Happy Friday! Today we introduce you to a couple with one of the sweetest love stories to date. Meet Cristina & Vincent VanAuker. They were married August 3rd, 2019 at The Arbor at The Port in downtown Rochester. Cristina wore one of our all-time favorite gowns, Imelda, from Pronovias Privée, a lace trumpet style gown adorned with crystal embellishments at the chest and romantic ( & deattachable!) off the shoulder sleeves. The Vanaukers were photographed by CR Photos with videography by Captivate Media . Florals by IDO Wedding Flowers. Follow their sweet story below and get a behind the scenes look at their amazing day.
“It was a typical Saturday afternoon, I was leaving the salon (late) and on my way to my best friends daughter, Eva’s ‘First Birthday Party’ (late) and managed to capture a speeding ticket on the way.
The birthday girl was holstered to my hip and ‘UNCLE VIN’ seemingly came out of no where. He obviously had to say hello to the birthday girl and the “shiny blonde-haired girl” that he’s never seen before holding his baby cousin and thought “she must be a cousin i’ve never met before”.
Little did I know, I was racing (worth that speeding ticket) to meet my soulmate that day.
Vinnie had JUST moved back from California. We always heard of each other through out the years and at Eva’s party we finally met for the first time.
Vinnie and I instantly connected so deeply and have been together since that day!
Hmm, our first date was kinda’ a double date that turned into a triple date. Vinnie and I met Amanda and Rocky (Eva’s parents) at Char Steak & Lounge. His brother, Sean and Heather joined and we had such a fun evening.
Our first date, just us, was at California’ Rollin’. We’re big sushi people and wanted to be by the water, who knew we we’re sitting right in-front of our wedding venue! We love it over there and visit frequently in the summer!
Who said ‘I love you first’?
How did you know he was “the one”
Remember when were kids and the adults always said “ when you know, you’ll just know”?
Him and I both were kinda like, “yeah, yeah but like HOW do you know?”
Honestly, it’s as simple as that, when you meet someone and they’re the person you’re supposed to be with your soul is kinda just like, “Oh hey, there you are! Where ya been?!”
When we met, our relationship and our connection is like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.
When you know, you truly know!
I’ll try to keep it as short as possible!
Vinnie was turning the big 30 in November of 2018. If you know my Husband, you know he’s one to constantly think and do for others. He’s generous, caring, thoughtful and so much more. It’s also pretty impossible to surprise him. I wanted a night to simple honor HIM (without him knowing).I began planning a SURPRISE ‘Frank + the Rat Pack’ themed party for him.
Our buddy, Jay Marker from Spectrum Sounds would be on the beats playing all of the Sinatra inspired tunes as well as Terrence Bruce on the saxophone. Our friend, Denali Simone would be photographing as well as our friend Jake Levin (Captivate Media) filming the night. I rented that cool, rustic barn in Henrietta, NY that would suit the theme, vibe and ambiance all too perfectly.
Yes, I was going ALL out.
Vin was searching the perfect time to propose.
He didn’t let many people know, that he was soon proposing. He wanted it to be a complete surprise to me, of course. His brother, Sean and his wife, Heather were two of those few people that knew. They called Vin one day and shared that I was planning something phenomonal for his up-coming 30th birthday and that I was confident Vincent knew NOTHING about any of it. Sean and Heather shared nothing about the event except that our entire family would be there, all of our closest friends and that a photographer/videographer would be capturing the entire evening. They had hoped Vin wouldn’t think it’d be a terrible idea and potentially ruin the entire surprise for him.
“SOLD, BOOK IT, PERFECT, BRILLIANT. She’ll NEVER know that I know” said Vin.
It’s actually pretty hysterical - I had essentially been lying to him for WEEKS - and obviously he had been doing the same to me, he went along with everything I was saying!
The best part was when I was gone the entire day “setting up, preparing and decorating”, he kept offering his help, asking when I’d be home, etc. The whole time, I prepped him to believe we were attending our friends parents “Gatsby” themed anniversary party - which totally suits the couple, by the way. I had a fake invitation and everything!
