Megan tried on about 10 gowns from Watters fabulous 2010 line. The gowns represented both Watters Brides and WToo Brides. Both lines offered amazing detail work, hand embellishments, and the overall styling and design were just spectacular. Plus, the price points are incredible...considering some of the more expensive gowns from other lines did not compare to the fabulousness of these gowns.
Below are are a sampling of the gowns that Megan tried on. Is "the dress" one of these...well you won't know until wedding day.
Let's just say that the Watters Dream Dress™ will be paired with a Swarovski crystal ribbon headband and a cathedral length veil. It's was a "goose" bumps moment when Megan walked out with the Dream Dress that was chosen for the final approval by all!
Thank you to Lisa Litt from Lili Bridals and Formals, Vatana Watters and Vanessa Brandon of Watters Bridal for providing our Dream Bride™ with her Dream Dress.
Yesterday, Megan and Peter met with Percy Sales of Percy Sales Events to tour the beautiful RanchodeLasPalmas in Moorpark, CA, the location of their dream wedding.
Percy gave them a tour of the expansive grounds, detailing what each area will be used for. He talked about his ideas and what he has envisioned for each area and Megan and Peter were gitty with excitement. RanchodeLasPalmas offers so many possibilities and the Dream Crew™ are pulling out all the stops. In the words of Megan and Peter, "Our guests are gonna have so many surprises around each corner, they won't know what hit them."
After the tour, the three of them sat and discussed the many questions that Megan and Peter had about winning the dream wedding and discussed the themes, colors and wants that Megan and Peter would like to see as part of their dream wedding. We discussed every element from dress and tux fittings, the wedding weeks schedule, and other details that will make their wedding as unique as they are.
After the meeting Megan and Peter where left alone to take in the beauty of RanchodeLasPalmas and take photos and videos of the property. Next stop...Lili Bridals and Formals for the Watters trunk show on Sunday and finding the dream gown for Megan.
Some of the details thus far:
Colors: Plum. Navy, and Lime.
Ceremony in the round.
Friends and Family will be incorporated throughout the event.
Style: Modern Romantic with a little quirk.
Cigar Bar, RND Vodka Bar, S'mores Pit, and Candy Girls.
Keep following Megan and Peter through their "road to the aisle" and see what each Dream Crew™ member is gonna do to make their dream wedding SPECTACULAR!
It's Valentine's Day Morning and it has to be one of the stressful and exciting mornings I have had in a long time. Not because it's Valentine's Day, but because this morning I made the phone call that our Top 5 Couples have been waiting for since Friday evening. Let me tell you with each call I just had to stop my self from crying uncontrollably because I have become attached to these five in such a short time.
After 3 months, 615 contestant entries, 9 days of public voting to the tune of 34,029 votes, and sponsors agonizing over their choice of couples...one couple has emerged the winner and will have their wedding of a lifetime...platinum style. We will chronicle the couples journey as they customize their wedding to their liking and finally say "I Do" at Rancho de Las Palmas in Moorpark, CA on Sunday, June 27, 2010 with over 50 vendors taking care of all their wedding needs!
We also wanted to add that Rancho de Las Palmas has generously offered all four runner-up couples the use of their property for a future date. Acacia Mansion has offered each couple a one night stay at the property that would include a breakfast and a picnic horseback ride on a date of their choosing. Bonita J has given our second and third place couple a gift certificate for jewelry. Percy Sales Events has offered his coordinating and design services to all the couples on a date of their choosing to help you plan your own dream weddings.
Finally we are pleased to announce the 2010 Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway winning Dream Couple™:
Megan & Peter (Dream Couple #600) currently residing in Studio City, CA and Sacramento, CA
Dream Couple™: Megan O'Neil & Peter Story Los Angeles, California and Sacramento, California Dream Couple #600
Questions asked to the Top 10 Dream Couples
1) If you were to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway, what would you do to pay it forward?
There are three ways we would like to pay it forward:
#1: We want to take care of those in need.
Megan: We’d like to take what little money we've saved towards a wedding and make a donation to one of our favorite charities.We would also love to set up a website link so that guests can choose to donate to the fund as an alternative gift.
Peter:Megan and I are no strangers to hard work. We both enjoy volunteering our time to work on projects that benefit those less fortunate.Megan has worked in soup kitchens and aided in disaster relief with Habitat for Humanity. I, too, have worked with Habitat as well as international service projects in both Mexico and Estonia. We would be thrilled to have the opportunity to represent the Giveaway by working together on some community projects.
#2:We want to give back to the Dream Wedding Giveaway.
Peter: We know how important marketing is to the success of a company and we would be very excited to sit down with the dream team members and think of ways in which we, as a couple, could advertise for them.
Megan: Whether it be trade shows, special events or interviews, we would be glad to give our time to help promote in any way those companies who have so generously donated their time and service to make the dream wedding possible!
#3:We want to inspire other couples.
Megan:We feel one of the best ways to pay it forward is by staying together. When the number of divorce is at an all time high, marriage is slowly becoming no more significant than an engagement.
Peter: Megan and I have always given great importance to marriage and are aware of what's needed to make a marriage last.
We realize that marriage is hard work, it’s not always going to be gumdrops and rainbows, and that commitment is about honoring the promise we’ve made to each other no matter what forces try to pull us apart.We are striving to set an example, not only for the friends and family surrounding us now, but for the family we hope to have in the future as well.
Surviving in marriage is a choice.It’s two people choosing to work together, choosing to stay in love.So we will pay it forward by honoring the ceremony we were so generously given and stay Mr. and Mrs. Story until “death do us part”.
2) What song is your love song?
You and I --Ingrid Michaelson
Finding a song had always been difficult for us as we both come from musical families and always grew up with a passion for music.
Peter: I think as a couple, you want "your song" to be a kind of anthem--a song that represents what you share as a couple. For us it's “You and I”. It’s something we can sing to each other- it just feels like us. It’s sweet tone and simple nature really appeals to us and the humor is so charming.
Megan: It's a song about remembering what's important. Peter and I are both pretty sympathetic people and can sometimes find ourselves turning into worriers, especially when it comes to finances. "You and I" reminds us to not worry...to remember that it's love that's important-- it's "love that pays the bills".
Peter:The song also talks about giving back to your parents. This idea has always been important to Megan and I because we both come from very close families. We realize how much our parents sacrificed and went without so that we could have more growing up than they did. Megan and I both strive for success in a way that will allow us to give back to our parents, at least in some small way, to say how grateful we are for what they've done for us...and continue to do.
The song also talks of dreaming-- of "building a house on a mountain"-- and we see ourselves as dreamers. It's one of the qualities that drew us together. We dream big dreams and don't apologize. We believe that it's better to go after something and lose it than to never go after it at all. And even though we've come from humble backgrounds and are still struggling ourselves, we keep our chins up with visions of a great life together. Maybe someday our own home. A place where we can, as the song says, "put the lonesome on the shelf"
3) What is the one thing that would make your wedding day memorable to you as a couple?
Megan:Both Peter and I feel that what would make our wedding day memorable (besides being the winning couple, of course) would be to have all of our friends and family present.We have the most supportive and loving friends and family so the "guest" part of planning the wedding has always had central importance.
Peter:The family and friends who know us best knew how important it was for each of
us to find the perfect mate--how many sacrifices we made to hold out for the "right one". So when we finally found each other, after years of patience, it was a near miracle. Then, when we got engaged, well...it was a huge event for those around us. We have so much support from so many people that can't wait to see us happily married. Unfortunately, many of those people, including both our families are not in California.
