Bio

Sandra's Bio

	Sandra & Christophers's Wedding
About Us Our Wedding Non-pro pics Details $tuff for $ale Vendor Reviews Honeymoon Links & Favorite Bios	We're married!!! I loved browsing the bios at The Knot while I was planning my wedding! Now that I am married, I wanted to do a bio, especially for brides planning weddings in Eastern Montana, as the online resources for vendors outside of the state's more Western cities seem quite limited.
About Us	back to the top
	Christopher and I are professional opera singers at met in 2003 while peforming in Billings, Montana in Rimrock Opera's Don Giovanni. I was living in San Jose, CA at the time and Christopher was living in New York City. We spent three weeks together singing opposite each other and getting to know each other off stage as well. By the end of the production we knew we we had become more than just casual friends. Christopher returned to New York and I went home to San Jose, but we kept in touch. A few months later, Christopher came to San Jose to audition for the opera here (where I was on contract at the time) and the rest is history! In 2004 he moved in with me in San Jose and we have been together ever since! In the Summer of 2006 we travelled to France's Basque country to visit Christopher's family and "amaxi" (grandmother) in St. Michel. The Basque country was just gorgeous. We visited Lourdes, St. Jean Pied de Porte, Elizondo, St Jean de Luz and Biarritz. All of the destinations were so beautiful and each had its own dedication to the "Holy Virgin Mary", which I found so interesting. Christopher told me about "the Holy Virgin Mary" that watched over the Basque sheepherders. This "Holy Statue of the Virgin" was at the top of one of the highest mountains in the Pyrenees. Many of the Basques would make pilgrimages to her and leave notes of prayer for her in between the rocks of the hill where she stood. When Christopher and i arrived, Christopher told me to wait because only one person at a time could visit with the "Virgin". Finally, it was all clear for me to come up and see. I walked up the hill and found the engagement ring at the feet of the "Virgin Mary". It was at that moment that Christopher got down on one knee and blubbered: "Will you marry me?" and I simply said "of course dummy!"
Our Wedding	back to the top
	We were married on Saturday, June 2, 2007 at St. Bernard's Church in Charley Creek, Montana. Even though we live and work in San Jose, California we planned our wedding for Christopher's home church. Christopher was born and raised on a farm in Charley Creek, Montana...a remote area in Eastern Montana near the Canadian and North Dakota borders. It is about an hour northwest of Sidney, Montana and you have to drive on dirt roads to get to the location. Although most of our guests live in the surrounding area, we essentially planned a destination wedding since we live in San Jose and my friends and family travelled from California for the wedding. This posed its own unique challenges, especially since most weddings in Montana happen in the South and West in the cities like Missoula, Bozeman and Billings. So I hope that my bio will help other brides-to-be, especially those planning weddings in the Northeastern part of Montana. St. Bernard's is a Catholic Mission Church in Charley Creek and the last wedding held there was that of my DH's mother and father 38 years ago! The area is quite remote and most locals get married "in town", but we really wanted to be married in the same church as his parents and where he was baptised and celebrated his first communion and confirmation. Here are some lowresolution pics taken from the slideshow preview from our Photographer, Amanda Luchsinger of Alea Photography & Design, please credit her and my bio if you use these: THE VENUE: ST. BERNARD'S CHURCH THE GUYS BEFORE THE CEREMONY THE HANDSOME GROOM CHRISTOPHER WITH HIS BROTHERS PINNING THE BOUT ON HIS FATHER OUR TWO YEAR OLD NEPHEW AND RING BEARER THE GIRLS GETTING READY GETTING LACED IN TIGHT OUR NAILS WEREN'T THAT COLOR...MY PHOTOGRAPHER IS HAVING FUN WITH ENHANCEMENTS