Though Megan and Zach grew up 20 minutes apart from each other in Sacramento, the pair would meet miles away while working at The Melting Pot in Pasadena. We both met while in different relationships, but became friends,” says Zach. “A little ways down the road we both found ourselves single and started to hang out more and more. Early on, [I] knew that I was crazy about her and that she would be the last woman I ever dated.”
With family such an important part of both their lives, it was only appropriate that Zach chose a BBQ surrounded by close friends and family members to pop the question. “I prepared a special custom picture book that highlighted our story from the beginning in Pasadena, to our current situation in Sacramento,” he shares. “The last photo was me down on one knee with the caption, ‘Will you marry me?’ I got down on one knee in front of our families and asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. She said yes and we all celebrated.”
Food trucks were at the top of the wish list for the couple’s pending nuptials. “We had been to several different venues to scout out locations and see if food trucks would be allowed,” the groom says. “We had been to several food truck events and really loved the gourmet food that you were able to get from such an unconventional kitchen.” Fortunately, they found a venue that would both accommodate the trucks and give them the rustic barn feel they were going for.
To make the day special for each other, Megan and Zach purchased small sentimental touches that would really put their fingerprints all over the wedding. “We both had custom plates made for the other person to use during dinner,” Zach says. “We also had custom silverware made that we vowed to use on every anniversary after. So far we are 0-1!” They also selected pictures of family and friends that would attend the wedding and hung them throughout the barn as a way to say thank you and acknowledge the people who have been with them throughout their journeys.
Megan’s brother-in-law, Jeremiah Aja, performed the ceremony “marvelously.” “This was extremely special for us since he was able to talk about us on a more personal level, and [made] the ceremony feel more unique and authentic,” Zach says.
“We both wrote our own vows, which I realize is not revolutionary but we both really liked the personal touches that we added to each set,” Zach remembers.
Megan had the idea to take soil from the houses where they grew up and add it to the soil from a tree they purchased and would plant in their new home together. Adds Zach, “The tree, along with all of the soil, is currently in our backyard and bearing several blossoms.”
In lieu of a traditional wedding cake the couple offered chocolate-covered berries, from, appropriately, The Melting Pot in Sacramento—all donated free of charge. “We also provided our guests with an ice cream truck that dispensed all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pops and Choco Tacos one could ask for,” says the groom. “We wanted our wedding to be fun, silly and unique, and reflect all of the love and fun that we fill each other’s days with.”
—Darren Elms
