Crown Point couple win dream wedding
By Carrie Napoleon Post-Tribune correspondent September 1, 2012 4:40PM
Updated: October 2, 2012 6:08AM
Rigo Garcia and his fiancée, Claudia Hernandez, received the news they have been waiting since Aug. 13 to hear — they are the winners of the national Bridal Guide dream wedding design contest.
The Crown Point couple were among five finalists in the competition to have their pending nuptials designed by celebrity wedding planner David Tutera, star of WE TV’s reality show “My Fair Wedding.”
“I can’t believe we won. I’m shocked,” Hernandez, 34, said Friday. She said she has been living on pins and needles since a last-minute effort to ramp up votes from visitors to the website pushed them into first place with almost 4,000 votes.
After articles in the local media, information quickly circulated on Facebook and was also posted on several community Facebook pages. Hernandez said she was also interviewed by Chicago Sun-Times celebrity reporter Bill Zwecker.
“I almost felt like a celebrity for a week,” Hernandez said of the attention.
For their prize the couple will receive a private consultation for their June wedding planned at Meyer’s Castle in Dyer with Tutera. Hernandez also will receive a Mon Cheri wedding gown designed by Tutera along with Mon Cheri dresses for the bridal party. The groom and his groomsmen will be dressed with tuxedo rentals from Jim’s Formal Wear. The prize also includes wedding day dresses and tuxes for the parents of the couple.
Following their wedding the pair will be whisked away to an all-inclusive honeymoon at Paradisus Playa Del Carmen La Perla in Mexico. Their wedding and honeymoon also will be featured in a late 2013 or early 2014 edition of Bridal Guide.
Hernandez said she is particularly looking forward to the opportunity to talk to Tutera for ideas for her dress and flowers.
Their winning story, submitted by Garcia, 37, can be seen on www.bridalguide.com. Garcia entered the contest unbeknownst to Hernandez by creating a video detailing just what meeting the East Chicago native meant to him.
“It’s been overwhelming. I’m so happy. Couldn’t happen to a better girl,” Garcia said.
He, too, has been caught up in the excitement. Prior to the contest, the couple did not participate in social media and opened a Facebook page and Twitter account to help spread the word.
Garcia said Friday he just received a tweet from Tutera congratulating them. The duo will fly out to California to meet with Tutera and his production crew for their consultation.
Hernandez said she is grateful for all the support and is excited about the opportunity.
“I’m so touched and blessed. Everyone supported us, strangers that didn’t even know us. It was so sweet to see a community come together like this for us,” Hernandez said.
