Hidden Acres

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Our Wedding

It all began at a Buffalo Wild Wings, where Mario decided to impress Ashley by tackling a plate of mango habanero wings. Halfway through, he was sweating profusely, his face turning a shade of red that was impossible to ignore. Despite this fiery fiasco, he somehow managed to ask Ashley to join him and his dog for a walk—between gasps for air, of course. Ashley, curious yet slightly concerned, agreed but wasn’t convinced this was actually his dog (or that the dog even liked him). In her mind, this whole scene was either the start of something wonderful or just plain weird. Spoiler alert: it was a little bit of both!&nbsp; From that spicy start, our story quickly turned into one magical adventure. One of our earliest outings took us bike riding along Santa Monica Beach, where we stumbled upon Mario’s destiny—a towering set of swings. With a grin, he decided to relive his childhood dreams, ignoring Ashley’s amused warnings not to do it. Yet, the next thing she knew, a blur shot past her as Mario launched himself from the swing, landing face-first in the sand. He lay motionless for several seconds while the surrounding beach crowd went silent. Finally, he stood up, covered head-to-toe in sand, his eyes squinting through a sandy haze. It was chaotic, hilarious, and utterly unforgettable—just like us.&nbsp; In the months that followed, our love grew over shared adventures. From baseball, hockey, and football games where we cheered side by side, to late-night talks about life, we discovered that being together made everything more exciting. We bonded over 49ers games and Ashley’s Fantasy Football league, kicking off a whirlwind of exploring new places and making memories. We dream of visiting every state in the U.S. and, one day, traveling to other countries as well. So far, our travels have already taken us from Hawaii to New Orleans, Boston to Seattle, with haunted tours and theme parks becoming our favorite stops. Wherever we go, it’s always about the journey together and we’re always up for something new! &nbsp;Somehow, seven years have flown by in the blink of an eye, yet it still feels as exciting as the day we met. Every day is an adventure, a chance to laugh, explore, and fall in love all over again. Back home, life is full of fun and laughter. Our “Bike Gang Gang” takes us on endless rides, and Ashley also loves to rollerblade while Mario rides his skateboard, pulled along by our husky, Sherlock Bones. We also share a deep passion for rescuing animals, though we’re terrible at fostering them—our fur family has grown to now include four cats: Cleocatra, Nebula, Jack, and Aurora.&nbsp; Ashley’s world is filled with music and performing, scary movies, and diving into epic stories through books, while Mario lives for sports and a bit of friendly competition. We balance each other perfectly: Ashley’s love for adventure and excitement meets Mario’s passion for sports and rivalry, creating a beautiful harmony. Sure, Ashley wins most of our game nights, and Mario might be a self-proclaimed poor sport, but that just adds to the fun! Wherever we go—concerts, escape rooms, haunted houses, or just out exploring—we always seem to make new friends and unforgettable memories.&nbsp; Our journey has been an incredible whirlwind of love and adventure. Now, as we stand on the edge of this new chapter, we can't wait to celebrate our greatest adventure yet with all of you as we say, “I do!”

Our adventure so far...

Our Story

Photos

Kristen is Ashley’s baby sister, which means she’s survived years of sisterly torture—like being forced to play Mulder and Scully from The X-Files while sneaking to the library “undercover” on top-secret “missions.” She loves concerts and dancing, snacks are her love language, and she’s the one laughing obnoxiously during horror movies. Plus, she's always got my back :)

Kristen

Armando

Rebekah is a witty, country line dancing enthusiast, who loves to spend her free time with her husband and kids. We met in an Anatomy Lab class after I burst in, out of breath, wearing a cat-eared beanie and a guitar strapped to my back, and promptly knocked her lab partner off the table. Naturally, she thought I was a total slacker, but we quickly became known as the Dynamic Duo around campus. Despite living on opposite sides of the country for more than half our 20-year friendship, we’ve stayed close—conquering haunted corn mazes, exploring spooky caves, and pretending to watch horror movies (where she covers her eyes). 

Rebekah

Jesus

Ivy is Ashley's cousin and the keeper of all her most embarrassing stories—just ask, she’ll happily share! As kids, we were Junior Lifeguards together and survived the trauma of being forced to eat bell peppers, but whatever you do, don’t ask about what happened at Longs Drug Store. As an adult, we bonded over our love for concerts, always ready to hit up a show. Ivy is also an amazing mom, a fantastic teacher, and a total bookworm. She fosters kittens but is hilariously bad at not adopting them all—her house is practically a kitten kingdom at this point! Meeeooow!!!