MY PARENTS AND GODMOTHER HELPING ME WITH MY GARTER MY COUSIN SNAPPING A SHOT OF ME AND MY FLOWER GIRL AND BRIDESMAID PRACTICING THE PINNING OF MY BUSTLE THE GIRLS PHOTOS BEFORE THE CEREMONY RUSTIC LOCATIONS HAVE THEIR LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES! LIKE COW PATTIES... WALKING ON THE ROAD TOWARDS THE CHURCH THE CEREMONY Flower Girls and Ring Bearer, followed by our Maid of Honor and Best Man PRESENTATION OF THE ARRAS THE VOWS US WEARING THE LASSO, THE SAME ONE MY MOTHER AND FATHER USED AT THEIR WEDDING EXCHANGING OUR RINGS HUSBAND AND WIFE I LOVE THIS PICTURE OF ME AND MOM JUST AFTER THE RECESSIONAL FORMAL PORTRAITS WITH MY PARENTS WITH HIS PARENTS WITH OUR PARENTS ENTIRE BRIDAL PARTY MAKING IT OFFICIAL OUTDOOR PORTRAITS MY BRIDESMAID AND FRIEND FROM GRAMMAR SCHOOL PUSHING ME ON THE SWING CEREMONY DETAILS AND DECOR THE RECEPTION: THE BEST MAN'S TOAST MET TRYING TO KEEP IT TOGETHER AFTER HEARING CHRISTOPHER'S TOAST TO ME. HE SAID, WHEN I FIRST MET YOU I KNEW IMMEDIATELY I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU. AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED, I FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU AGAIN EVERY SINGLE DAY. I FOLLOWED BY THANKKING ALL OF OUR GUESTS WHO HAVE COME TO SHARE THE DAY WITH US. OUR FIRST DANCE AND MR. & MRS. CHRISTOPHER AND MY FATHER SURPRISED ME WITH A SERENADE IN SPANISH I WAS CHOKED UP, BUT MANAGED TO TRANSLATE THE LYRICS FOR OUR GUESTS WE HAD A PINATA...I ORDERED IT IN SAN FRANCISCO AND MY MOH BROUGHT IT UP IN HER VAN: CHRISTOPHER WENT FIRST! THEN IT WAS MY TURN! WE STOPPED BLIND-FOLDING THE KIDS, BECAUSE ONE WACKED ME IN THE NOSE! PINATA LOOT! ME FAKING THE BOUQUET TOSS... LITTLE DID SHE KNOW, IT BUT ON THE COUNT OF THREE I JUST TURNED AND HANDED THE BOUQUET TO MY SISTER-IN-LAW, WHO WE ALL HOPE IS THE NEXT TO BE MARRIED! THE GARTER TOSS...CHIRSTOPHER WAS REALLY SILLY! IT WAS A RIOT... THE COLLAGE THAT MY PHOTOGRAPHER MADE OF THE WHOLE THING! OUR USHER, JOSEPH, WON THE TOSS! HE HAPPENS TO MARRYING OUR MOH, LORI, IN SEPTEMBER 2007 THESE GUYS ARE ALWAYS GOOFING AROUND LIKE THIS... A CELEBRATION DANCE!$&*@? BROKEBACK WEDDING? CRAZINESS ENSUED FROM THAT POINT ONWARD! DANCING THE DO-SEE-DO WITH MY BROTHER-IN-LAW JOSH "HEY! MACARENA!" OUR FRIENDS' BOXER, ANGEL, DRESSED FOR THE OCCASSION WE HAD A GORGEOUS SUNSET! THE WEATHER THAT WEEK WAS SO OMINOUS. WE HAD RAIN FOR 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE WEDDING, WE WERE ALMOST UNSURE IF WE COULD HAVE THE TENTED RECEPTION. BUT ON OUR WEDDING DAY, WE HAD BIG PUFFY CLOUDS AND BLUE SKIES. BY SUNDOWN, THE CLOUDS WERE GONE AND WE HAD A CLEAR, DARK SKY FULL OF STARS AND FULL MOON. IT WAS TRULY MAGICAL! RECEPTION DETAILS AND DECOR: MARTHA STEWART INSPIRED TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS THAT I MADE WITH TISSUE FROM THE DOLLAR STORE TENT WTH LINENS AND COLORED PAPER LANTERNS
Non-Pro Pictures	back to the top

Details	back to the top
THE SCHEME OUR MONOGRAM THE LOCATION THE PAPER STUFF THE BLING THE ATTIRE THE FLOWERS THE CEREMONY THE CAKE THE RECEPTION	THE SCHEME: Pink and Green are two of my favorite colors and when I came across Mrs.OBV5.21.05's bio I got truly inspired! So, I developed our scheme to be shabby chic with Red, Green and Pink. Many of Mrs.OBV5.21.05's wedding elements inspired what I did for our wedding, including: Refreshments: Paper Lanterns & Sweetheart Table: Mailbox for Cards: And the Apple Toile linens: This fabric was part of my inspiration(although I didn't end up using it!): We chose the colors based on the Basque and Mexican flags to honor our roots (Christopher is Basque-American and I am Mexican-American, both first generation). We used fuschia and pink to break it up and make sure it wasn't Christmas-y! I didn't want a matchy-matchy look, but for all of it to be coordinated. I bought ribbons from Michael's Crafts in various shades and patterns of Pink, Green, Fuschia and Red (the Christmas and Easter clearances were awesome for this) and used them on everything from bouquets to paper lanterns, cake pedestals and paper items. back