How did you meet?
We met online.
When did you become engaged, and how?
We got engaged on March 23rd, 2024 at Veni Vidi Vici Restaurant in Fresno, Ca. It was a romantic candle lit restaurant. After he proposed, and of course I said “YES” with many tears, we went to K1 Speed Indoor Racing (which was our afternoon plan that had to get pushed back). It was a mix of fun and romance. I won at K1 racing, but the groom was a true winner when I surprised him with a 49ers Dre Greenlaw jersey.
While planning the wedding, was there anything in particular you knew you wanted for the day?
We just wanted to have a romantic, intimate wedding. We wanted our guests to have a great evening celebrating love.
We did a no kids wedding, despite our nieces and nephews, so couples could enjoy an evening together, maybe spark some romance in their relationships.
How did planning go?
It went well. Once we started working with Brittnie at The Firehouse Restaurant, it was smooth sailing. She made checklists for me to work on every month or two—it kept us on track. Our favorite part was looking for venues, and the worst part was having to make cuts to our guest list.
What was the biggest challenge of wedding planning?
Keeping with our vision while trying to incorporate our families wishes/ideas.
How would you describe the ceremony?
Our wedding was romantic, and God centered. Every guest was handpicked to be there to celebrate this moment with us. That made it extra special.
Any memorable moments from your reception? Toasts? Fun dances? Performances?
It was so much fun making our grand entrance to California Love by 2 Pac. It was unexpected and fun.
My nephew had us all laughing when he gave it toast. He got nervous and made the statement “I might pee myself” lol. We all laughed.
We loved dancing with the glow sticks. So much fun.
Did you have any special cultural features to your wedding or factors that celebrated the heritage of you or your family?
We made sure to have photos of those who couldn’t be with us on the grand fireplace. It was a beautiful tribute to them.
We also incorporated Mexican music throughout our wedding.
Any funny or unexpected wedding moments that happened throughout the day?
It took an extra long time trying to get my gown bustled (seven bustles!) before making the grand entrance. Once I sat down, two bustles got stuck on the chair and broke, so the rest of the night I rocked the dress with the train down. We laughed it off!
Special Songs
Grand Entrance as Mr. and Mrs. Lara: “California Love” by 2Pac
First Dance: “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran
Father/Daughter Dance: “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” by Drew Baldridge
Stepfather/Daughter Dance: “My Girl” by The Temptations
Mother/Son Dance: “Algo Esta Cayendo” by Musica Cristiana
Cake Cutting Song: “Country Girl (Shake it for Me)” by Luke Bryan
Garter Removal Song: “Lets Get It On” by Marvin Gaye (Garter Removal)
Garter Toss Song: “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC
What was the best part of your day?
Samantha: Being surrounded by everyone we handpicked to celebrate this day with.
Sergio: The photo shoots. There was such a variety of photos, between the staged family photos, glamour shots, and all the candid shots. We are blessed with what Denise, our photographer, did on our special day.
#VendorRaves
Our entire hair and makeup artist team from Personify Bridal was amazing—they made us all look and feel so beautiful. I can truly say that I’ve never felt as beautiful as I did on my wedding day.
Our photographer, Denise with Photography For A Reason, was a gem! We did our engagement photos with her in the summer and knew we would love having shoot our wedding. We were also blessed that she had already shot weddings at our venue site prior to our wedding so she was familiar with the venue and locations for good photos. We LOVED all the photos she took, from the staged ones with all our bridal party members to the candid moments she captured. We will definitely be using her for future to capture special moments in our lives.
Brittnie, our venue coordinator, was a blessing to our wedding. We worked with her for six months. She gave us so many wonderful ideas and helped us keep the wedding true to our vision. Brittnie, along with her team, created a beautiful day for us.
I met with our cake designer, Jelisa from Bundle of Cupcakes, at a bridal expo six months before our wedding and fell in love with the light flavors of her cakes—tt just sweet enough without being too sweet and her designs are gorgeous. I low-key stalked her on instagram, and then finally placed an order for our wedding cake…best decision! Our cake was elegant and delicious—matched our wedding perfectly.
From our first meeting with Arturo, our DJ with MAS Entertainment, we knew he is what we needed to make our wedding a hit. He was so relatable! He was able to blend our must-have playlist and songs to honor our family and heritage. He was also an AMAZING emcee. Couldn’t imagine our day without him. He made our romantic wedding also a fun wedding—it was the perfect blend.
Advice from the couple:
Samantha: Stay true to what you want. Enjoy all the events leading up to the wedding day. It goes by so quickly. And make sure to have some time alone with your spouse on your wedding day–just soak it all up.
Sergio: Bring people who are current in your life, and surround yourselves with people who follow God.
