Sacramento Weddings

 

When Brad proposed to Jessica, he didn’t have an engagement ring. But it was still everything Jessica wanted. He surprised her at home. “When I opened the door, I found him on his knee, car keys in hand, big red bow from the commercials on the car of my dreams, parked in our driveway,” she says. “He proposed with the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 that I had been wanting for years!”

Brad says asking Jessica to marry him was an easy decision. “She’s my best friend,” he says.  They got the ring a few months later and planned their nuptials in six months.

Jessica, a registered dietitian and Brad, a performance and data intelligence manager, met through mutual friends at a New Year’s Eve Party in college. They dated for eight years before getting engaged.

The couple married at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. “Deciding to have our wedding in Tahoe was a very easy decision,” says Jessica. “We both love it there, it is beautiful and not too far from home.”  It was a destination wedding of sorts, with all 116 guests traveling from out of town, including two families who flew in from out of state, Michigan and New Jersey, respectively.

“We wanted a beach wedding and Lake Tahoe,” says Jessica. “Choosing a ‘winter’ wedding date made it more affordable.”

The bride’s grandfather officiated the ceremony, which was outside on the balcony overlooking Lake Tahoe and the golf course.

Seeing Brad at the ceremony left Jessica amazed. “After eight years, we finally were there,” she says. “I could feel his emotions during the ceremony. Everything was perfect.”

The weather in Lake Tahoe was sunny, yet cold with patches of snow on the ground but still great conditions and perfect for pictures.  “We were paying for the amazing scenery and wanted to capture that in our photos, so we froze outside in the snow, on the golf course and beach, but ended up with amazing pictures,” says Jessica.

They kept the décor neutral “to be able to use pieces from the wedding as decor in our home,” says Jessica.

The reception meal included a carving station and a made-to-order pasta station. Jessica’s aunt made the couple’s small cake, which was mostly for cutting and photos. Guests and noshed on cupcakes featuring white cake with strawberry filling and cheesecake frosting.

The funniest and most unexpected moment of the wedding day came when Brad gave his bride a strip-tease style garter toss dance. Jessica and all the guests were very surprised!

—Kristen Castillo