Sacramento Weddings

In 2009, Alyxcia—a junior at Escalon High School—was enjoying the first football game of the season, when someone caught her eye. It was Tim, a recent graduate of nearby Ripon High School, and the attraction was mutual. They met briefly after the game and then parted, but stayed on one another’s minds. Alyxcia found out just how much she was on Tim’s when she went to her car after school a week later and found a single red rose on her windshield—a sweet gesture from the man who would eventually become her husband.

Alyxcia describes her connection with Tim as instant and natural. “From the beginning, we were always so comfortable around each other, and have always had an ease with one another,” she says. “It was like we had known each other our whole lives. We always knew we would get married.”

In 2011, that knowledge turned to reality, when Alyxcia discovered photos of engagement rings in Tim’s office at his family’s hot tub manufacturing business. “He was trying to surprise me, but I always seem to find a way to ruin any surprise he has planned,” Alyxcia says. The engagement came following her high school graduation, during a trip to Malibu. “We were sitting on the beach watching the waves when Tim got on one knee, told me how much he loved me and asked me marry him,” Alyxcia recalls.

The couple decided on a long engagement and planned their magical day for early fall at the historic and romantic River Mill in French Camp. The bride had a specific vision for the romance she wanted to convey in the setting, and made the dream a reality with abundant flowers in shades of white and purple, and theme lighting that bathed the indoor venue in a magical violet hue. The attention paid to the interior turned out to be even more important, as an ill-timed storm forced the ceremony inside instead of outdoors as planned, which “ended up being the most romantic setting,” Alyxcia says.

The couple’s 150 closest friends and family comprised the treasured guests, and one very special member of the wedding party was there too—Alyxcia and Tim’s two-and-a-half-year-old son. As a special touch, “We chose to have a unity heart with three pieces and had our son place the third and final piece,” the bride explains.

Their son was with them throughout the wedding and reception, and was there for the moment they recall as the most special of the entire day. “I was walking down the aisle and saw my future husband and our son hand in hand,” Alyxcia recalls. “I have never been so happy, and I knew how bright our future was going to be.”

— Carrie Poggio