sacramento-wedding-photography-L&S-RW-WS14-6High school friends Lauren and Santino (whose nickname is Sonny) continued to run into one another, long after high school. Even when they lived in different cities, they seemed to see each other on a fairly frequent basis. Sonny wasn’t exactly shy about the fact that he thought they should date, but Lauren’s boyfriend at the time probably would’ve had an issue with it. Fortunately, Lauren did eventually become available and Sonny didn’t delay. Living in different cities made things difficult, but they were both willing to do the work.

While dating, Lauren was in a horrific car accident, which Sonny witnessed from within another car. A year later, he took Lauren to Disneyland to celebrate her survival and recovery from serious injuries. The couple enjoyed the amazing fireworks show from near the castle, and afterward took a walk to the fountain. Sonny began fumbling over his words, but held it together long enough to drop to one knee and propose. Lauren said yes without any hesitation.

The bride-to-be began planning the wedding right away; in fact, she started long before the proposal even came. Sonny would ask her what she was doing and she’d respond, “Planning my wedding. You’re welcome to be there if you’d like.” Apparently Sonny got the hint.

They both knew they wanted a less formal wedding outdoors and loved the idea of having a venue with a barn. Taber Ranch stole their hearts immediately and they knew it was the one. Selecting the food and dress, on the other hand, were not such easy decisions.

The groom’s one request was barbecue for the food. Lucky for him there are some amazing barbecue caterers in our area. They ended up selecting Ludy’s Catering, but Sonny just couldn’t get Buckhorn Catering’s coleslaw off his mind, so Lauren surprised him with it at the wedding.

Sonny got his barbecue and Lauren was excited to get the bridesmaid dresses—tea-style and made from vintage linens from the ’50s and ’60s—she had been eyeing long before the proposal. Not only were they beautiful dresses, but also the cut looked amazing on all of her bridesmaids (not an easy feat as most brides know). Lauren made sure to not leave the groomsmen out of the vintage vibe. She made their boutonnieres out of felt with vintage buttons found at a local antique faire. She was also able to turn the fabric samples from the bridesmaid dresses into pocket squares.

The big day was all about celebration. The ceremony was short, sweet and to the point, and then on to the party they went. When guests arrived at the reception they completed advice cards, which the DJ read while guests waited in line for the food. Most of them were pretty comical and provided great entertainment. The newlyweds, along with all of their guests, couldn’t wait for the dancing to begin and kept it going all the way until midnight when the venue closed. They weren’t ready to stop the party, so they simply brought it back to the hotel.

Lauren and Sonny departed for their honeymoon right away. Hurricane Isaac may have put a damper on the timing of their cruise, but the happy couple certainly didn’t let it ruin their time celebrating. As for kids, they both want two, but for now, they’re happy just being newlyweds.

—Kelley Saia

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