A Romantic, Outdoor Wedding at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, California

David Solimine had never had to chase a girl before—until he met Danica Smith. While in Atlanta to play in a golf tournament, he met the former Elite model through mutual friends.

They exchanged numbers and stayed in touch via text, but Danica turned down the first five or six of his requests to get together. Finally, thinking this might be her last opportunity, Danica agreed to spend a weekend with David at Yellowstone Club in Montana.

The wait was worth it because it was then they both knew it was love: “She was walking over with a plate of BBQ,” David recalls, “and a beautiful smile on her face. I knew I felt differently about her than anyone else I had ever come across.” “I remember the butterfly feeling to this day,” Danica adds, “and I never ever got that before with anybody!”

One of David’s favorite weekends is the Monaco Grand Prix and it was in the couple’s hotel room right before the race began in 2014 that he proposed. After Danica was ready to go, the man of few words asked if she was missing anything. He held out the ring and said, “I think you are missing this.” The couple met up with friends and celebrated all afternoon and night.

The two originally planned a March wedding in Cabo San Lucas but a hurricane forced them to cancel the date. As Danica says, everything worked out for a reason though, and with the help of their wedding planner, they found their dream venue—the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. It was a perfect location to create the sexy, elegant cocktail vibe Danica envisioned.

Wedding festivities kicked off Wednesday night with a birthday party at Nobu in Malibu for the bride-to-be. Thursday was a rehearsal dinner and Friday was a Kentucky Derby-themed meet and greet since the wedding was taking place on race day.

On the big day, the couple’s 200 guests gathered at the hotel’s Swan Lake for the ceremony. “I was excited. Looking at her and knowing she was going to be the person I spent the rest of my life with, was a happy feeling and I was even more happy to have all of our friends and family there to celebrate with,” says David. Throughout the service, a gospel choir sang songs such as “Stay With Me” and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.”

Cocktail hour and dinner were also on the lawn under the stars, before the party was moved into the ballroom for the club-like atmosphere of the reception and after-hours party complete with In-N-Out Burger for late-night snacks.

“Our closest friends and family absolutely made our wedding weekend an event we could never recreate or forget,” says Danica. “We felt so much genuine love and happiness from everyone that entire weekend.”

The newlyweds spent a few more days in Los Angeles before heading to Dubai and the Maldives for a 16-day honeymoon. Expecting their first child—a boy—in February, the couple is looking forward to celebrating their first anniversary as a “party of three.”