A quick glance at Nichole and Daniel’s photos will make it easy to believe they met at a science fiction convention. Cosplay enthusiast Nichole and artist Daniel hit it off immediately after saying hello, and though they dated for just over a year and a half before getting engaged, Nichole wasn’t at all surprised when Daniel proposed at the summit of Bear Mountain in Felton. “I had a slight feeling this was the day. We had the cart before the horse and had already talked about where we would be married,” says Nichole. “He held my hand most of the train ride, and I could feel it getting wet as we got closer to the top.” After Daniel proposed by the redwoods, they spent a year planning their amazingly unique themed wedding.

Nichole says they gave their guests a choice of themes for the day, encouraging everyone to dress as they wanted from an elf-inspired wooded theme, a steampunk theme, or a colorful Mad Hatter theme. “Some people said we’d regret it, but as sci-fi geeks, we’ll always remember it as the day our friends took a walk in our word with us,” adds Nichole. Details to support their themes abounded at the celebration: a steam train carried guests to the ceremony, Nichole’s bouquet was draped in forest greenery, and even their bright, three-tiered cake was topped with a teacup that once belonged to Daniel’s mother.

The couple relied on more than just their extraordinary themes to entertain the guests, beginning with the steam train ride to the ride to the top of Bear Mountain, for which they hired an acoustic Celtic band. “They were fantastic! I could hear them all the way from the caboose,” says Nichole. “The ladies and I were stomping our feet as they played.” The reception was also full of surprises, like a bouncy castle and wonderland-themed skeleton key bottle openers as wedding favors. But the final surprise came at the end of the night when Nichole and Daniel treated their guests to an over-the-top fire dancing show. “They ate, twirled, breathed and threw fire into the night sky,” says Nichole. “What a night!” Despite the amazing show, however, Nichole says that one of the best parts of the celebration was a small moment together with Daniel immediately after the ceremony. “Riding down the mountain with Daniel’s hand in mine, listening to the sweet, acoustic melodies of Caliban ringing through the redwood forest has to be one of my top favorite moments,” she says.

After an energetic and creativity-filled celebration, Nichole and Daniel swapped the mountains for the beach and headed to Hawaii for their tropical honeymoon. “It was beautiful and now I want to live there,” says Nichole. “Seriously, we should all move there!” 

—Suzie Dundas