Fantasy wedding couple showered with gifts, good wishes

By: PATTI MAGEE - Staff Writer | Sunday, May 23, 2004 9:23 PM PDT ∞

FALLBROOK ---- Dozens of Fallbrook residents joined family and friends of fantasy wedding couple Marine Sgt. John Plager and Patricia Villarreal Sunday to shower them with gifts and good wishes at a brunch at Sourdough Pizza.

Plager, 23, who is stationed at Camp Pendleton, and Villarreal, 25, a cardiac care nurse, were the winners of a fantasy wedding that Fallbrook businesses are giving a military couple for the second consecutive year. Overall, the package is valued at about $30,000.

At the shower, which was part of the couple's prize, about 40 guests feasted on a buffet of eggs, pastries, fruit and desserts on the festively decorated restaurant patio. They watched the couple open gifts given by friends and donated by local merchants.

Gifts ran the gamut from silverware and knives to picture frames, vases and gift certificates. Villarreal also received some things just for her, including lingerie, and hair and beauty products.

Plager and Villarreal will marry June 13 at the Grand Tradition, followed by a reception at Pala Mesa Resort.

The wedding is extra meaningful now, the couple said, because Villarreal recently learned he will be sent to Iraq a few weeks after the ceremony. He said he expects to be there about three months.

"That makes this all the more poignant, and I think they'll savor this even more," said Rev. Michael Cartwright, a nondenominational minister who is on the fantasy wedding committee and who performed the ceremony for last year's winner. "They're such a nice, hardworking couple."

Another minister, Rev. Richard Malolepsy, will perform this year's ceremony.

The couple met in a dance club. Plager was a friend of her cousin, who introduced them to one another. Plager popped the question to Villarreal during a Hawaiian vacation they took last July.

Ruthie Harris, who owns Sourdough Pizza with her husband, John, said she was delighted to host the event.

"It turned out wonderful ---- absolutely beautiful," she said. "This is a chance for us to give back to the military because the military does so much for us. This is just a small token of our appreciation."

The couple said Sunday they were thrilled at the community's generosity.

"Everything's gorgeous," Villarreal said. "We're so grateful they're doing this, and it's something we'll always remember. This will be a great story to tell our kids."

Plager added: "It's kind of shocking; we never expected this, but we really appreciate it."

His mother, Santee resident Cheryl Mason, called Fallbrook's gift "a pleasant surprise."

Plager's aunt, Angela Nitsche of Apple Valley, said she was thrilled her nephew and his fiancee were picked.

"I'm so jazzed for them," she said. "Everyone has pulled together and that's not something you see very often."

Villarreal's mother, Yvonne Villarreal of Riverside, said she was especially pleased to see the couple get so much help with the wedding during the otherwise stressful period before her future son-in-law's deployment.

"It's so nice the whole community has put this together for them," she said. "I'm so happy my daughter doesn't have to go through all the stress of planning the wedding."

Among the businesses providing gifts at Sunday's shower were The Collector, Fallbrook Fine Art, Pinnell Gallery, Myrtle Creek Nursery, Lavender Dreams, Temecula Valley Bank, A Few of Our Favorite Things, Finders Keepers, At Home on Main Street and Mane Attraction.

The Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce donated a basket filled with an assortment of gifts, many with an avocado theme.

Contact staff writer Patti Magee at (760) 731-5797 or pmagee@nctimes.com.