Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/619218
32 real weddings PLANNING GUIDE 2016 It's not A good sIgn when your first date ends in a hospital emergency room. But for Stephanie Castillo, a Los Angeles teacher, the experience showed her that Wilson Braulio wasn't one to shy away from adversity. "He had to carry me into the emergency room, after I was infected with a bug," she recalls. "at's when I realized he was there to take care of me." e couple had met briefly in Vegas a month earlier through mutual friends. Wilson recalls asking about the calculus tattoo on Stephanie's arm and learning she was a high school math teacher. "I realized she was not just externally beautiful, but intelligent too," he says. ey exchanged numbers and kept in touch by phone before arranging their first official date. ough the hospital wasn't the ideal ending for that date, he felt a deep connection with Stephanie and penned a letter to her soon after – one he never sent. "I wrote that ours was a love that would last forever," he says. "You know when it's right, and I knew. But I never sent the letter because I didn't want to seem overly creepy to her!" Wilson was soon ready to propose, but Stephanie insisted she needed a year. Over that time, she suggested they test their compatibility by travelling together, and the two settled on the Philippines and Vancouver as their destinations. ough their time in Vancouver was cut short by another medical emergency, Stephanie had seen enough to know she loved the city and that if a destination wedding were feasible down the line, it would be the perfect place: far from home, but not too far. A year after their first date, Wilson was planning to propose during a surprise romantic weekend away. In the end, he simply couldn't wait that long. At 5 a.m. on the morning they were set to leave, he bent down on one knee, ring in hand, and gently woke a groggy Stephanie to ask for her hand in marriage. Stephanie was ready, her destination wedding half-planned in It's your wedding. "Let the wedding be a representation of who you are as a couple," say Stephanie and Wilson. Remember that it's your day and no one else's. "Your guests are there to celebrate your love as a couple, and couples shouldn't be afraid to show people how fun, interesting and unique they are." Work with people you like and trust. "When it comes to vendors, work with people who share your goal of throwing the best party of your lives," say the couple. "Word-of-mouth reviews certainly help, and our contact at Science World referred us to some excellent people." Listen to one another. "Tough decisions will have to be made and you'll need to support each other and find a middle ground to achieve your dream wedding as a couple," say Stephanie and Wilson. "This requires a lot of communication and compromise – great training exercises for any future married couple." WORDS OF ADVICE