They say the wedding is supposed to be all about the bride (well, the groom, too), but for Gail Soto, the big day was as much for her family as it was for her. From the church to the walk down the aisle to even some of the food at the reception, everything about the wedding had some family significance. “St. Anthony’s church was a very meaningful place for my family, and especially my dad, who still goes to church there every Sunday,” Gail says. “It was the parish where we grew up. The priest who married us, Monsignor O’Sullivan, also gave me my first Communion. He’s known me almost my whole life; that made it really special.”
For a unique twist, Gail was escorted down the aisle by both her father and her mother. For her it was a tribute to both of them “My mom played such a huge role in my wedding planning, as well as in my whole life, I wanted them both to give me away,” she says. The ceremony went by fairly quickly, but there were some special moments that really stand out for the couple. During the exchange of vows, for example, the Monsignor had the couple face the entire congregation, instead of just him or each other. “The idea was to show that we were sharing that moment with and making those vows in front of everyone,” Gail says.
For the reception they chose the Croatian-American Cultural Center. In addition to being a place where Gail knew they’d have good food and everyone would be well taken care of, it was also big enough to accommodate their more than 200 guests. As Gail puts it, they have so many close friends and family (the wedding party alone was 18 people), that they wanted to include as many people as possible.
As for the food, it’s clear that the highlight, for Gail anyway, was the incredible “candy bar.” “It was just amazing; a fantasy candy land for grownups,” she says. “All the candy was from Marini’s Candies in Santa Cruz, in honor of a special family tradition. Our family has been vacationing there for 70 years, starting with my grandparents. I’ve been going since I was a little girl, and Aaron has joined us for the past three years. It has become an important place for our family.”
All told, Gail says the wedding was a good reflection of who she and Aaron are as a couple: fun-loving, family oriented, and touched with just enough flair to make everything memorable.
Most of all, however, Gail said her day was perfect because of her mom.
“I know some brides have a hard time listening to their moms, but they have a lot more experience than we do, and at the end of the day they’re usually right with their advice,” Gail says. “My mom put a lot of sweat and tears into making our wedding perfect, and it was.”
Gail & Aaron's Wedding Resources
Ceremony Site:
St. Anthony's Parish
Officiant:
Monsignor Brendan O'Sullivan
Ceremony Music:
Jacosa Limutau, Vocalist; and Wes Owens, Musician
Photographer:Sharpe Photographers
Phone: 916-772-3934
Videographer:
Silver Oak Productions
Wedding Planner:
Plush Weddings
Wedding Designer:
Bride's Mom Cindy Soto, Bride and Michaela Rodgers from Plush Weddings
Reception Site:
Croation-American Cultural Center
Hair:
The Perfect Trend
Make-up:
About You
Bridal Attire:
Bella Donna Bridal Salon
Bridesmaid Attire:
House of Fashion
Flowergirl Attire:
House of Fashion
Groom's Attire:
Men's Wearhouse
Groomsmen Attire:
Men's Wearhouse
Ringbearer Attire:
Men's Wearhouse
Bride's Jeweler:
Ultra Diamonds
Groom's Jeweler:
Roger's Jewelers
Invitations:Bella Vita Invitations
Phone: 916-682-8226
Flowers:Blooms by Martha Andrews
Phone: 916-300-5948
Caterer:
Croation-American Cultural Center
Cake:
River City Cake Shop
DJ/Entertainment:
Supernatural Sounds
Transportation/Limo Services:
Mix Master Limousine Service
Favors:
The most amazing candy bar! Candy from Marini's Candies; set up by Brides' mom and Plush Weddings
Table Linens:
BBJ Linens
Table Decorations:Blooms by Martha Andrews
Phone: 916-300-5948
Equipment Rental:
CMC Events
Honeymoon Location:
Maui, Hawaii
Other Resource:
Wedding Night Accommodations: Le Rivage Hotel
Other Resource:
Secondary Favor: Mini-bottle of Barefoot Wine
Other Resource:
Rehearsal Dinner: Old Spaghetti Factory
Cake Cutting Song: Candyman by Christina Aguilera
Bouquet Toss Song: Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) by Beyonce
Any tips you'd give to brides and grooms planning their wedding: Let your mom get involved and help you with the day of. While my mom and I had some moments of stress for parts of it; without her thoughts and special ideas our wedding wouldn’t have been what it was! The candy bar came full to life with her ideas. Take each moment in because they all go by so fast!
Anything else about your wedding? Really my mom is who I would like to thank for all of her hard work and planning! Her ideas were beyond me and she made our special day one that people are still talking about!
Michaela (from Plush Weddings) was our amazing wedding planner. She helped bring our vision together and put our thoughts and ideas into perfect place as well as add her own special creative touches to every single detail of the day. Her ideas were amazing and unique to our theme. From the invitations to the type of linens, she was so personal and easy to work with. She managed to alleviate our stress and make the magic happen. She made us feel like our wedding was the only one in the world that mattered. We were overwhelmed with the outcome! Everything was stunning. Our guests commented that everything looked enchanting and magical.
The candy bar was beyond one of the best things EVER!! It was a fantasy candy land for grown ups! Impossible to resist.
The ceremony aisles of the church were lined with glass vases with clusters of curly willow twigs (painted white) with a few blossoms on each. These were moved to the buffet table for the reception. Two large arrangements for the alter were done with lots of greenery and hot pinks and green flowers, hydrangeas, roses, apricot dendrobian orchids, Lysianthus, each topped with Twigs with dendrobian glued to them. Hydrangea at the base. These were also moved to the buffet table. They were amazing! I could go on about each thing but the pictures can speak for themselves.
What would you have done differently if you had the chance? Not a thing. It was all perfect. Even though it rained the morning of, it stopped in time for our ceremony and reception. I would not change a thing.