Johny

Genesis isn’t just my bridesmaid, she’s Mario’s baby sister and my country concert bestie—yeehaw! With a closet bursting from her shopping sprees (borderline hoarder, if we’re being honest), she’s a makeup magician powered by coffee and cat-loving energy. Fashion, loyalty, and fierceness all rolled into one.

Genesis

Richard

Gimel

Michael is a proud dog dad, foodie, and an incredible singer. He met Ashley 25 years ago in a musical theatre class, and they've been inseparable ever since—he even moved from Hawaii to California with her! Mike vividly remembers one of the first times he met Mario—he was standing in the middle of a Las Vegas street, shouting, 'I love my baaaaaby!' and declaring he was going to marry Ashley… only a few months into their relationship. Bold move, Mario! Now, he bonds with Mario over golf, even though he’s hilariously terrible at it—and somehow, they keep playing! 

Michael

Heather was once an extra in Semi-Pro with Will Ferrell, but her real claim to fame is her dark sense of humor—perfect, since we met while working in jail! Fueled by an ungodly amount of Monster energy drinks, she ran a half marathon with me and finished while I… didn’t! We share endless laughs, epic dance moves (including her legendary BLT sandwich spin), and that time she watched me talk my way into two boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts at 2 a.m. from a delivery truck.

Heather

Tod is a manga enthusiast and sports fanatic, rooting hard for the Toronto Maple Leafs despite living nowhere near Canada. He met Ashley in grad school, and his first memory of her was watching her slam Tylenol Cold & Flu with a 5-hour Energy shot like a champ. Now, Tod, Ashley, and Mario travel the U.S., he plays video games with Mario, and they plot their future podcast stardom with a show about spooky things. Tod and Ashley are also convinced they’ll win the Powerball and make poor Mario sit in Coach for ever doubting their plans.

Tod-Casey

Melissa knew who she was from the start. While other kids played house with dolls, she was running a stuffed animal vet clinic and giving her Barbies couples therapy—no surprise, she's now an amazing psychologist who can analyze your problems before you even know you have them! We started as coworkers but quickly became close friends, bonding over bad reality TV and wine. After that first epic high five (which Melissa still fears to this day), we knew we’d be besties for life. Now, we love hitting up spas, makeup stores, venturing out of town, and indulging our shared passion for theater!

Melissa

Adriana loves to obsessively research elaborate hairstyles she’ll never actually try. And for someone who avoids the outdoors, she’s oddly obsessed with goats! She became my book club bestie almost five years ago, and since then, we’ve logged over a thousand hours reading paranormal fantasy, endlessly theorizing, planning a future podcast to harass others with our book rambles, and failing spectacularly at horror-themed escape rooms.

Adriana

Wedding Party

Q + A

Hilton Garden Inn Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga

 Homewood Suites by Hilton Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga

Courtyard Ontario Rancho Cucamonga

SpringHill Suites Ontario Airport/Rancho Cucamonga

Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham Fullerton

Disneyland Resort Hotel

Travel

Must make a reservation at the time of ticket purchase to ensure you are allowed entry into the park on the desired date.

Disneyland & California Adventure Park

There's a great chance there will be snow in March! Big Bear Mountain has a number of activities (i.e., skiing, snowboarding, tubing, etc.) and is a beautiful place to sight-see and enjoy the snow :) Just make sure to check the weather in the event that snow chains are needed for tires.

Big Bear Mountain and Lake

Knott's Berry Farm

Live out your childhood dreams at Super Nintendo World and Mario Kart! Universal City Walk also has a ton of different restaurants and stores to enjoy.

Universal Studios Hollywood

Walk of Fame, El Capitan Disney Theatre, TCL Chinese Theatre, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, Hollywood Sign (there's also a hike!)

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Pacific Park, Heal the Bay Aquarium, bicycle riding, rollerblading, skateboarding park, break dancers, Muscle Beach... so much to do and see!

Santa Monica Pier

La Brea Tar Pits

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

Griffith Park and Observatory

L.A. Zoo

Double check to make sure the Lakers are playing AT HOME at the Crypto Arena before buying tickets :)

L.A. Lakers Game

Make sure to check the Clippers are playing AT HOME at the Intuit Dome before buying tickets! :)

L.A. Clippers Game

Descanso Gardens

Eat, drink, shop, visit the hidden Speakeasy! (Just remember to make a reservation online ahead of time as space is limited).

Mario & Ashley