Welcome to our Apple-y Ever After!

Well, 2020 was nothing like what we expected whatsoever. It's hard to believe it's already 2 weeks away from what would have been our wedding day, because we feel like we're perpetually stuck in April. We've always heard planning a wedding can be challenging, but never could we ever have prepared for a global pandemic. Early on, we kept telling ourselves "this will all be over with in a couple months," but just when we thought we were headed into the clear this summer, a couple months turned into several months (and counting) and a final decision needed to be made. It was hard to feel excited for our wedding when we were filled with so much dread and anxiety - no option felt like the right option. Do we move forward and COVID-proof the heck out of our wedding? Do we modify the event (reduce guest count, eliminate dancing, no food)? Do we just elope on 10/10? In the end though, we knew it wouldn't be the wedding of our dreams without all of our loved ones there to celebrate with us safely, so 2021 it is! There are still a lot of emotions, especially as we near our old date. We want to formally apologize to our guests for being so silent on the change of plans. It was our intention to reach out with a formal notice of postponement but every time we tried to sit down and write out a letter, we found ourselves feeling depressed about the whole ordeal all over again. With that said, we would like to thank our parents for their love and support getting the word out - we truly could not have weathered this storm without their help. There's no doubt October 10 will be a challenge for us to get through, but we're feeling hopeful for 2021 and are starting to feel reinvigorated about planning again! So keep wearing your masks, stay 6 ft apart, and do what you can to help overcome this pandemic so we can all party like there's no tomorrow on October 2, 2021!

Derek and Marnie began dating in 2011 during their Junior year of high school. Derek just happened to choose to sit across from Marnie in their U.S. History class and the rest was...well...history. They spent nearly every day together throughout their senior year up until leaving for college at Chico State and UC Santa Barbara. Despite the fact that they decided to take some time for themselves while they were away at college, they always made a point to see each other when they were home for school holidays. Finally, in 2015, Marnie and Derek decided they wanted to continue their relationship and have been inseparable ever since. Together, they've celebrated Marnie earning both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees, got their first apartment together, adopted their cats Sherlock and Daisy Mae, made 2 trips to Disneyland, earned multiple promotions, and bought a house in Woodland. While Marnie and Derek have already committed to spending their lives with one another, they look forward to their wedding day and getting to ~officially~ call each other husband and wife!

On the morning of April 20, Derek’s alarm began going off at 4:30am. We had talked about going to brunch at Tower Cafe early that morning, but not THAT early. To Marnie’s surprise, Derek rolled right out of bed and insisted that she did the some and to “wear something warm.” Huh? We hopped in the car around 5:30am and headed out towards Winters - surely we weren't going wine tasting at 6am... As we walked into Turkovich Winery, we were immediately greeted by the gentleman at the bar who handed us each a sheet of paper titled "Hot Air Balloon Liability Waiver" (!!!). Yep, Derek chartered a hot air balloon to propose to Marnie in. The only problem was that it was windier than HECK that morning! Regardless, we drove out to the launch site in the middle of the Turkovich vineyard with basket and balloon in tow. As the sun began to rise, Derek walked Marnie to the top of the hill overlooking the vineyard where he proposed to her (turns out, it WAS too windy to go up in the balloon - phew!). After a champagne toast with the flight crew, we headed on back into town. When we finally returned to the winery, Marnie was treated to another wonderful surprise of having our entire family waiting for us at Turkovich - including Marnie's mom, step-dad, and sister who all flew in from out of state to celebrate with us!