Savanna England
Bride: Savanna England, Eugene, Oregon.
Groom: Trevor England, Springfield, Oregon.
Wedding Date: 9.17.2011
Wedding Location: Paradise Springs Event Center in Monroe, Oregon.
When and how did you two meet? In the Summer of 2008, my best friend/roommate was planning and directing her second camp for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and she asked me if I would like to come volunteer for the week. I had visited the camp the year prior and knew that it was a great cause to get involved with so I jumped onboard for the week at camp. I knew that it would be a really great way to give back, but what I didn’t know was that I was going to meet the man I would one day marry there.
Trevor is a Firefighter and had known about the MDA for years. He had participated in one of their big fundraisers in previous years, Fill-the-Boot. Fill-the-Boot was never one of his favorites so he found other ways to get involved. That same summer (2008) he attended the MDA Mike Bellotti Dinner Auction, and after a few cocktails (and having a chance to see how MDA helps kids with disabilities), he committed himself to a week of volunteering at the MDA camp. He was supposed to have a low needs camper since it was his first year, but ended up being needed to cover one of the higher needs campers. Because his camper required more care we worked together helping him out for the week. There was an instantaneous connection between Trevor and myself, and we were inseparable for the week. Our connection was one of friendship and respect. Trevor had a girlfriend at the time so I didn’t even consider the option of a romantic relationship. In fact it didn’t even occur to me that my feelings might be more than friendship until my best friend straight up asked me after camp, “Do you have a crush on Trevor?”
I was speechless at first and then after a quick denial I realized that maybe I did. She told me she had never seen me like this before with a guy, which made me think even more about what my feelings for him really meant. Trevor and I continued to stay in touch purely as friends, and then one day, not too long after camp, he called to let me know he was single. At that time we both knew that our connection was deeper than friendship and our feelings for one another were mutual. We met doing good for others, and built a relationship with a strong foundation of friendship, which is incredibly important to both of us.
How long have you two been together? We stared dating in September of 2008.
How did he propose? What was your reaction like? Were you surprised or did you catch on? Since most of you reading this do not know Trevor or myself let’s just say our proposal story will not fit the mold, but for those who do know him knows that it is extremely fitting…it has Trevor written all over it! Our wedding marked one year to the day that Trevor asked me to marry him.
It was like any other Friday evening, I made my way home from work with some groceries in hand. I was greeted by Trevor with, “Why do you have a Wal-Mart bag?”…to Trevor, shopping at Wal-Mart is a big no, no! Automatically on the defense, because I know not to shop at Wal-Mart, I quickly informed him that it was Costco meat in a Wal-Mart bag that I had gotten at work…ha, I showed him! He then walked up to me and gave me a big hug and told me he loved me. While Trevor is great at showing me love and affection, this was very odd timing for him. He was unusually gitty…yes I just used the word gitty to describe my very manly man husband, Trevor! He insisted that I come out to the garage because he had something to show me…I could not figure out what was going on with him. We made it into the garage and Trevor opened up a toolbox drawer and out came the ring box. Now I was the unbelievably gitty one! Jumping up an down all I could say is “REALLY?! REALLY?!”
Then came Trevor’s famous words “Wanna get hitched?!”. Now to some of you that sentence may sound unromantic, but to me that was the best sentence I had heard in my entire life, and it couldn’t have been more fitting for Trevor to say. Of course I did make him ask me in a more traditional way right after because I am a bit of a traditional girl. I later found out that Trevor had several different ideas of how he was going to ask me. However, he was too excited to wait for one of those plans to unfold so he asked me the day he bought the ring. I also came to find out that his famous line was a hand-me-down, his dad had used those same words to ask his mom to marry him. That is our proposal story, and I couldn’t be happier that it went exactly the way it did because it’s so “us”!
What ambiance did you and your husband want to create for your wedding? I would say a combination of Modern Chic and Bay Yard Fun. We wanted our wedding to feel like us. Easy going and fun!
What were your wedding colors? Brown dresses and suits, Bright orange, red, yellow and deep maroon flowers, brown linens with burlap table runners.
Whom did you go through for your Bridesmaids dresses? We went through Blush Bridal for our Bridesmaids dresses. We bought WToo Bridesmaid dresses in Fudge. They were beautiful and easy for all of my girls to order.