to the top of this section OUR MONOGRAM: We used this color combo on our invites since it coordinated better with the sage green of the paneled invite. We also used this color combo on our website. We used this color combo on our personalized wine bottle labels and the round stickers on the white bags that contained our sheep-shaped sugar cookie favors as well as on our programs and also the celophane packages we put together for the cake service. Our monogram is a Basque Cross called a Labburu and a script B for DH's lastname initial. back to the top of this section THE PAPER STUFF: STDs: We mailed Montana Postcards with custom postage stamps with a picture of us to our non-Montana guests. We also had a wedding website...well, actually two...the first one was the free one from the Wedding Channel and then we switched to WedQuarters. INVITATIONS: We printed our own invitations using the Green Border Invitation kit by Anna Griffin from Michael's Crafts. We embellished each one with green and white polka dot ribbon and our monogram adhered with a dimensional foam dot used for card making and scrapbooking. (I'll try to post a picture of the final product...) These are the maps we included as an insert with the invitation and RSVP card. My MOH made the map in MSPublisher with the help of the MapBi o. We chose subdued versions of the green so that it coordinated with the sage green on the invitation panels. PROGRAMS: We made simple gatefold programs and printed them on legal size ivory paper and sealed them with a round sticker printed with our monogram. back to the top of this section THE LOCATION: St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Charley Creek, Montana We were married inside the church and had a tented reception on it's grounds. The view from the reception tent on our wedding day! Just breath taking...land and sky as far you can see! This what it looked like just 3 days before the wedding....stormy skies and lots of rain! This is a view of the home I stayed at the week before the wedding with my parents, godmother, MOH and her FI. It is my DH's Godmother's home and it is about a mile from the church. Since the closest lodging was over an hours drive from this location, my DH's family arranged for the majority of our out of town guests (family and members of our bridal party) to stay in homestays in Charley Creek. back to the top of this section THE BLING: My ring is a replica antique setting in white gold with diamonds and the centerstone is a one carat Montana sapphire (which is no longer being mined and very rare to find). Christopher actually proposed to me in France with a pearl and diamond ring, which I adore and wore on my right hand on our wedding day. After we returned home, Christopher went to Montana and bought my wedding ring..I really wanted a Montana sapphire! His wedding ring is carved white gold with yellow gold beveled edges. I got his ring for 75% off retail and an independently owned jewelry store that was going out of business. back to the top of this section ATTIRE: THE DRESS: Maggie Sottero's Grace in Diamond White Once we decided on a DW in Montana, I originally envisioned myself wearing a casual, tea length dress and found a cute white eyelet one with an beaded empire waist. Christopher made it clear that he wanted to wear a formal tuxedo, which meant I had to get a gown! So, I began my search. I knew I wanted a strapless bodice and thought I would want a two-piece (which I wear all the time for concerts and recitals). I tried some gowns at Group USA at the Great Mall in Milpitas and David's Bridal too. Finally, my MOH made an appointment for me to try on bridal gowns at Trudie's in the Pruneyard in Campbell. I instantly fell in love with this Maggie Sottero gown! It was a nice mix of formal but also appropriate for the prairie setting too. And I adore the corset back (which afforded me a little room for adjustment without alterations). Trudie's wanted it for $800, but I ended up ordering from a retailer on eBay for $400. It arrived in perfect condition, brand new with tags and with the