At first, Kristina tried very hard not to fall for Micah. Both were immediately attracted to one another after meeting at a “fitness night” for Bridgeway Church’s young adults group, but Kristina was hesitant to start a relationship.
Once she moved to LA to pursue dance, it became painfully clear how true the cliché is: you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone. They kept in touch, and when they reconnected months later at her brother’s wedding, their feelings for each other couldn’t be held back any longer.
They shared their first kiss under the stars that night—and after dating for a little more than a year, Micah decided to surprise Kristina with an epic Apple Hill proposal. The proposal itself wasn’t a surprise (“I totally knew he was proposing that perfect fall day,” Kristina admits), but Micah did manage to catch her off guard with a key detail.
One of Kristina’s favorite movies is Balto, and she had always dreamed of owning a wolf-dog by that name. Micah had arranged for some friends to place their soon-to-be new puppy in the path of their nature walk. When Kristina checked the tags of the “lost” dog, she saw the name “Balto” and their phone numbers—the bottom tag reading “Kristina, will you marry me?”
Their big day incorporated lots of little touches that truly reflected their personalities—their minister quoting The Princess Bride (“Mawage is what bwings us together today”), and their first dance featuring a swing routine the bride choreographed herself with some help from the groom.
The couple symbolized their embarkation on this new adventure through their travel theme, which was reflected in décor details like maps, vintage suitcases and cameras, and a globe for guests to sign as a guestbook.
Among their favorite moments from the day is the classic “coming down their aisle” moment. In fact, the groom was so blinded by the bride’s beauty, not much else from the ceremony stuck with him.
“It was hard to pay attention to anything or anyone else. Kristina looked absolutely stunning,” he says. “You’d think I’d be used to how gorgeous she is by now, yet she still takes my breath away.”
During the ceremony the Maid of Honor and her sister (another bridesmaid) lead the group in a worship song as the bride and groom took communion.
“That was so special to me,” Kristina says. “Our relationship is centered on Jesus and it was super important for us to incorporate communion and to publicly show that above each other we love Jesus Christ! He is the reason we are together.”
The couple shared personalized vows, becoming man and wife with heartfelt words written especially for them, before kicking off the party with friends and family.
Guests enjoyed over-sized Jenga and checkers, cornhole and tic-tac-toe, while noshing on delicious eats from taco and pizza trucks —recording their memories in a unique “photo bug,” a photo booth inside a VW Beetle from Temple Photography & Photo Booth. If that wasn’t enough entertainment, the bride’s sister regaled the crowd with a fairytale-style retelling of how the couple met while the entire bridal party acted out the scenes.
There was plenty of dancing, laughing and celebrating—and even a few family photos with the newly-minted bride and groom and their pup, Balto. As they begin their new life together (the start of their own “wolf pack”) it only seems fitting to borrow the motto from their wedding: “And so the adventure begins.”
—Jennifer Resnicke
