A Romantic Gondola Wedding in California

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Honestly, this has to be one of the most unique weddings we’ve seen in a long time! It’s not every day that guests get to be transported to and from a wedding ceremony on gondolas, greeted with wine and appetizers afterwards on the way to the reception via the Long Beach canals to BO-Beau restaurant downtown. It’s also not every day that you get completely drawn into a couple’s love story, which we totally have! But don’t take our word for it…it’s best told by the couple themselves. With photos and video from Michael Farmer Photography, Lindsey and Jason’s wedding is more romantic than Venice itself!

First, a bit on their backstory from their photographer:

“Lindsey and Jason met 10 years ago to the day this past Valentine’s Day. Flashback to Chicago, Valentine’s Day, 2007. As a newcomer to Chicago, Jason spent that fateful night with his best friend on a ‘Screw Cupid’ Bar Crawl, bouncing from bar to bar, more likely to drink too much than to meet the person he’d spend the rest of his life with. Lindsey, also new to the city was out with some girlfriends, but rather than pretend to find love at a bar, was enjoying people-watching that holiday. They caught each others’ eyes and eventually found themselves having a laugh at each others’ expense. As the night wore on they went their separate ways, crossing paths later in the night. Little did they know there was more than just a mutual attraction. Soon, as with any love story, the relationship blossomed. Over the next year and a half they traveled together, spent holidays together with families, and seemed to be perfectly suited for one another. Their naivety and youth got the better of them, and they eventually went our separate ways, thinking their own paths in life were more important than the one they would eventually share together.”

(Fast forward 6.5 years…)

Jason:

“Rare, if ever, does someone have a second chance to spend their life with their soulmate. As cheesy as that sounds, that is how I feel every day she and I are together.”

Lindsey:

“I have to admit, I was very skeptical going in to that Sunday rendezvous in Huntington Beach. Jason reached out a number of times over the years, checking in. When my father was sick he asked how I was holding up. He’d email about “work inquiries.” or send links to things he thought I’d like. But why now? Who was he and what was the point? Living in Chicago was such an amazing experience – I met some of my closest friends living there but it was so hard to be away from my family back in Cali. When Jason and I split up, it was in large part because I made a promise to move back home and he wasn’t quite able to commit to that. The breakup was hard. Maybe harder for me at first, but little did I know, it was something that stayed with Jason much longer. When he asked to come see me while he was out officiating the wedding of two of his best friends in California in 2015, I couldn’t see any reason to reconnect…but I went. Jason and I caught up over lunch, and only about two weeks later did he confide in me it was his last attempt at validating his feelings he held onto for so many years. Even then it wasn’t something I gave much thought to, but the more we talked, the more we relearned who the other person was, the more I yearned to know for myself…what if? From there it snowballed. I flew to Chicago to visit, he flew to Los Angeles to do the same. Once I opened myself up to it, it happened almost over night. We knew there was still very much something there. When he said he would drop everything and move across the country, I knew he was serious. Two excruciatingly long months after we decided to pull the trigger, he did just that. Over 2,000 days since “round 1″ and 2,000 miles later, we moved in together. There was no turning back now. It’s only been a year and a half, but we’ve grown incredibly close and constantly “joke” that we can’t go into the other room without missing one another.We got engaged March 14, 2016, the very day we reunited in Chicago a year prior, on a lifeguard stand just blocks from our house. We married just 8 months later on the Gondola docks right across the street. It’s cheesy, it’s adorable, it’s everything I ever wanted. We found each other again and we’re never letting go.”

Photographer: Michael Farmer Photography//Caterer: BO-Beau Kitchen Bar//Makeup Artist: Cindy Jensen//Hair Stylist: Frances Rodriguez//Event Venue: Gondola Getaway//Floral Designer: Joshua Coronado//DJ: LB Entertainment//Dress Store: Lulus//Cinema and Video: Michael Farmer Photography

A Romantic Gondola Wedding in California
Woman Getting Married.