Megan:We've agonized over wedding plans this past year as we still have not been able to settle on a location.We both really wanted to have the wedding in California but with my entire family in Michigan and his in Oklahoma, having the wedding here seemed very selfish as the cost of travel and lodging is so high.We've entertained the idea of having the wedding in Michigan, Illinois, Oklahoma, and California in attempts to find a way for people to come. However, in each option, some important group gets left out. With the cost of mounting the wedding itself, there's no earthly way possible we could supplement anyone's travel.
Peter: It's been a heartbreaking process realizing we're not ever going to find an option to allow the people dearest to us to be able to come to the wedding. The Giveaway could truly be the fairy godmother that makes this possible. If the dream team is able to wave their magic wand and make a wedding appear, allowing us to help the travel costs of close friends and family....then this wedding would truly be memorable. Not just because of its splendor, but because we were able to share it with those who have meant so much to us.
Original Questions asked to all contestants
Tell us your Dream Couple™ Story (how you met, the engagement, etc. We want the full scoop). Once upon a time, in a far away place called B Street Theatre in Sacramento, two actors started rehearsal for a stage production of Rumplestiltskin. Megan, a recent college graduate, had just begun a ten month internship with the theatre. Peter, a veteran actor with the theatre, had also completed the internship several years prior. It was not love at first sight but if every story started with a happy ending, you wouldn’t have a story.
Megan: The first time Peter told me he loved me it was before we started dating. We were in rehearsal and, on a short break, I decided to play around on a nearby piano. He said “Megan, I love you, but will you PLEASE STOP PLAYING THE PIANO?” I was plunking out the same phrases over and over since I only had a small portion of a song memorized. My initial thought was, who is this jerk?
Peter: We weren’t very fond of each other as far as first impressions go. She was a fresh fish at the theatre and I thought, who is this goofball? I didn’t take the time to explain to her that my mother had been a piano teacher my whole life and the repetitious sounds of simple piano-ing had become “nails on a chalkboard”.
Time Changes Everything Once the show opened, Peter was cast in another show at the theatre that ran in the evenings and Megan too was eventually put on that show doing work backstage. There was a point when they were doing 17 shows a week together! Soon, first impressions wore off and they were able to learn more about one another.
Megan: We started to spend all of our time together, even outside of work. As an intern, your work schedule included 12-14 hours a day, six days a week, with a day off if you were lucky. There was never a lot of time to rest, let alone eat! It was so wonderful that Peter had completed the internship years prior because he truly understood what I was going through and knew how to be supportive. He started inviting me to spend breaks with him and brought me lattes or breakfast to my dressing room before shows- just little things. I’d make sure his costume (which always ripped) was sewn up properly and I always found my way next to him in his dressing room or conveniently close to him on the couch in the green room, backstage. It was truly a sweet start.
Peter: What first caught my attention was how hard she worked. Both on and off stage. The internship can be brutal—lots of manual labor and hard hours—but Megan always seemed to be undaunted by it. Not only that, but she always had a great attitude. I was starting to realize that this girl was truly remarkable. Another surprise was the fact that I couldn’t find a single person to say anything negative about Megan. And in a gossip-central, drama-loving theatre hub, this was an enigma. She seemed to be perfect. I later found out…she was. After getting ample time to know each other, I started to discover how wonderfully complex Megan was and as first impressions started to melt away, I found myself falling in love with her.
Megan: He tried to kiss me twice. The first time, I honestly couldn’t tell if he was shooting for my cheek or my mouth so I went the safe route and gave him my cheek. I was so nervous!!! The next time he tried, it was all my fault! I ended up turning my cheek and hugging him instead. WHY!?!
Peter: I wanted to kiss her from pretty early on, but I hadn’t found the right opportunity. One night, after hanging out at her place, I was saying goodbye to her on her porch and I tried to kiss her. She turned her face and gave me the cheek. What? I went away pretty dejected. Was my radar off? I thought the signals I was getting were pretty clear. Our first official date would be later that week at a Sacramento minor-league baseball game. Before the game, I went over to Megan’s for a BBQ. At one point we found ourselves alone in the kitchen and I tried once again to kiss her. Once again, rejection. She subsided the awkwardness, though, by giving me a long heartfelt hug. This made me think, maybe it’s the timing? Later that evening, at my apartment, we were getting ready to go to the ballgame and surprise ending: SHE ended up kissing ME. She saw the puzzled look in my face as I tried to piece together where this came from, especially after two hardcore rejection!
s. She quickly reassured me, “I’m just shy”. The baseball game ended up being a really special date. Afterwards, we went to my apartment and stayed up half the night talking and sharing unrejected kisses.
Megan: That night of our first date was amazing. He made me laugh and feel at ease. I felt like I could completely be myself around him. He asked me everything about my life, good and bad, and somehow he knew more about me after one night than people who had known me for years. It was an instant bond, an instant trust which laid the foundation for our entire relationship. I thought the sparkly honeymoon stage of our relationship would eventually wear off as months went by, but it never did! Peter is so romantic and was constantly doing sweet things for me and I always returned the gesture. I think that is what is so great about us. At the end of the day, we feel most content just by making each other happy.
Fall Ended…
Peter left Sacramento to go back to LA while Megan finished up her internship and began a job in Chicago that would last until the following summer. Having horrible experiences in the past with long distance relationships, Peter decided it was best to end things
Peter: When I left Sacramento, I remember thinking those five months went by in a snap…I could do this for years with this girl. Decades. But at that point, Megan would be moving to Chicago and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t be happy in LA. It was a sad time.
Megan: I knew that we couldn’t be together at the time, but there was no doubt in my mind that we would end up together. I was done. He was it for me but I knew that I had to be patient while he figured out that I was right for him. Luckily it didn’t take long.
Peter: I never felt good about us ending the relationship. It was only a matter of weeks apart before I realized that the fears and apprehensions I had about us being together were truly immature and unfounded. I realized that I couldn’t hold Megan to the trials and tribulations of relationships past for one simple reason: she was unlike any girl I had ever met. So when she called and asked if I wanted her to come and visit for Christmas, it was a no-brainer. Of course I wanted her there. I wanted her with me….always.
The Proposal- Denali National Park, Alaska
Peter: I had been to Alaska years prior, and after travelling all over the world, it still stood out to me as the most beautiful place I had ever seen. I wanted to share it with Megan and I wanted it to be very special. After saving for months, and planning every detail, I somehow managed to put together a pretty good trip. We flew into Anchorage, trained up to Denali, and spent several days in some of the most beautiful surroundings you can imagine. I rented us a quaint little cabin outside Denali National Park (Mt. McKinley, the highest point in North America). We then took a shuttle bus into the heart of the park, an area preserved to the way it looked over 2,000 years ago—untouched landscapes, wild animals roaming free. See a short clip of our fun bear footage at: (http://www.youtube.com/user/muchadobenedic#p/a/u/0/hIqW68zqYms). I wanted the proposal to be memorable and I wanted it to be very intimate. Knowing Megan, I was sure that something public would be very embarrassing for her. Arriving at our destination in the park, we went off on our own, hiking up a small mountain. At the top, overlooking a gorgeous mountain range and serene valley, I turned off the camcorder and proposed. It was perfect. I turned the camcorder back on and interviewed her, only to find out that she knew I was going to propose the whole time.
Megan: Peter actually thought that he could plan a trip that elaborate and I wouldn’t suspect what it was all about. He said the trip was for my birthday, but I knew the real reason. But even though I had a good idea he was going to propose at some point in the trip, when he actually asked me to marry him I found myself completely surprised. I was so excited I almost tackled him, and after holding him tight for a long time… I said yes. I was so excited in the moment that I even forgot to look at the ring. He had to put in front of my face for me to notice it. The whole thing was so romantic. I found out later that he had asked my parents’ permission at the rehearsal dinner for my brother’s wedding a few months prior. It had not been easy for him because he had just met my dad for the first time that day. Peter is a true gentleman.
