Christina & Mario
10-28-18

How Christina & Mario met… The short version is Christina & Mario met three times over the course of five years, but they had no idea they met. Once in Tucson and twice in Phoenix. It wasn’t until the third “first meeting” that they shook hands, gave their nice to meet you’s, and introduced themselves. After they started dating and were talking about stories from years before they realized they were at the exact same new years party in 2006 and a birthday party in 2010. There were pictures of them together and neither of them remembered meeting one another, but hey everything happens for a reason and here they are today!

The Proposal

Wedding Inspiration
“We wanted to create a wedding experience where our guests can come out and take in the beauty of our special day, while creating beautiful memories for themselves with all of the beautiful photo ops of the venue. I have always loved coral and we both are fans of charcoal gray, so it made perfect sense that those would be our wedding colors. Incorporating the coral without making too much of a bright mess was tricky, and as nerve-racking as it was making decisions on the color choice for bridesmaids dresses, flowers, centerpieces, and so on, it all turned out better than we could have imagined. I love lanterns!! So when I spotted those lanterns while out shopping one day (and it they were a bargain) I knew those were the ones. I wanted to create a theme where rustic meets tropical with all of its elegance. We were happy with the outcome and all of our vendors did a fantastic job capturing our vision.”

Favorite Wedding Memory
“I loved getting ready in our dressing room with all of my bridesmaids. Finally having that moment, where all of those decisions we made over the months leading up to our wedding, were coming to life. The bridesmaids in their dresses, me in mine with the veil, and all of the accessories that were picked for the day. Not to mention the champagne and goodies to keep us going before the ceremony! The guys enjoyed the getting ready just as much, although their memories were about playing pool and watching football in their room 🙂 From what I hear, they enjoyed the ride and were getting wild in the Sprinter on the way to the wedding! There was nothing more spectacular when i arrived to the ceremony and saw all of our family and friends, sitting there, in one place, for our special day. Of course, seeing each other for the first time was a feeling that was like none other (hiding the ugly crying face was a must!) All the work, all the stress, was alleviated instantly. The party!!! Our DJ was amazing and it was like a huge dance party all night long! There were people on the dance floor that I never would have pictured letting loose! Lets not forget my 86 year old grandpa doing push ups on the dance floor 🙂 Everything was beautiful.”

D.I.Y. Details
“Not very many. I mainly used a soft lace ribbon in a pale coral/peach tone to accent some of the decorations I bought to tie in our colors to the theme. It worked out just fine without being too much work.”

& a Word of Advice…
“Look at pictures, listen to anybody you want to listen to for input, but at the end of the day its your wedding anything you decide will be right and absolutely fabulous! If you keep trying to decide between playing it safe or going with something a little bolder (charcoal or coral bridesmaids dresses in my case!) be bold! Choose what reflects you and the mood you want this beautiful day to reflect.”

Vendors:

Photography: Classic Photographers – Jeffrey B.

Venue: Grand Tradition Estate and Gardens – Fallbrook CA

Cake: Cakes to Celebrate, Debbie McLaughlin – Temecula CA

Flowers: Wild Sage Flowers, Linda So – CA

DJ: DJ Runaway, Jon Fitisemanu – Los Angeles CA

Men’s Tux Rental: Friar Tux – CA

Bridesmaids Dresses: Strut Bridal – Long Beach CA

Bridal Gown: The Dresser -Fullerton CA

Hair and Makeup: Beach City Brides

“We wanted to have a cake that was different and still delicious. We went with a Bella Rose Cake (yes, there is champagne in the cake) with a vanilla mouse filling, and a victorian sponge cake with a layer of lemon and another of raspberry filling, and Bavarian cream. It was to die for!!! We also loved all the food the venue provided! The staff there is amazing. It was buffet style and our guests had all that they wanted. We also were able to taste most of the items beforehand, but of course, us being us we were not able to sample the blackened Mahi, but we were really curious and went for it! Great choice along with the tortellini, tri-tip and all of the amazing sauces and sides to go along with it. Couldn’t be happier :)”