A wedding Cinderella would love

K. Suihkonen and M. Pucher. ... living in Irvine (Kirsten Ellis/kirstenellis.com)
Meet: Kristen Suihkonen and Mike Pucher. Kristen is the daughter of Andy and Denise Suihkonen of Vacaville. Mike is the son of Michael and Karen Pucher of Redondo Beach.

Mike is a graduate of Torrance's South High School and Santa Barbara's Brooks Institute of Photography, and is now a photographer for Honda R&D in Torrance. Kristen graduated from Vacaville High School and the University of California, Irvine, and is now a senior accountant for Haskell & White in Irvine.

How They Met: In the summer of 2004, Kristin was a student at Irvine and was attending an orientation for a part-time job at Disneyland. Mike, also a college student at the time, was one of the orientation leaders that day. After spotting Kristen in line, Mike asked a co-worker if he could switch orientation groups, so he could get a chance to talk to her. His cooperative co-worker helped change his life, Mike says.

Dating: The two talked and eventually traded e-mail addresses that day. Shortly after, they agreed to meet for a date, to see "Cinderella," as performed by the Royal Ballet of London at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Traffic delays forced them to cancel their pre-performance dinner plans, but they grabbed a quick bite instead and "we both had a great time," Mike recalls. They dated for three years before Mike decided to propose. His family had already figured out he had found his soulmate in Kristen, especially when she became the only person to beat him in Trivial Pursuit.Continued...