Tell us about the hardest thing you as a couple have had to face to date. Peter: The hardest thing for us to face as a couple has been being apart so much. The distance. We went from being together 24/7 for our first five months to being halfway across the country from each other for nearly a year. It was a huge emotional adjustment that depended entirely on communicating over the phone and video chatting. We tried to visit one another at least once a month but sometimes work or finances prevented it.
Megan: Once we were engaged, Peter asked me to move to LA. I was pretty nervous about making the transition. I had always thought that I’d be working in Chicago and didn’t have any friends of my own there. While we were road tripping cross-country from the Midwest to southern California with all of my belongings, Peter got an email saying that he was cast in a show back up in Sacramento. He would have to leave soon and start rehearsals just days after we would arrive in LA.
Peter: Being actors, staying consistently employed is difficult. We have been blessed to be able to supplement our rent by managing an apartment complex in Studio City. However, if a job pulls one of us out of town, the other has to stay behind in LA to manage the building. It’s a sacrifice we make for each other so that we can continue to pursue our career goals.
Megan: Once Peter left for Sacramento, I realized I was in a new city with pretty much no friends and a huge responsibility—run an apartment complex all by myself. But Peter told me that he wouldn’t have put me in that position unless he thought I could handle it. And I have to say, I’ve even surprised myself. From fixing an exhaust fan to handling a broken toilet, I’m becoming quite the handywoman. Peter’s been so supportive and encouraging.
Peter: I knew it would be difficult for her at first, but I knew she was the same woman I had seen at the theatre working hard day in and day out and I knew her positive attitude and winning personality would carry her through the tough times…and it has. She’s been a huge success. Both of us are that way, we respond well to adversity.
Tell us about what you think is the key to a successful marriage. Peter: Apologies and forgiveness. A lot of relationships end because people can’t talk through their differences. But if you have the humility to admit when you’ve made a mistake and the grace and compassion to forgive when you have been wronged, then that will give you the ability to tackle just about anything as a couple.
Megan: Selflessness. I believe if you’re lucky enough to be in a relationship where both of you strive to put the other’s needs ahead of your own, and both of you are working to make one another happy….well…it’s a recipe for growing old together.
Tell us why you deserve to be the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway Dream Couple™:
Having to be away from each other so much, it’s been nearly impossible to plan a wedding. Both of us come from middle class families that have been severely hit by the economy crash. The daunting costs of putting a wedding together would put them in a financial position that would make us terribly uncomfortable. Also, with our family and friends spread out all over the country (Peter’s family in Oklahoma, Megan’s family in Michigan) it seems unattainable to have everyone we love and care about at one ceremony. We love living in Studio City and want the opportunity to share our home with our family and friends, many of whom have never even been to California. We realize we both chose a career that will most likely never give us a life of luxury. In fact, in our field and with this economy, you have to financially prepare to not be working. But we do what we do because we know at the end of the day that is what we are called to do- it’s what we were gifted with. This would be our first wedding. Neither of us have ever been engaged before. We feel that the love we share and the commitment we’ve made to one another deserves an event—a time where we can share how much we love each other, how grateful we are for friends and family, and how dedicated we are to being partners through life, for better or worse. We were hoping to get married in California by September of 2010 but thus far, due to lack of funds and opportunities, we have been unable to put anything together. The hope of having a wonderful celebration to honor our commitment is dwindling. Please help.
Dream Couple™: CaulineWilliams & Rian Pedro Camarillo, California Dream Couple #4
Questions asked to the Top 10 Dream Couples™
1) If you were to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway, what would you do to pay it forward? Were pretty good on donating old clothes and helping our churches but to add on we would give a percentage of whatever we get back at our wedding and our taxes to two charity's one being a local foster home or group home. The second charity would have to be towards kidney transplant patients for either there medication or dialysis because both can be pretty pricey.
2) What song is your love song? Our love song is very hard to pin point. We have like 10!!! However if we had to pick one, it would probably be Plain White T's "A Lonely September". The lyrics describe the beginning of our relationship. The end is the best part of the song every time my fiance and I hear it, I tear up just because I love him so very much and it sometimes seems 2 have come out of no where. Falling in love with each other was the 2nd greatest gift god has ever given us. (The first being our son.)
"And I didn't mean to meet you then we were just kids And I didn't mean to give you chills the way that I kiss And I didn't mean to fall in love, but I did And you didn't mean to love me back but I know you did"
Those are the end of the lyrics of the song and this song was the beginning of our cheesy everlasting love.
3) What is the one thing that would make your wedding day memorable to you as a couple? The pictures will make it very memorable, our family and friends just the wedding itself. Honestly just winning would be one of the most wonderful things in the world to us. We honestly don't have that much money. But we have lots of love for each other. Our family's being together with us to celebrate our love and spiritual partnership would be indescribable. Words can not express how happy we would be to win. Just being in top ten reminds us that little miracles big or small do happen.
Questions asked all contestants
Tell us your Dream Couple™ Story (how you met, the engagement, etc. We want the full scoop). Well our first meeting was actually somewhat weird. One of my best friends, Mariam, was really into rock and roll and there was a guy, my fiance's brother, who was in this rock in roll band with some of his friends. So, one day after our classes my friends, Mariam and Amber, and I drove over to our mutual friend's house to watch the band play. As we walked in, I saw this skinny little Asian kid on guitar strumming his strings and really getting into the song that he and his band mates were performing.
My friend Mariam quickly pointed out the boy on the bass guitar whom she was mildly interested in. He was my fiance's brother, Carrel. I myself have never been interested in hardcore rock so I sat there patiently until the band was done and my friends were finally ready to leave, but not until Rian, my fiance, was done hitting on my best friend Amber of course.
On the car ride home, my friends and I laughed about how Rian was so into himself. After that day, the band started inviting us to hang out with them. We all became lifelong friends and me and my fiance, Rian, became best friends through those jam sessions. He would pick me up from my mother's house anytime of day or night. He was there for me when ever my mother and I would have problems and I was there when he had drama with his latest relationship. We would do everything together and we would talk on the phone for hours about life.
Finally, after two years of friendship, I made the first move and we have been together since. We moved into a small little apartment after four short months of dating. One day, I came home from work and there was all these fake rose peddles (haha) leading to our bedroom. As I opened the door, there was Rian standing by our bedroom window with his acoustic guitar. He asked me to sit down on our bed. Then he began to sing a song by The Plain White T's called, "A lonely September," it's one of our songs. I cried as I normally do, and then he looked me in the eyes and tells me he loves me. He got down on one knee full of tears and told me that he would always love me, protect me, and be with me forever. He said that he loved me with all his heart and that I made him grow up and think about life. He pulled out the ring, wiped his tears, and asked me to marry him. He said, "You're the missing puzzle piece to my heart!" I said, "YES!"
Tell us about the hardest thing you as a couple have had to face to date. I've thought long and hard about this question. There have been three things that have been hard to face as a couple. One being my mother and our relationship. As a child all the way until I was about 17, I was abused physically. My mother has a very strong personality and for the most part that gets in her way. I waited a while before telling my mother about my relationship, because of his race.
My mother was not very approving of our love. I told Rian, my mother, and anyone else that had an opinion that I love Rian and was proud to be his girlfriend. I'm proud to be his fiance and I will be extremely proud to be his wife. My mother however tried her hardest to break us up. She told lies, screamed at him, and told both of us that would never last and that wasn't meant to be. However, in our hearts we knew our love was strong.
