How did you meet?
We met through friends who were San Francisco Giants fans as we are both huge baseball fans. We were friends for about 18 months before we started dating, and lived about two hours apart for the first 18 months of our relationship. We’ve now been together for almost 11 years.
When did you become engaged, and how?
We became engaged in August 2022. We had been together 10 years and mutually decided to make it official. We are a modern couple! We waited to tell our friends and family until Doug purchased me a ring a couple of days later. Everyone was so excited because it was truly a long time coming!
#WeddingGoals
We knew we wanted a custom song written for the day and for my favorite singer/songwriter, Tony Lucca, to sing it—that was going to be the big special treat for us and our guests. Other than that, we wanted a family-friendly wedding that celebrated our friends and family as much as it celebrated us. We are a low key couple so we wanted the day to be about love and happiness, and to be a relaxed, but elegant affair, where everyone felt welcomed. We chose our date because it was very close to the date of our first date, in October, and we wanted to make sure we took advantage of the beautiful fall season.
We gave our floral designer, Bekah, lots of creative control to use seasonal fall flowers, and she came through in a big way—we could not have asked for more. She was also able to buy flowers from one of my bridesmaids who runs her own floral business, so that was very special.
In addition, we wanted to take advantage of the beautiful location for the ceremony and reception, and our photographer, Kaboo, did an amazing job of getting photos of the river and bridge behind the venue as well as the florals.
For the reception, we just wanted people to have a great time and be on the dance floor all night, and our DJ, Justin, absolutely dominated—people had so much fun and we saw people on the dance floor we’d never seen dance before.
Our venue was perfect in that it managed to meet our laid back vibe but also looked stunning. And, the venue team took impeccable care of us—we were treated like a king and queen.
All of our expectations were met by our vendors, and then some. We were absolutely showered with love and everyone expressed what a wonderful time they had—it was truly perfect.
How did planning go?
Kristin did most of the planning on her own. It went really well. Finding a florist was the biggest challenge as many were not responsive. We thought we’d found the right florist in our budget, but her assistant would not let me speak to her directly and I didn’t feel good about that. But, then a co-worker recommended Bekah and it ended up being the best fit! She was responsive and helpful and wonderful to work with.
Our photographer is the sister-in-law of one of our bridesmaids so we immediately booked her and didn’t look for anyone else. At our first meeting, we knew she would be perfect both artistically and for her planning skills.
Elegant Events Media was a recommendation by our venue, and Justin was absolutely perfect for what we were looking for. We were also able to book the photo booth through them.
Kristin loved picking out her dress with three of her bridesmaids (and another on FaceTime!). Doug’s suit shopping was memorable as well, and putting together the seating chart and tasting cake were other highlights! The only difficult thing about planning is that Kristin’s mom passed away in 2021 and couldn’t be there for planning or the event.
How would you describe the ceremony? Was there anything specific that made it unique to you as a couple?
It looked and sounded very traditional, but the vows were anything but. We are a modern couple and we made sure the vows were modern, as well. We promised to to share our life, laugh, and build our dreams with each other, be each other’s sidekick on adventures, support each other through life’s tough moments, be proud of each other, grow old with each other, and find new reasons to love each other every day. Our officiant was Kristin’s cousin, who has a theatrical side, but is also the most sentimental person we know, so he brought the perfect pitch to the ceremony. Our ceremony also featured four children from our respective families, including two junior groomsmen, and the kids brought some definite comedy! But, we expected and even welcomed that. Each of these things made it unique to us as a couple.
Any memorable moments from your reception?
We did a photo array on the dance floor where we sat in chairs and during the length of a song, guests came in and out behind us and posed (mostly in funny poses). It was really fun and the guests loved it! We used the song “Paint a Picture” by Tony Lucca. We have since put many of the photos in a collage frame that we’ve hung it in our living room. It was exactly the type of activity and environment we wanted for our reception and, according to our guests, it was very memorable. Our friend, Dawn, also gave a truly memorable toast where she perfectly described our romance and captured the moment flawlessly.
Funny Moments
The kids truly stole the show! Our ring bearer, Guy, son of our officiant and cousin Lee, refused to walk down the aisle with the flower girl, so his mom, Amelia, had to walk with him. She was not expected to be in the wedding, but she happened to match the bridesmaids and we were so happy to have her end up being a part of the ceremony. The flower girl and one of the junior groomsmen also made their way up to their moms during the ceremony, which gave the audience something to giggle about and we didn’t even know it was happening!
Best Part
How can we pick? There were so many!
Kristin: it was when Doug (who is not a crier) started to cry when he first saw me in her dress during the first look.
Doug: The first look—when I first saw Kristin and how gorgeous she looked in her dress and how happy she was. The photos of that moment bear that out, as both of us are grinning like fools!
Favorite Detail
So many, but if we had to pick, our officiant Lee’s introduction to the ceremony and when Tony sang our custom song during our first dance.
Looking back, what do you think guests will remember most about your wedding?
How fun it was, and how filled with love. So many people have told us they felt so loved and so welcomed.
What tips or advice would you give to couples planning their wedding today?
Don’t sweat the small stuff, give at least a year for planning, ask for help when you need it, but make sure everything is exactly the way you want it.
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
Nothing. It was perfect, as it was.
