Colin was a striking, faith-driven, networking guru with the kind of family values and beer-drinking skills any gal would swoon over. Danielle was a driven PR executive with an obsession for traveling the world, perfecting her meatball recipe and stopping random strangers on the street so she could pet and talk to their dogs. Nominations for Sacramento’s Most Eligible Bachelor and Bachelorette (SMEBB) first brought them together. After a few twists and turns, they reunited for a date of nachos, beer and a view of the Giants game on TV. It was game on.
Engaged and ready to plan the wedding, the couple knew they wanted a party—a true celebration of their love and the love for their family and friends. “We were adamant that we stay on a tight schedule so that we could get to the fun celebrating part,” Danielle says.
The process not only solidified the couple’s partnership, but it helped create a bond between both sets of their parents, too. “They plan outings and dinners without us now!” she says. “We recognized that the whole planning process resulted not only in an incredible day, but also set the tone for an amazing family bond.”
It was very important to Danielle and her family that the couple married in the Catholic Church. “One of the reasons we settled on St. Clare was because of their understanding of religious differences and tolerance, and their willingness to allow us to hold a Catholic wedding ceremony without the full mass, since Colin is Christian but not a practicing Catholic,” says the bride.
The reception was all about incorporating their interests and quirky likes into every element. “From the custom San Francisco Giants cornhole game and the hidden Mickeys in the bar sign, to the customized camouflage beer cozies and monogrammed hunter orange Chapsticks (both surprises for Colin, but items that he currently uses on a daily basis)—we really were able to make sure it was special to us,” she says.
For Danielle, the best part of the day was the pure joy of sharing it with family and friends. “We spent a lot of time preparing for our marriage—not just the wedding—and to have a day to honor our love and commitment to each other, all while getting to celebrate and dance the night away with our friends, truly made it the best day ever.” Adds Colin: “The best part for me was seeing Danielle for the first time in her beautiful dress and veil with her father, and knowing that the last 30 years of my life had led me exactly to where I needed to be.”
—Darren Elms
First Dance Song
"My Best Friend" by Tim McGraw
Father/Daughter Dance Song
"The Godfather Theme Song" by Nino Rota
Mother/Son Dance Song
"Mom" by Garth Brooks
Last Dance Song
"Happy" by Pharrell Williams
Details about the cake
Cake: Funfetti with Buttercream Frosting – the cake was homemade, designed and decorated by Colin’s grandmother, Elaine Simone.
We chose soft colors and went with a wildflower look, our flowers included, spray roses, peonies and lavender. We also opted not to purchase a lot of flowers and let the natural backdrop of the foliage and flowers at the flower farm stand out. Our church was also very large and beautiful so we chose to forgo decorating the church with flowers and let the architecture speak for itself.
Details about the favors
Customized mini olive oil bottles, handmade by the bride (Olive oil bottles from Colavita).
Anything else you’d like to share about your wedding?
Funny Moment: Two days leading up to our wedding, we decided that we really needed to do a program- meaning we had to design and proof a program, find a printer that wasn’t going to charge us an arm and a leg, order them and pick them up…all within 48 hours. After some behind the scenes squabbling and foot stomping (ahem, Danielle), the programs were successfully designed, printed and picked-up. When Danielle met Colin at the altar on the big day he whispered that they needed to make sure to grab some copies of the program before they left the church. Danielle looked lovingly into Colin’s eyes, suppressing a giggle, as she realized, just then, and let Colin know that the programs were still in her car at their house. It was a great, silly moment.
Bella Moment: Danielle is obsessed with her parent’s dog, Bella. Since Bella could not be a part of the day, due to animal restrictions at the reception site, we were able to incorporate her into each table with a photo of her as the table numbers.
Personal Touches: From the custom San Francisco Giants corn hole game and the hidden Mickeys in the bar sign, to the customized camouflage beer cozies and monogrammed hunter orange chapsticks (both surprises for Colin, but items that he currently uses on a daily basis)- we pulled off subtle touches of our fun loving personalities.
Our Families: Our families were truly everywhere during the day, from the beautiful confection of a cake that was designed and created by Colin’s grandma, the sweet biscotti bar (each of our mothers and grandmothers baked our own family’s version of the special Italian recipe) to the personalized mini bottles of olive oil (honoring their Italian roots) that were given as favors and the beautiful leather bound bible that we chose to use as our guest book-we even used the first set of furniture that Danielle’s parents purchased as a newly married couple for seating in the beautifully designed cigar and whiskey bar.
Our favorite moment was when we were dancing the night away and the DJ announced that the JimBoy’s Tacos had arrived, people didn’t believe it at first, but suddenly there was a mass exodus from the dance floor. Danielle may or may not have dripped taco sauce down the front of her dress!
Any tips you’d give brides and grooms planning their wedding today?
Make your wedding about YOU (both of you that is)! At first Danielle was very concerned about what everyone would think and how the many design elements would come together. But after months of struggling to put together a wedding FOR everyone else, we both realized that this wedding should reflect us and our many quirky interests. Once we started to plan based on our hobbies and interests, the whole wedding came together beautifully and truly reflected us as a couple.