The second thing that we had to face as a couple was soon after we started dating, I became pregnant and my mother told me she would never love a mixed grandchild. Unfortunately, I had a miscarriage and became semi-determined to have a child, which led to another miscarriage that caused me to become extremely depressed. Finally, on my third pregnancy I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Gavin Wes Pedro on July 30 2008. After two miscarriages and many fights between my mother and Rian and between my mother and me, my mom has turned a new leaf and has accepted our love and our child. Needless to say, we had to put the wedding off until now, until this part of our lives became more stable.
The third and final obstacle that we as a couple had to face was that Rian was hospitalized. We thought he had a simple cold but he actually had and infection in his lungs. He was very week and ill. It was really scary for me and his family, because he had a kidney transplant in 2005 so his immune system is not as healthy as it should be and it hit him kind of hard. I'll never forget it. Fortunately, through the grace of God he recovered fine and is here with our little monster and me.
Those three things really made us realize what a strong foundation our relationship and our love is based upon.
Tell us about what you think is the key to a successful marriage. We think that the key to a successful marriage is forgiveness, love, patience, friendship, and faith. I'm no expert, because I'm not even married yet, but I think that with those five things a marriage cannot fail. I feel like me and Rian cheated a little, because we spent two years just being best friends...really getting to know each other and having fun. We never really had to impress each other or tell white lies or anything because we already knew each other so well. Besides my mom drama, it has been a fairy tale romance...a comedy fairy tale of sorts.
Tell us why you deserve to be the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway Dream Couple™. We deserve this because we are a really genuine couple. We are the type of couple that's in it for the long haul. Divorce would never be an option. We love each other very dearly were blessed with our little dream family already, so a dream wedding would be a great addition to our dream life. Please consider us your Dream Couple™ for the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway. It would really mean a lot us and to our friends and family. Thanks for your time, I hope it wasn't too much, and we hope to hear from you in February.
Dream Couple™: Linda Cilingirian & Robert Danielyan
Burbank, California Dream Couple #66
Questions asked to Top 10 Dream Couples™
1) If you were to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway, what would you do to pay it forward? I love this question because it really makes you think that there is always someone out there who needs more of something than you do!
1). I have been a donating to St. Jude's Children Hospital for as long as I can remember! This would be a perfect way for us to do more for these precious children who have so much to deal with! Little things that we take for granted that mean the world to them!
What we would like to do is: ask each guest that attends our wedding to bring an unopened item ie: toys, slippers, books etc. We would like for this (if possible) to be mentioned somewhere on our invitation. With those gifts we would like to pick a day that we, along with the dream team or any one of them who can make a trip to the Children's Hospital in Hollywood and personally deliver these gifts to the children. Seeing their faces would be priceless!
2). Both Robert and I come from a huge Armenian family. As part of our tradition, guests usually give money as a wedding gift versus anything else. We would be honored to take 10% of however much we get and donate it to a charity (either St. Jude's again or another charity based on children) We have a passion for children hence the reason everything is based around them. They are the future, and we have to at least try to make this world a better place for them!
3). Last but not least I was talking to my sister who happens to be a makeup artist and we thought, how nice would it be to be able to give something to maybe a woman's shelter or the charity that helps woman who are less fortunate find jobs! This one is still a work in progress but we thought maybe we can make baskets of goodies for some of these woman or makeup lessons. Something that will pick up there spirits! My sister always says "just a touch of lipstick and you automatically feel like a new person". these are just some ideas, because now that you got us thinking about "paying forward" my head is spinning with ideas! :)
2) What song is your love song? Our song has always been Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra. I guess because we kind of were two strangers who met and fell in love after typing away long conversations on an online dating site. Its funny but true!
3) What is the one thing that would make your wedding day memorable to you as a couple? There isn't just one thing. I think this whole process is one we will never forget! From reading what my sister wrote about us to what all our family and friends had to say too! Its just the feeling that FINALLY something good is happening to us! We have both given up so much for our families. (That was a decision we had to make and would do it all over again) and now that something so HUGE like our wedding is being given to us...that's memorable enough! Our families have been waiting so long to see this day, especially my father. Being his first born, this is going to be the happiest day of his life when he finally walks me down the aisle to give me away to a man he adores and loves like his own son! There isn't anything better than seeing the people you care so deeply about so happy for you!
Original Questions asked to all contestants:
Tell us your Dream Couple™ Story (how you met, the engagement, etc. We want the full scoop). My name is Matilda and I am the brides younger sister. I wanted to do this for my sister and Robert because they deserve it and probably wouldn't do this on there own.
Robert and Linda met online. After many bad relationships and heartaches they both decided, "Why not, lets try something different." On February 27, 2007, online dating brought them together. For about a year they dated nonchalantly becoming the best of friends. 'Til one day they both realized they had fallen in love with the other and there lives would never be the same.
Robert purposed to my sister on July 4, 2009 while at MotoGP in Monterey. He was so nervous. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't get a phone call or text message from him about what he needed to do next. The ring had to be PERFECT, the setting had to be BEAUTIFUL, Linda had to be SURPRISED! Everyday I was talking him through his nerves. It was all worth it, let me tell you!!! He decided on a treasure hunt. He buried the ring in the sand that was right outside there hotel room while she was inside getting ready for dinner. He kept calling her to come outside because he wanted her to see this fisherman who had caught the biggest fish ever. My sister could careless (heehee). So she wouldn't come outside because she wasn't ready yet. Finally, she did...and I still can't believe he buried a diamond ring in the sand without any hesitation.
Throughout the day while at the race tracks, they had this bet going on. Something about her getting an autograph of some famous racer and if she did he had to buy her whatever she wanted. So of course Linda got the autograph and he knew he owed her a gift. So that night, Linda walks out and of course there is no fisherman. He sits her down on the sand and tells her he has a git for her. But the only way to find it is by digging for it. So she humors him and starts digging. Finds nothing. After about 20 minutes she was done digging for nothing. He told her she was so close and to keep going. He kept guiding her but she couldn't find the "treasure". Finally...the little box was revealed. She immediately started crying!
He was so nervous he forgot to get on one knee, all he said was "Wanna marry me"? At this point they had an audience. Everyone started cheering and clapping. She never answered him so he kept saying "You wanna, you wanna???" Her response back was, "Yes yes yes I wanna". Heehee...she was crying the rest of the night!!!
Tell us about the hardest thing you as a couple have had to face to date. I think the hardest thing for the both of them has always been finances. Robert lost his business soon after they became a couple. He has worked so hard to find himself something promising. Working two jobs and my sister barely making ends meet, times have been tough for them. They have always stuck by each other and supported one another no matter what. These tough times has shown that both of them, that no matter what, will always make it through...as long as they believe in each other and there love for one another.
Tell us about what you think is the key to a successful marriage. My sister told me on my wedding day, "Always love, Always forgive, and Always listen." This is and always will be the best advice she has given me.
Tell us why you deserve to be the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway Dream Couple™. I think Robert and Linda deserve this wonderful gift because they are the most patient, loving, giving couple I know. My sister has always sacrificed her life for us, she has always put her feelings and her goals aside to see her family happy. Robert has always wanted the best for my sister. Knowing that he couldn't afford her dream wedding he was willing to sell his pride and joy, his Ducati. She wouldn't allow that. I truly believe this is their time to shine. They have been wanting a wedding for so long but just couldn't manage to do it alone. This would be a blessing from God and I would truly truly be so grateful if they won!!!