What was your experience like looking for wedding gowns at Blush Bridal? Amazing! I went to two other places prior to going to Blush Bridal. I was having some serious doubts and panic attacks because I hated all of the dresses I had tried on at these two places. When I went to my appointment at Blush Bridal my attitude dramatically changed and I knew I was going to find my perfect dress! They had so many beautiful options and all at a reasonable price. I loved nearly every dress I tried on! The staff was extremely sweet and helpful and I couldn’t have found a more perfect dress!
When did you know your gown was The One? I knew my dress was the one the moment I tried it on. I felt beautiful and sexy! Exactly how I wanted to feel on my wedding day. There were a few that I loved before mine but they fit the mold of what I thought I would have wanted while I was growing up; something very princess like. They didn’t give me the right feeling or look of what I wanted for my husband on our wedding day. My dress most certainly gave me the feelings I was looking for.
What was your Something Borrowed? Something Blue? Something Old? Something New? Something Borrowed: One of my best friends pearl earrings and bracelet. Something Blue & Old: My garter. Trevor caught it at the last wedding he went to. It happened to be blue as well. Something New: My dress and shoes.
Were there any big plans that you had for your wedding, that just didn’t work out or you changed your mind on? Unlike a lot of girls, I didn’t have a dream wedding in mind prior to our engagement. So the planning all started the moment he asked me. I knew that I wanted it to feel like us and not just me. I wanted to make it feel feminine with a touch of masculinity. I used darker background colors and brighter pops of color. Mason Jars were everywhere and our food was Southern BBQ.
Favorite thing or memory about the planning during the engagement year? I loved coming up with fun ways to express our personalities individually and as a couple. Using the candy buffet and stick on mustaches to represent our playful relationship, mason jars and the fire truck to represent my husband’s extremely masculine personality and career, and bright colored flowers and my soft and sophisticated dress to represent my cheerful and sensitive personality.
Piece of Advice for other Brides during their engagement year and during the wedding?Some advice for during your engagement year: Sometimes a year is too long to plan! I started planning things right after our engagement and when the wedding day approached I started second guessing all the decisions I had made. Should the guys really be wearing brown suits? Do I really want all my girls in the same dress? Are bright fall colored flowers going to be right?
I really loved the way it all turned out in the end BUT I had too much time to think about things and started to doubt them. If I had waited a few months to start planning I think I would have been more confident in my decisions prior to the day before the big day! Some advice for during the wedding: Have fun! Everything will work out how it is supposed to and IF it doesn’t you will be one of the few people who notice it. Enjoy having all of your friends and family all in one place at one time. It is one of the few times in your life that you will ever get to experience that.
Was there any piece of advice you got or any memorable Toast/Comment that you received during your wedding day that stuck with you to this day? Never talk bad about your husband to anyone. Ever.
Favorite memory/memories of your wedding day?My favorite memories of our wedding day would be our vows and our entrance into the reception hall. Ceremony: Trevor is not a shy man. However, he got extremely nervous and overwhelmed by all the people we had at our wedding. We had nearly 250 guests show up! So, when it came time for him to stand up in front of everyone and give his vows he could not stand still! He bounced up and down the entire ceremony! We each said our vows “20 things I love about Trevor/Savanna”. They were very personal and silly. Just like us! I felt like they helped everyone get to know our relationship on a more intimate level.
Reception: My husband has a very large, awesome, mustache and all of his groomsmen either have a soul patch, goatee or equally awesome mustache. So, all of us girls put on fake stick on mustaches to wear into the reception hall. We had our DJ introduce each bridesmaid and groomsman and then us. Trevor threw me over his shoulder and carried me in like a caveman who found himself a woman! My face was hidden so when he put me down everyone got to see that even I participated in the mustache glory!
Your favorite things about you and your husband as a couple? I love that we play together, we hardly ever bicker and that we are just as in love as we were when we first started dating! He puts me in my place when I’m being a brat and I set him straight when he is getting a little too rowdy. We are best friends and lovers. We really have the best of both worlds in our relationship.
We are a team and we work very well together. We are excited about the upcoming adventures in our lives together. On September 17, 2012, two years from the day he proposed, one year from our wedding day, we will be expecting our first baby! Jackson James England. We couldn’t be happier about how our life as husband and wife has already shaped out to be!
Wedding Favors if any? We had a candy buffet and our guests drank out of Mason Jars which they also took home with them.
Honeymoon location? Moorea & Bora Bora, Tahiti. We spent 6 nights in Moorea and 5 nights in Bora Bora.
