Today’s “Let’s Hear it From the Bride” comes all the way from San Diego, California! Courtney, one of our sales consultants, shares the inside scoop on her big day.

From the story of their first meeting and adorable proposal, to the unique details of their wedding, Courtney and Jonah’s story is just lovely! I thought it was especially sweet how they incorporated special mementos from friends and family into their outfits. Read on to see how this couple really went above and beyond to make sure the day was special and filled with love! Xo, Danielle

The love story...

Jonah and I met during college over Thanksgiving break through a mutual friend that I’ve known for years.  Since we we were all off of work due to the holiday, we went out for a night on the town.  Jonah was in the area so he ended up meeting up with us - and it was basically love at first sight!  We found out we had a lot of similarities right off the bat - same taste in music, our parents were married the same year as each other (and still going strong!), we were the same age, our sisters were the same age, we were at the same 4th of July beach party 8 years ago but didn’t know it...it was definitely meant to be!

The proposal...

It was Labor Day 2012.  I had the day off work, but Jonah had just gone to sleep around 4am the night before since he works night-shifts at a local beach bar.  He insisted that we do Cowles Mountain, our favorite hike, that morning and to get him up by 8am.  I thought it was weird that he wanted to get up so early seeing how he barely went to sleep 4 hours before.  I thought it would be hard to get him up, but he was up instantly almost without his alarm.  He asked me to bring a camera, which I thought was also weird as we usually just use our phones to take pictures.  As we were hiking, he was 4-5 paces in front of me the entire time, sometimes so far away that another person or two would be between us.  I started getting irritated wondering why he wasn’t waiting for me!  By the time we get to the summit, I hear a text message come through from my friend asking what we are doing today since we all had the day off work.  As I put my phone down, I look over and see Jonah down on one knee with a beautiful art-deco antique ring in his hand.  And there we are on the top of Cowles Mountain - which is the highest point in all of San Diego - getting engaged!  I was so shocked I even forgot to say yes!  Turns out Jonah was going so fast up the mountain because he had the ring in a box only secured by the elastic in his workout shorts...so he was trying to hold it against him so it wouldn’t fall and didn’t want me to see/notice it!  It was then that a lady nearby saw us and asked if she’d like us to take a picture.  Jonah took out the camera (now I understood why he wanted me to bring it) and we snapped a few shots as a freshly engaged couple!  

The location...

We got married in San Diego at Twin Oaks Garden Estate, a beautiful English garden landmark featuring a historic, restored schoolhouse from the 1890s.  The combination of vintage, rustic charm (and a tree swing!) made it a no-brainer for us to have as our backdrop for our wedding.  

The attire...

For years, I had been daydreaming of wearing a Lazaro gown!  Normally I never splurge on anything...I don’t own designer or brand-name things because I try to be financially sound with spending and saving money.  However this was my one splurge that I HAD to have!  My Lazaro gown was accompanied by David Tutera heels and mint-green bridesmaid dresses that all my bridal party picked out on their own.  It was great to see the variety of styles match the personalities of my bridesmaids - no dress was the same as another!  We aren’t fancy people - so tuxes and suits weren’t really our cup of tea.  To keep with Jonah’s eclectic style and wedding theme, the groomsmen all wore his signature caddy cap, matching mint-green bowties with suspenders and khaki pants.  Instead of suspenders, Jonah wore a vest with a neck tie–and of course his handlebar moustache to compliment it all.

The details...

My “something borrowed” was a set of pearls (necklace and earrings) from my grandmother, who was also there to celebrate with us at 91 years young!  One of Jonah’s groomsmen, Jason, handmade small skull and crossbone pins for all the guys to wear on their caps (since Jonah loves pirates).  We also made the table numbers for the reception from old cigar boxes we collected.  And since half our wedding guests were from the bar/hospitality industry (and who doesn’t enjoy a good craft beer), our party favors were personalized beer koozies for everyone to take home!

The highlights...

ALL OF IT!  However the most special part of the day was the fact that Jonah’s father married us.  As a former pastor, his father had married dozens of couples throughout the years, but for him to marry his son was so meaningful to us.  We wrote our own vows and Jonah was so nervous that halfway through it, he took out a flask and took a shot in front of everyone at the ceremony!  It definitely provided a good laugh by all and calmed the nerves, and I followed suit with a quick swig of my own!  

Thanks to Courtney for sharing her special story with us! Tune back in next month to hear all about one of our other amazing bride & groom's big day :)