It’s a short message, but it means a lot for a local couple in love.
“We won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” reads the email from Jason Schnitzer, Los Alamitos High School grad.
With that, Schnizter and fiancee Briana Hainley announced their victory in the Brides Live Wedding contest — an all-expenses-paid wedding at St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, complete with a free tux, free dress, free wedding rings and a free Cayman Islands honeymoon.
You can watch the tearful reaction video above as they find out they're the big winners Thursday night from editors at Brides Magazine, which sponsored the contest.
“We are both totally ecstatic,” said Schnitzer, in a phone conversation with Patch Friday. “It’s pretty unexplainable.”
"It’s nice to go from stressing out about how this is all going to come together to 'Wow, we can sit back, and relax and really enjoy the ride,'" he added.
According to Schnitzer, this weekend Hainley will travel to New York, where she'll learn more about her upcoming big day and get fitted for her wedding dresses. (Facebook fans get to choose which one of four she’ll wear.)
Both grew up in Long Beach. A 2005 Griffin alum who used to live in Rossmoor, Schnizter works as a realtor at Re/Max Tiffany and Hainley teaches kindergarten at Cerritos School in Anaheim.
Schnitzer and Hainley were one of three finalist couples in the contest. From Feb. 10 to Feb. 17, editors from Brides asked people to vote on Facebook for the winning couple.
You can find out more about their story here https://www.facebook.com/BridesLiveWedding/app_391065797632914 and you can watch their personal video here.
Now, from Feb. 25 through March 26, Facebook users will get to vote for what type of gown, shoes, tux, rings and registry items the winning couple should have at their wedding.
Schnitzer and Hainley will get a wedding cake baked and decorated by Buddy “The Cake Boss” Valastro of the world-renowned Carlo’s Bakery. Event designers Mayra Castillo and Xochitl Gonzalez of AaB Creates will orchestrate the big day.
Locals can tune in 7 p.m. April 7 Eastern Standard Time to see the entire wedding streamed live on at facebook.com/brideslivewedding.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Hainley as working at Cerritos Elementary School in Cerritos. Hainley works as a kindergarten teacher at Cerritos School in Anaheim.
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