Real Weddings Magazine - Issue #27-F20-DIGITAL - The Best Wedding Vendors in Sacramento, Tahoe and throughout Northern California are all here

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SHELLY & SAULAR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHUCK ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Shelly was living in Sacramento in 2015 when she
visited a friend in Los Angeles who happened to be
friends with Saular. Those trips became more frequent
as did time spent between Shelly and Saular. Flirty texts
turned into everyday chatting and getting to know
each other, and by the new year, Saular had asked
Shelly to be his long-distance girlfriend. A few months
later, she moved in with him and their dog, Nike, soon
joined the family.
Shelly and Saular got engaged in the summer of
2018 during a sunset proposal along the Venice Canals
in Los Angeles. They married 13 months later at
Orchard Creek Lodge. “We booked all of our vendors
and planned the wedding ourselves. We did have a fabulous
day-of timeline that our amazing photographer
did for us,” shares Shelly.
The couple knew they wanted amazing photos
and they hired Mackenzie Roberts with Chuck Roberts
Photography. “At the end of the day, that’s all you have
left so we wanted to hire someone with experience
who would be sure to capture as many moments as
possible,” says Shelly. “Mackenzie was phenomenal to
work with—she knows how to make you feel at ease,
and is so fun and enjoyable to be around!” The bride
says that Mackenzie also helped them figure out the
pros and cons of doing pictures before or after the ceremony,
“We did a first look so that we would have time
to take pictures before the ceremony and have more
time during the reception to mingle with our guests.”
Their wedding was filled with many personal
touches, including a custom cake topper featuring
“SM2” since their initials have always been the same.
Shelly had custom Nike (a nod to their dog) running
shoes made with the date engraved on them. Their
guest book was a map of the Los Angeles area with a
heart printed in the location of their first apartment in
Santa Monica, and they shared Milk Bar cookies with
their guests as it’s one of their favorite desserts.
The couple and their guests enjoyed the relaxed
vibe during the reception in the ballroom at the Orchard
Creek Lodge. “It was a fun reception where we
had a DJ and were able to dance as well as hangout
and talk with a lot of our out-of-town guests,” she says.
One special moment occurred toward the end of
the reception when the couple’s DJ, Mike Anderson
from Creative Memories Entertainment surprised the
couple by playing clips of their wedding vows and the
speeches mixed in with the music. “It made me sob
uncontrollably,” the bride exclaims.
The celebration didn’t stop once the wedding
ended, however. “Our favorite part of the day was
going to In-N-Out after the reception,” she says. “Just
the two of us in our suit and dress.” OO
—Kristen Castillo
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