How did you meet?
We met in 2014 completely by chance. I had been flirting with a guy who was visiting from out of state and he invited me out the next day to hang out and asked if he could bring his hostelmate (who happened to be from the Netherlands) along. I said sure why not and that hostelmate ended up being Jannis. We all spent the day together and ended up exchanging numbers. Jannis and I stayed completely platonic friends for almost three years. Every time he would come through the Bay Area where I was living at the time, I would take him to brunch and we would catch up. He kept telling me I should travel but at that point I didn’t even have a passport. Eventually I went on a trip to Sweden and asked if he wanted to come along since I knew he loved traveling. He said yes and my best friend and I met up with him in Europe. This was the first time I spent more than a few hours with him and realized, oh dang, I actually like this man. I told him how much I loved Europe and that I wanted to visit again, maybe for my birthday. He said great, when is that? I replied, “three weeks.” He laughed and asked where I wanted to go. I found a cheap flight to Copenhagen and he agreed to meet me there. A long weekend in Denmark was basically our first date and we’ve been together ever since.
When did you become engaged, and how?
On July 8, 2019, Jannis proposed on a beautiful bridge in Amsterdam although it would have happened three days sooner if only I hadn’t been so dead set on walking straight across the bridge without stopping to get to the gelato store!
#WeddingGoals
We knew we wanted a really great party with good food and good music. This was a chance to celebrate our love with all our friends and family, and to celebrate finally being able to live our lives together in the same country instead of separated by 5,000 miles.
How did planning go? Favorite time? Worst moment?
The worst moment was about six months out when I realized that I couldn’t keep planning everything by myself; there were so many little details that it was getting overwhelming. Luckily, I found Kira with Blooming Designs a few days later, and she was the answer to all my problems!
My favorite moment was when I saw the beer burros in pictures from a different featured wedding that had taken place at our venue. I knew immediately when I saw The Drunken Burro that I had to have them at our wedding. It felt a little silly and yet so perfect to have donkeys passing around alcohol during the cocktail hour.
What was the biggest challenge of wedding planning?
The finer details. Every time you think you have it all planned out, you remember that you actually need two different types of spoons, and you need copper mugs for the personalized Moscow Mule you created instead of just plain glassware. And oh, don’t forget the easel to hold the sign that has your names on it.
How would you describe the ceremony?
I loved our ceremony. It was relatively short because we just wanted it to be a simple celebration of our love. Our officiant was one of our best friends and we both wrote our own vows.
Did you have any special cultural features to your wedding that celebrated the heritage of you or your family?
Not particularly, unless you count the best man promising not to speak Dutch, since only he and Jannis would have understood it. LOL.
Memorable Moment
After our vows, when our dog, Charlie, couldn’t stand that Jannis and I walked down the aisle without him, and he wriggled away from our friend who was holding him, then bolted down the aisle to reunite with us.
What was the best part of your day?
Teressa: Hearing the vows Jannis had written, because I know that he put a lot of effort into them. Also when someone came to me afterwards, and really put into words what I was feeling. She said usually vows are all these promises of what’s to come, but instead ours were a celebration of the love we have already shared as well as the adventure that’s about to continue.
Jannis: Seeing my wife walk down the aisle in her dress.
What was your favorite detail from your wedding day?
I loved having our own sweetheart table. It was nice to be able to eat dinner together and have that quiet moment with just the two of us, since most of the night we were being pulled in multiple directions.
Looking back, what do you think your guests will remember most about your wedding?
The beer burros! The donkeys were a huge hit and everyone loved being able to hang out with them while we were off taking pictures.
What tips or advice would you give to couples planning their wedding today?
Invest in a wedding planner. It will make your life so much easier. And it’s so nice to have someone else to deal with the things that go wrong, because I guarantee you there will always be something that needs fixing.
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
I think the only thing I wish I would have done differently is provided transportation for some of our guests, since ubers were hard to come by. We got ready at a separate location from the event location, and it was a bit of a kerfuffle trying to get everyone at the proper location at the right time.
#VendorRaves
We got really lucky, all of our vendors were absolutely amazing and worked together so well for a seamless day! Kira Parks from Blooming Designs was pulling double duty as florist and wedding planner, and she really was a lifesaver at keeping me sane and making sure all the smallest details were taken care of.
