Unique Custom Wedding Outfits and a Wedding in the Redwoods

Among the Redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains, Jamie and Jessica married in non-traditional wedding outfits, honored family who had passed away and had a surprise performance from one bride to another.

Tell us about meeting in the Instagram DM’s.

Jessica and Jamie are both from different parts of the country. Jessica is from California, and Jamie is from New Jersey. They met on Instagram before DMs were around through a hashtag called #lezziegram. They weren’t looking for love, but fate had other plans.

They started talking to each other, and after a while, Jessica decided to move to New Jersey to live with Jamie. They loved showing each other their ‘sides’ of the country and indulging each other in their cultures and passions.

Tell us more about needing to pause wedding planning.

In 2019, they moved to the west coast where Jamie received a job at Google, and Jessica continued on her 17-year journey as a massage therapist. They always knew they wanted to get married, but several odds were against them. Financial struggles, personal struggles, and deaths in their family made it difficult for them to plan their wedding.

In 2018, while preparing for their move across the country, Jamie’s father was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. It was a trialing time for them all, and they wanted to include him in their journey to marriage. They decided to pull off a wedding in 2020, but then COVID happened.

They went back and forth to Massachusetts to care for Jamie’s father during his battle with cancer. They tried to find ways to get married with all their family, but COVID made it almost impossible and unsafe. They couldn’t risk anyone getting sick on their dime. Jamie’s father was declining rapidly, and he passed in January of 2021. They were heartbroken that they couldn’t get married safely with him there and had to find ways to move forward with their future.

Tell us about planning your wedding in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

When they were ready, they decided that they deserved a beautiful wedding to celebrate their love and all that they’d withstood together. They set their eyes on planning and toured the Bay Area to see if they could find a local venue near them. The first place they toured completely blew their minds, and they couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was Nestldown in Los Gatos. They splurged on this place to make it a part of their journey. The location was magical, nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains, surrounded by Redwood Trees. As nature lovers, they felt that this location would represent who they are and would be an absolute treat for their guests.

They wanted every aspect of their wedding to be meaningful, intentional, on purpose, and thoughtfully done. They chose to have wildflowers and limit the amount of floral as the venue was naturally beautiful in itself.

They had freshly cut fruit and different-colored apothecary glasses with simple floral over wood slices and floating candles. Their seating chart was an Instagram page that reflected how they met. The food was colorful with plenty of vegan options and a custom rainbow cake with gold flakes with a topper that said: “It’s About Damn Time.”

They knew the weather in the early fall could go either way, from the 50’s to 70’s and possibly rain – so they decided to have Turkish Towels as their giveaway in case guests got cold. The venue has limited space options, so they were intentional with who they invited.

Tell us about your non-traditional wedding outfits.

Jessica wanted a more traditional wedding dress, and Jamie chose something non-traditional as she was never comfortable wearing dresses. Jamie wanted a funky and unique outfit that would reflect her style and personality – both glam/femme with some swag – but not a suit.

She couldn’t find anything that she envisioned herself wearing in all the bridal stores.

So, she researched androgynous styles and LGBTQ+-friendly design studios in the US, fell upon The Tailory in NYC, and decided to give them a go. Jamie figured she could visit her family in NJ each time they had to fly in for fittings.

The Tailory and Jamie designed a custom outfit that was a surprise to everyone – even Jessica – who LOVED it upon seeing her for their first look.

Tell us about going through with the wedding, despite grieving a parents death.

Three weeks before their wedding, they got the awful news that Jessica’s Dad had suddenly passed away. This was such a heavy and difficult time for them as one of the most joyous moments they’d been waiting for took a horrible turn. They were caught between one of the most devastating experiences and one of the most exciting, joyous experiences of their lives.

While Jess was grieving the sudden loss of her father, Jamie rush-ordered items to have as memorials to honor her Dad, to go alongside her Dad’s memorial.

So many adjustments were made in their ceremony and other little details. They were in a tragic state when they would otherwise be super excited and happy. It was truly the biggest test of their life- to pull through and enjoy the wedding.

With the help of family, friends and an amazing officiant – Jamie and Jessica were able to pull it together to make the best of their day. The photos truly captured the magic of that day. In one moment during the vows, the sun shone upon Jessica, and they both felt this beautiful presence of their Dad’s with them.

Tell us about a very special surprise performance.

Jamie had planned to surprise Jessica with a remake of the Schitt’s Creek scene where David serenades Patrick with Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’ and even ordered the shirt David Rose wore for it. It was a perfect moment for Jess, who deep down was still hurting over her Dad, and Jamie hoped to make her feel extremely special at the center of the room while she performed for her in front of 100 people. She was so surprised and guests had tears in their eyes. Jamie was able to pull off an epic serenade for her, which also aligned with their bridal shower that was also Schitt’s Creek themed. Intention was our theme – everything had meaning.

Jamie and Jessica’s guests were in awe of their strength and love, the beauty and spirituality of the venue and to this day, their guests said it was one of the most magical and beautiful weddings they’ve been to.

To showcase their fun side, they put on fun glitter jackets to dance through the night, and their families and friends from both coasts and from all over the world (as far as Australia) helped them celebrate their fairytale wedding in the forest.