Jess and Janae’s White Wedding at The Bauer in the snow was a magical celebration that brought the beauty of winter to life.

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Photographer: epagaFOTO   Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Bauer   Gown: The Lace Loft   Menswear: Men’s Wearhouse   Bridesmaid Dresses: Modcloth, Target, Von Maur   Florist: The Blaithin Blair Shop   Invitations: Cyclone Press   Hair & Makeup: The Style Room   Pies: Kenna Brooks   Coffee Service: PT’s at the Crossroads
Jesse & Janae’s Love Story Jesse and I have known each other since kindergarten. He lived in the same neighborhood as my best guy friends, and they would walk to his house to play with him, but I was never allowed to go with them because it was “boys only”. We ran in the same groups growing up but didn’t become friends until he started coming to my church when we were twelve. If you ask him, this is when he knew we were going to get married. If you asked me, I would say this is when I became friends with the coolest guy around. We stayed best friends all through high school and my first year of community college. Our relationship stayed the same: him crushing on me and me cluelessly “friend zoning” him. One random Monday, we went on a run together and something was different. I decided I might have a crush on Jesse, so I went into action. We planned a Lord of the Rings marathon for that Wednesday, and I decided it was time to kill the friend zone. I didn’t even know if Jesse liked me, but there was a huge elephant in the room and I was pretty sure something was going on. We started a movie one of three per usual, as best friends hanging out in my parents’ living room and we ended movie three as boyfriend and girlfriend. Jesse and I are big picnic’ers. It is an inexpensive way to go out on a date while still getting to have meaningful time together. It is also a great way to fuel my unhealthy obsession with collecting vintage picnic baskets. Jesse took me on a picnic to Loose Park on Thursday afternoon under a tree where we had picnicked before. He had prepped this picnic and used my favorite picnic basket and vintage plates. He also surprised me by bringing along these mugs that he had bought us when we were 12 years old, which we had dubbed our “friendship mugs.” My mug had broken years ago, but he somehow found a replacement and surprised me by bringing it on our picnic. As we were getting up to leave, he covered my eyes. When I opened my eyes, there were all these little twinkle lights in the tree and he was down on one knee, holding the most beautiful vintage ring I had ever seen. I cried….a lot… and after about five minutes actually put the ring on. I was never that girl that sat around planning the “perfect wedding.” To me, the perfect wedding would be perfect because I was with the perfect guy. I landed on having dried lavender as the main floral piece, and from there grew this whole event that I don’t think could have worked for anyone else. We had lots of random vintage pieces, different tablecloths on each table, and we threw fresh eucalyptus in there randomly. We also had a coffee theme. We had an espresso bar for the cocktail hour and gave out hand-painted mugs as favors. My family observes a lot of Jewish traditions and Jesse’s parents are Christian missionaries, so we had a fusion of every beautiful tradition we wanted in our ceremony. We had the best wedding ever. It was only possible because we had so many people who were taking care of us the whole day. Special Pieces The ceremony took place under a Chuppah that Jesse and his dad built, which made it feel like we had our own private ceremony. We were married by my godfather, whom I have known since birth and Jesse has looked up to since middle school. We finished the ceremony with the breaking of the glass, a tradition to say “may the worst part of your marriage be a broken dish”. The Groom’s Favorite Part of the Day I think every groom could agree with me in saying that the first time they saw their bride was the most amazing and special part of the day. But, having everyone there that helped out and supported us throughout our relationship was a close second. Without those people around us, the place wouldn’t have looked as perfect as it did. Certainly, nothing would have gone as smoothly as it did. My favorite investment was definitely the Chuppah. Walking down the aisle, seeing how beautiful a few pieces of wood could be just made me so proud and happy. The Bride’s Favorite Part of the Day My favorite part of the wedding was definitely the ceremony. I loved hearing the cello and seeing and seeing the best smile in the world on Jesse’s face. The whole thing just felt so personal and…right. I loved it.