’s mom, both bridesmaids and Marina’s brother all gave beautiful toasts at the reception. We had a moment for the girls and gays to come together on the dance floor to sing and celebrate with us. The songs we played were “This Is Me” by The Greatest Showman, “I’ll Cover You” by Rent, and “Defying Gravity” by Wicked.
FUNNY MOMENT
Our cake was delicious and absolutely beautiful, but we realized during our first dance that our teeth and tongues had been dyed green by the frosting. We couldn’t stop laughing!
UNEXPECTED MOMENT
Jennie’s dad surprised us with his tie being the Lesbian pride flag. He didn’t tell us prior to wedding day and we felt so special in his outpouring of support.
SPECIAL DANCE SONGS
First Dance: “Yours” by Russell Dickerson
Father/Daughter Dance: “Cherish” by The Association
Mother/Daughter Dance: “Mama’s Song” by Alyssa Ramirez
Cake Cutting: “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen
Last Dance: “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey
Anniversary Dance: “Forever and Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis
BEST PART
Marina: We shared a bridal suite, but were apart the majority of the morning. My favorite moment was the first look when I could finally see Jennifer. My heart was filled with so much love in that moment and only grew bigger when we read our private vows to each other.
Jennifer: Exchanging the private vows we wrote for each other after our first look. Keeping those just for us was something I will never forget.
FAVORITE DETAIL
Marina bought Jennifer a bouquet pin and Jennifer bought Marina a locket pin containing photos of our grandmothers. It was important to both of us to have them with us for such a big moment. Our table numbers were cities that we travelled to, and contained a photo from the location and a song that reminded us of the trip. They were designed in the fashion of a Spotify Now Playing view. On the back was a Spotify code that our guests could scan that would take them to a playlist we created with songs that were important to our love story.
#VENDORRAVES
All of our vendors were absolutely incredible. We truly felt like we built a dream team to help bring our wedding to life.
LOOKING BACK, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR GUESTS WILL REMEMBER THE MOST?
The food, the photobus and our officiant, are all still talked about from our guests.
ADVICE FROM THE COUPLE
Have fun with it! Hear each other out and truly listen to each other, it’s both of your big days. Protect the peace of your wedding, don’t let too many people have an opinion on your wedding choices and try to only make big decisions while in a good headspace.
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?
We wouldn’t have waited so long to see each other so that we could have experienced our full wedding day together.
