This story about the wedding of Boiseans Ben and Christine Quintana is a part of Treasure Magazine's October/November special bridal edition, which includes several articles to help couples begin their wedding preparations. Read more of the stories by clicking on the links throughout this package or visit IdahoStatesman.com/Treasure.

When Ben Quintana met Christine Agosta at a going-away party for a mutual friend, he asked her for her phone number. She told him to look it up in the phone book. He did.

Their first date was fine dining and fine dress at an upscale Treasure Valley restaurant. The next day, it was baseball caps and Jack in the Box.

"We've been inseparable ever since," said Christine.

"I think we knew we were going to get married after that first Christmas together. ... Our parents became best friends right away," Ben said. "It was obvious we'd be spending holidays with each other's family regardless. We were going to be stuck together anyway."

But there were things do. Degrees to pursue, careers to launch, financial stability to attain.

On the self-proclaimed "slow track," the couple dated for five years, getting engaged in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 2007, and married a year later in Boise's Cathedral of the Rockies - Jan. 19, 2008 - close to the anniversary of their first date.

"We knew we wanted to have a wedding we could enjoy, one that would truly be a celebration of the family and friendships we had made over the years," said Christine. "But I don't think we ever realized we'd be throwing the party of our lives."

"It was the perfect fairy-tale wedding ..." said Christine's mom, Valerie Agosta. "It wasn't too formal, but not too silly. There was humor. And love. And an intimacy that made all of us there feel like we were actually the center of attention."

More than 250 family members and friends attended the Quintanas' early-evening candlelight ceremony at the cathedral, immediately followed by a reception at the Powerhouse Event Center, where hundreds of twinkling white lights were reflected in silver icicles surrounded by elegant touches of light blue trim.

If it was cold outside that night, no one noticed.

PLANNING FOR PERFECTION

Pulling off the Quintanas' storybook festivities was not an easy task, and neither the bride nor groom took it lightly. The top priority: making the wedding a loving, memorable event where family and friends were celebrated right along with the bride and groom. By planning around that goal, the couple truly achieved the wedding of their dreams.

"We actively started planning and saving for a good two years," Ben said, explaining that the couple put their savings into a CD that made enough profit to pay for their cake. "And, of course, I saved a lot for the ring," he grinned.

With Ben taking the budgeting lead as "King of the Spreadsheets," the duo began planning their dream wedding and reception with the goal of making it an intimate, personal experience that would be memorable for all who attended.

"It was really important to us to celebrate our connections to our guests," Christine said. "We wanted to personalize as much as we could. ... I think the extra efforts we took to do that made a huge difference and took the pressure off of us the day of the wedding, so we could concentrate on each other."

"Christine was so relaxed (during the wedding) that she made the rest of us feel that way. She wasn't wrapped up in what we wore or how our shoes looked," said Erika Nielsen, maid of honor, noting that each bridesmaid had the option of wearing a dress of her choosing in a style that suited her best, as long as it was black satin.

"She was more focused on what a special day it was and how excited she was to marry Ben," Erika said. "It was great to witness because so many brides get caught up in the stuff that at the end of the day really doesn't matter. ... I felt like I was a part of something really special."

Since Ben and Christine footed the bill for the festivities, there was not a lot of tension between the families during the planning process, Valerie explained.

"The planning became more about letting everyone do things that were important to them," she said, describing one of her favorite moments at a bridal shower when they played the game "Are You Smarter Than the Bride?"

"I don't think Christine would have thought to do that, or had half as much fun with it as I did, but that was important to me," Valerie said.

MAKING IT PERSONAL

"When we were planning and budgeting, we'd ask ourselves, 'Is this going to make the experience more memorable?' " Christine said. "That was always the deciding factor ... whether it would add to our enjoyment and make the day more fun for our guests."

Extra efforts started early on with a Web site where the couple could post everything from rehearsal dates and schedules, to photos of those in the wedding party, to fun notes on why each participant was special: "Bridesmaid Jinah Yoon and Christine met during MBA program at BSU. Drank many margaritas after class together and she is also Christine's fashion consultant."

Christine made customized cards to ask all seven of her bridesmaids to be in the wedding party; Ben's and Christine's moms made all of the wedding party's jewelry; all favors at the wedding were personalized and Christine had many of her friends help her make them.

All the tables at the reception had a "name" and photos displaying the relevance to the couple: the "Charlie" table was lovingly adorned with photos of Ben and Christine and their "baby," their dog Charlie; the "Tamarack" table featured photos of the couple skiing at one of their favorite resorts. And the "Skydiving" table? Proof that, yes, both of them are just that crazy.

Rather than buy his groomsmen a "thank-you trinket everyone already has," Ben treated his friends to lunch at P.F. Chang's and gave them all "groomsmen survival kits" he filled with bottles of water, aspirin (for the morning after), snacks, small bottles of liquor (to steady their nerves), mints and other small items.

The couple even went so far as to try to include their beloved Charlie, who was on tap to be the ring bearer up until the morning of the wedding.

"The church worked with us on that ... but Charlie is a little spastic and there was the chance he'd jump up on Christine and her dress," Ben said. "At the last minute, we decided we didn't want one of our friends to have to leave the wedding to take him home. But still! How cool would that have been?"

All the pre-planning ... all the personalizing ... it all paid off, Valerie said. "Every person who attended the wedding really added to the atmosphere that was there that day. And Ben and Christine made such an effort to talk to everyone. Everyone felt equally included. It was just wonderful."

"We walked out of the reception going, 'I can't believe that just happened!' " Christine said. "We were seriously on an emotional high. It was the most fun I've ever had."

"It sounds cliche, but it was truly magical," Ben said, reminiscing about the light snow that began to fall as he and Christine left the Powerhouse that evening, newlyweds for all of six hours.

"We are nine months out and we have yet to think of anything that didn't go absolutely perfectly that day."