KC + Dan - Wedding at the Vellano Estate in Chino Hills, California

Korina and I go way, way back. In fact, it’s kind of weird to call her ‘Korina’ because I know her as 'KC.’

Most of my memories with KC are in this tiny hallway in our high school’s choir room, where we’d eat lunch together and talk about life. I think we only hung out one time outside of school, but it was memorable. We played a prank on my boyfriend at the time, and I think the joint conniving sealed us as friends for life.

Life has a weird way of bringing you out of touch with people that you used to see every day, but this wasn’t true with me and KC. She moved to California, and I had my fair share of moves around the US, but we stayed in touch. I’d say that I “didn’t know what it was,” but that wouldn’t be true. KC has a heart of gold and is more determined to keep touch than any of my friends from the past. It’s one of the things that I love most about her, and something that I know will make her an amazing wife and life partner.

I’m still pinching myself that I got to be a part of KC and Dan’s wedding day. And because I’m not selfish and think everyone should experience what I got to experience on Sunday, here are all of the details…

KC and Dan met through friends while on a hike together. Apparently they met again at a pool party shortly after that. Not beguiled by such whims as “love at first sight,” or even “love at second sight,” it took another go around for them to connect. They finally connected on a third outing arranged by a mutual friend.

When KC wrote this story to me, she ended it by saying “We met again that night and decided we didn’t want to say good-bye again.. so we didn’t.” And yes, when I read that, me - the easy cry that I am - cried.

With KC and Dan, I have a much larger picture of their relationship than I do with a lot of my clients. They’ve been together for… what literally feels like forever sometimes. Even though I didn’t meet Dan until their wedding day, I felt like I had gotten to know him through stories that KC had shared throughout the years.

I finally got to hear about KC from Dan’s perspective, and I asked him what his favorite thing was about her. He told me that he gravitated towards her when they met because of how happy she was. I can attest to this… she was always bubbly and upbeat (and a li’l bit feisty). He captured this last bit of her personality when he told me that he loves how independent she is.

When I asked KC what her favorite thing was about Dan, she said, “It’s hard to narrow this down because there are so many things that are my favorites. He reminds me not to take life so seriously, and he can always make me laugh. He prefers me as I am - no makeup, no hairdo, no flashy clothes - just me. He’s the best eating partner, adventure partner, and life partner.”

It warms my heart beyond belief to have been able to witness this longtime friend of mine find her lifelong partner. Here’s to wishing all the best to Korina and Dan; may your life together be as beautiful as your wedding day was!

My Favorite Detail: Her aquamarine ring and matching necklace. AND turns out KC and I both had the same shoes for our wedding, so I had to throw this in there, too :)

Tear-Jerking Moment: The wind was blowing KC’s hair during the ceremony, and Dan kept gently brushing it off of her face.

A Korina-and-Dan Kind of Love: A love that is fiercely independent, but finds a way to beautifully rely on the other. Constant and loyal, and full of laughter.