Sandra and Mario first met in high school. Nine years later, on Christmas Eve, it was the place where Mario proposed. "In hindsight, I should have suspected something. We hadn't been back to our high school since graduation but it never occurred to me that he would propose then", says Sandra. But there, in front of their old locker, Mario got down on one knee.

From the inception, they both knew that they wanted something different. "We didn't want a traditional banquet hall. We wanted something more personal". Months of searching brought them no closer to finding the perfect place, until the idea of a backyard wedding was suggested by Mario's sister, who offered her home for the event. "Neither of us had any idea as to what planning a tent wedding would entail" Sandra says, "so when we found Rachel, it was an enormous relief. All we knew was that we wanted a vibrant colorful affair, something relaxed but elegant".

By the time Mario had proposed, he had gone through a serious battle with cancer. It was enough to make the two realize how important they were to each other and how important family was. "We wanted to celebrate with our family and friends,to celebrate our survival and we wanted everyone to know how grateful we

were to them". That was all Rachel needed to begin planning. "The morning of the wedding, I got ready at my sister-in-laws home. I kept looking in the backyard where the tent was set up and I couldn't believe that this was our wedding day. Everything was perfect. Before putting on my dress, I snuck into the tent to see what the inside looked like. When I walked in, I cried.

Rachel had transformed a bare white tent into something undreamed of. The ceilings were draped with chiffon and twinkle lights, the tables were decorated with roses, hydrangea and gerbera daisy centerpieces and the head table was flanked by massive stone urns overflowing with fresh flowers. It was completely magical" says Sandra "it was more than anything I could have imagined".

Sandra and Mario were married in a traditional Roman Catholic Ceremony in front of 225 guests. Immediately following the ceremony, everyone followed the Bride and Groom, in an ivory 1932 Rolls Royce, to the reception where they were greeted by a seven-piece orchestra,

cranberry and sour apple martinis and shrimp cheviche. "It was exactly what we had wanted. Everyone was together, it was a perfect sunny day and everywhere we looked people were laughing and talking" says Mario.

The reception began as the Bride and Groom danced their first dance to Etta James' "At Last" accompanied by the Westminster Ensemble Orchestra while guests were served a formal 6-course dinner. "I remember looking around and thinking that it was a dream" says the Bride, "everywhere I looked there was something magnificent to stare at. Rachel's extraordinary attention to detail left nothing to the imagination. From the mahogany Chivari chairs and the cappuccino damask table cloths to the coordinating tent draping and flowers, there was nothing that I would have changed. It was everything we could have ever wanted and more than we could have dreamt of. It was simply perfect".