Vanessa & Sean
Photography by Lori Makabe PhotographyWedding Date: 05.16.15
Vanessa and Sean met years ago on a road trip (she’s from Oregon and he’s from California), became friends and saw each other off and on. When they reconnected five years later, Vanessa, an office manager, and Sean, a CEO, picked up right where they left off.
They started dating long distance with Sean driving to Oregon every other week. Eight months later, Vanessa moved to California; one year later, they got engaged while on vacation in Hawaii.
They spent the next two years planning their springtime “I Dos” at Serrano Country Club, a venue the couple loved for its lush greenery and gorgeous views. Their royal purple and charcoal gray color palette was a sophisticated match for the country club nuptials.
Upon arrival at the wedding, guests received the red carpet treatment, as they posed for pictures on the “Step and Repeat” photo booth with a custom backdrop. The ceremony, in front of 100 guests, happened under a 130-year-old oak tree with Folsom Lake in the background.
“I felt like any worries I had about our big day completely vanished once I saw him,” says Vanessa. “I felt complete with my partner by my side.” Another favorite moment for the bride? Her father “calming me down while walking down the aisle.” During the ceremony, the couple had a wine lock box “where we [wrote] letters to each other and placed them in the box with a bottle of wine,” says Vanessa, noting she and Sean each have a key to the box, which is to be opened on their 10-year anniversary.
Sean was “in awe and so proud,” as he soaked in the details. “I felt like it was a dream come true.” He was also impressed by “how attentive our wedding planner [Fearon from Fearon May Events] was to every possible detail.” Vanessa was surprised by “how fast everything happened,” explaining: “Years of planning were over in a blink of an eye.”
She especially liked the wedding planning process, which she says can’t be rushed. “It’s part of the journey and is to be enjoyed and help build your story,” says Vanessa.
As for the funniest moments of the big day, Vanessa recalls the bridal party speeches and Sean remembers, “messing up a word in my vows.” Following their nuptials, the couple spent twodays at Disneyland before boarding a plane to Tahiti, where they honeymooned for five nights on Moorea and five nights on Bora Bora.
—Kristen Castillo
Vanessa & Sean's Wedding Resources
Phone: 916-524-5600
Phone: 916-705-5827
- Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa in Anaheim, California
- Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa in Moorea, Tahiti
- The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort in Bora Bora, Tahiti
“What a Wonderful Life” by Louis Armstrong
“Sugar” by Maroon 5
“Single Ladies” by Beyonce
“Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake
- For our unity ceremony we did a wine lock box where we placed a bottle of wine in a box along with letters written to one another telling the person what we love about them. We then each have a lock on the box to lock up, the box is not to be opened until our 10-year anniversary with the exception that a big fight occurs and we need to open the box to revisit our commitment. It's fun, it's new, it holds meaning instead of lighting a candle or pouring sand or wine together. We got a beautiful custom walnut box made from Mossy Holler.
- I was never that little girl who dreamt about her wedding from a young age–so for me, our wedding planner made such an unknown and sometimes scary territory not so scary and very much enjoyable for both my fiancé and I. She guided us first timers step by step, contract by contract, through the whole wedding planning process.