Real Weddings Magazine - Summer/Fall 2018

eal weddings
JAMIE & LUCAS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEY TEASLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
Jamie was born and raised in the relatively small town
of Lodi, and even though Luke moved there when he
was nine, they didn’t meet until 2013...after they both
had moved away.
Luke knew right away that Jamie was special. “When
I first saw her, I thought, ‘Wow, what a beautiful woman.’
Then I got to know her and realized how kind and smart
she is. I knew from that moment on that I wanted to spend
the rest of my life with her,” he recalls.
After dating for 18 months, he proposed on Christmas
Eve (which happens to also be his birthday) in front of
her entire family. “I had no idea it was coming. If I had, I
wouldn’t have worn an ugly Christmas sweater to dinner,”
Jamie says.
The couple started planning for their fall wedding
at Mettler Family Vineyards in their shared hometown.
Jamie knew she wanted to have all of their family and
friends in attendance, which quickly added up to more
than 125 people. Such a large crowd was a strain on the
budget, but the couple saved by having Jamie tackle
a lot of the details herself, with help from her trusted
bridesmaids and a bevy of online checklists.
The couple had a traditional ceremony, but chose not
to say their vows in front of their friends and family and
instead keep them private between themselves. Jamie’s
uncle officiated the outdoor ceremony, with a lovely pond
and trees backing the bride and groom.
After enjoying a delicious buffet dinner by Angelina’s
Spaghetti House, they had speeches by the best man,
matron of honor, family, and friends, which the couple recalls
as a particularly special memory. There was dancing,
a garter toss, a bouquet toss, special dances—all of those
beloved classic wedding moments.
Their traditional three-tier buttercream
cake included fresh strawberries separating
the layers with their favorite flavors: lemon,
pink Champagne and vanilla. One of Jamie’s
favorite touches was the custom, handmade
clay bride and groom figures on top of the cake,
decorated to look like the couple (down to the
bride’s nursing cap).
Looking back, Jamie recalls that her favorite
moment of the day wasn’t during the ceremony
(which was a close second), but rather
when they were introduced as husband and
wife for the first time at the reception. “Getting
ready and enjoying the ceremony wasn’t
stressful, but I still felt as if I had been holding
my breath all day and could finally breathe
and truly enjoy the rest of our night,” she says.
For Luke, the best part of the day was seeing his
beautiful bride finally walking down the aisle toward him.
“It was impossible to hold back the tears. I had waited so
long for that moment. It made all the planning and stress
worth it,” he says. OO
—Jennifer Resnicke
136 | REAL WEDDINGS SUMMER/FALL 2018 REALWEDDINGSMAG.COM