Christopher + Jonathan by Paige Nelson Photography - Together Journal

CM: I’m originally from a small farming town in Central California. Life eventually helped me make my way to Sacramento. JP: I grew up in the college town of Davis, just outside of Sacramento. My parents were business owners, opening an Italian deli and speciality foods shop.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

CM: I’m a Senior Labor Relations Analyst for a community-owned electrical company. I absolutely love concerts, from Reba at the Hollywood Bowl to Cher in Las Vegas; there is simply nothing like live music. JP: After graduating college, I joined the family business, and we opened a second location which took me to Sacramento. Just before getting married, my parents retired, and along with my sister, I purchased the family business. Food is at the centre of my life. I love cooking or having dinner out with our friends.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
CM: We have an interesting meet-cute story. In July of 2016, we both attended an Adele concert in San Jose. Little did we know at the time, but there were only a few rows separating us. Adele, during this run of her concerts, was pulling audience members up on stage for a selfie. I was lucky enough to be chosen. Sometime later, I found myself single and looking to start dating. I downloaded Tinder and used my Adele selfie as my main picture (because, of course!). JP and I connected, him remembering me from that special moment (JP: I remember seeing him up on stage and wondering how I could miss a person like him in Sacramento!) As he scrolled back through pictures from that night, there were many where you could see my silhouette. From there, the rest is history!

On our welcome table for our wedding was a small glass jar; inside it was the confetti that dropped during her concert, strips of brown paper with lyrics written on them. It was our little nod to the beginning of our story. And while we’ve technically been to an Adele concert together, we’ve never been able to attend with each other. We are so excited that we recently scored tickets to her Vegas show for a date in September.

When did you first realize that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with? CM: For me, it was pretty early on. There is just something so magical when you are able to simply be yourself around a person. And he laughs at all my ridiculous jokes and antics. JP: I don’t necessarily remember the “it” moment. Everything just feels so natural and comfortable with Chris. Maybe it was the first time he belted out to a song in the car in front of me. He obviously feels just as comfortable around me.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it… CM: In January of 2021, as we were all deep in our respective quarantines, JP and I celebrated our dating anniversary. Our actual anniversary fell during the week, so we waited to celebrate until the weekend. We ordered takeout from our favourite local restaurant (shoutout to Canon!). JP was eager to exchange gifts, which was really unusual, but I didn’t think much of it. He handed me a bag that I pulled a champagne bottle out of it; hanging from the neck of the bottle was a tag that read, “Let’s pop champagne together for the rest of our lives.” Needless to say, it was an easy yes. We used that same bottle in a display case on our welcome champagne table that guests enjoyed prior to our ceremony. I believe there is a photo of it in Paige’s highlights she sent.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding… CM: We definitely wanted something very classic. We leaned into greys and blues, which we thought would beautifully accent the outdoor space we were in. JP: We also envisioned florals really standing out with colour. We had an amazing florist that understood our vision. We trusted their expertise, and they blew us away with their arrangements. I think all of our guests were in awe.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

CM: Rich in local history, our venue was absolutely our splurge. It provided the most beautiful background and really was the inspiration for the rest of the decor for the day. JP: The food, too. The meal is the central part of the reception, and guests always remember a good meal. People will spend a good portion of a wedding at a table, so we wanted to make sure it was a good experience. We opted for family style so that we could use our first-choice caterer, who also came highly recommended. In the end, I think the family style was the perfect choice for the kind of venue we had, surrounded by agriculture. It really matched the “farm to fork” vibe of our region.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)? CM: Oh, that would definitely be our cake-cutting. As we tried to slice into the cake, the knife would not budge. I think we both looked over at our wedding coordinator with sheer panic in our faces. Turns out we were slicing in the exact spot where a wooden dowel was placed. We definitely had a good laugh. JP: Originally, we wanted the cake cutting to just be a quick moment with our photographer without the attention of our guests. Instead, it became this thing where we were in the corner and people were watching us struggle!

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story? CM: We knew we wanted classic suits for the day, but definitely didn’t want to go the black and white route. We knew they needed to be cohesive but didn’t need to match. My suit had this beautiful stripe pattern, while JP’s was solid. We made sure the ties matched the other’s suit colours, and I think we really pulled off a wonderful combo. JP: We also chose suits that fit our individual styles. Chris usually goes for fabrics that have a little more fun detail, so he chose the pattern. I love rich blue. We both also enjoy a surprise and had our suit jackets each lined with bright patterns.