Real Weddings

Nicole and Alejandro’s love story began in 2016, when they were introduced by mutual friends at the beach. Even though they came from the same town, they never crossed paths until that casual introduction.

Some love stories are written in the stars. For Barbie Beltran and Artur Bergman, their journey feels like it was carefully orchestrated by the universe.

Medha Shukla and Shaan Sharma matched on a dating app in early-December of 2020. The two started chatting and the conversation was flowing well, until Medha accidentally ghosted Shaan for almost a week – after which, they decided it was time to exchange numbers.

Estefania Amaya Reyna and Adrien Couse first met in October of 2019. As master’s students, the two were in the same class when Estefania invited Adrien to join her study group.

McKenna Frenzel and Robert Sieh’s love story began in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during spring break of their senior year in college. McKenna, attending college in North Dakota, had traveled with a close group of six girlfriends. Robert, attending school in Southern California, was there with six of his college friends. It was one of those fateful moments where paths from two completely different worlds converged.

When Trish Peng was celebrating her 21st birthday in a room filled with friends and family, she had no idea her future husband would be at that party. Tim Begg was an unfamiliar face at the celebration, but – 12 years later – the two would find themselves getting married during a private estate wedding in New Zealand.

Lydia and Solomon first met during a trip in July of 2023. While they were both tasked with caring for orphans and children who came from broken homes, they also had some free time to get to know each other.

Coachella 2016 was in full swing when Emily Bonham and Peter Marcucci first met. The two were introduced through mutual friends, and they instantly connected while enjoying the music and atmosphere of the festival in Palm Springs. Despite having to head back to two different cities separated by more than 1,000 miles, both Emily and Peter realized there was something special happening between them.

It was early summer, 2021. Romy Malbin swiped right. David Frank was quick to follow. Chats turned to conversations, which turned to a first date at The East Pole in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

It was a special day in December when Samantha Bellando and Anthony Pistilli were introduced through a mutual friend at one of their favorite restaurants, Sage Bistro. The spark between them was instant. As they sat down to dinner, the conversation flowed easily, with moments of shared laughter and thoughtful glances.

Nicole Kilar and Mark O’Neill met during Nicole’s senior year of college. They both attended San Diego State University, but Mark was a couple years older. Being involved in Greek life, Nicole and Mark’s social circles intertwined in the past, but they didn’t officially meet until the winter of 2016 at a college bar. They ended up talking and hanging out the entire time, and Mark immediately sent Nicole a Facebook message later that night.

When Naomi Baxter first met Brett Carpenter in college, it was an unforgettable night that resulted in an instant connection.

Angel and James Boisdenghien first met in 2017 while attending college in Sacramento, California. James made the first move by asking Angel to dinner the following day, and she was immediately attracted to his approach to getting to know her better. She adds, “From there, everything was instant.”

It was the Fall of 2016 when Tian He and Jonathon Loo met on the dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel. A month later, Tian made the big move from New Jersey to Oahu, Hawaii and – according to the couple – “She fell first, but he fell harder!”

As far as first impressions go, John thought Tian was “cute, articulate, vibrant, and very straightforward.” Tian recalls thinking John was “tall and athletic, had a calming voice and nice double eyelids, and was a good driver.”

Roopa Radhakrishnan and Shaan Sheth’s love story begins in Southern California, where they were both born and raised – Roopa, an LA girl and Shaan, a beach-loving OC boy.

Bernie and Ashley celebrated their wedding in Venice with their families and friends over the course of three unforgettable days at the luxurious Aman Venice. They exclusively booked the prestigious hotel in Venice, which offered a private and intimate experience complete with a range of amenities and personalized service.

Chrisy Alcaraz and Zach Sandberg both attended Pepperdine University in the idyllic setting of Malibu, California, where they walked the same paths, breathed the same ocean air, and graduated the same year.

Julie Ly and Zachary Wardrope first met through mutual friends at a lively bar in the heart of Melbourne, Australia.

Alyx Vinieris-Giancola and Simon Goodwin first connected on Tinder, when Alyx swiped right and Simon responded. At the time, Alyx was in Nottingham, England, for a master’s program interview at Nottingham Trent University while Simon was working and living in Nottingham. After matching on Tinder, they chatted online and had numerous phone calls for about five months. In September 2019, Alyx moved to London to attend Leiths School of Food & Wine.

When it came to their destination wedding in Italy, Meghan Noyes and Mihai Ivan had a whirlwind wedding planning experience.

After living in New York City for a couple of years, Jennifer decided it was time for a change of scenery. Having grown up skiing and visiting Colorado with her family, she ended up making the move to Vail, where she was eventually introduced to her husband, Jacob.

Michelle Jaun and Tanner Field met in middle school – if one were to go by what Michelle’s mother recalls – sitting on the bench after school, waiting for their parents to pick them up. The couple’s memories, however, start somewhere closer to freshman year of high school. Tanner’s best friend, Nick, and Michelle’s best friend, Jen, started dating. That led them to be part of the same friend group, which is how Tanner found himself at Michelle’s house for a pool party in the summer of ’03.

Maria (“Mia”) Christine Boggs and Kade Maxwell Kiselica were high school sweethearts during their senior year, but went their separate ways for college. During those years apart, the two dated other people but remained long distance friends.

Kendall and Austen Gray were both students at a small Minnesota college when they first met. While Kendall was a sophomore at the time, Austen was in his senior year and taking the same class as Kendall for a “filler credit” – that is, he had mostly completed his degree by that point.