I was 100% convinced that he knew NOTHING about his surprise birthday party.
We got dressed in our Rat Pack inspired outfits, looking dapper as ever.
Vinnie was playing literally ALL of “our” songs on our way to the party (I never put two and two together). Probably because I was anxious and wanted everything to be perfect for him!
Little did I know, he was feeling the SAME EXACT WAY.
We entered Vin’s birthday party, it was like something out of a movie. Everyone shouted “SURPRISE”, Sinatra and the Sax were blasting, and Vin played out a perfect “surprise” reaction. Even though he knew about the party, I still believe he was a little shocked. With the extent of the detail, the theme, the decor, the photos, the friends, the family, how incredible everyone looked, etc. “I really freaking got him, I did it!“ I thought. He was in tears. That probably had to do with the fact that he was about to ask the most important person to him, the biggest question of his life. I remember proudly saying to Sean, “ we freakin’ got him, dude! ”
After saying hello to our friends and family, Vin grabbed the mic to give a thank you speech (not out of the ordinary). Vinnie is a phenomenal public speaker. As soon as he grabbed that mic, I was front row and dialed in - I always love hearing him speak. He began talking about his “20’s goals” (I know what his goals are) and I couldn’t help but think, “there is absolutely no way he is about to propose, he thought we were coming to Maureen and Christians party, he wouldn’t have brought a ring here!”.
Low and be hold, that incredible speech turned into the most beautiful moment of our lives, our Forever! I felt like I was in one of them dreams where you couldn’t move, speak, nothing. Shocked is an understatement. I think before I blubbered “YES”, I asked him if he knew the whole time!
It. Was. Absolutely. Perfect!
Vinnie turned his moment into ours.
Oh, he also had my best friend Jeavanna, who lives in Florida fly down. She was hiding upstairs (for only about three hours in the pitch black) and seemingly popped out of no where shortly after Vinnie proposed.
His 30th birthday party quickly became our engagement party. Surrounded by our closest friends, our family, good music. It was the best night ever!
A real life fairy-tale, they do exist, y’all.
We asked Cristina about how she knew her dress was “the one”: I always knew I wanted to go dress shopping for the first time by my self.My Mother passed away in September of 2013. I live daily knowing she’s always with me. Vincent and I believe she guided us to one another. I went by myself because I felt like it was just her and I going. That was special to me...
“... I always knew I wanted to go to Silk. I had no intentions or ambitions of going anywhere else. I picked out a bunch of dresses. I was trying on probably my 12th dress, I got about half way in it and began to say out loud, “this looks really similar to Heathers dress!” (My sister in law, Heather, is also a Silk Bride) Kendra looked at the tag and immediately said, “you’re right, it is Heather’s dress!” We can’t have the same dress, I thought and I threw it (gently) off me! Kendra seemingly grabbed a dress (I still don’t know where she got it from) that I did not see anywhere. It looked amazing while she was holding it, and I thought why not! I put it on and immediately knew it was the one! Yes, I believe my Mom did that, too! My dress was designed by Pronovias and with Fatima’s touch, it fit me like a glove. It’s like it was made for me. I truly felt like Cinderella in it on our wedding day”.
On one of her favorite memories from their wedding day: “My bridal party as well as my father, my brothers and my nephew joined me in visiting my Mom before we arrived to our wedding venue. That was special...
...It was important to Vinnie and I to have her present in our day. There were photos of her everywhere. She had her own chair at the ceremony and at the reception.”
Also, we truly love how much FUN everyone had. The dance floor remained full the entire night. That was pretty awesome. Our guests STILL reach out to us about it!
What are you most looking forward to in married life
August 2020 will be a year married and everyday has been amazing.
This year, we became Godparents together and welcomed our Godson to the world.
We look forward to grow and enjoy this beautiful life.
We look forward to creating and building a family of our own.
Ultimately, being healthy and living this journey together as Husband and Wife is absolutely everything, we couldn’t ask for more.