coordinating purse and shawl. And I ordered a size 8, rather than the size 12 that the consultant at Trudie's suggested! The only alterations I needed were for the hem, which my mother did for me. I had a simple one-point over bustle done with a brooch. I wore the shawl for the ceremony only and the little purse came in handy for holding my powder, lipstick, hanky and extra safety pins. Inspired by Bubbly-Bride's Pink Cowboy Boots: I also wore leather cowboy boots under my gown...perfect for the tented reception on the lawn next to the church. My boots were hot pink and cream with red butterflies embroidered on them. Regularly priced at $400, I found them on clearance at Marshall's for $10! My garter is one that I wore as Musetta in La Boheme...it was hot pink, green and orange! PERFECT! My MOH put our date and initals on the soles with crystals and clear-drying gem glue from Michael's Craft Store: I woretwo ivory roses in my hair, pearl chandelier earrings, a pearl necklace that Christopher had givenme when we first started dating as well as the pearl and diamond ring that used to propose to me in France: back to the top of this section THE TUXEDOS: We rented the tuxedos from Tuxedo Fashions in San Jose and our MOH and Usher picked them up and drove them up to Montana for us. DH wore an ivory vest and tie and the groomsmen, ushers and our fathers wore sage vests and ties. The tuxedo itself was actually a suit, called a Ceremonial Suit (no satin on it, like regular tuxedos). THE BRIDESMAIDS: We found their red chiffon tea-length dresses off-the-rack at Burlington Coat Factory at an after-Christmas sale for $25 each! They flattered each of my bridesmaids beautifully (who ranged in height from 5'4" to 5'11" and from a size 8 petite to a size 18 woman) Each girl wore gold shoes of their choosing...two chose these same wedges (perfect for the tented reception on the lawn) for $20 from Target: And I found these cute silk gerbera daisies for them to clip in their hair. They also wore red cloissoine drop earrings embellished with white flowers that I found at Cost Plus World Market: FLOWERGIRLS: Ivory silk & chiffon dresses with beading along the empire waist...I got them after Easter on sale at Marshall's for $25 each. They also wore pink, silk gerbera daisies in their hair. MOTHERS: Our mothers each wore pink dresses. back to the top of this section FLOWERS: I kept floral to a minimum, but did choose to use red roses and pink hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are popular in the Basque country and red roses remind me of Mexico. The bridesmaids carried smaller versions of mine, but they were tied with apple green organza rather than the green polka dot and custom sash that I had on mine. The men wore red rose bouts with kermit mums and pink hydrangea and the ladies corsages were three red roses with kermit mums and pink hydrangea with pink ribbon. This is my bouquet with a sash that has our monogram custom embroidered on it. My Maid of Honor and knottie Lori Decter surprised me with this sash and coordinating dress patch from The Garter Maker. I had pink and red gerbera daisies on the pew bows with apple green tulle and two large alter arrangements that had red roses, pink hydrangeas and green mums and bells of ireland. We used these at the reception too to decorate the dance floor. back to the top of this section THE CEREMONY: We had a Catholic Wedding Mass that incorporated both of our unique cultural traditions. He had readings in Basque and Spanish as well as music in English and Spanish. We also incorporated the Arras (Gold Coins) and Lasso (Cord) ceremonies and it was especially memorable because we used the Lasso (a beautiful loop of conjoined silver rosaries with crystal beads) that my mother and father used at their wedding mass. For decor I had an aisle runner that I painted with our monogram. For the Flowegirls, I I bought cute woven basket purses embroidered flowers that had pink leather handles and were lined with a pink and green plaid from The Gap and filled them with green red and silk rose petals