Saturday, February 16, 2008

Tomé bride and fiance win their Dream Wedding

Jackie Schlotfeldt News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jschlotfeldt@news-bulletin.com

Tomé It was a dream come true for Nicole Aragon and Joshua Sers, a young couple planning to tie the knot this spring. They can start packing for Italy.

They learned that they were the winners of the first New Mexico Dream Wedding giveaway Monday evening during a private announcement party at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Albuquerque.

Aragon and Sers competed against 600 applicants vying for the dream- wedding package worth $50,000. As the winners, Aragon and Sers will receive everything needed to put on an elegant wedding, from the attire to the flowers, cake, caterer, music and photographer. Their dream package will also include an all-expense-paid, seven-day honeymoon getaway to Italy.

After the list of 600 hopefuls was narrowed down to five couples, they campaigned hard to receive the most online votes from New Mexico residents over a three-day voting period.

Laine Quirk, co-producer and owner of Starlight Event Design in Albuquerque, said they received approximately 5,000 online votes split among the five finalists.

"They (Aragon and Sers) were the clear winner," Quirk said in a telephone interview. "I think they earned it, and they are a very wonderful couple."

Aragon said all of the couples were excited and nervous going into the final phase of the contest prior to the announcement. Aragon said she and Sers, along with family and friends, worked very hard the weekend of the voting and she believes they won because of that and ultimately because of their faith.

"We're so excited," Aragon said in a telephone interview. "We're still asking each other if it's real."

Sers, too, is still overwhelmed, and he said it still hasn't really sunk in yet.

"I didn't know what to say," Sers said when they announced they had won. "I was speechless."

Aragon said it was amazing to see their family and friends come together and work so hard for them. The weekend of the voting, Aragon and Sers, along with their supporters, were busy handing out flyers, campaigning at the University of New Mexico, hitting establishments such as Starbucks and Flying Star, all which have wireless Internet access in addition to attending the Saturday night Lobo game. Their story was also featured in the News-Bulletin.

"We were so exhausted," Aragon admits. "Now, we're just trying to grasp all of it at once."

But all the work was worth it.

The bride and groom-to-be will now finish planning their wedding, utilizing services from sponsors such as Tux Rentals by Mr. Tux, Mark Diamond Jewelers, Rio Grande Travel and Manning Florist.

"It doesn't seem real," Aragon and Sers both said. "We're so thankful."

Sers said they hope to be involved with the next group of engaged couples vying to be the second New Mexico Dream Wedding winner. He said he knows this experience will open many doors for him and his fiance and said he hoped it will do the same for Quirk and co- producer Susan Caplan, owner of Patisserie C, Creative Cakes and Cookies in Albuquerque as well.

"Thank you to everyone - our friends and family and to everyone in Valencia County for supporting us," Sers said.

"It's just so hard to put into words," Aragon said. "It was a night we'll never forget. We want to thank our family and friends and the readers for voting."

Quirk said they've had an overwhelming response to the first dream-wedding giveaway and they have hundreds of inquiries interested in next year's event.

"We're pleasantly pleased with how it's grown so quickly, and every ounce of hard work was there in that moment," Quirk said of the instant they announced the winner. "We're proud to have Nicole and Joshua as our first winners."

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