Sacramento Weddings

Joslande, a registered nurse, and Mike, a software engineer, were introduced through Mike’s friend (who met Joslande during a travel nursing assignment). They dated for two and a half years before getting engaged. Mike planned the proposal for three months. The couple had lunch and then walked through the vineyards at Paradise Ridge in Santa Rosa. “Toward the end of the walk, Mike got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him and to continue our amazing adventure together,” Joslande says, explaining a photographer was behind a tree and captured the engagement.

A year later, the couple married with a ceremony and reception at Monte Verde Inn in Foresthill. “We had an outdoor ceremony under a natural canopy of California redwoods,” says Joslande. “We had two readings, and then we expressed our devoted love for each other in front of our amazing friends and family and lit a unity candle.”

Pre-ceremony, Mike was a little nervous. That changed when he walked his mother and his future mother-in-law down the aisle. “As we started off, she leaned over and said to my mom, ‘Allison, now he is both of our sons.’”

The wedding day went fast. For Mike, it all started with the bride’s entrance. “She looked absolutely stunning,” he says. “When I look back at photos, I’m pretty sure I didn’t stop smiling for the next eight hours.”

Autumn inspired the wedding’s colors: coral, champagne and gold. “I’ve always loved fall, and those colors reminded me of a romantic storybook fall wedding, which is exactly what we had,” says Joslande, who loved the arch from their ceremony, calling it, “beautiful, fun and romantic. It was perfect.”

After a dinner of lamb and salmon, Joslande, Mike and their 77 guests enjoyed a traditional wedding cake with buttercream fondant and topped with fresh roses. Mike had a gluten- and dairy-free groom’s cake, which had a LEGO bride and groom topper. Mike also loved another detail: having pewter superhero pins on the groomsmen’s boutonnieres.

One of Joslande’s favorite memories was dancing with Mike to “It’s Your Love,” by Tim McGraw. “As the song ended, I opened my eyes and all our friends and family had formed a circle around us holding hands,” she says. “It was beautiful.”

―Kristen Castillo