Mariangel and Kieran at Oakeside Mansion

How did you meet?

We met when we were both 17. We lived in the same town but attended different schools and we met after we attended a concert with a mutual friend.

How did you get engaged?

We went on a vacation with Kieran’s family to England and He surprised me in Kensington Gardens in London with a ring I had always liked. I didn’t believe it at first. It was an out of body experience, very unexpected but one of my sweetest memories

Details of the day!

We got married at this amazing Victorian mansion so we wanted to let the architecture do the talking. People kept asking me what my theme or colors were and I didn’t really know. I didn’t have a specific theme or specific colors. I would just say that I wanted it to be very romantic and intimate and that I was using a lot of plants, so maybe green was my color. For flowers I picked different white ones and paired them with very cool greenery, I wanted it to be mostly greenery with touches of flowers. I ended using some Calla Lillie’s, hydrangeas and baby’s breath.

For the favors I knew right away what I wanted to do. I didn’t want it to be something that people would throw away the minute they got home and I wanted it to be something that was important to me. We gave everyone coffee and while I’m not a coffee drinker it came from Costa Rica and that is where I am from originally, I wanted everyone go to home with a piece of Costa Rica.

Why did you choose your venue?

We choose the venue because I was in desperate search for something different. We had looked at a few places that were cool but they didn’t feel very us. I finally found Oakeside from a random post on Instagram and knew right away that that was it. After we went to look at it we were blown away. It had that intimate feeling we loved

What was on your menu?

Our wedding menu was just a large collection of fun random foods. It included, pizza, Mac and cheese balls, sliders, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, different meats, salmon and and array of amazing pastries. Our cake was confetti with a chocolate mouse filing. The outside was a green buttercream. I would always say that the cake would be super important to me but while I was planning the wedding I lost Interest in it, but I’m glad we stuck with something fun and delicious.

All about your gown!

My gown is an A line, Essence of Australia, Moscato, strapped work of art. When I first decided on it I had tried on about 35 dresses and was honestly just trying to find the dress that checked off all the marks. I wouldn’t say it was “the one” at the moment but after the wedding when I was laying on the floor, crying from happiness and didn’t want to take it off, that’s when I realized it was the one.

What was your favorite moment?

We have too many favorite moments, we honestly enjoyed every single second.

Mariangel: It would have to be when I first got the venue and got to see my vision come to life. Also loved our exchange of vows that we wrote ourselves and Kieran serenading me at the reception

Kieran: I never expected to say the ceremony because that was the part I was the most nervous about, but it really was. Just seeing family and friends made it all real and special. I was also initially hesitant to write our own vows, but I’m really glad we did. It made it that much more special.

One detail you couldn’t live without?

The Costa Rican dance troupe, everyone enjoyed that so much. We did it mostly for our relatives who came all the way from Costa Rica but honestly everyone loved it.

Did anything go wrong?

I can’t recall anything going wrong. I never had it in my head that everything had to be perfect, maybe that’s why nothing was catastrophic.

Kieran : I didn’t get any ice cream.

First dance song?

“Handyman Blues” by Billy Bragg

Any advice for future brides?

Stay in the moment and have fun while planning, I absolutely loved the planning process.

Where did you honeymoon?

We haven’t gone on a honeymoon yet. Right after the wedding we moved cross country so you could call that a sort of honeymoon, but we are planning on taking the official honeymoon next spring to Japan.