This month's feature is the joyous Fall wedding of Jimmy & Kirsten. They met at a singles mixer and Kirsten knew after they met that Jimmy had the KEY to her heart!

FROM THE BRIDE:
How did you two meet?
Jimmy and I met in February 2013 at a singles mixer in downtown Sacramento. I had made it my new years resolution to join meetup.com (a website that helps you meet people in your area with similar interests, such as kayaking, hiking etc.). My first and only meetup group that I attended was a “lock and key” singles mixer with my best friend and MOH Emily. At the mixer the ladies have locks and the men have keys and you are supposed to walk around the room to find the key that would unlock your lock around your neck. As cheesy as it sounds and as much as I hate to admit that I attended such an event, it obviously worked because it was the night I met Jimmy.

We chatted briefly a few times that night, but never ended up exchanging phone numbers. I left the singles event thinking I was only interested in seeing one guy again, and that guy was Jimmy. Luckily, Jimmy found me through meetup.com, asked me for my phone number and we have been together ever since!

Tell us about the proposal!
Jimmy completely surprised me with a weekend in Tahoe in December of 2016. My parents were in on the surprise because they invited Jimmy and I to North Shore at Tahoe to utilize some of their “time share points.” I never say no to a trip to Tahoe, so Jimmy and I decided to go for the weekend with my parents. Little did I know… the whole time my parents were never planning on coming to Tahoe that weekend.

We drove up to Tahoe, texting my parents along the way, asking when they would be leaving Sacramento. We checked into the Hyatt and I thought nothing of them upgrading our room to a suite with a view. I wanted to go into the spa, since my parents were “running late,” but Jimmy insisted we go to the beach at sunset. So we poured ourselves a glass of wine and headed to the beach, the same beach Jimmy asked me to be his girlfriend three and a half years prior. We sat and watched the sunset and then I decided I wanted to head up to the fire pits at my favorite restaurant, Lone Eagle. I turned to head up the beach when Jimmy said wait a second and pulled a ring box out of his sock! (He had kept the ring box in his sock ever since Sacramento!) He then got down on his knee and asked me to be his wife. I was in complete shock, but of course said yes!

Jimmy had asked my mom for her wedding ring, which was previously my grandma’s wedding ring, and had it polished and dipped to become silver. It was a ring that I had not seen in over twenty years and it was just perfect, exactly what I wanted. A simple, classic solitaire that is over sixty years old and so timeless. I had no idea that Jimmy had been planning this proposal for months, asking my dad permission and my mom as well.

We then finished watching the sunset, shed some tears and went back to our room to call our parents over facetime. Jimmy had the hotel deliver champagne and chocolate strawberries to the room, during the proposal, so they were waiting for us in the room when we came back. Then Jimmy made reservations at my favorite restaurant and had a guitar player serenade us with the song “Marry Me” by Train. We then enjoyed an evening by the fireplace and celebrated our new beginning. The next day Jimmy surprised me with a sleigh ride around Sand Harbor at Tahoe. It was really the perfect weekend and perfect proposal. Jimmy made me feel so special and I was so happy he was now my fiancé!

Why did you choose Park Winters?
Park Winters was only the second venue we had looked at for our wedding and once we found it there was no need to look any further. Both Jimmy and I wanted to have our ceremony and reception outdoors and the back drop Park Winters provides was exactly what we were seeking. We booked Park Winters in January, so I knew if I thought the venue was beautiful in Winter, I could only imagine what it would look like in the Fall. The grounds of Park Winters are so well maintained, from the lavender gardens to the koi pond it is just absolutely stunning. The Park Winters team made our wedding planning process and our wedding day seamless, through their professionalism and just genuine love for their couples. I honestly can’t say enough good things about Park Winters and their staff, I was completely happy and satisfied with our big day and all the planning leading up to it.

What was your favorite wedding moment?
We both agreed that the ceremony was our favorite part of our wedding. We had worked with our officiant to create a ceremony that was very personalized, so that it would truly represent who we were as a couple. We wrote our own love story that was used in the ceremony as well as our own vows. We also included a “lock and key” ceremony, which represented how we met four years prior. Our ceremony made us smile, laugh and cry which was exactly what we wanted. After the wedding, receiving compliments on our ceremony was unexpected by both Jimmy and I. It was nice to know that our guests enjoyed our personalized ceremony that we had worked so hard to create.