Serenity and Fire with Krista

The Most Magical Day of My Life: My Surprise Wedding Story

Krista

This week, I’m inviting you into one of the most unforgettable chapters of my life.

What started as a simple spa day with my sister turned into the most magical, thoughtful, love-filled day I could have ever imagined. In this episode, I’m sharing the full story of how my husband secretly planned our engagement, wedding, and reception—all in one day. 

And for those of you wondering—no, I wouldn't have changed a single thing

From the pink limo parked outside the spa, to the iPad proposal with my grandmother’s ring, to walking down the aisle at my dream venue surrounded by the people I love most—this day was straight out of a movie. And I’m still pinching myself that it was mine.

Whether you’re a romantic, a skeptic, or somewhere in between—I hope this story reminds you that sometimes, the best moments in life are the ones you never see coming.

Thanks for being here. 💚

 —Krista

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Serenity and Fire, the podcast where wellness meets grit. I'm your host, krista Guagenti, founder of Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique. Join me as we dive into the intriguing world of biohacking, clean living, cutting edge spa trends and the hustle, grind and grit of entrepreneurship. From my personal battles with weight management, infertility and a 30-year journey to create and launch my dream business to building a sanctuary for those who have been touched by cancer, I'm here to share real talk, inspire big dreams and spark a passion for holistic living inside each and every one of you. So let's dive in. Welcome back to Serenity and Fire. I'm really excited to have you here today because I am going to share the single most amazing day of my life with you and for all the guys out there. Before you tune out and decide to like drop off the podcast, please just give me 10 minutes, because I promise you're going to want to hear this story, and I can also tell you that any of the guys in my life who were part of this also agree that this was really one of the coolest days that they had ever been a part of. So what I'm sharing today is actually my wedding story, and the reason I want to share. It is because, first off, I want to give kudos to my husband because he is quite literally the most amazing human on the planet and that has ever existed, and he doesn't get enough props and enough thanks for me and, if you know me, he puts up with a lot. I have all kinds of wild, crazy ideas. I'm go, go, go 24, seven and I'm late for everything. And he just is so amazing, so supportive, and what he did was he planned a surprise engagement, wedding and reception all in one day. And I love to tell this story because, like nobody's ever done that and every time I tell it, everybody just loves it. So I thought you guys might love it too. So my husband and I have been together almost 17 years and in 2013, it was my birthday and my sister had said hey, I'm coming to Columbus, we're going to do something really awesome for your birthday. My birthday is September 5th and she was coming the following weekend and she said we're going to do a whole spa day and we're like we're going to have massages and facials and scrubs and makeup and like all the things. And I was like, wow, like that's kind of excessive for my birthday, but OK, and she was like well, we've had a really hard year. My grandfather, who helped raise us, passed away very tragically earlier in the year and that's a story that I'll share in another podcast, but he was amazing and it was really really hard on our family. And she's like I just feel like we need something special and so we're going to do this. And I'm like, okay, great.

Speaker 1:

So we go to the spa and we spend the whole day there. We have facials, massages. We had our nails done, makeup done, I had a body scrub, like we had lunch. I literally felt like a goddess, like if somebody would have been there feeding me grapes, I would have been a Greek goddess. It was amazing and okay.

Speaker 1:

So, as we're sitting there having our nails done, I'm like I really need to wash my hair, because we had just gotten up, I crawled out of bed and went straight to the spa and my hair was like so disgusting and greasy and oily. And she's like, yeah, you do. She's like, well, maybe after this service, you can, you know, wash your hair. So we get done having our nails done. And then I had my makeup done and I was like, well, I can't wash my hair now, like I have all this stuff done. And she's like, eh, who cares, we're just going to go back to your house and watch movies. So I was like, yeah, you're right.

Speaker 1:

So we're walking out of the spa after this amazing day and I wasn't paying attention. But she was like dragging behind me, walking super slow, playing around on her iPad. I had no idea what she was doing. And we walk out of the spa and there's this giant pink limo sitting out in front and she's like, oh my God, look at the pink limo, isn't it so cool? And I was like, oh, yeah, like you know, I didn't think too much of it because with Stephanie Spielman here in town and Breast Cancer Awareness Month coming up like we kind of see them a lot around town and she was super excited about it. And little did I know she's standing behind me like nudging her arms and her eyeballs to the driver, like saying that's her. And so the driver says, oh, are you Krista? And I was like yes, and he was like well, this limo is for you. And I'm like what? Okay, like what is going on? And so I get into the limo and in the limo, sitting on the seat is my husband's iPad and there's a note on it that says watch this video and then open this envelope.

