Exclusive: ‘Marrying Millions’ Couple Sean Lourdes and Megan Thomas Share Their Wedding Album
Sean Lourdes and Megan Thomas are rich in love. The Marrying Millions couple exchanged vows in an intimate California wedding that aired during the finale of the new Lifetime series on September 11. The show follows six couples who come from extremely different financial situations. Lourdes, 36, is the millionaire director of The Lourdes Foundation. Thomas, 25, comes from a working-class family in California.
The couple met when Thomas, a model, was studying at the University of California in Los Angeles. She applied for a position at The Lourdes Foundation, and her application immediately caught Lourdes’ attention. “I was already super impressed by her resume—she was on the Dean’s List at UCLA, was the Valedictorian of her high school, and was even signed with Elite Models, among other impressive accomplishments,” Lourdes tells The Knot.
After Lourdes spent a year-and-a-half of pursuing Thomas, they finally met to get a drink. “We had an immediate, intense and real connection from the moment we met, and we’ve been inseparable ever since,” he says. “The rest is history.”
Despite the backlash from Lourdes’ family questioning Thomas’ motives, the couple fell in love, got engaged, and had a child, their son Sean Jr. Picturing a millionaire like Sean Lourdes proposing may conjure images of fancy restaurants, private jets, or expensive clothing, but Lourdes knew that’s not what Thomas wanted.
Photo by Michelle Beller
THE PROPOSAL
“[Megan] loves the simple things in life and is very spontaneous, so I knew that I needed to plan something in a way that she’d appreciate the most,” Lourdes says.
On the day they got engaged, Thomas says Lourdes “randomly” asked her to go for a walk. She thought it was unusual (Lourdes typically works during the day), but she decided to go. They walked to their favorite bench in Central Park, and Lourdes romantically carved their initials into it. Thomas recalls how it was a chilly fall day, so she asked him if she could borrow his coat—but he said no. “Little did I know, the ring was in his jacket pocket,” she laughs to The Knot.
Then they walked over to their favorite lake, where Lourdes asked a group of tourists to take their picture (in reality, he asked them to take video). He surprised Thomas by proposing to her right then and there. “I’m normally pretty shy, but I started screaming and crying. I didn’t even care that everyone was looking at us, because I was just so happy and taking it all in” she says.
Photo by Michelle Beller
THE RING
Lourdes proposed with a clear emerald-cut stone set inside a ring of smaller diamonds. The silver band is also covered in smaller diamonds.
THE VENUE
“Originally, we wanted to have the most over-the-top wedding imaginable—everything from helicopters to Cirque Du Soleil acrobats hanging from chandeliers,” Thomas says. But the couple later decided that an intimate wedding near the ocean was a better fit for them. They settled on Cypress Sea Cove, a private estate in Malibu with 180-degree ocean views. “Malibu is a special place for us because that’s where we’ve built our lives together, and we raised our son there after he was born,” Thomas explains.
Photo by Michelle Beller
The couple worked with their event designer and wedding planner, Lindsey Hartsough, and her team at Magnolia Event Design to turn the space into their dream venue.
THE STYLE
Thomas tells The Knot that it was important for the wedding to be elegant, classy and romantic. The color palette was neutral, consisting mostly of whites and greens—plus one special accent color. “Pink is my favorite color, so we made sure there were pops of pink everywhere on top of white and sparkly accents,” Thomas says.
Photo by Michelle Beller
THE FLOWERS
“I have always wanted to get married at an altar covered in florals, so we made sure that it was decked out with flowers from Rockrose Floral Design,” Thomas says. The glamorous altar installment consisted of white orchid clusters, white hydrangeas, blush roses, white garden roses, pink spray roses, and greenery. At the front of the aisle, there were big bouquets of white hydrangeas and blush pink roses for a grand effect. The aisle was also covered in pink and white petals.
Photo by Michelle Beller
Photo by Michelle Beller
THE DRESS
When asked about her dress, Thomas says it was love at first sight. “I fell in love with this dress the first time I tried it on,” she says. She says she wanted the dress to be as romantic as the wedding itself, which is why she knew the Odesza gown by Winnie Couture was the perfect choice. The glamorous full ball gown has a sheer, beaded lace bodice with exposed boning and off-the-shoulder beaded lace cuffs. To complete the look, Thomas wore a dramatic, cathedral-lace embroidered cape (also from Winnie Couture).
Photo by Michelle Beller
For Lourdes, seeing his fiancée in her dress was one of his favorite moments of the day. “When I first saw Megan walking down the aisle, it was breathtaking,” he says. “I obviously see her every day, but this was such a different experience. Everything from the way her hair, makeup and dress looked under the warm sunlight and in perfect breeze to the way she physically walked down the aisle, carrying herself as the strong, intelligent and beautiful woman she is.”
THE FOOD
Both Lourdes and Thomas are vegan, so it was important for the couple to have a high-end, fully vegan wedding. “The drinks, the food, the desserts—literally everything,” Thomas says. The couple worked with Serves You Right! Catering by Michele Gan, since the company was willing to let them customize their menu with fresh, seasonal and local food.
Photo by Michelle Beller
For cocktail hour, guests snacked on yummy bites like mini sweet potato black bean burgers, spicy cauliflower tacos, and fried “chick’n” and mini waffles. The dinner menu consisted of a seasonal red-leaf lettuce salad for the first course and a duo plate of pesto mushroom “scallops” and rigatoni “Bolognese” for the main course.
Photo by Michelle Beller
THE RECEPTION
The reception took place on the lawn of Cypress Cove. For Lourdes, it was important to do something amazing for the celebration—so he asked his friend David Foster to help him secure a surprise performer. Lourdes and Thomas are huge fans of American Idol, so Foster helped Lourdes book Pia Toscano, a favorite on season ten of the singing competition. She sang “The Prayer” by David Foster for their first dance, accompanied by Michael Orland (also from American Idol). “We were thrilled because she is such an epic performer and can literally hit any note, and she knocked it out of the park,” he says.
Photo by Michelle Beller
After dinner, the couple and their guests danced on a monogrammed dance floor to music by Elite Disc Jockey. “My favorite part overall was having everyone that’s important to us all coming together in one place at one time on one of the most special days of our lives,” she tells The Knot. “I have been dreaming of this day since I was a little girl, and it was truly an unreal experience finally seeing it come to life.”
When the festivities were over, the couple drove off in a brand new Lamborghini that Lourdes surprised Thomas with that night.
Photo by Michelle Beller
THE TAKEAWAY
While the couple originally thought they wanted a big, lavish wedding, they ended up agreeing that a small, intimate oceanside celebration was better for them. Thomas’ advice for to-be-weds is to be honest about what you want for your wedding day—after all it’s your day. “Don’t settle with anything in your life—not only with your partner, but also with what you want for your dream wedding, because it only happens once,” she says.
Lourdes added that it’s important to enjoy the moment. “Don’t let the stress of the wedding get in the way of you being completely present and appreciative of every minute during your wedding,” he says. “At the end of the day, this moment is about celebrating the love you have with the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.”
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