Dani + Jesse

How did you meet?

My husband Jesse and I met on the beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I was on vacation with my parents and some friends, it was a hot sunny day my friends and I went to a beach bar to drink and party (as any other 19 year old would do). Jesse was on vacation with his brother and friends, walking down the beach also going to the same beach bar. Our groups met, interacted & instantly connected hanging out every day for the rest of our vacation. When the trip was coming to an end for Jesse, he told me he’ll call me in a few days once I got home. (Crazy enough we lived close to each other Fullerton, California and Riverside, California, only 45 minutes driving distance) I told him “ya right!” I didn’t really believe the guy I hit it off with in Cabo would call me again. When I finally came home, the next day Jesse called like he said he would! I couldn’t believe he actually called but was excited he did. We spent the rest of summer going on dates, seeing each other all the time, and meeting each other’s families and the rest is history!

When did you know they were the one?

I knew Jesse was the one almost right away when we met. I always believed and still believe it is fate and in God’s plan that we met for a reason. We were at the same place at the same time in a different country only to find out we lived 45 minutes away in CA. Aside from the fate, we connected instantly, had so much fun together and I fell in love with him so fast and knew I was meant to be with him forever

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner

My favorite attributes about Jesse are hands down his smile as #1 my heart melts when he smiles at me, his sense of humor he’s always making me laugh, and how loving and caring he is 😊

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

With the beauty of social media, I was able to do some research looking at dresses before even going to stores to try on. I had found 3 dresses at my first choice store Love and Lace Bridal in Irvine, California that I needed to try on right away. During my fitting I tried on the 3 I fell in love with online and instantly did not like them on my body. I let the stylist work her magic and pull dresses she thought would look good on me and MWL Riley Luxe and MWL Carla were two of them. I tried on MWL Carla and loved how the dress fit on my curvy body. I was smiling from ear to ear but was hesitant of the external detail that pops off on the dress. Last I tried on Riley Luxe, same style and fitting as Carla, I instantly fell in love with it on my body. The lace detail was absolutely beautiful and it fit me like a glove. I had a great feeling about Riley Luxe that I asked the stylist to dress me up with a veil and bouquet and instantly knew that was MY dream dress!

Who proposed and how?

Jesse (finally) proposed after 7 1/2 years of dating back at the place where we met, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We take a trip back to Cabo every year for Christmas and New Years with his family, it’s been 5 years since we’ve done the same trip. One day, my now mother-in-law wanted to go on a booze cruise on their family boat to the famous Arch in Cabo to take family pictures, which seemed completely normal because we always take family pictures every trip. Once we got to the arch, everyone has been drinking, dancing and having a great time, we go to the front of the boat to take the family pictures. After all the group photos, Jesse and I go to take our couples pictures. After taking a few pictures Jesse asks “How much do you love me”, I responded throwing up my arms wide open saying “This much”, then to find Jesse getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him. And of course, sobbing with joy said YES!

What was the best moment for you at the wedding?

The best moment for me at the wedding was walking down the aisle to my perfect wedding song towards my soon to be husband holding back my happy tears filled with so much love and emotion. My husband and I waited to see each other till I walked down the aisle and that was the best decision I could have ever asked for. That moment all I remember was hearing my song and staring at my husband who I was about to marry.

What surprised you most at or about your wedding?

My dad surprised me the most at the wedding. Since the moment we got engaged, my dad has been so thrilled and excited for the wedding. He kept raving about his speech and this surprise he had for after our father-daughter dance. My dads absolutely nailed his speech making it funny, sweet, and special to both my husband and I. The biggest surprise of all, after our father-daughter dance, he had the DJ change the song, he brought out my old softball glove and bat and him and I played catch and hit the ball to each other like when I was younger playing softball and my dad was my couch. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life, it was the best surprise!

What advice would you tell other brides?

When it comes to the morning/day of your wedding, really sit back and enjoy the entire process and forget about the what ifs or things that might come up. It may be in or out of your control but trust the people you hired to take care of it so you can relax and enjoy being a bride. I personally was so stressed and had anxiety the whole wedding planning process (I planned it pretty much it all myself) up until the day before during the rehearsal, but come wedding day, I was so chill, laid back, calm, and really got to enjoy the process becoming the beautiful bride on my wedding day and it made all the stress and anxiety completely worth it.

What was the one thing you did differently for your wedding?

My whole wedding I felt like was different than most. My in-laws own a beautiful ranch in wine country Temecula, California where we had the wedding and we were able to make the wedding completely our own with no limitation. It’s very rare people have the opportunity to have a venue that they get to do every single detail and aspect of the wedding completely how they want and we were blessed enough to be able to do that for our own.