from Michael's that they sprinkled on the aisle runner. The church has open beams and I hung a wreath of pink, red, green and white silk flowers and a green shabby chic wooden "B" that I got from the Target Dollar Spot (my DH's last name inital) and draped white chiffon swags that I got from Big Lots for $10. I had a second wreath (the same as the one in the sanctuary) hung above the doors to the sancutary. One the doors to the vestibule I hung two matching wreaths made of pink and white silk gerbera daisies (I got after Easter at Marshall's) on the main entrance doors to the church (these latered ringed the glass jars of punch and iced tea at the cocktail hour) back to the top of this section THE CAKE: We had a two tiered lemon cake with lemon curd filling with buttercream frosting and rolled fondant. It was topped with pink hydrangeas. Then we had single tiered ones on each banquet table as centerpieces. We had mongramed cocktail napkins, plates and napkins bundled up in celephane and a cake cutter on each table with a tag that said: Life is Sweet! *Will the couple at this table* *who has celebrated the most anniversaries please take* *the honor of cutting the* *first slice of cake?* Here are twenty plates, forks and napkins for all to enjoy our wedding cake! My mother cutting the centerpiece cake at her table with my father. "B" Napkins I found at Target with our colors. We used these with the cake cutting. I bought Wilton Foil covered cake pedestals from Michael's Crafts and trimmed each one with a pink and green printed ribbon in various designs: Our centerpiece cake pedestals all beribboned and ready to go! We also had a traditional Basque Wedding cake with is made over an open fire and takes 3 days to make by slowly turning the batter over the open flame until it forms a tall cone: Here's my sister-in-law (who also catered the wedding) cutting it into bite size pieces so all of the guests could try it. Instead of traditional toasting flutes, we shared a jumbo margarita glass that I bought for $16 at Cost Plus World Market (thanks Mrs.OBX5,21.05 for the idea). back to the top of this section THE RECEPTION: As an homage to my Mexican roots, after the ceremony, guests snacked on fresh fruit, chocolates and my mother's homemade nopale (cactus) salsa and hand cut corn tortilla chips as well as hibiscus iced tea and watermelon punch (both PINK!). This was served on the left lawn of the church and the tented reception tables were set on the larger, right lawn of the church grounds. . On the guestbook table we had a toy John Deere pickup truck with wish cards labelled "Advice for the Couple" and "Three Year Predictions" in the bed of it. I filled an aluminum bucket with pens that I wrapped with green floral tape and topped with a pink silk gerbera daisy. I had a basket with green gingham fabric and pink and green striped ribbon for the guests to put the cards in. Next to that we displayed our parents wedding albums along with a scrapbook I made of our trip to France where we were engaged. (This was a real hit with our guests, especially since both of our parents had pink weddings and his parents were married at the same church 38 years ago.) For the dinner, we had 5 large white 40' x 20' tents layed out on the lawn adjacent to the church. There is also a small barn/storage shed that has open beam wooden rafters that we strung with white string lights and used as our dance pavillion. I saw this pictire (not our wedding, but it inspired me): We hung a grapevine wreath decorated with pink and white silk gerbera daisies over the door and draped the opening with white chiffon swags that I bought for $10 each at Big Lots. We re-purposed the large alter arrangements from the church at the foot of the swags for added color. The tents were decorated with white, green and pink paper lanterns in various sizes and we tied various ribbons from them for added pizzaz. On the long banquet tables we had white table cloths with green table runners (apple green lamour chair sashes from BBJ Linen...thanks MrsNFB for the idea). I made white, pink and