How did you meet?
We met when we were 13 years old. We both attended CA Jacobs Middle School. Living in a small town, we had some mutual friends that ultimately led to us meeting and becoming best friends.
When did you become engaged and how?
We got engaged on November 2nd, 2022, at the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco. Najia surprised Stephani with a weekend getaway in the city, and the first stop of their trip was the palace where Najia had hired a hidden photographer ready to capture the surprise.
#WeddingGoals
Our biggest priority was making sure that everyone who would be there as a guest would be someone that would show their unconditional love and support to us and our union as a married couple. Coming from very large families we knew it was going to be a challenge to feel that we had to exclude some in order to maintain a positive environment on our special day. We expected there to be a stir of emotions and thankfully we were able to work past it.
Aside from that, both of us have always shared a love for hair care and felt that it was a huge part of who we are. We both expressed how important it was for us to look our best in order to feel our best. We have very opposite hair types and wanted to make sure we were able to find the best person for Najia as her hair would require a lot more attention and care. We did not expect to see such a lack of inclusion of curly hair types in the wedding hairstylist industry. We found there were many self-proclaimed curly-hair pros but quickly found that to be untrue. We never expected to reach out to over 75 hairstylists in the Sacramento/Roseville region only to find a handful that could help us out.
How did planning go?
There were many bumps along the way, but for the most part it was simply a matter of creating solutions for the small mishaps. Our favorite part was visiting the San Francisco Flower Market and curating a vision board for how we wanted our florals to look, as well as planning for our European honeymoon together.
What was the biggest challenge of wedding planning?
The biggest challenge with wedding planning was finding the perfect venue that fit our ideal look and feel while not compromising on heavily on our budget. Finding vendors that suited our needs was also a challenge as we had different special diets to cater to such as vegetarian, meat, and halal dishes.
How would you describe the ceremony? Was there anything specific that made it unique to you as a couple?
The ceremony felt intimate and surrounded by people who we loved, and who loved us. It felt very special to see so many faces that were smiling from ear to ear and teary-eyed. As we would have guessed, we both wrote heartfelt vows, with jokes catered to us. Najia surprised Stephani with saying her vows in Spanish so all of her family could also understand. It was arguably one of my favorite parts of the entire day (Stephani).
Stephani’s Favorite Part of the Day
Spending the entire day glued to Najia, and getting to hang out with our favorite people together. It was also great seeing my parents so happy; having their love and support meant a lot to me.
Najia’s Favorite Part of the Day
The calm before the storm. Waking up early before everyone else with Stephani and enjoying the peace and quiet together before we got married.
Any memorable moments from your reception?
Stephani: The reception was full of very fun dances/music and seeing the blend of our families dancing with one another was so magical, it truly felt like a union of two different backgrounds (Pakistani & Mexican) come together.
Najia: Getting to see the traditional game and dance “Vibora De La Mar” with all of our friends and family running around was a lot of fun to watch. It was also a great laugh to see everyone try and catch the two bouquets as there was lots of friendly competition amongst the bridesmaids and family.
Any funny or unexpected wedding moments that happened throughout the day?
Both of the flower towers fell during the ceremony in a very comedic manner. Melanie Espinosa, Stephani’s sister and maid of honor was able to catch it midway through falling, and hold it before backup came and picked them up. These steel flower towers were then held up by Najia’s cousins Steven Marston and Jr. Aguilar for the entirety of the ceremony and family photos.
#VendorRaves
ALL OF THEM!! Starting with our photographer, Katie, of Captured by Kay. She was the kindest, most down-to-earth and easy going gal. She acted as if we have known one another for decades and helped us feel very comfortable around her but most importantly, around one another. We were nervous to find a photographer to capture our day through a more artistic way as well as high quality.
Our caterers were incredibly kind and delivered amazing, tasty and fresh on-time food that not only looked great, but tasted great. They even were kind enough to let us have boxes of leftovers to give to family members at the end of the night.
Our bar servers were so much fun and knew how to talk to each guest and help them with their drink of choice. We wanted a cute mobile bar and they went above and beyond with the picture-perfect aesthetics.
Our DJ/MC treated us like family and long-time friends; he maintained accurate timelines the whole night and kept the energy high at all times. We were not willing to settle for a DJ who couldn’t cater to both of our languages, and he was the best person for the job. He made sure to also involve music from both cultures and gave us a mix that got everyone at our wedding onto the dance floor (that’s hard to do!).
Looking back, what do you think your guests will remember most about your wedding?
Stephani: I think they will remember dancing to different types of music with one another.
And how happy we were, as all of the guests have known us since we were really young and we had talked about our dreams of remaining high school sweethearts and getting married.
Najia: I think they will remember the venue the most. It was absolutely breathtaking.
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
Stephani: I would have asked for help sooner, and involved my family instead of keeping them in the dark and rejecting their offers to help with decor, day-of planning, financially, picking up the wedding inventory and so on.
Najia: I would have made sure to get family pictures with specific family members.
