Sutter Lawn Wedding | Sacramento CA » Melissa Babasin Photography // Wedding and Family Photographer in Portland OR

Getting married on New Years even guarantees you will have huge massive celebration! These two picked New Years Eve because it is significant in their relationship.

Here is the full story off how these two met! It all started Freshman year (1996) at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California. First semester, Alan and Natasha met in Ms. Huffman’s Geometry class. Natasha was far more concerned with chasing boys than studying math, but she became close to Alan after quickly noticing he knew all the answers to the homework. While there was no romantic connection yet, a friendship formed.

After high school, Alan went off to Berkeley to study Sociology by observing the ways of the unsupervised fraternity man. Natasha stayed home to get her Business Administration degree at Sac State, but she stayed connected with Alan through her close relationships with his brothers, Jan & Ryan. Throughout those college years, Natasha and friends made several visits to Berkeley to join the fraternity festivities (always staying on her best behavior).

Once graduated, Alan moved back home to find a job, but Natasha’s budding career took her down to Pasadena, keeping the two at a distance for several years more. However, with most of her friends still near Sacramento, ‘Totti’ often found her way back for the weekends. It was one of those weekend nights, in June of 2008, when the two met up among friends at a local watering hole, Stockman Club (an American institution, to be sure). That night, Natasha saw Alan for more than the bashful math whiz she once knew, and her flirtation was well received. The party moved back to Alan’s house in Gold River, and after an aggressive Rock Band session, they shared their first kiss. The next day, Alan picked her up for their first date, taking Natasha and a cooler of Coronas to the charm-filled bluffs of the American River. Unsurprisingly, the romance of the day would leave Natasha wanting more.

The newly official boyfriend and girlfriend continued getting closer with each other and their families over the next couple years. In September 2010, they decided to put their relationship to the test by taking a 16 day trip to Spain & Morocco, which confirmed what they already knew; they were good together. As a result, they came home and decided to move to their first apartment together in Midtown Sacramento. They also immediately planned their next trip to Ireland with their mothers and Alan’s grandmothers (Dianne and Mary), which confirmed the second fact they already knew; they loved the families they were growing into.

In the Fall of 2012, Natasha was offered a great opportunity to manage a brand new apartment community, but there was a catch… the job was in Berkeley. Alan had worked at Bank of America since they got together, and did not have plans to leave Sacramento. But as fate would have it, Alan had turned down a job offer from within the company less than an hour before Natasha called to ask if he would be willing to move back to the bay. He quickly got on the phone, negotiated the freedom to work from home, and accepted the job. Soon after, in November 2012, they moved into their second apartment in downtown Berkeley.

Far away from family, and both working in the same building where they lived, the couple realized right away that something was missing. A thirty minute internet search led them to Tailchaser Rescue, where they laid eyes on a puppy they had to have. Bear was the runt of the litter, but that only drew them to him more. Within seconds of getting home that night, they mailed a check and started shopping for food and toys. By late January 2013, a family was formed.

The family was whole (for now), but Alan and Natasha still had to feed their urge to travel. However, with every new trip came an increased expectation from Natasha’s friends and family that they would return engaged. After it didn’t happen in Cabo, Santa Barbara, the many trips to San Diego, or even at Stockman Club, they started to lose hope. The couple had wanted to visit Chicago for a while, and in December 2013 they decided that a wintry anniversary would be a good excuse to go. After seeing the sights of the city for a couple days, the two headed out through the snow to their New Year’s Eve dinner reservation at the top of the John Hancock Tower. Not realizing there would be a coat check, and with an engagement ring sitting in his coat pocket, Alan had to come up with a plan to excuse himself to the restroom, sneak back to the coat check, and hide the ring box in his sock. Once back at the table, he nervously sipped his Old Fashioned until he mustered the courage to make his move. He fumbled his way through the reasons he loved Natasha, expressed that he wanted to spend every day of his life with her, awkwardly played with his sock for a bit, and finally got down on one knee to pop the question. She said yes, they drank champagne, and one anniversary later, they were to become husband and wife.

On New Year’s Eve 2017, Alan and Natasha made a pinkie promise that they would actually get married in 2018, this was the year. It’s been a long time coming and they can’t wait to share the 10 year anniversary and 5th year of engagement anniversary with you all this New Year’s Eve when they finally make it official.

Congrats Alan & Natasha you two are amazing together & We are so excited that it worked out for us to be there to tell your wedding day story! “Come and ride it the train by quad city DJ’s” will always remind me of your wedding hahahaha lots of whistle blowing happening!! We love you!!