Peter caught Anastasia’s eye on Bumble. His dating profile stood out to her because “He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. His photos reflected someone who loved the outdoors, loved to have a good time, had a great sense of humor and most important, loved dogs. To top it all off, he was an incredibly handsome guy.” From their first conversation, Peter knew Anastasia was witty. He found her to be very intelligent, outgoing, adventurous but also laid back, not pretentious or into drama. And fortunately, she was immediately drawn to his sense of adventure and his obvious funny side. But she could not have anticipated just how adventurous the start of their relationship was going to be…
When Anastasia told Peter she was up for anything on a date, he suggested we crashing a ten year reunion at a high school neither of them had attended. She didn’t flinch, and thus Glen Burke and Coco Sterling were born, and the imposters, complete with fictitious back stories, spent the evening convincing a room full of strangers that they had been classmates. Anastasia recalls, “It was the best first date I had ever been on. I knew then that with Peter, I would never be bored!” Adventure and travel became a part of their shared lives, including a trip to Europe. Things got so serious that they made an offer on a house, but still Peter had not proposed. As they prepared for a spur-of-the-moment Labor Day weekend trip to Lake Tahoe with their dogs Bumble and Steve, Anastasia asked Peter point-blank when they were going to get married.
“When I told her to pack the car and I would take a shower before hitting the road, I knew she was crushed,” Peter says, “but I didn’t want to give away that in a few hours I would be proposing!” “Anastasia had packed a nice picnic lunch, but when we got to the lake, I was too nervous to eat. Instead, I fiddled with my camera and shared with her a photo album I had made of our trip to Europe. She wanted to admire all 198 photos and revisit each part of our trip. When she approached the end, I handed my camera to a man at a nearby table and asked him to click away. I then handed Anastasia a box with the rings. As she opened it, I got on one knee and asked her to marry me. Fortunately, the man with my camera captured the moment perfectly!” Now it was time to plan a wedding that would be a unique experience for their guests. “We wanted our wedding guests to feel comfortable, really let loose, have a good time, and essentially feel like they were at a get together at our house, but with an opportunity to dress up while having a comfortable laid back time. We love any reason to play host, and our friends and family also love get togethers at our house, so we wanted our wedding to be an extension of that. We wanted our wedding to be our best party ever, with good food, good music and even better company. We also wanted to include Bumble and Steve into the ceremony. Our goal was just to make sure that all of our guests walked away thinking they really got a chance to fully celebrate our marriage,” says Anastasia.
The couple’s Indonesian heritage was woven into the festivities as well. Peter explains, “I thought our wedding would be a great opportunity to share a little bit about where our parents are from with our guests. My aunt arranged for a mix of both savory and sweet hors d’oeuvres and my favorite Indonesian appetizers to be served during our cocktail hours, along with a special cake that was flown in all the way from Indonesia!” “We also incorporated a bit of Indonesia into our wardrobe by changing into traditional Indonesian wedding kebaya, the traditional Indonesia wedding garb, for our introduction into the reception. It was so nice to be able to talk around the reception, thank people for coming and also telling them a little bit about what we were wearing and why. We loved that we got to show our guests something they may not always see at a wedding. And both of our mothers wore kebayas.” The venue provided a beautiful backdrop of which needed little in the way of florals. Blush pink pieces and simple greenery and centerpieces on all the tables sufficed. Peonies and garden roses made up the bride’s and bridesmaids’ beautiful bouquets.
Anastasia had always dreamed of being married in a beautiful gown with a long train and an even longer veil, and her mermaid style gown, with champagne lace over blush and a cathedral length veil were all that and more. “The lace, so intricate and detailed, and the veil made me feel like royalty. I wanted a dress that was a little sexy but mostly romantic, elegant and had lace, lace and more lace. I went dress shopping with my mom, future mother in law and maid of honor, and when I put this one on, everyone’s reaction signaled to me that it was clearly the one.” Peter was adamant about not the couple not seeing each other until the moment Anastasia walked down the aisle. Instead, they wrote cards to each other that we opened and read before the ceremony. They also wrote their own vows, which managed to make everyone laugh, and let them personally express their love for each other. Anastasia recalls, “I had been trying to write my vows before but nothing seemed to sound right. On the day of the wedding, I woke up, it was a beautiful morning and I immediately grabbed my notepad and it all just flowed out of me and it was everything I wanted to say to Peter. Writing my vows that morning, putting my love for him in words, was my favorite part of the day.” The reception that followed was filled with so many of the memorable moments that are created when you have a reason to celebrate. And it was captured by photographer Lolita Vasquez. “Lolita was amazing! On our wedding day she was organized, on top of everything, and also very calming which was much needed when you’re on a tight schedule. She also did our engagement photos with our two dogs, and was so patient and fun. She’s just someone you want to spend time with,” the couple says.
Anyone who has ever been to a get together at their home knew that Anastasia and Peter love to serve food that is comfortable, delicious and fun. Which describes (what else?) tacos! Everyone loved the carnitas, carne asada, pollo and al pastor tacos and of course – chips salsa and guac!
And for dessert, Anastasia indulged her love for cupcakes and funfetti birthday cake. “When we sat down with Brandy West of Go West Baking, I told her I didn’t care what any other flavors were chosen, so long as one layer of our wedding cake was funfetti birthday cake and that there were plenty of cupcakes for our guests. Pete wanted to avoid the usual cake flavors. He picked a raspberry mojito cupcakes, chai tea cupcake and orange velvet cake cupcake to go alongside my favorite funfetti cupcakes.” When it came to music for the reception, the song for the father daughter dance was John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Road.” Peter chose Dear Mama by Tupac because it represented the struggles of a single mother raising a son and encompasses the dynamic of a mother-son relationship. Afterwards we all headed to a dive bar and also had a bon fire until the early hours of the morning.” Afterwards, these adventurous travelers were off to Maui for what they now describe as “the most amazing, mind-blowing honeymoon either of us could have ever hoped for.” Aloha!
THE TEAM
[PHOTOS] Lolita Vasquez Photography
[CAKE] Go West Baking & Events
[VENUE] Gold Hill Gardens [DECOR] Le Spa Folsom [CATERING] Tres Hermanos Taqueria [FLOWERS] Carolyn Oliveira [GOWN] Miosa Bride [MENSWEAR] Mens Wearhouse [HAIR / MAKEUP] Tina Romo / Ernesto Robledo [DJ] Beat Fleet DJS [INVITES] B Wedding Invitations
