Orange County Professional Photographer

As an Orange County Professional Photographer, we have the awesome privilege of attending and photographing a lot of different events, and meeting some amazing people along the way! We’re so grateful that we get to do this for a living, and we’ve been blessed with having several of our clients become good friends! That’s exactly what happened with Cheyenne and Marcello. When Cheyenne and Marcello first reached out to us, neither of us had any idea that we had mutual connections. After shooting their engagement photography session at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point, we got to talking more and realized we knew some of the same people from church! But, it wasn’t until the day of their Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort wedding, though, that our friendship really started to grow!

This wedding means so much to me because it’s where I met my girlfriend, Josie! Josie was a bridesmaid, and ever since Cheyenne and Marcello’s wedding day, we’ve had plenty of double dates with them! I’m so thankful to have met this amazing couple and to have met Josie because of them!

This Beachfront wedding venue brings you as close to the waves as you can truly get without getting you and your guests wet. It’s great if you want a big beach wedding ceremony because it includes breathtaking views of the ocean as the background for your ceremony and for post-ceremony photos.

Marcello and Cheyenne’s intimate coastal celebration at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort was filled with many beautiful moments which were all captured by the team at Three16 Photography. Their outdoor oceanside ceremony had a backdrop of towering palm trees and a panoramic view of the beach. Seaside Strings played the elegant classical music as Cheyenne was escorted down the aisle in a traditional lace and tulle a-line gown. Her gorgeous locks were done up in a curled half-up ‘do and she carried a bouquet of white flowers tinted with bright pops of color throughout.

Marcello eagerly awaited his bride-to-be in a navy-blue suit (his favorite color!), which paired well with his charcoal gray tie and black shining shoes. To finish off his look, he wore a white pocket square and white blooming boutonniere. The two groomsmen matched with him in navy suits but switched it up by wearing coral bow ties, instead. The deep navy color that the guys wore was a beautiful contrast to the bright coral gowns that the bridesmaids were dressed in. The ladies carried coral and white bouquets to match their wardrobe!

Thank you so much Cheyenne and Marcello for allowing Three16 Photography to be part of your Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort Wedding celebration!

Cheyenne and Marcello’s Love Story

How did you meet and who liked who first?

We met at our old church called Shuvah Yisrael. Cheyenne was the guitar player on the worship team and Marcello came in for service one day and noticed Cheyenne on stage. All he could think about was getting her number. After the worship service, we were dismissed to go to our youth class and that was the first time Cheyenne noticed Marcello. Cheyenne thought Marcello was cute, but also thought he was taken because he brought a girl with him and she totally thought it was his girlfriend. (Totally was his sister, whoops… big mistake lol) Once class ended, we were all dismissed, and we all broke off into our groups of friends and Marcello was talking to one of the guys there. At one point, Cheyenne walked by to say hi to the guys in that group and Marcello was able to introduce himself to Cheyenne. It was most definitely an awkward meeting, but Cheyenne definitely felt something special talking to him. That same night Cheyenne was getting ready for a dance at school when Marcello went home and found her on Facebook to message her. From that day, we spent almost every day talking to each other and getting to know each other & then obviously falling in love.

I, Cheyenne believe Marcello liked me first without a doubt. No way would a guy go home searching for a girl on Facebook to talk to her without liking her lol.

Tell us about your first date. Who was more nervous and what did you guys do?

Our first date was very interesting and a little awkward. We had actually spent almost a year apart because we weren’t allowed to see each other. So, our relationship ended up mostly being Skype, texting and calling. So, meeting face to face was a little strange.

For our first REAL date, we started out with exchanging our first set of rings. We both bought each other promise rings. We knew the difficulties of the past year were a test to see if we were meant to be and honestly through God’s grace, we made it. After so much prayer and heartbreak, we knew that one day we would be married, so we knew these promise rings would be perfect for our first real date. Once we exchanged rings, we went out to the Cheesecake Factory. Being that we hadn’t really gone out in person very much, our lunch was a little quiet. I really don’t think either one of us were nervous. I think we were more excited to finally be a real couple and actually enjoy being boyfriend and girlfriend for the first time in 11 months. Once, we finished lunch we went to a park and we just enjoyed the day. It was nice to just enjoy each other’s presence for once without worrying about being interrupted or having a dropped call or something.

What’s the proposal story?  Give us all the details and tell us, who cried first?
It was March 17th, 2017, St. Patrick’s Day!

Cheyenne ended up asking Marcello to take the day off from work because Cheyenne had the day off and wanted to spend it with Marcello. Marcello figured that would be a good way to ask without giving it away because Cheyenne was the one who ended up asking Marcello to spend the day with her. So, the day came, and Marcello told Cheyenne that their lunch spot would be a surprise.

