John and Ashton both went to college in their home state at the University of Colorado in Boulder. They were acquaintances throughout college and had mutual friends...truth be told, both of their best friends were dating and perhaps by default they started to hear a lot about one another!  

Even though they shared a mutual admiration for one another, soon after graduating, John moved to San Diego and started working at a Biotech company while Ashton stayed in the Denver to pursue her passion for graphic design. 

Sometime thereafter, Ashton's best friend, who she calls her little cupid, eventually brought the couple back together and before they knew it, Ashton took a leap of faith and moved to what she calls, “the finest city in the world,” which also just happened to be where the "finest man in the world was!"

Two years later, while in New York city on a vacation, they were walking through Rockefeller Plaza. It was Christmastime and they were watching all of the bundled up people ice skating and taking pictures of the tree. John reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a ring and blurted out, “Babe, will you marry me?” A noted "very John" thing to do, it was the perfect surprise and left Ashton in shock!

After a call to her Mom, they walked a couple of blocks and by coincidence ran into St. Patrick’s Cathedral. John lit a candle and said a prayer for them. "I will never forget that moment," Ashton recalls while being surrounded by glowing candlelight in the beautiful church, adding: "I have never felt so blessed in my life. We are so lucky to have found each other."

The wedding was held at the St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach. There was a very Japanese zen vibe with deep shades of red and green presented in mixing English garden roses, burgundy dahlias, black baccara roses, black beauty roses, dark green hydrangea edged with burgundy, horsetail bamboo, mood moss, willow branches, silk burgundy cherry blossoms and silk peonies.

Ashton, Japanese American, and John, Italian American, wanted to combine both cultures and their wedding was truly a reflection of both of them. The precious flower girls wore specially made kimonos as they walked down the rose-swirled aisle and John’s family spent weeks baking homemade pastries for an Italian dessert table; "What a labor of love!"

"We have such wonderful friends and family and one of the most important things to us was that they all had a blast at the wedding," smiles Ashton. "We knew that they would all want to dance the night away and we made sure of that with our amazing band! Our reception was the best party we have ever been to."