Contest Producer's Note: To enter the contest the couple had to agree to entering the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway, so I had to write Linda for her permission. This is what Linda, the bride, had to say:
I feel so blessed and honored that my sister Matilda would go out of her way to do this for Robert and I.
The story is true the way we met, my treasure hunt on the beach, along with our struggle, down to the sale of his pride possession the Ducati...You know you've got a winner when they will give up their life passion for the happiness of the one they love...
Yes we give our 100% consent to enter us and publish our story as written by my sister Matilda.
Thank You so much for accepting the story from my sister it is greatly appreciated and I guess good luck to Robert and I. God Bless all those involved in something so sweet and generous.
Dream Couple™: Maro Minassian & Donald Duckett Montebello, California & Reseda, California Dream Couple #303
Questions asked to the Top 10 Dream Couple™
1) If you were to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway, what would you do to pay it forward?
We would want to do so much, not only to pay it forward but because in our hearts we would be honored to serve those in need. However, specifically the first thing we would LOVE to do is Don is a professional barber who's clientele range from everyday clients to celebrity clientele and I am a professional makeup artist who has worked for MAC cosmetics for numerous years and have done makeup jobs for many weddings. In saying all that we would LOVE to donate our time and services to many who are planing there wedding and are struggling financing it themselves. I would do the makeup for the bride and her party for free and Don would cut the groom and his groomsmen for free. Secondly, Don and I love children very much and plan on having a few for ourselves one day. That being said, the second thing we would LOVE to do is donate our time, love, support and whatever else is needed to children that are battling cancer or other diseases by visiting them in the hospital and being a source of inspiration through showing them an abundance of love and talking and teaching them about God. We would also start an inspirational foundation gathering people who would be interested in making inspirational cards, writing poetry, coloring or drawing beautiful images for these children and personalizing it for each child to possibly brighten their days. Get donations of toys and stuffed animals to take to them to enjoy.
2. What song is our love song?
There are so many songs that we love but while I was thinking about our wedding over the course of the last month I thought about what a beautiful display of affection It would be for me to pour my love into a song for Don by singing to him on our wedding day. Which led me to think about our love song which is "Still The One" by Shania Twain. This song truly captures so much of the way we feel for one another and somehow expresses the victory over others that have been trying to tear us apart because of our racial differences.
3. What is the one thing that would make your wedding day memorable to you as a couple.
I think right now the hardest thing is knowing that my dad is probably not going to come to our wedding, so the most memorable thing for us would be to get the blessing and acceptance from my father and have him walk me down the isle and give me away to Don.
Questions asked to all couples
Tell us your Dream Couple™ Story (how you met, the engagement, etc. We want the full scoop). Where should I begin….Well one night, 6 years ago me and an acquaintance of mine, whom I was working with, in a girl group as a duet, were instructed to go and get to know each other better by our manager. She had the choice of where we would go and decided to go to a club. Quick history on me, I grew up fairly sheltered in a Lebanese Armenian culture and never really went clubbing, didn’t drink, didn’t have any boyfriends and focused on my schooling and my singing. She on the other hand, let's just say was the complete opposite. The concept of the girl group was having a good girl and a bad girl. Back to the story, we decided to meet in Hollywood, CA on Sunset and La Brea. She happened to forget her ID and since we knew we were not going to be able to get into any clubs, she suggested we should drive around and look for hot guys in nice cars. I was completely against the idea (in my head) but for the sake of getting the goal accomplished for the night and being a team player I went along with it. I was the driver and told her she can do all the talking and exchanging of phone numbers and I would drive. Well, half way through the night, after she had already gathered a few phone numbers she spotted a car and thought it was a celebrity, so she yells out “follow that car!” For about half an hour we chased behind this car. Don, who is the man I will marry, was in the passenger side of the Bentley and his friend was driving. Don was the man she thought was the celebrity. Well at one point we got next to them at a light, I looked over and he waived hello to me, but before we can make a move the light turned green and the pursuit was on once again. We ended up losing them heading West on Sunset Blvd. We decided to turn around to cap the night off with some Jerry’s Deli.
On the way back on Sunset she spots the car in front of the Sun B liquor store and yells out “their they are, Hurry Pull over!” Their car was pulled over, still running with the driver in it and the passenger door open. I pulled over as close as I could and told her to go ahead. As soon as she attempted to do so a police man behind me, on his loud speaker says “there is no stopping, keep driving forward”. Naturally, she didn’t have a chance to get out. We hurried around the block, found a parking space and as she was getting out tells me she wants me to go with her. I agreed but once again reminded her that she would be doing all the talking. Well as we walked closer to where their car was, I see Don walking out of the liquor store and my friend Anna is walking right passed him into the next store, thinking that’s where she could find him since that’s where the car was pulled in front of. Don is now heading towards the car and Anna is missing her opportunity to meet him since she has just walked ahead of him. Remember earlier in the story I mentioned he pulled over next to us, she didn’t get to see him very well but I did, and that was how I recognized him. At this point I didn’t know what to do. We had now spent 45 minutes chasing behind this car and I wasn’t about to just let him walk away right before my eyes. I wanted them to meet so I jump in his face, not ever having any practice at this sort of thing, and said “Hey! Where are you guys going?” At this point Anna stops and looks back to see us and make her way back. Don responds, after a few seconds of staring at me with “Where going to a party” I reply, like a total geek “Can we come? I can see on his face he really didn’t know how to respond but lets me know that he can take my number and he will call me and let us know if we can come once he gets there. I was freaking out inside, and I was furious that my friend did not intervene once. I had never thus far in my life given my phone number out. Growing up with three brothers, no sisters I wasn’t exposed to much dealing with the opposite sex. Well I gave him my number and we parted ways. We got back in the car and I was so nervous, I told her if he called I was going to let him know that she was the one who was interested in him and that I would give him her number so he can call her. She was laughing at me and told me that was fine with her.
After that night, I prayed he would lose my number and wouldn’t call me. I thought to myself he probably thinks I’m some trashy girl who’s looking for a one night stand. I didn’t know what to think. Well, two days later I was talking with my manager’s wife and I had briefed her on everything that happened the night me and Ana went out. While still on the phone with her, my other line rings, I look at the number which I did not recognize and say” Oh my God! This is the guy from the other night.” She encourages me to answer, and says that I should try to get to know him, that he might be a great guy. Well, I didn’t answer, at least not then. I checked my messages and it was him. He had left a very sweet message apologizing for not calling me that night. A few hours later he tries back again, so I answered. After a few minutes of small talk I told him my friend, was actually the one who was interested in him and that he should call her. He responded by saying he wasn’t interested in my friend and wanted to get to know me better. (Side note: In my culture 99% of the time they don’t marry outside the race, they are very ethnocentric. Especially not an African American, which that is what he happened to be. ) I told him just that, I said “Look I’m Middle Eastern and I couldn’t even date you.” He said, well if you continue to talk to me your going to fall in love. I thought he was crazy and that was the farthest thing from reality in my mind. I decided to be friends with him. We ended up talking for months on the phone. He turned out to be a perfect gentleman, and one of my closest friends who I did fall in love with as he predicted and a few months later after becoming good friends we started dating. We have been inseparable ever since.
Six years later were still going strong. This year on Valentines Day he proposed to me in front of our friends and family at our Church Valentine Banquet. I was completely surprised and I accepted. I took a leap of faith against all odds in my world and it has been the best decision I have ever made. It was truly Divine intervention that brought us together and I thank God every day for bringing him into my life.
Tell us about the hardest thing you as a couple have had to face to date. Is being from two different cultures and getting acceptance and the blessing from our family's and friends to marry.
