Sabrina and Nicholas met on Match.com. They were friends first, then dated for two years before getting engaged in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. Eight months later, they married at Rough & Ready Vineyard and Guesthouse.
The groom loved the first look. “It gave a very intimate moment,” says Nicholas. “A beautiful day that goes by almost too fast.” He was wowed when he first saw Sabrina: “I felt like the luckiest man in world.”
The ceremony in front of 100 guests including their 12-member wedding party, incorporated “some geeky quotes and nerd flair,” says Sabrina, explaining she and her groom love comic book conventions, renaissance fairs and Scottish festivals.
The guys walked into the wedding to a string quartet version of the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Their officiant spontaneously quoted The Princess Bride and friends read “nerdy” quotes throughout the ceremony.
“We wanted audience participation so we came up with a unique idea of placing a colorful string on the ground and weaving it through the audience,” says Sabrina. “The rings were placed on the string and passed along, from one guest to the next, all the way to the front.”
Sabrina was surprised by “how not-nervous I was.” She says, “I always thought that walking down the aisle would be me ugly-crying and embarrassing—it wasn’t. I was really happy that day. I got to marry my best friend.”
She loved the view right before she walked down the aisle. “Seeing all my friends and Nicholas waiting at the altar was beautiful,” she says.
The bright and colorful wedding also incorporated a travel theme. They hired an artist to design a colorful map of the world, and the couple used that logo as invitation seals. Fitting with their travel them, they served a “global assortment of foods.”
A fun wedding moment turned into a lasting impression. “Instead of having our guests sign a guest book we had them sign giant Jenga blocks,” says Nicholas. “I thought everyone was going to just sign the blocks; however, almost all of the guests drew wonderful pictures on them, leaving us with one of my most prized wedding mementos.”
Nicholas, who was surprised by how fast the day went, advises other couples, “Make sure to pause, breathe, take a moment to slow down…and kiss the one you married, a lot.”
—Kristen Castillo
First Dance Song
“Love Ain’t Gonna Let You Down” by Jamie Cullum
Cake Cutting Song
“You Are My Sunshine” by Elizabeth Mitchell
Bouquet Toss Song
“Tango D’Amor” by Tango Jointz
We did an adaptation of an Argentine tradition. We tied different colored ribbon to a bunch of charms and one was tied to a ring and placed them inside a closed box with the ribbon strands hanging out. All the single/unmarried people gather around the box, grab a ribbon, and pull. The person who gets the ring is the one to get married next, but everyone else walks away with a charm. So everyone walks away with something.
Garter Toss Song
Same as Bouquet Toss Song
Details about the cake
Divine Desserts by Aguirre was able to do a small 8” round for Nicholas and I to cut and they were able to do individual mini-cakes for everyone else. Even better, each of the mini-cakes could be a different flavor. For our 8” round we went with Strawberry Champagne. The mini-cakes were: strawberry champagne, triple chocolate, and raspberry lemon.
Details about the flowers
Forever Yours Flowers really went above and beyond with the bouquets, boutonnieres, and sweetheart table centerpiece. Here’s a list of all the flowers they used: Alstromeria, Green Hanging Amaranthus, Burgundy Upright Amaranthus, Bells of Ireland, Carnations, Mini Carnations, Delphinium, Green Ball Dianthus, Dusty Miller, Blue Eryngium Thistle, Freesia, Hydrangea, Kale, Lisianthus, Pincushion Protea, Stock, Tulips, Solidago, Statice, Waxflower, Mums/Pom Pom, Roses, Spray roses, Aspidistra, Beargrass, Seeded Eucalyptus, Lily Grass, Plumosa Fern
Details about the favors
Since we did a travel theme for the wedding, Nicholas found various favor boxes shaped like suitcases or air-mail boxes on either Etsy or Amazon. We folded them ourselves and stuffed fun-sized Haribo gummy bears and Jelly Belly jelly beans into the boxes.
Anything else you’d like to share about your wedding?
The food from our wedding came from Whole Foods. While it was affordable and delicious, it didn’t come with staff to set up, refill, or clear away plates. I posted my need for help on Facebook and a lovely lady responded with a reasonable rate and plenty of help.
Any tips you’d give brides and grooms planning their wedding today?
• Do a full run-through/reading of the ceremony during the rehearsal!! I (Sabrina) come from a theater background, and we always did the final rehearsal as if it was the real show. During the rehearsal our coordinator said we shouldn’t read through the ceremony, even though my instincts said we should… I was right. There were a couple significant hiccups during the ceremony that probably could have been avoided if we would have done a read/run-through. I especially recommend this because we had some unique elements to our ceremony like “stringing-the-ring”, and guests reading quotes. And even though Nicholas and I read through the ceremony at home numerous times, we didn’t catch that we forgot to put in the section where we place the rings on each others’ fingers! Gah!!
• Lean on your friends (wedding party) for help. While it may seem like you’re asking a lot of them to be part of your wedding, you’ll find they want to help and make your day as stress free as possible.
• Scan Facebook groups for used wedding items that are super affordable and only used once.
• Don’t bring your father to go wedding dress shopping.
• Talk not just about the wedding but about how you are feeling about the process of planning a wedding. Weddings will cost more and take more time than you realize. It is important to still make time to have romantic moments and fun times.
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
A full run through of the ceremony during the rehearsal; other than that it was magical!
Vendors
Ceremony Site:
Rough & Ready Vineyard and Guest House Officiant:
James Myers, friend Ceremony Music:
DIY Photographer:
Nikki Hancock Photography Videographer:
Love Genre Films Wedding Planner:
Strings & Champagne Events Wedding Designer:
Strings & Champagne Events Reception Site:
Rough & Ready Vineyard and Guest House Bridal Hair:
Darby Hoffman at Colors Salon + Education Bridal Make-up:
Geraldine Centinaje, bridesmaid Bridal Attire:
De La Rosa's Bridal & Tuxedos Bridesmaids' Attire:
David's Bridal Groom’s Attire:
Macy's (tux); R. Douglas Custom Clothier (vest) Groomsmen's Attire:
JCPenney (suit); Tiemart (ties, socks) Groomsmen's Attire:
Simple Luxuries (bridesmen ties) Bride's Rings Jeweler:
Jonathan K & Co. Fine Jewelery Groom's Rings Jeweler:
Jonathan K & Co. Fine Jewelery Save the Date Cards:
Vistaprint Invitations:
Vistaprint Thank You Cards:
Vistaprint Wedding Party Flowers:
Forever Yours Flowers & Gifts Ceremony Flowers:
Forever Yours Flowers & Gifts Reception Flowers:
Forever Yours Flowers & Gifts Caterer:
Whole Foods Cake:
Divine Desserts by Aguirre DJ/Entertainment:
David Graybill, friend Lighting:
DIY Favors:
DIY Photo Booth:
DIY Decor Rentals:
DIY Decor Signage:
DIY Rentals:
ATV Video Productions (speaker) Honeymoon Travel Agent:
Groupon/Great Value Vacations