Meagan and Mark wrote their own wedding vows, and the words were anything but traditional.

“We wanted to have some humor during the ceremony and wanted to keep it a little lighter,” says Meagan.

Here’s a sample of their vows: “I love that, at the moment, our dogs are our children and we spoil them as if they were human,” said Mark. Meagan’s reply: “I love you for loving our dogs, Mimzie and Khloe, and even though Mimzie isn’t your favorite,  I love you for pretending to like her.”

Their vows also joked about the bride hogging the covers in bed and the groom vowing to give her flowers.

Meagan, a dietitian, and Mark, a production and control manager, met through mutual friends and were together seven years before getting engaged during a family vacation. A year later they married in a winter wedding at Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant and Spa.

They had 190 guests in attendance, including an 18-member wedding party. The evening wedding had an elegant color scheme of black, gold, and white. “We wanted a romantic winter vibe for our ceremony look. We absolutely love Tahoe and wanted to bring a little piece of that to our wedding,” says the bride, noting the fireplace made it a cozy setting. “We had tall pine trees wrapped in white twinkle lights that surrounded the fireplace with fake snow sprinkled on the trees.”

The bride loved the venue’s chandelier and how it was decorated. Mark was impressed by “the glow and the elegance of the ballroom,” and says he was “blown away by the smell of pine trees and the glow of lighting around the room.”

The couple did a first look and love the photos that resulted. “It was the first time everything felt real,” says Meagan, who recalls her heart was racing in that moment. “I know that sounds crazy, but it all hit me at once when I saw him in his tux as I was walking up behind him. That’s the first time I started to get emotional because I knew I was marrying the man of my dreams.”

Mark felt the nerves too, explaining his “stomach was filled with butterflies,” when he saw her.

They’re also happy they hired a videographer. “The day goes by so fast, and you miss out on so much that it was totally worth it,” she says. “We are so excited that we get to re-watch some of our special moments.”

Mark suggests building in enough time to see all of your guests: “Try your best to make it around to all your tables to say hi. This was something that was important to us, but we didn’t have enough time.”

A month after the wedding, the couple honeymooned in Jamaica. They’re home now, living out their vows. Here’s hoping she’s getting flowers and he has enough blankets when he’s sleeping. 

—Kristen Castillo