Here Come the Brides and Grooms

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Local celebrities share their stories—and photos—of one of the most important days of their lives: their wedding day.


The Bride and Groom: Cristina Mendonsa, News10 reporter/anchor, and Jonathan Robinette, science teacher

Date: Oct. 22, 1994

Guest List: 150

Location: Ceremony held at St. Vincent DePaul Church, Denver; reception at Lone Tree Country Club, (now the Lone Tree Golf Club), Littleton, Colo.

Most Memorable Moment: “When Jonathan and I slipped away into a quiet corner at the reception together and stood for 10 minutes watching all of our family and friends. It’s our strongest and best memory of the day,” Mendonsa says.
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The Bride and Groom: Jessica Horton, owner of Dara Denim boutiquein midtown Sacramento, and Jerry Horton, guitarist, Papa Roach

Date: Dec. 21, 2002

Guest List: 110

Location: The Powel Crosley Estate, Sarasota, Fla.

Most Memorable Moment: “We chose to have our wedding on the winter solstice, so the sunset was amazing over the water. Guests enjoyed cocktails while watching the shortest day of sunlight fade away,” Jessica Horton says. Clips of the couple’s wedding aired on the VH1 special, “Sex and Rock and Roll.”
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The Bride and Groom: Tina and Derrell Roberts, founders of North Sacramento’s Roberts Family Development Center

Date: Sept. 17, 1988

Guest List: 60 for ceremony and first reception; 250 for second

Location: Ceremony held at St. Paul Baptist Church in Oak Park. First reception held Sept. 17 at Jazzmen’s Art of Pasta in Old Sacramento; second reception held Dec. 6, 1988 at the Oak Park Community Center.

Most Memorable Moment: “We held a second reception in December as a way to get holiday gifts for children in the community, and our community came through,” says Tina Roberts.
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The Bride and Groom: Kimberly J. Mueller, U.S. MagistrateJudge and former Sacramento City Councilmember, and Robert J. Slobe, president, North Sacramento Land Company

Date: Sept. 10, 1995

Guest List: A handful for the ceremony; several hundred for the reception

Location: Private ceremony took place in Lake Placid, N.Y.; reception took place two months later at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

Most Memorable Moment: Ducks quacking on the lake beside the the rustic Adirondack boat dock where the couple said their vows. Adds Mueller, “[That was] right about the time the judge was asking, rhetorically, if anyone objected . . .”
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The Bride and Groom: Hamchétou Maïga-Ba, Sacramento Monarchs guard/forward, and Baba Pithio Ba, a city operations manager

Date: Dec. 31, 2005

Guest List: 500-plus

Location: Bamako, Mali (the couple’s hometown); ceremony held at the Mairie of Hamdallaye; reception at the Hotel Mande

Most Memorable Moment: “The best part of the wedding was that we were able to do it with our families back home. We were definitely glad and thankful that we did not take away that joy and pride from our parents to see us in the beginning of our journey together,” says Maïga-Ba.
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The Bride and Groom: Elisabeth Nunziato and Jason Kuykendall, actors

Dates: May 2, 2005 and July 31, 2005

Guest List: A handful in May; 200 in July

Location: Icon Restaurant, Sacramento, in May; Setter Family Ranch, Jackson, in July

Most Memorable Moment: After a year-long engagement, the couple “eloped” to the Sacramento home of fellow actor Dan Harlan—who officiated—and his artist wife, Evelyn. That evening, they announced their new status at what was to have been their engagement party held at the now-defunct Icon, then held a formal wedding two months later. Says Nunziato, “It was perfect!”
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The Bride and Groom: Anna Terese Hollander and Dionisio Hidalgo Esperas, owners of A Healthy Kitchen Cooking Classes and Catering
 
Date: Sept. 4, 2004
 
Guest List: 35 for ceremony and first reception; 150 for second reception
 
Location: Married (barefoot) on the beach at Kapalua Bay, Maui; celebrated at sunset at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Kaanapali, Maui; second reception for 150 people the next month at the Julia Morgan House & Gardens in Sacramento.

Most Memorable Moment: “The ceremony, when I first saw Terese emerge onto the beach. She took my breath away,” Esperas says. Adds Hollander, “In addition to reciting our vows, we shared secret vows which we whispered only to each other. I hold what Dio whispered to me that day close to my heart.”
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The Bride and Groom: Helen and Alan Post, artists

Date: Nov. 21, 1940

Guest List: None at the ceremony; family at the celebratory dinner

Location: Yuma, Ariz., ceremony; Los Angeles, dinner

Most Memorable Moment: “The minister who married us, his wife was the witness. When the ceremony was finished, she took this toothpick out of her mouth and said ‘Congratulations,’” Helen Post recalls.
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The Bride and Groom: Monica Lowe and Pat Martin, Sacramento radio personalities (KZZO 100.5 FM The Zone and KRXQ 98.5 FM 98 Rock, respectively)

Date: Dec. 9, 1989

Guest List: 30

Location: Graceland Wedding Chapel, Las Vegas (where rocker Jon Bon Jovi tied the knot)

Most Memorable Moment: “We were so broke, we decided to do a shotgun wedding in Vegas. Although we couldn’t find an Elvis impersonator to marry us—nor could we afford one at the time—we did pay an extra $7 to have the ‘ghost’ of Elvis on our wedding certificate,” Martin says.
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The Bride and Groom: Gloria Gonzalez, rehabilitation counselor, and Alexander Gonzalez, president of Sacramento State

Date: June 12, 1971

Guest List: 200

Location: In Montebello (in Los Angeles County), ceremony at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church; reception at the Knights of Columbus Hall

Most Memorable Moment: “The photographer called to say he couldn’t make it to the wedding because he was in an auto accident. However, a negative turned into a positive when our friends, who were amateur photographers, took wonderful candid photographs of the wedding and our guests,” Alexander Gonzalez recalls.
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The Bride and Groom: The Revs. Faith and Michael Moran of Spiritual Life Center, Sacramento

Date: July 9, 1983

Guest List: 400

Location: Unity Center of Bellevue, Wash., for both the ceremony and reception

Most Memorable Moment: In keeping with the couple’s interfaith appreciation, a Unity minister, a Jewish rabbi and a Catholic Franciscan nun served as co-officiants. Adds Michael Moran, a former radio broadcaster, “Many people remember that, when it came time for us to speak our personal vows to each other, I—the professional speaker—choked up and could barely squeak out a sound while Faith did just fine and kept handing me tissues.”