green tissue paper poofs inspired by the ones in Martha Stewart Weddings and added decorated weights to them (the kind used for helium balloons) and had two on each table along with the centerpiece cakes topped with pink hydramgeas and the packet of plates/napkins/forks for the cake service. The centerpiece cakes were a hit with the guests and a great conversation starter. The kids loved the paper lanterns and poofs and several took them home at the end of the night. NOTE: I bought cheap white paper lanterns in LA's Chinatown and spray painted them apple green and fushcia with quick drying floral spray paint. We had a sweetheart table (a folding card table!) that we draped with a bright fushcia table cloth (a last minute decision) and two chair sashes: We surrounded the sweetheart table with 4 long banquet tables where our families and bridal party were seated and the rest of the tables ran parallel out from the center: LINENS: 28 table cloths and 220 chair covers came from Mary Martin and Betty Rodriguez of Seams to Me in Newark, CA (my MOH and her FI transported them up to Montana for us). They rented them to me for $3 each and will work with other brides in the SF Bay Area. If you're interested send them an email and they will get back to you to discuss your needs. They will also make you custom chair sashes and can even do bridesmaid dresses and bridal gowns. I got an additional 90 chair covers and apple green lamour chair sashes (which I used as table runners as well). I rented additional white table cloths, napkins as well as plates and serviceware from Party Time Rentals in Billings, MT. DH's sister catered the dinner which was beef roast, green beans with pine nuts, DH's mother's hand made white and wheat rolls, potato salad and garden salad. We also had a cheese and fruit station that had Basque cheese (a rare cheese made from sheep's milk). We had champagne, red and white wine as well as beer, bottled water and soda. back to the top of this section
$tuff for $ale	back to the top
	16 Candle Holders in Silver and Gold in tall and medioum heighths (never used)...they were $10 each Cost Plus World Market and I got them on sale for $6/each. I will sell the lot of them for $75.00 (local pickup only). PICTURES COMING SOON! 25 pink, green and white gently used paper lanterns in 4 varied sizes. I will include the ribbons that I had tied to the bottoms for free...you can get all of them for $25 plus shipping.
Vendor Reviews	back to the top
	COMING SOON!
Honeymoon	back to the top
	We had a pretty unconventional Honeymoon with our friends and families in tow! Since several guests drove to Montana from California for the wedding we all caravaned back to the Bay Area, stopping in Yellowstone, Boise and Reno on the way home. We left the Monday after the wedding... In our rented minivan we had DH and I, my parents and his aunt and uncle from France. In another rented minivan was all of our gifts, wedding stuff and decorations, driven by my MOH (and knottie) Lori and her fiance and our usher, Joseph, as well as another bridesmaid, her husband and two children in a rented car. Dinner with the gang, the first night at the Rock Creek Resort in Red Lodge, MT Our usher Joseph, his fiance and my MOH Lori, Me and DH at Rock Creek Resort in Red Lodge, MT Showing off our wedding rings Christopher and I at the top of the Beartooth Mountains on the way to the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone The whole gang! From Left to Right: Lori (MOH), Joseph (Usher), My Dad, DH, Jenn (BM), her daughter (FG), My Mom, DH's Aunt from France, Dac (Jenn's DH) and their son. Taking the picture: DH's Uncle from France At the tippy top of the Mountains...SNOW in June! Lori and Joseph decorated our minivan with "Just Married" "Hitched in Montana...Headed to California" for the drive home:
Links & Favorite Bios	back to the top
	INSPIRATIONAL BIOS: Bubbly-Bride Mrs.OBV5.21.05 MrsNFB FAVORITE LINKS: Montana Bride Montana Wedding Planner
	You may email me at : latinadiva [at] hotmail [dot] com
last updated: June 28, 2007	This bio was created using NVU