Real Weddings: Jesa & Rob
Event Rentals: Party Rentals LTD | Photography: Oh! Darling Photography | Catering: Prestige Caterers | Invitations: Shadow Boxer Ink
Unlike most couples, Jesa and Rob have been engaged not just once, but twice. Rob had first popped the question two and a half years into their relationship, under the Brooklyn Bridge. The couple wasn’t quite ready for a wedding, and kept nuptial plans at bay for several years. After spending some time apart, “we quickly realized we were the best versions of ourselves together, as a couple,” says Jesa. It wasn’t long before their relationship was back on. Over dinner one night, Jesa mentioned to Rob, “I think we should get married,” and Rob was hard pressed to hide his excitement. A few weeks later, at Jesa’s 31st birthday dinner, he presented her with a newly set engagement ring and asked her to be his wife one more time. After 10 years of dating, Jesa and Rob were once again engaged and this time they were ready to take the next step.
All of Jesa’s wedding inspiration began with a single doily. Her great grandmother, soon to be 105 years old, had made doilies her entire life and always gave them to her family as gifts. Jesa treasured hers and when she saw a photo of doilies sewn together to create a table runner, she knew that it was the perfect way for her to incorporate sentimental elements in their chic, DIY-inspired celebration. She scoured antique shops for a total of 400 vintage doilies and laid them out on the kitchen floor, sewing them together by hand, with the help of a friend. It was the perfect starting point for her in creating a personal wedding celebration. “We wanted all of our guests, from their diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, to see a bit more about us, our sentimental feelings about family and history, and set the overall mood of the evening to be very intimate,” Jesa says.
Black and white photos of the couple’s ancestors, dating back to the 1800’s, were placed at the reception to add to the wedding’s sentimental appeal. Instead of a guest book, the bride and groom created a “Fingerprint Tree” in which guests stamped their fingerprints onto the leaves of a drawing of a tree that was made to resemble the one they had been married under. At each place setting, paper place mats with word search puzzles awaited guests, each customized with special words about Jesa and Rob’s relationship.
Burlap bags stuffed with locally grown apples were given to each of the guests as favors, stamped with “Eat, Drink, and be Married”. Jesa had ordered the custom made stamp online and recruited her maid of honor to help assemble the bags.
Jesa and Rob said their vows under a chuppah they made themselves. Upon arriving at the ceremony, each of their female guests was presented with an antique handkerchief when they arrived, “In case they wanted to shed a tear or two,” says Jesa. Her bouquet was wrapped in a piece of delicate fabric salvaged from her mother’s veil, and secured with her grandmother’s antique brooch. Rob was equally as dolled up in DIY-duds, his suit having been custom made by a friend, a vintage handkerchief stuffed in his breast pocket, and antique cufflinks that perfectly matched Jesa’s gown.
For the bride and groom, all of the DIY projects they undertook in preparation for the wedding were not only fun, but served the purpose of expressing themselves to their guests, “Remember, your guests are there to celebrate you and your wedding. Some people may be family members or friends of your parents that don’t know you very well, so share a bit about yourself and the couple you’ve become through your décor, music or food, and wine selections. They will appreciate the effort you made to make them feel at home.”