Looking back to a wonderful summer wedding, this week we’re featuring the Real Wedding of Nena and Simon, who were married on July 11, 2015 at Seacliff Country Club.

Let’s hear from the couple!

Q: Where did you meet?

Simon and I met through a real estate recruiting seminar, about 7 years ago. We started meeting more frequently as both of our careers in real estate continued to grow. And the more time we spent together, the less time we wanted to spend apart.

Q: How did he propose?

We had a nice dinner planned because I had just gotten a new job, and were celebrating. He told me to get my hair done and my nails did and he would be picking me up at 4:00 to surprise me with something special. We ended up in the Huntington Beach Harbor on a gondola ride and he brought champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, so I knew something was up.

About halfway through the gondola ride our gondolier said something to us as we passed a bridge. He said that the bridge is special because a poet likes to write love messages in a bottle and throw them over the edge. As he said that he “happened” to see one and asked me to pick it up. Being gullible and completely unaware, I picked up the bottle out of the sea and opened it to find a love letter that Simon wrote to me.

When I looked up from reading, he reached into his pocket, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! When I said yes, he pointed over to another boat and told me to smile and wave to the camera. He had hired a photographer to follow us around on the gondola so we could have memories of this precious moment in both of our lives.

Q: What was the deciding factor of having your wedding at SeaCliff Country Club?

Finding a beautiful venue that was budget friendly was definitely tough. Seacliff's all-inclusive pricing made us comfortable with the planning process, and cut down on the stress of choosing reputable vendors and really getting our money's worth.

What were the highlights of the ceremony?

We loved seeing the decor come to life from our imaginations, but most of all the ceremony was short and sweet, just how we wanted it!

What were the highlights of the reception?

EVERYTHING! Flowers, food, decor and especially seeing all of our guests enjoy themselves. It was really nice as a couple to have the sweetheart table in the corner so we could see all of our guests. The fact that the layout of the Pacific Room included the outdoor patio area and the fire pits was one of the best touches, as it gave our guests a place to slip away if they wanted peace and quiet, and also having the dance floor in a different area I feel made the guest a bit more inclined to dance.

Vendor Love

• Photography: Karl Verkade Photography
• Videographer: John Nguyen
• D.J.: Dennis Dai
• Venue: SeaCliff Country Club
• Dress: Enzoani, “Grace”
• Shoes: Menbur 1949
• Flowers: The Blooming Branch, Maribel Lopez
• Hair: Bow & Arrow Hair Lounge Megan Strawn
• Groom’s Suit: Vera Wang, Men’s Warehouse
• Cake: Rossmoor Pastries