How did you meet?
Matthew and I are high school sweethearts. We meet in high school and we have been together for 11 years.
Memorable Moment
The surprise dance we performed! We had practiced a choreographed dance to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” (very fitting for a September wedding, we thought!). We practiced the dance so much in the time leading up to our wedding; and being able to surprise our guests and really pump them up for the dancing to come felt so amazing.
#WeddingGoals
We wanted the wedding to be a representation of both of our individual heritages: Matthew is Chamorro (from Guam) and I’m Mexican. The theme of our wedding was “Tropical Fiesta”—a mix of our heritages that would represent the combining of our lives together. The venue and vendors were all chosen carefully with this idea in mind. Matt and I really love cooking and eating delicious food together, so we wanted our guests to have a good meal along with delicious desserts. And, we really wanted tacos, an ice cream cart, coffee bar and fresh churros. We had a big expectation: to ensure our guests had a great experience while attending our wedding. And, I think we succeeded!
#VendorRaves
Honestly all of vendors did amazing work to make our vision for our wedding came true. If we had to shout out any vendors specifically we would probably go with Kendall Melissa Events for being there with us every step of the way; Flowers by Jordan Marie for providing absolutely stunning floral arrangements; also Norma from Dulce Amor Weddings for doing an amazing job marrying us and providing an amazing bilingual ceremony.
How did the planning go?
Wedding planning went more smoothly after we hired Kendall (Kendall Melissa Events). She really helped us in designing our dream wedding and finding us vendors that brought our vision to life. She made the process of planning our wedding a piece of cake. Our favorite time when planning was visiting our food vendors and being able to meet the people and try all the delicious food options. Being foodies, we really enjoyed this part of the planning process. Most challenging time would probably be doing the seating chart. Planning on how to seat people took many nights, but we were able to push through.
Biggest Challenge
Our most challenging time were the weeks leading up to the wedding. We felt like we were being rushed and since we were also doing a lot of DIY wedding decorations, we felt as though we did not have enough time. This added stress leading up to the wedding. However, with the help of our friends and family, we were able to get everything done just in time. Another challenge were the unexpected changes right before the wedding with COVID-19 affecting some of our vendors. Luckily replacements were available just in time for the wedding.
How would you describe the ceremony?
Our ceremony felt like a dream. The beautiful ceremony and the colors of all of the flowers felt like something you would see out of a magazine. Being able to share that moment with our loved ones is what made it feel very special. I think a piece of the ceremony that felt unique were the favors we had laid out of every seat. Guests were given flower petals wrapped in banana leaves as well as either a Spanish wooden fan or an islander raffia fan. These little touches that highlighted our cultures and symbolized us.
Special Cultural Feature
Yes! Matt and I wanted our wedding to be a celebration of both our heritages. It was important to us that the wedding reflected equal parts of Hispanic and Chamorro culture. With the theme for our wedding being “Tropical Fiesta”, we had many factors of our wedding that celebrated the mixing of our cultures. We had two unity rituals that represented each of our cultures. The Lasso and Las Arras (Exchanging of silver coins) that represented to combining of our cultures and our lives from that point and forever.
Funny Moment
A very funny moment that happened on our wedding day was finding out our nephews got so hot that they ripped the sleeves of their dress shirts. Our wedding took place in Chico, CA. Chico is known for being hot. Once the dancing started, they needed a way to cool down and came up with their own solution. Another funny moment would be the Best Man’s speech. The best man was Matthew’s older brother so his speech turned into a roasting session of his little brother. There were many funny jokes, but it was all love and showed how much they truly meant to each other.
What do you think guests will remember most about your wedding?
We think our guests will remember all the food, desserts, music, and dancing. To this day, our guest rave about all the food and desserts we had at the wedding. We also still hear people rave about our special dance that got the party started.
Advice from the couple:
Do not be afraid to ask for help. We originally went into wedding planning with the mindset that we wanted everyone who was invited to not work and primarily be there to have a good time. However, we came to realize that this put a large burden on us. When we finally asked for help a lot of stress was lifted off our shoulders.
