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

eal weddings
They say rain on your wedding day
is good luck right? We agree and figure rain
and a sick groom on the wedding day makes
for extra good luck and we are bound to
have a long, happy marriage.
—Michele
MICHELE & FORREST
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FITS AND STOPS PHOTOGRAPHY
Michele often jokes about how she met her husband in
prison. She was working as a psychologist and he was
a correctional counselor when they met at work (yes,
it was a prison).
Forrest began to express an interest in Michele’s
work (admittedly, he mostly wanted an excuse to
talk to his crush), but Michele wasn’t keen to start up
anything with her co-worker—especially because she
had already formed an opinion of him, and it wasn’t a
good one. “Even Forrest will tell you I initially thought
he was a jerk,” Michele says.
A friend encouraged her to at least try one date,
which obviously went quite well. After that Michele’s
opinion changed pretty quickly and she fell for his
smile, intelligence, humor and thoughtfulness.
To celebrate Forrest’s birthday, they reserved an
old Airstream on top of a mountain, and one night
after they’d enjoyed a homemade pasta dinner while
watching the sunset and drinking beer and wine Forrest
got down on one knee and proposed. “We took
a selfie overlooking the mountains with the remaining
sunlight we had, no makeup, messy hair, hoodie and all
(and of course-ring finger included). We refer to that
picture as the ‘authentic picture’ since we took much
cuter pictures the next day, but that will always be
the original ‘authentic’ picture after we got engaged,”
Michele says fondly.
The most challenging part of planning was finding
the right venue. They knew they wanted an outdoor
wedding, but of course wanted to avoid the rain. Eventually
they found the Forest House Lodge, and while
they enjoyed the weekend road trips touring potential
venues, Michele recalls the relief of booking the venue
as being one of their best wedding-planning moments.
Before long the big day arrived, and despite the
deceptively sunny start to the day, Michele recalls
feeling a couple of dreaded sprinkles during the ceremony.
It really started to pour as the couple was taking
their newlywed photos, but with a clear umbrella and
their talented photographer, P.J. from Fits and Stops
Photography, they made the best of the situation and
got some incredibly romantic and epic shots.
The couple wrote their own vows, and the wedding
was small and full of family. Forrest’s brother acted as
officiant, Michele’s mother had a moment to pray for
their marriage, and their nieces and nephews all had
special roles to play, including walking the couple’s
beloved French bulldogs down the aisle.
“The setting, the view, the intimacy of our spot was
unforgettable. I remember fighting back tears trying
to read my vows. It was like time stood still. It was so
beautiful,” Forrest says.
Another (regrettably) unforgettable part of their
wedding day was the fact that Forrest ended up with
the flu. “During dinner at the reception, we had to run
up to the room he was feeling so ill,” Michele says. “After
about 10 minutes of rest, he got up, put his vest back
on and made his way back down to the reception. I
was shocked and so incredibly thankful that he made
it through the reception feeling so sick for one simple
reason: me.”
The happy couple are looking forward to doing
more traveling together before starting their own family
and are enjoying day-to-day life with their partner
(rain or shine, in sickness and in health). OO
—Jennifer Resnicke
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