We drove south and eventually came to “Raya at the Ritz Carlton” which was our last anniversary dinner spot. We were seated and Marcello said that he needed to go get his phone from the car and so he left. Cheyenne had it in her mind that possibly Marcello would propose but when he came back empty-handed the thought left. We decided on the food we wanted and eventually ordered. Cheyenne figured Marcello would be way too nervous to eat if he was going to propose, but once he started and finished his meal, Cheyenne completely dropped the proposal thought. Marcello then said he needed to get cash from the hostess and left and came back saying they didn’t give cash from the registers. Marcello obviously told the hostess to bring out the dessert with the ring and there came our waiter with a big plated dessert. Everything on the plate was made of some type of chocolate and candy and it had the ring sitting on a seashell with the words “Will you marry me?” written in chocolate sauce. Marcello then grabbed the ring and asked Cheyenne to marry him.

Cheyenne cried first!

What three things do you admire most about your soon-to-be spouse and why?

Marcello (about Cheyenne): Love for the Lord (biggest concern and main focus is her relationship with Him), Servant’s Heart (always helping others & not focused on herself) and Truthfulness (tell people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear).

Cheyenne (about Marcello): Trust in the Lord (always looks to the Lord for guidance before making any decisions), Patience (he’s slow to speak and slow to anger & it encourages me to be a better person & helps with any irritation I may be feeling) and Goofiness (always know when/how to make me laugh).

Describe each other in one word and why did you choose that word?

Marcello (about Cheyenne): Inquisitive. She is always trying to learn new things whether it comes to music, cooking or sports, etc.

Cheyenne (about Marcello): Intellectual. He always thrives at work, is knowledgeable with computers, politics, sports & cars. Always researching to deepen his knowledge.

Any advice for other newly engaged couples as they begin to plan their wedding?

Enjoy as much as you can, have fun when you can and avoid stress. It’s about you two, & no one else!

Describe your wedding for us. Is there a particular theme? What flowers did you choose and why?  And are there any special traditions or items you have incorporated into the day?

Our color theme is coral & navy blue, along with white roses. No special traditions or items incorporated.

As you approach the wedding day, what have you both enjoyed most about the wedding planning process?

Planning the engagement photoshoot! It felt so real just taking photos together and being that center of attention.

What has been the hardest part about planning your wedding?

Getting bridesmaids dresses.

Why did you choose your particular wedding and reception venue?

We always wanted a SoCal beach type of wedding.

Where did you draw some of your inspiration from for your wedding day?

Mostly just from things that are close to our hearts. Some examples would be:

Centerpieces are art pieces from Claude Monet. Cheyenne’s middle name is Monet and her father is an artist.

Invites & Tux are navy blue; Marcello’s favorite color.

Guitar picks on tables because Cheyenne’s career is music, especially guitar.

Where are you going for your honeymoon?  Are you excited and why did you choose that destination?

We are road tripping up the west coast! We are driving up to San Francisco and staying there a few days. Then, we will take the Golden Gate Bridge and drive up to Portland, Oregon and spend a few days there. After that, we will drive to our last location, Seattle, Washington! We are hoping to catch a few baseball games while we’re there as well. Hoping to visit every ballpark in this life together! And yes, we are absolutely excited! We’ve been together for almost four years and haven’t been able to travel because of the fact that we aren’t married. It’ll be so exciting to travel everywhere together now!

Vendors used for Cheyenne and Marcello’s gorgeous Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort Wedding:

Location Information

Ceremony, Reception & Caterer: Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort

Address: 21100 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, CA 92648

 

Vendor Information

WEDDING COORDINATOR

Company: Events by Robin
Instagram: @eventsbyrobin

PHOTOGRAPHY
Company: Three16 Photography
Instagram: @three16photography

FLORIST
Company: Peonies & Petals
Instagram: @peoniesandpetals

DJ
Company: Extreme DJ Service
Instagram: @extremedjservice

CAKE
Company: Sweet Traders
Instagram: @sweettraders

HAIR & MAKE-UP
Company: Design Visage
Instagram: @designvisage

DRESS
Company: David’s Bridal

Instagram: @davidsbridal

GROOM’S SUIT
Company: Men’s Wearhouse

WEDDING INVITATION
Company: Vista Print

CEREMONY TRIO

Company: Seaside Strings

Loved reading about Cheyenne and Marcello’s Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort Wedding? Show them some love by liking and commenting below! Also, check out another Waterfront Wedding- Midhun and Sheila’s Wedding on the blog!