Real Weddings Magazine - Summer/Fall 2018

eal weddings
MELISSA & TIM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
JULIA CROTEAU PHOTOGRAPHY
Melissa and Tim met during their senior year of
high school. He had a crush on her but she had
a boyfriend at the time, and they never dated.
Twenty years later, they reconnected at their
school’s homecoming and started dating. Three
years after that, they got engaged at the exact
same grassy spot where Tim first saw Melissa
on the high school campus. Tim’s daughter
Makenna, now 18, and his son Matthew, now
16, were there for the engagement. The couple
married a year later at Rancho Victoria Vineyard.
“We fell in love with the 200-year-old oak
tree location they have available for the ceremony,”
says Melissa, explaining she and her
groom wanted an outdoor setting for the ceremony
and a vineyard and rustic barn setting
for the reception.
The couple rented the venue for the whole
weekend. They hosted their rehearsal and rehearsal
dinner at the property; and the bride
and her bridesmaids stayed at the onsite cottage
Friday night. The newlyweds stayed in the cottage
Saturday night after the wedding.
Melissa did all of the wedding planning by
herself and completed lots of DIY projects. She
hired a day-of coordinator and also had two of
her friends assist on the wedding day.
She wanted “a romantic, rustic-glam look”
so the décor featured white and light pink roses,
silver dollar eucalyptus and gold touches, including
charger plates, flatware and votive candles.
Melissa and Tim personalized their day in
many ways. They wrote their vows together,
and Tim’s brother, Jason, was the officiant. The
couple honored Tim’s deceased father by repurposing
two vintage French doors, removed
from his father’s house, as an entryway to the
ceremony. They also used his father’s beautifully
restored 1970 Chevy Stepside as wedding day
transportation.
The groom’s favorite wedding moment was
watching that vintage vehicle pull up to the ceremony
and seeing Melissa get out of the car. “I had
a hard time keeping my composure,” he says.
“Every emotion I’ve felt for her all came at once.”
Melissa’s memorable wedding day moment
was reading each of the three cards Tim prepared
for her. The maid of honor gave Melissa
the cards throughout the day. “I received a card
when I first woke up, while I was getting ready
and before I walked down the aisle,” says Melissa.
“Each card was so special and made me cry. I will
cherish them forever.”
The 130 guests enjoyed a buffet dinner, followed
by a simple cake with white buttercream
frosting. The gold cake topper read, “Love You
More”—the quote Melissa and Tim say to each
other all the time.
The margarita machine was a hit, too! “We
had beer and wine but also had frozen drink options—margaritas
and piña coladas,” she says.
“My favorite.”
The wedding day went fast but Melissa and
Tim, who honeymooned in Maui, found a quiet
moment alone. “After we walked down the aisle
and waited for the
recessional to finish,
we sneaked into the
vineyard and took a
selfie together,” says
Melissa. “Our first picture
as husband and
wife!” OO
—Kristen Castillo
162 | REAL WEDDINGS SUMMER/FALL 2018 REALWEDDINGSMAG.COM