Tell us about what you think is the key to a successful marriage. Having God in our lives first. For success, love requires sacrifice and selflessness. Learning each others love languages and speaking them to one another.
Tell us why you deserve to be the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway Dream Couple™. Every other couple who has entered this contest is as equally deserving as we are. We would love to be blessed with the wedding of our dreams to teach our family and friends that love is not defined by color, race or origin. That love exemplifies unity and acceptance not division and judgement.
Dream Couple™: Amber Kolb & Tyler Gillam Santa Barbara, California Dream Couple #533
Questions asked to the Top 10 Dream Couples
1) If you were to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway, what would you do to pay it forward? If we were to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway™ we would pay it forward by encouraging all our friends and family to make a donation of their choice to the Santa Barbara County Firefighters Benevolent Foundation in lieu of any gifts. The SBCFBF is a non-profit that offers relief to the families of firefighters stricken in the line of duty and provides scholarships to the children of firefighters stricken in the line of duty and has been indispensable to us and our family this year. http://www.sbcfbf.org/
3) What is the one thing that would make your wedding day memorable to you as a couple? The one thing that would make our wedding day memorable to us as a couple would be for me to be one hundred percent healthy and cancer free by the time we take our vows. Although we're getting a bit weary from the struggle, we've got plenty of fight left and are so close to achieving this goal. We're going to make this disease a distant memory so that our wedding day will be about Love, Life, Family, Friends and nothing else.
Questions asked to all contestants
Tell us your Dream Couple™ Story (how you met, the engagement, etc. We want the full scoop). Amber and I met on February 7, 2004 in Las Vegas when we were introduced through a mutual friend I was visiting at the time. I was immediately attracted to her and still remember the little hat and suspenders she was wearing the night we met. She was the most attractive girl in a nightclub full of attractive girls so I tried my best to play it cool and keep my distance for a while. I even asked her to be the icebreaker in chatting up some other girls who were sitting near us. My indirect approach worked perfectly as we eventually shut everyone else out and sat talking on a couch for most of the night. I’ve never met a funnier person in my entire life. Her sense of humor immediately clicked with mine and I knew I had to see her again. At the time she was working at a bank in Las Vegas and I lived, as we do now, in Santa Barbara where I work as a Firefighter. We saw each other long distance for a while and as we grew closer, started to discuss Amber moving to Santa Barbara. Asking someone to give up their job and move everything on behalf of a relationship can be very trying. It just so happened that Amber’s closest friend was living in Santa Barbara and attending UCSB. This gave her some immediate support and really alleviated some of the pressure of the move. She moved to Santa Barbara in August 2004 and has been here ever since.
I started shopping for a ring in October of last year. My ultimate goal for the proposal was to keep it an absolute secret. I even used a jeweler from out of the area so as not to get caught coming and going. I had many ideas on how to propose and eventually settled on going back to Las Vegas because it’s the city where we met. I booked a hotel room with a huge bathtub and called ahead to the concierge to order a box of rose petals. Amber loves to take baths so I knew it would be easy to talk in her into taking one once we arrived. On our first night at the hotel I was able to slip downstairs, collect the rose petals, order champagne and make two very important phone calls. I called each of her parents to ask their permission to propose to her. They were both very much for it and as excited as I was, we all laughed and shed a few tears over the phone. I had to get myself together as I went back to the room and arranged the rose petals and set up my custom playlist on the iPod. Amber thought it was all very romantic but still had no clue what was about to happen. I told her I had to turn the music up and went to my luggage to retrieve the ring. I’d thought of so many things to say and how I wanted to say them, but at the moment of truth I was so nervous that my mind was completely blank. I eventually just walked straight into the room where she was sitting in the tub, got down on one knee and proposed. I can’t even recall exactly what I said but she was overwhelmed and of course said yes. We both cried some happy tears and just enjoyed the moment. It couldn’t have gone any better in my mind and I’ll never forget it.
Tell us about the hardest thing you as a couple have had to face to date. By far the hardest thing we have had to face as a couple is my battle with cancer over the last year. In February of 2009 I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. The diagnosis completely shattered our idyllic little life. We rent a small house on the West side of Santa Barbara where we live with our little pound puppy, Allie who we adopted in 2006 and is the joy of our life. I have a wonderful career with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, where I’m lucky to work with some of the best people in the world who are also some of my closest friends. Also, at the time I was secretly shopping for engagement rings and training for my first Ironman triathlon. Amber was working and going back to school and we couldn’t have been any happier. All of that was completely upended when an ultrasound I had on February 3rd confirmed I had cancer. I was in surgery the very next day and that was the beginning of what has been the longest year of our lives. Since that day I have been through six rounds of chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants, three surgeries and spent over 65 days in the hospital. Amber’s been by my side the entire time, spending most nights on the small couch in my hospital room. She is my caregiver, my advocate, my best friend and absolutely the source of my strength. The initial diagnosis was devastating for us but we have pulled together as a team and really battled for the last twelve months. My fiancé is an amazing person and is completely selfless. She has continued to work full time when I’m not in the hospital and is finishing her degree online, often doing her studying in my hospital room. On a typical night she will come home from work, take care of my needs, make dinner and then split firewood all on her own, and she looks great doing it! Whether at home or in the hospital she’s there for me. Amber has taken on more than anyone should ever be asked t! o and has handled it like a pro. I’ve been lucky to know some amazing people in both; my time in the Fire Service and from all the places I’ve traveled, but the person I admire and respect the most is the woman I’m in love with. I have one more surgery planned for February 11, 2010 to remove tumors from the left side of my chest cavity. All the tumors removed so far have tested negative for active cancer cells and we are confident the next surgery will produce the same result. We have had many emotional ups and downs throughout my illness with the various setbacks, but now the dream of being cancer free, getting back to work and getting back to our lives is right on our fingertips. We know this experience has made us stronger as individuals and as a couple and we are looking forward to putting it behind us as we start a new life together in 2010.
Tell us about what you think is the key to a successful marriage. We believe the key to a successful marriage is communication and compromise. Marriage is a huge commitment and it is inevitable to have disagreements, but being stubborn and sticking to your guns is a luxury for single people. When you are married to someone you have to consider their point of view and be willing to make sacrifices. We have a rule that was handed down to us from Amber’s grandmother and the rule is to never go to bed angry at one another. We always try to resolve our differences before we go to sleep and make sure to say I love you. We have definitely had our ups and downs but thankfully most of our arguments end up with us laughing at each other or whatever it is we were angry about in the first place.
Tell us why you deserve to be the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway Dream Couple™. I believe we should win the Southern Cal Dream Wedding because Amber is more than the love of my life and I want to make her the happiest bride in the world. I even started playing the lottery in hopes of giving her the wedding she deserves. This is a woman who has saved my life, and she is going to be so gorgeous as a bride. She is so caring and is always putting others before herself. It is my dream to overwhelm her and make our wedding day something more than she could ever imagine by making her the center of attention for once. The cost of our wedding is going to be completely ours and winning the Dream Wedding would allow us to truly make it a fitting celebration of life for our family and friends who have been there for us this past year. I want to thank the Dream Crew and everyone involved for this exciting opportunity. We are keeping our fingers tightly crossed.
The Top 5 Dream Couples™ have been chosen for the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway. They consist of the Top 3 couples who got the most public votes and two couples who were randomly chosen this evening at our Top 10 Party and Top 5 Reveal.
