Real Wedding

Kristina and Richard Fretz married in December 2013 in a rainy but romantic New Jersey wedding.

One of Kristina's coworkers is behind setting up the happy couple. She was always telling Kristina how she would be a great fit for her friend, Richard.

After her co-worker tried to play matchmaker for years, Kristina and Richard ended up briefly meeting while exercising at a local gym. They exchanged numbers and — with some more encouragement from her friend — ended up meeting for drinks soon after.

Richard likes to think it was his handsome looks that won Kristina over, but she insists that his family-oriented mentality and hard work ethic was what attracted her most to the third generation fireman.

After two and a half years of dating, Richard decided it was time to pop the question.

The two had a tradition in their relationship that every fall, they would go pumpkin picking. When the fall of 2012 rolled around, they picked their pumpkins, and a week later, Richard invited Kristina over to carve them.

When she arrived, she found the pumpkins on the kitchen table, and got to work with the carving supplies that Richard had laid out. She sketched out her design, then cut an opening around the pumpkin's stem to reach in and scoop out the interior. But when she looked inside the pumpkin, she found a surprise.

Richard had planted a note inside the pumpkin with a simple message asking if she would marry him. She said yes.

They both agreed that they didn't want a summertime wedding, so they set the date for Dec. 6, 2013 and began planning for an elegant, classy winter wedding.

While many couples often get lost in the wedding planning process, Kristina and Richard made an extra effort to make sure that they stayed focused on what really mattered when it came to getting married: becoming husband and wife.

They decided to have their wedding at The Park Savoy Estate, a venue large enough to fit their 225 guests while still maintaining an intimate atmosphere.

Four days before the big day, Kristina went in for her final dress fitting at the bridal store where she purchased the gown. There, she discovered that the dress had been drastically taken in and no longer fit.

Fortunately, the store offered her any dress she wanted for free. She selected an $11,000 Lazaro gown that she says far surpassed her original dress.

On the morning of Dec. 6, 2013, Kristina and Richard woke up — in separate rooms — to a downpour outside. But they weren't going to let the weather ruin any part of their day.

After a stressful morning managing their wedding parties, Kristina and Richard were itching to see one another. They decided to do a "first look" with just the two of them before the ceremony began.

Then, with her mother by her side, Kristina walked down the aisle to her groom while a pianist played "La Boheme" by John Bayless. The song held special significance for Kristina, whose father had passed away before her wedding day — when she was a little girl, he used to play it to put her to sleep.

After being pronounced husband and wife, the brand-new Mr. and Mrs. Fretz left the ceremony and escaped to a private room to spend 20 minutes alone together to soak in the day.

They then joined their guests for cocktails, dinner and toasts, when one very special guest was able to make an appearance. A video played of her dad at her 16th birthday party giving a toast that was also appropriate for their wedding day.

The remainder of the evening was spent dancing, and because it was a December wedding, Santa even made an appearance to hand out wedding favors.

Now, six months later, the newlyweds are enjoying life in New Jersey and itching to buy a house together.

“We’re just happy,” Kristina says.