Speaker 1:

After you watch the video and there was an envelope sitting next to it, and so my sister and I get in, we turn on the video and in the video he is like well, so you probably figured out that your sister and I have a surprise for you, and I'm sure you think it's for your birthday, but it's not. Then he starts going into all of these things about how much he loves me and how we're best friends and how you know he's loved me since the first day he met me. And then he gets down on one knee and he's like he opens up this ring box and it was so cute because he had it upside down so he like flips it over in the video and he's like I really hope that you'll be um the next, mrs Guageni, I love you so much and I also really hope that you say yes, because if not, this next part is going to be really uncomfortable. And he's like I love you. And he blows me a kiss and the video ends and then in the envelope next to the iPad, I open it and it's my grandmother's diamond ring and, as I mentioned, my grandparents helped my mom raise us. We lived with them. You know, my whole life and we're super close to them, so that ring was super special to me.

Speaker 1:

I'm crying, my sister's crying and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is awesome. And so at this point I'm like, ok, we're, we're having like a surprise engagement party. And I look at her and she's like well, what is your answer? And I'm like, well, I mean of course it's yes. I mean I've been calling him my husband for like the last three years and there was actually this running joke because I would call him my faux husband since we weren't actually married. So his whole family was like oh, you're our faux daughter-in-law and I'm like you're my faux father-in-law, and so it was kind of a funny running thing in the family. And anyways, I'm like I mean, of course yes is the answer. I'm like, but where is he? So I'm like fully expecting him to like hop in the limo with us and take us off out of the limo. And I'm like, ok, this is really weird.

Speaker 1:

But OK, we get out of the limo and we're like just wandering around the parking lot of the spa and I'm like what is going on? And she's meanwhile still filming me on her iPad and I look up and I see my mom and my niece and our two daughters my husband and I have two girls from his previous marriage and my great aunt and my brother-in-law and they're all walking across the parking lot in wedding attire my mom's carrying a wedding dress and she's like we heard someone's getting married today and I was like what the F? I actually said the word and pushed my sister and all of this is on video. It's so awesome. And she's like shaking her head and she's like, yep, she's like you're actually you're getting married today. And I was like, oh my God, and I'm crying and we're all crying. And she's like, okay, stop crying because you're going to ruin your makeup and we have to go back in the spa and we're going to get ready.

Speaker 1:

So we go back into the spa. And it was so cute because when we walked in, the whole entire spa was standing there clapping their hands, celebrating and cheering and this lady comes out and she goes. So I heard you need your hair done. I was like, oh, thank the Lord. And I always tell everyone I'm like, if you ever watched Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo and Juliet movie, in that movie, juliet's mom is planning the big party and she has all of her makeup done and she almost has her clothes on, but she has her hair pulled back and it looks horrible. And she's running around the house like I look horrible. And so that's how I felt it was so funny.

Speaker 1:

So the girl takes me back to the dressing chair. My niece and my sister and my mom and all the girls girls like they're all standing around me at the chair and the hairdresser is like so how do you want to do your hair? And I'm like I have no idea. I'm like I don't know, kind of like 20s ish. And she's like, yeah, that's what I was thinking too. And so the whole thing is so surreal. The girls are all so cute and they're like all so happy. And so I'm texting Jason and I'm like, oh my, my gosh, I cannot believe you're doing this. I'm so excited. Of course, my answer is yes, and he's not messaging me back at all, because little do I know. He's at the wedding venue, like scurrying around trying to get everything prepared.

Speaker 1:

And so, after we get my hair done, they had a changing room at the spa and my sister had the wedding dress, the shoes. My niece had brought all of my jewelry. And what was really cool about that is that when we were having our pedicures done at the spa, my sister had randomly said to me she's like, if Jason ever asked you to marry him, what jewelry do you think you would wear? And I was like, well, that's random, but definitely my pearls, because I'm a pearl junkie. And my niece had went to my house ravaged through my jewelry box and pulled every single piece of pearl jewelry item that she could find and brought it to the spa. So I had all of my pearls that I could wear, my sister's about the same height as me, so they bought a corset dress, so the dress fit perfect and it was the perfect length. We wear the same size of shoes, so the shoes were perfect as well.

Speaker 1:

And so we got dressed and I'm like, okay, where are we getting married? Where are we getting married? And she's like I can't tell you, it's a surprise, like everything's a surprise. And I was like, well, it has to be at the Columbus Conservatory, because Jason knows that if we ever got married, that would be the only place in Columbus that I would want to get married. And she's like I don't know, I can't tell you.

Speaker 1:

And then we walk out of the spa and one of my best friends, who does freelance photography, from Cincinnati, showed up and he was there and he took pictures of us in front of the spa. We actually took the limo down to the arch in the arena district, which is one of my favorite spots in Columbus because that arch is so beautiful, and we took a bunch of pictures down there and it was so cute because in the limo my mom had a engagement gift, a bridal shower gift, a wedding gift and a bachelorette gift. So we opened like all the gifts in the car. It was so cute and at this point like I have no idea who's in the wedding, except obviously our two girls and my niece and my sister and my mom. And so we arrive at the wedding venue and it was the Columbus Conservatory and it was so incredible because we were able to get married out in the Scott's lawn gardens, which have these beautiful pergolas and arches with vines everywhere and you know, those those white lights. Like it was just so awesome. It was like 75 degrees out. It was absolutely stunning.