I am so happy to announce that the Top 5 Dream Couples™ continuing on the journey to winning the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway are:
Public voting for the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway Top 10 Dream Couples™ has ended. Thank you to everyone for voting for your favorite couples. We had an amazing turnout of votes...34,029 to be exact! Quite amazing. The Top 3 Couples with the most votes will automatically be part of the Top 5. Two other Dream Couples™, from our Top 10, will be chosen randomly this evening, at our Top 10 Party and Top 5 Reveal Party being held from 6-8PM at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, CA, to complete the Top 5 Dream Couples™. We will post the Top 5 this evening after 9PM. The winner of the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway will be notified on Valentine's Day!
Thank you again to everyone for supporting of all our Dream Couples™ as well as this contest. We started out with 615 Dream Couples™, then 10 was left standing. Tonight only 5 will continue on "the road to the aisle" and in the end only one will win the 2010 Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway. Good luck to all our couples and see you at the Borderline!
Who will make it to the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway's Top 3 (pretty obvious from the voting site) but to be fair to the non-computer savvy/social networking couples we have changed it from the Top 3 to the Top 5 ...what?
We felt that couples who were not computer savvy enough to get the number of votes to get to them to the Top 3 (we've had over 27000 votes from unique IP addresses) was at a disadvantage so this is what we are doing. The Top 3 with the top votes will automatically make it to the Top 5. We will then choose 2 couples randomly, live in front of the entire audience, on Friday evening at the Top 10 and Finalist reveal party from the remaining Top 10 Dream Couples™ to complete the Top 5.
We realize that this makes the competition even stiffer for the final interview round because it adds two others to the mix...but competition is a good thing right! Good luck to all the contestants you are all truly deserving of this. Can't wait to see who is announced the winner on Valentine's Day.
The Top 10 Dream Couples™ have been chosen. Read their stories by scrolling over their photos and clicking on the > in the circle at our official website and get to know them a little better. After reading their incredible stories, go here and vote for your favorite. You will only get to vote once per IP address (or computer).
The three couples with the most public votes will advance as our final Top 3 Dream Couples™ which will be revealed on Friday, February 12, 2010. The three couples will be poised to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway and one of them will be the official first couple to win this once-in-a-lifetime dream wedding provided by over 50 talented wedding and event professionals.
Good luck to all the couples and thank you to the public for helping us choose our Top 3 Dream Couples™! VOTE HERE
It was very hard to pick the Top 10 from the slate of 615 contestants. Our announcement is a little later than we had hoped, but we wanted to make sure that we read all the stories and gave all the couples the same chance. The Dream Crew™ has read all of the stories and while we all had our favorites and wish that some of our choices would have made it to the Top 10, the following couples got the most votes from the 50+ Dream Crew Members™.
Here are the Top 10 Couples in order of their couple numbers (according to when we received their entry). You can see there pictures by going to www.socaldreamwedding.com
Cauline & Ryan (Dream Couple #4) Camarillo, CA (replacement couple as of 2/8/10)
Vote for your favorite couple now by clicking here and help them make it to our Top 3 Dream Couples™. One vote per IP address (computer).
Congratulations to our Top 10 and Good Luck in the the next phase to Top 3!
1) If you were to win the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway, what would you do to pay it forward?
There are so many options! First, being able to give to a charity would be awesome, but honestly we’d rather start by giving to those who have molded us into people who live by paying it forward---our parents. They deserve everything and we won’t stop until we can really show them how loved they are!
Without a dollar to their name or knowledge of the dominant language, my parents immigrated to this foreign land we call America. They took me when I was barely one month old via tiny boat to escape traumatizing events occurring all around us. I don’t remember the long, trying journey to take me here, but I’ll be forever grateful for the life they’ve worked so hard to give my brother and I. I just want them to finally get their “big break” from all these years of hard work and barely any play. How do we truly repay the ones that have brought us into this world?
Brian’s parents helped us with love and support during some of the most difficult times in our lives. We both believe in a strong family bond and we get along well with each others’ family. Marriage is a serious commitment that scared us both in the past, but somehow the fear disappeared after we found each other. There’s a connection we have that’ll prove that marriages can work and we’re a great representation of that. Brian always says “you’re my heart”, and now I really will be Mai Hart. We can’t wait to start our own family with lots of love and continue to pay it forward for generations to come!
If we could, Brian and I would love to fund the research for diabetes. We’d want to find a better solution to the growing disease that affects so many people these days, including Brian and his father. It takes a strong person to function well everyday with any disease, especially this one. It “isn’t debilitating enough” to keep him from doing the same job as everyone else, but is enough to put him at risk of serious complications daily! It’s important that we know how to better control and prevent diabetes from becoming the majority.
All the sponsors that are joining forces (as Brian and I are) to put together a wedding we can only dream of, need some support too! Everything that goes into making an event successful is incredible, especially for a fantasy wedding that’ll be coordinated in about 4 months!!! I know, I've done it for others and it's so rewarding! It’s not an easy mission. This mirrors the team effort that is involved in a good marriage. We have to work together (compromise) and remember our roles that help balance each others’ strengths and weaknesses. We’d definitely promote all the generous businesses, large and small, that grant the most special day to the beginning of our lives!!
2) What song is your love song?
Mainly because we want to do something fun, “Perhaps” by Cake is a possibility. Well, also because we like the song, it’s a tango, and reminds me of how apprehensive I was to “let my guard down” in the beginning of our relationship. We can be silly and this would be so funny. Though it’s too traditional for us, “More Than Words” by Extreme is a song we like as well. There isn’t just one song, we have collections of music that we adore and remind us of one another. We have a deep appreciation for music and it defines us as a couple.
3) What is the one thing that would make your wedding day memorable to you as a couple?
We want to be able to integrate our cultures into the wedding by incorporating a Chinese tea ceremony and traditional ceremony walking down the aisle. Brian learned Vietnamese before he met my parents for the first time (early in our relationship) to fit in more with family. That’s so awesome of him! He’s truly talented in music (as a drummer), in language (multi-lingual: Spanish, Vietnamese, etc), and the list goes on. As a couple, we’re all about loved ones, great food, awesome music, and enjoying each other’s company!!!! If we have just that and nothing else, we’d be in heaven still. It’s about our families joining to celebrate what will be a beautiful life together. We want to experience the joy that a unique, fun, multi-cultural wedding will bring. Thanks so much for reading our story!!!
Questions asked to all contestants
Tell us your Dream Couple™ Story (how you met, the engagement, etc. We want the full scoop). Brian and I met at a party that neither he nor I wanted to go to in the first place (but our friends dragged us out). He came up to me and I mainly gave him a chance so I could kill time til I could find my friend who I lost at the party :P I'm a straightforward, honest & sassy girl who doesn't play games or have a problem saying no to a guy if I'm not interested. I ended up giving him my number since he seemed pretty cool and he called me right the next day to hang out. I accepted, but realized I couldn't remember what he looked like (since it was dark and we were sitting down the whole time). We met up to watch a local band. He brought his friends (a couple) along and that was the only way I could identify him since I remembered them. I lucked out because Brian is tall, handsome, funny, honest & smart. Brian doesn't usually "pick-up" girls, but said that I intrigued him & he found me rather unique. I see him as a gentle, intellectual free-spirit. Neither of us wanted a relationship and remained just friends for the first few months. He let my friend know that he seriously liked me, but he had the "game face" with me so I was clueless besides the fact that my friend kept telling me to give him a chance. We ended up being perfect for each other and began dating in August 2005 after meeting in May. It's been 4 and half years now and he just proposed 2 days ago! We knew we loved each other after only 2 weeks of officially dating, but had many obstacles to jump to get where we are now.
