Many things bring a couple together, but for Kristel and Mike, two of their most important were nursing school...and giraffes.
They initially met in their first year of nursing school, but their relationship consisted of shared classes and a carpool. It was only in the summer after nursing school that they finally started dating, leading to a fateful day in Sonoma’s Wild Animal Park.

“My favorite animals are giraffes,” Kristel says. “Somehow Mike got permission to visit a small giraffe pen, where we could pet and feed them. That’s when he got down on one knee and proposed.”

They were married at Whitney Oaks Golf Club, but aside from the location two things were very important. First, they wanted the wedding to be enjoyable for everyone. Second was the dress. “We were going to be surrounded by people who mean a lot to us, and we wanted it to be a fun occasion,” Kristel says, before letting out a little laugh. “As for the dress, well, I wanted to feel like a princess.”

The ceremony had some touching moments. The couple wanted to involve their families as much as possible. Everyone, from grandparents on down, were part of the procession, and their mothers lit the candles that Kristel and Mike would later use to light their unity candle. That was a special moment for both of them. As Keith Urban’s “Making Memories of Us” played in the background, the bride and groom had, in the midst of all the fanfare, a quiet moment that was just for them.

Special as that was, the greatest memory for Kristel was simply reaching the end of the aisle.

“I remember starting to make my way down the aisle and it was just a sea of people, but I saw Mike at the end, waiting for me,” she says. “Both of us had tears well up; it was one of the most incredible moments.”

After the ceremony, the guests headed to the reception while Mike, Kristel and their photographer borrowed a golf cart to escape to a secluded area near the lake. There, the newlyweds could take a few minutes to soak it all in before heading to the party.

The reception can be best described in three words: lots of dancing. It started with the couple’s first dance, to “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams. “We were introduced by the DJ when we first walked into the room and started our first dance right away, while everyone’s attention was still focused on us,” Kristel says. “Those were a few more precious moments where we could keep saying to each other, ‘wow, we’re married!’”

That’s surely a conversation every newly married couple has had since the beginning of time, no matter how “ready” they are­, and Kristel and Mike were among the readiest. “When we got engaged people were always asking us how we knew we were ready,” Kristel says. “We always got a laugh out of telling them that if we survived nursing school together, we could survive anything.”

Ceremony Site: Whitney Oaks Golf Club   Phone: 916-632-8333
Officiant: George Papadopolous
Ceremony Music: Encore Entertainment   Phone: 916-248-8445
Photographer: Lily Rose Photography   Phone: 916-204-3708
Reception Site: Whitney Oaks Golf Club   Phone: 916-632-8333
Hair: Rosie Wescott
Make-up: Rosie Wescott
Bridal Attire: Bridal Mart
Bridesmaid Attire: David's Bridal
Groom's Attire: Men's Wearhouse
Groomsmen Attire: Men's Wearhouse
Bride's Jeweler: Yonan's Jewelers
Invitations: David's Bridal
Placecards: The Bride: Kristel Anderson
Thank You Cards: The Bride: Kristel Anderson
Flowers: Abstractions
Caterer: Whitney Oaks Golf Club   Phone: 916-632-8333
Cake: Divine Desserts by Aguirre
DJ/Entertainment: Encore Entertainment   Phone: 916-248-8445
Favors: Mini Pumpkins and Personalized M & M's
Table Linens: Bella Chair Covers
Table Decorations: The Bride: Kristel Anderson
Chair Covers: Bella Chair Covers
First Dance Song: Everything I Do, I Do It For You by Bryan Adams
Father/Daughter Dance Song: My Wish by Rascal Flats
Mother/Son Dance Song: For My Wedding by Don Henley
Cake Cutting Song: I Wanna Grow Old With You by Adam Sandler
Bouquet Toss Song: Wishing and Hoping by Ani de Franco
Garter Toss Song: I Am Too Sexy by Travis Fimmel

Any tips you'd give to brides and grooms planning their wedding:
Be patient. It is your wedding and there are a lot of important items that need to develop and can't be rushed. Towards the end, relax and do something to take your mind off the chaos, and pray that everything turns out the way you want it.
Details about this couples flowers:
Orange mini Calla Lillies, Cream Vandella Roses, Safari Sunset, Burgundy Hypericum, Bells of Ireland, Mango Calla Lillies, Cream Bodine Roses, and Orange Roses.

Anything else about your wedding?
We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful wedding. Everything as far as our arrangements and plans came together wonderfully to give us such an amazing wedding. We had the most spectacular weather, and we are so fortunate that everything went so smoothly and according to plan.
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
We don't have any regrets, since our wedding didn't have any slips or errors. Although, we did purchase about two hundred sparkler fireworks which we did not bring with us on the wedding day. Our venue at Whitney Oaks Golf Club was a perfect place to have a sparkler exit; after sunset everybody attending would light the fireworks, and we, the bride and groom, could run out under the sparks allowing for another interesting photographic moment. However, in the grand scheme of the whole process, the sparkler exit was so small; we still have no regrets.