I remember having a hard time falling asleep. Snuggled between my mama and my best friend. The last sleep before we would be married. And when I opened my eyes, the journey to the moment seemed to glow now. My Christmas wedding. My Villa Montalvo wedding. It was finally here. And Michael was waiting for me.

VILLA MONTALVO WEDDING

Today is the three year mark. 1,095 days of marriage with a man by whom I am very blessed to be loved. But the journey since has not been without its own mountain tops where the air is so wild you can hardly breathe and deep dark trenches at the bottom of the ocean. We’ve worked hard. We’ve loved hard. And we’ve fought hard. I loved all the details we chose for our big day. Especially getting to feature Taylor Swift in our design! And that was probably my favorite. Besides the little red truck and mini Christmas tree with ornaments on it. That was also really cute!

VILLA MONTALVO WEDDING

I think back to this beautiful, rainy Christmas wedding day. My Villa Montalvo wedding day! Michael and I were so loved and supported not just by our loved ones. But also by our friends in our industry. All of our vendors came through for us and made sure that even though our plans had changed yet again (a total of four times during the pandemic) we would still have the wedding of our dreams. And they did just that.

A LOVE NOTE TO MY HUSBAND

Michael: happy anniversary. Thank you for being here with me. For loving me in all my colors and shapes. And for always being so willing and open when things have been challenging. So many men are arrogant, unyielding, and controlling. You are so the opposite. And I feel so lucky that you are mine. Cheers, babe, and here’s to year four!

Love, me

VILLA MONTALVO WEDDING

Our Christmas wedding on that rainy December day wouldn’t be as perfect as it was without the support of our vendor team. A huge thank you to Villa Montalvo for having us at the last minute. And an even bigger thank you to Caitlin McDonald Events for making it happen. We were blessed to be photographed by the best of the best: Ashley Baumgartner. And I still can’t believe I am one of her brides! Alongside our friends Lens of Lenox who also sacrificed and made our wedding video so so good. Thank you to our media team!

We were also very blessed to get to work with Makeup by Susie and Lovely and Lace. These two provided wedding hair and wedding makeup to all of us who asked. And we loved our simple, elegant wedding cake from Icing on the Cake. Michael had gifted me my dream wedding shoes from Bella Belle. And I wore that stunning gown found at Elegant Lace Bridal.

When our plans changed at the last minute I needed new stationery. And Sun Love Co came through for me even with only a few days to do it! My sweet florist Hillside Blooms Floristry brought my Christmas wintery vision to life with classic wintery florals. And my friend at Orange Blossoms Floral donated her time and creativity to make sure my parent’s home was well decorated for our quiet celebration dinner later. I honestly couldn’t be more grateful.

I could say thank you for an eternity to all of these people. Especially since most of them traveled from Sacramento to be here for us! But I hope that you all know just how much I love you. And how much I appreciate your kindness and generosity. You are a huge piece of our puzzle. Thank you so much.