We're unable to keep secrets from each other & it usually serves us well. Unfortunately, he accidentally told me early one morning last week that he got me a ring & one way he was going to propose! He was so upset when I later told him how I already knew about everything because he doesn't remember things when he first wakes up. It was too funny. Well, Brian's mom sent us the Wii (as we requested) to help him & I get fit & back on our feet again after his surgery & my recovery from a spinal infection. Of course, for a sooner, speedier recovery, we'd want to open up the presents before Xmas as soon as we get it. Brian told me that his mom wanted us to videotape ourselves opening the Wii & other gifts so she could see our reactions & to justify us opening up our presents so early. It seemed random, but plausible that she would want us to do that. Brian loves family traditions (which I find adorable) and wanted to introduce the Xmas stocking to me. He says the stockings usually have little gifts that his mom use to let him take out one at a time before Xmas. He videotaped us taking presents out of the stockings & had secretly stuffed mine w/ a special box. It was a beautiful mahogany or cherrywood wooden box that had a bigger surprise in it. I just thought it was a cool box because it didn’t look like a ring box, but got something way better! That's when he proposed. I felt like I could feel his heartbeat & we were both absorbed in the moment. It was so sweet & unexpected! We have to watch the video again since neither of us could remember that intense moment!He says he forgot his pitch line “Will you be Mai Hart?”
Tell us about the hardest thing you as a couple have had to face to date. From the beginning, it was hard because I was going to school, working at least one job & coming home to take care of Brian. He's diabetic (adult onset) & was really trying to adjust to his disease. We had major financial difficulties and he had poor credit for the first year or so since his diabetes put him into debt before he turned 21. He couldn't get a credit card or get a loan. I was stressed, trying to graduate, & it was taking a toll on my mind. A couple with intertwining physical & psychological issues is a complex combination to work with. We had money & domestic problems. All this made it tough for me to handle everything, especially not knowing where this relationship would lead so early on. It was a problem I never expected to have, but somehow wanted to do for him. Issues with whether he can take care of me (and if I can take care of him) is an ongoing concern for us and our loved ones. Our ailments can be all-consuming, so I can understand others' worries.
In January 2009, I got a glimpse of a disability that would later take me out from May until now. Still not knowing how I got it, I had debilitating back pain that radiated into my groin & immobilized me for a few months. We couldn't afford for me the take a leave back in Jan. (as suggested by doctor), but I was forced to do so this past May when I could no longer stand, twist, lift, lie down or anything without extreme back pain & muscle spasms. I had to change the way I did everything, when I was able to move in the first place. Doctors couldn't find what I had, and suggested my only treatment was a shrink. I started doubting my condition and started to believe it was all in my head. I no longer cared what was wrong with me and just wanted to fix it. I was willing to accept that it was a “somatoform” disorder, but requested a CT scan since all other tests were exhausted just to make sure there were no physical issues causing me this agony. Once I finally found out that I had discitis/osteomyelitis in late July, I was started on IV anti-biotics for 6 weeks after two failed biopsies to find the cause to treat the problem. The docs put me on a powerful antibiotic that treated a range of issues just to see if it would work since we had no other options and I wasn’t getting better. During the IV treatment, I suffered from a painful blood clot in my arm & it was swollen & blue the entire time. I was in and out of hospitals like it was my job. This whole experience has been humbling & I cannot take my mobility & health for granted any longer as I did in the past. I always wanted to be toned & healthy, & now feel the motivation to do so since I know what it's like to not be able to do anything. I had no social interaction & became hidden from the world for so long now, it's totally trying on one's mind. At first, I got more depressed, but somewhere down the line, I found great optimism in the experience.
While undergoing all of this, Brian had two outbreaks of his pilonidal cyst that has been ailing him for the past 2 years. He had to get cyst removal surgery & I did his wound care on his tailbone daily while in my back brace. As of now, he's healing from his second surgery for the same recurring issue. It's taking him longer to heal because he's diabetic & he got bronchitis after this second surgery for about a month now. As the craziness continues, Brian found out his father had pancreatic cancer and had to leave work to tend to his father as I had to visit the ER almost weekly for my blood clot in my arm. It was difficult to not only to be stuck in the house all the time, but also to not be able to use my phone to talk to the outside world since I racked up $500 in charges when Brian was in LA to be there for his dad. We went through a lot this year, and deciding to take off for up to a month or more to heal from his own surgery when I haven't brought in any income since May didn’t seem like an option to him. Then he too couldn’t bear his pain any longer, and had to go through with his emergency surgery in mid November.Now, we are both slowly recovering from our ailments, but expect for this to be an outstanding upcoming year. I learned so much through this disability period as did Brian. I do believe everything happens for a reason, & after such a bad year, 2010 has to be awesome!
Tell us about what you think is the key to a successful marriage. Honesty, respect & loyalty are extremely important for a relationship to work out. He makes me feel secure and treats me like a goddess. Brian's never mistreated me and is consistently loving all the time. I never thought that was possible and I couldn't have imagined a better man. I try to check and massage his feet everyday since it’s important to notice when it comes to diabetes. Compromise, commitment, and trust are also significant. I don't trust people much, but he's truly earned my devotion. We believe that there will always be more or less attractive people than ourselves, and we rest on the fact that beauty fades, so the relationship has to be strong for it to last. A couple needs to want the same things in life, to work towards the same goal, and to want that other person there beside them. As long as we both remember that we have to work hard at everything we want in life, including relationships (no matter who it's with), then we will be committed to making things work! We both want love, family, comfort, food & the arts (music, painting/photography) along with each other. As long as we have that, then everything else good is a bonus. We joke about remembering that guys are "stupid", and girls are "crazy" so don’t take small things too seriously. It seems to hold true :P He also says that we were made for each other because I'm the most difficult person in the world and he's the most patient!
Tell us why you deserve to be the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway Dream Couple™. We deserve to win this because we are madly in love and have wanted to get married since the beginning. The love we have for each other fuels our drive to live. Despite all the difficulties, we saw what was really important (our families and each other). When times get rough, neither of us gives up. We grow stronger and deal with it together. Learning from each other keeps us balanced. We’ve stuck together through all the hardships and will continue to do so til death do us part. I want to take Brian to the state where I grew up, a place he and I love, Southern Cali. I want to have the best celebration of our lives and for our loved ones to be a part of it. A wedding in Southern California is a dream come true because my whole family would be able to join us. My elderly grandfather (the only grandparent I’ve ever known) can be there. Without the funds and this opportunity, I wouldn’t be able to have my dream wedding and the day would be completely different without my family from Cali. It’d be too expensive to fly so many people to us, so we want to go to them. The truth is that I just wish our wedding experience will be a joyful time and not another stress to add to our list of adversity. We are hard-working survivors that've been through hell and back. I think we need and deserve a break. Please consider us!
Welcome to the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway. We will be giving one lucky Dream Couple™ the wedding of their dreams. The wedding will take place on Sunday, June 27, 2010 at Rancho de Las Palmas in Moorpark, California. The contest is open to any US resident 21 years of age or older. The Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway has an estimated value of $100,000!
For more information please email us at socaldreamwedding@gmail.com or visit our contest website at www.socaldreamwedding.com
Today, Megan (Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway's Dream Bride™) had her own personal Watters Bridal trunk show and fitting at Lili Bridals and Formals in Tarzana, California. Vanessa Brandon from Watters and Lisa Litt from Lili Bridals was on hand to help Megan with her Dream Gown...and did she find it...bone chilling perfection.
Let's just say that the Watters Dream Dress™ will be paired with a Swarovski crystal ribbon headband and a cathedral length veil. It's was a "goose" bumps moment when Megan walked out with the Dream Dress that was chosen for the final approval by all!
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