Wedding

October 2, 2021 was the day we finally said I do. And yes! It rained. It poured. It flooded the area in some parts. And as of noon that day, there was no chance for precipitation! We still decided to have our ceremony outdoors, at the beautiful Bells Bend Park here in Tennessee, and just gathered under a tree. A friend told me it was extra beautiful because we were all there together as if we were under a birds wing, and it gave me such a relief because we were worried it would ruin everything. It only made it more special.

I designed the stationery and had them printed locally on a risograph printer in two colors. The ornate drawings feature tomatoes to represent Tennessee, and a JAM monogram to represent our family; Jared, Andalyn, Mylan. (Pearl choker from Cult Gaia / Photo by Tiffany Bessire)

While the boys got ready at home, my sister and I got ready at the Urban Cowboy in the ‘The Muse’ room. She is wearing a flowy, off-the-shoulder rust-colored maxi dress that complimented her warm features, and I am wearing Flora. I love how it shimmered in the light. (Wedding photos by Tiffany Bessire)

This is an important photo to me because we bustled my dress once it started to rain, and sadly forgot to undo it before the ceremony! The puff sleeves are my absolute favorite part, but there are many beautiful details. I topped off my look with a gold beaded headband in leiu of a veil. (Dress is the Sandra by Flora, from The Dress Theory Nashville / Headband is from Etsy: OlgaDelice )

My mom painted on these little wooden signs to lead the way to where the ceremony was held. It wasn’t a long walk in the park, but we had a golf cart valet driven by my youngest brother to escort guests, which was nice to have!

My girls. My sister, Kianna was my sole bridesmaid. My flower girls comprised of (from left) family friend Ollie, niece Kensley, niece Emberlyn, and cousin Remi. There was one more who decided social distancing was best for her (Love you Indie!). The girlies are each wearing a cotton lace dress with a rust satin sash, ballet flats, and baby’s breath crowns.

As it started to sprinkle, the cello and violin duet played Bittersweet symphony from the barn in the background. It was a lovely soundtrack among the green park, and the misting rain. Our closest friends and family were nestled together under a tree canopy - which we had originally planned to protect us from the sun!

Jared, dressed in a green linen suit which he topped off with a white rose once he realized he had misplaced his boutonniere. His mother, Shawnee is seen beside him, and brother Jackson on the other side. I think the raindrops help conceal the tears.

Mylan, looking handsome in a black suit and vans sneakers, walked me down the aisle.

With my sister Kianna, his brother Jackson, and our Mylan, we stood under the baby’s breath arch (that barely made it) and read our vows to one another - all three of us. We had a prayer with our parents, which collectively add up to seven amazing people.

A kiss to seal the deal! Mylan did a little “floss” shimmy before running down the aisle which had us all laughing.

Just married!

He kept us laughing…

The chartreuse yellow field matched Jared’s shirt perfectly.

The rain had passed by now, and all that was left was a mist in the meadow which gave us this amazing background.

Giddy. My bouquet was a simple bunch of cosmos.

Our friend Grant, alongside Tiffany who took photos, filmed the ceremony with a vintage super 8 camera. I am so in love with the results! It captures the mood so perfectly. (Song is This Must Be the Place, performed by Iron & Wine)…

Off to our reception where an even larger group of friends and family were waiting for us. Our wedding planner had these sombreros in her car by chance and let us borrow them for our grand entrance, which was so fun. We accidentally smoked everyone out, so we came in with quite a bang. (Reception photo by Jesse Lendzion)

Instead of cutting a cake, we poured a champagne tower and had a toast to get the party started!

My girlfriends and I put together these funky floral arrangements the night before. They were so fun and bright - the photo doesn’t really do it justice. Not professional by any means but I LOVED them!

At last, it was time to dance. While our guests ate tacos (catered by the delicious Satco!) and sipped on margaritas (from Rosepepper!), I changed into a little fringe number and threw on my favorite clogs since the ground was too wet for stilettos. We had planned to skip our first dance since we didn’t practice the salsa moves enough, but we forgot to tell the band. So when our song came on, “Chan Chan” by Bueno Vista Club, we decided to wing it. It was great.

Giovanni Rodriguez and the 12 Mangoes were amazing. The cuban-inspired band played all the hits with a South American flair that Jared and I love. I’ve never seen our friends and family dance like they did that night.

shenanigans were had.

After all that dancing, we jetted off into our back yard with our people lighting the way.

To our surprise, our wedding planner (love you Mallory!!) and Mylan were waiting for us in the golf cart, adorned with modelo cans. We took off and did a very noisy and joyful lap around the block before coming back to our house. It was such a fun, wet & wild night. 10/10.

Huge thank you & love you to our family & friends who made this so fun and special!