Speaker 1:

We get there and like I still have no idea who's who else is in the wedding, who's even coming to the wedding? The sun was so bright beaming down on me, so I didn't even I couldn't tell who was there until I was actually physically walking down the aisle, which was really actually kind of cool. We had about 75 of our closest friends and family there. They all were in on it the whole entire time. Nobody spilled the beans at all. It was so awesome. It turned out that my husband's two brothers and his two best friends were actually in the wedding, and it was just awesome. And so my mom walked me down the aisle, which was so sweet. As I'm walking down the aisle, I get about halfway down the aisle and I look to my left and my best friend from Canada, who had never been here before, was there and I literally was so excited. I like jumped into her row to give her a big hug and she's like no, no, like you can't. So I finished walking down the aisle.

Speaker 1:

The pastor starts the ceremony and there's a water fountain behind him and he gets to the part where it's time to say the vows and my husband is like so I was going to write down all of my vows, but I didn't feel like that would be very fair to you. And so I'm just going to speak from the heart. And it was so sweet. He just talked about how much he loves me and how excited he is to spend the rest of his life with me. And then I had to do my vows and I'm like, ok, I have nothing prepared, but this is so amazing and I'm so excited to be here. And I've always I've known that I wanted to marry you since we first started dating and I knew that you knew, even though you didn't want to admit it. So this is incredible and I'm so happy you all are here.

Speaker 1:

And so we finished the ceremony and we're in the receiving line and my best friend from Canada comes up and I'm like, oh my God, I'm so excited that you're here. I can't believe it that you're here. I'm like no-transcript, like and we're having a party. I'm like we're going to have so much fun. This is going to be the, the veranda. So we had like a whole cocktail hour out on the veranda.

Speaker 1:

We went down into the actual conservatory and got to take pictures in the conservatory, and then the basement of the conservatory has a banquet room down there. So we actually had that and were able to have the reception down there. And he later told me after the wedding that he called the conservatory like six weeks before the date of our wedding, and he was like, so I want to plan a wedding for September 14th. And she was like, oh, for like next year or the year after. And he was like, no, like in six weeks. And she was like, um, okay, she's like I doubt we have anything because we usually book a couple of years out, but she's like, let me see what's available. She comes back and she's like I don't know what happened, but we literally have nothing but that day. And she's like so you can have your pick of any venue that you want. And so we were able to basically get the whole entire place. I don't know what happened, I don't know if something got canceled, but it worked out for us. So we have this reception down there and it was so magical because my niece, who is basically like a daughter to me, she has such an incredible singing voice, so she sang our first dance song, which is the Way I Am, by Ingrid Michelson. It was so sweet, something really funny.

Speaker 1:

Going back to the whole faux in-laws and faux husband thing, his dad stood up and he was like so we have a surprise for you, we need you guys to turn around. And so we turned around and we waited a few minutes and he's like OK, you can turn, turn around. And so we turn around and we waited a few minutes and he's like okay, you can turn back around. And we turn back around and my husband's whole family and Jason is one of seven kids they all had put on these black t-shirts with white lettering that say faux, no mo. And so it was awesome. We had dinner and we danced and we drank and my sister gave the bridesmaid speech and his brother did the best man speech and it was honestly like. The whole entire night was so surreal and so magical and everybody's like. You know after the fact.

Speaker 1:

Well, first of all, his mom was a nervous wreck because she was terrified that I would say no after all of this planning. And Jason was like mom, if she says no, like we're just gonna have a big party, he's like. But mom, if she says no, like we're just going to have a big party, he's like. But she's not going to say no, but everyone's like did you like the dress? Like, would you do anything different, like are you okay that he did this? And I was like, oh my God, it was the best thing ever, because I'm such a control freak and such a perfectionist that I would have literally drove myself and him crazy. Like there is a term that bridezilla term exists for a reason and I probably definitely would have been one of them, and he knew that. So he's like I'm just going to take all that stress out of her life. I'm going to plan all of this.

Speaker 1:

It was so amazing because the whole night, like I could like take everything in and not have to think about, okay, what's going to happen next, or this is supposed to be this way, or that is supposed to be this way, like it was so magical, like the whole entire night. So thank you so much for letting me share this. This is truly the most magical, incredible day of my life and I'm excited that I got to share it with all of you. Until the next time, keep balancing serenity with fire. I'm Krista Guageni and I'll see you in the next episode.