High school sweethearts Sabrina & Michael described their wedding as timeless, classic, and romantic and experienced that dream wedding with their loved ones at The Palace at Somerset Park!
Why Rhinehart Photography?
Sabrina shares, “Rhinehart Photography was suggested to us by The Palace at Somerset Park. When we saw her amazing Instagram and website, we knew we had to meet with her. We loved how familiar she was with The Palace, and enjoyed all of the beautiful images she’s captured for other couples.”
She continues, “Lisa was INCREDIBLE to work with. She made me feel so special throughout the day and worked so well with our families and friends. I was scared that group photos would be overwhelming and take forever, but Lisa scoped out the perfect spots for us and had a rhythm that kept us sailing smoothly through the experience.”
Sabrina adds, “At the beginning of the day, Lisa told me not to worry about where she was during the ceremony or the reception and to just enjoy my day. I was thinking, ‘Of course I’ll know where you are!’ But throughout the entire ceremony and reception, I did not see her AT ALL. I know all of the photos will be so natural and authentic because I was not posing for Lisa and she captured genuine moments.”
She smiles, “Lisa delivered exactly what we wanted– timeless, elegant photos that captured us in our best light and our stunning venue. Knowing how comfortable she at our venue experienced she is, in general, gave us such peace of mind and was a huge stress reliever for us!”
Classic First Look
This first look was incredible– Sabrina was stunning and the tear rolling down Mike’s cheek said everything!
Mike laughs, “It was more than a tear that rolled down my cheek. I cried like a baby. Before the wedding, I would always think ‘How could I be nervous? It’s Sabrina. The person I have been with for the last 11 years!’ There is no way I’d be nervous. Right?…. Wrong. I have never been more nervous in my entire life. There were 11 years of building up to this moment and I certainly felt the weight of that.”
He continues, “When my back was turned to her, awaiting our first look, I was scared, nervous, and felt like I was going to collapse. Then I heard her. ‘Michael, I love the jacket!’ She said behind me, and all of that weight just floated off of me. ‘I can do this.’ I thought. Soon she tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to see her in her dress for the first time and all that weight of the moment fell right back on top of me. She was stunning. 11 years of visualizing this moment never prepared me, and it showed!”
Sabrina shares, “Having a first look with just him was so special to me because we love sharing private moments with each other. It was so meaningful to me to see each other for the first time alone– there was no hiding the raw, genuine emotion!”
High School Sweethearts
Mike smiles, “I have been with Sabrina since high school and it did not take very long for me to know that she was the one. She’s tough, smart, beautiful, and has been my best friend for years. We have already tackled so much life together and getting married still feels surreal. If 17-year-old Mike could see where I am now, I think he’d be proud and honestly, a bit impressed I pulled it off, haha!”
Sabrina continues, “It was really easy to fall in love with Michael. We bonded really quickly and have been best friends basically ever since we met. We have grown on our own as people and as a couple which made the wedding even more special.”
She adds, “At first I thought the veil blowing in the wind was just a nuisance, but seeing the peek photos proved me wrong! Ironically when I went bridal gown shopping, I never intended to get a veil. But when I tried on what would be my future wedding gown, the wedding gown designer suggested I try the veil, and the rest is history. Now I couldn’t imagine not wearing it! It completed my perfect wedding look.”
Wonderful Wedding Party
Sabrina recalls, “We were STUNNED at how amazing all of our friends and family looked! The girls all chose dress styles & hair/makeup that made them feel great. They made the day so easy since everyone was so excited about everything. They were just as happy and ready for this as Michael and I were! I can’t imagine having any other people surrounding us throughout that day.”
This wedding party at The Palace at Somerset Park was so much fun and the kindest people to work with! I loved the colors and everyone’s dress choices 🙂
Here Comes the Bride
She smiles, “Lisa delivered exactly what we wanted– timeless, elegant photos that captured us in our best light and our stunning venue. Knowing how comfortable she at our venue experienced she is, in general, gave us such peace of mind and was a huge stress reliever for us!”
Classic Ceremony at The Palace at Somerset Park
Mike says, “We both knew exactly what kind of wedding we wanted and The Palace was just that. Funny story, The Palace was the first venue we visited. I remember leaving after our first visit and getting into the car with Sabrina. We both looked at each other and we knew this was exactly what we wanted, but this was our first wedding; maybe every venue was this amazing. Turns out that was not the case and our original intuition was spot on. We were meant to get married at the Palace.”
Sabrina adds, “I loved how The Palace offered so much space. It was way more than other venues with just a ceremony space and dance floor– we had options! Guests could move around between multiple rooms throughout the night, including outdoors to enjoy the firepits. Our ceremony could either be indoors or outdoors and each option was equally as beautiful. Having the ceremony in the grand foyer allowed me to have the most stunning entrance and really have a WOW factor by coming down the stairs.”
She shares, “My favorite part of my vows was ‘I promise to always laugh with you, dream with you, and comfort you through whatever life brings us. You are my safe space, my home, my favorite person in the world … and not to mention really good-looking.’ And I LOVED when some of the guys started chuckling after the good-looking part (Our friends love to bust each other’s chops so there was no way they could let Mike live that down without a little laugh).”
Time to Celebrate!!
Dancing on the clouds and more…
Sabrina shares, “Dancing on the clouds felt so magical. I didn’t even realize how insane it looked until I saw people’s phone pictures of our first dance. It was an amazing touch to a beautiful moment.”
Opening Up the Dance Floor
Sabrina smiles, “The dance floor was packed all night and you could just feel the love and happiness among everyone!”
Special Guest: Pitbull 😉
Sabrina laughs, “Funny story– the Pitbull cardboard cutout was from my bachelorette trip! My friends know I love Pitbull’s music so they had that in our vacation house. I brought it to the bridal suite as a funny memory for us girls. After seeing it there, one of the groomsmen decided he wanted to use it for his reception entrance! Pitbull followed us around everywhere, even on the dance floor! Haha!”
At the end of the night…
Mike laughs as he recalls, “In the morning I was so nervous, I was barely phased by the 4.8 earthquake! I have heard stories of people having terrible weather on their wedding day but how many people can say they had an earthquake on the day of their wedding?”
Sabrina adds, “Our ideal plan was to get married outside with beautiful weather, but the wedding day was better than I could’ve imagined indoors where we we warm, out of the wind, and laughing at how we survived the earthquake.“
The couple says, “At the end of the night, we had no regrets. We loved absolutely every moment and cannot express enough how amazing our family and friends were.”
“Being up on the balcony was one of my favorite memories of the night! I loved seeing all of the guests enjoying their time on the dance floor while also dancing up on the balcony with my husband!”
Vendors:
- Venue: The Palace at Somerset Park
- Music: Craig Scott Entertainment
- Cake: Palermo
- Florals & Decor: A Touch of Elegance
- Car: Santos VIP Limousine
- Dress: Kleinfeld, Pnina Tornai
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