Real Weddings Magazine - Summer/Fall 2018

eal weddings
KARISA & JACOB
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIEA RUMMEL PHOTOGRAPHY
Jake proposed to Karisa when she was nine
months pregnant with their son. “Although I
knew he was planning on proposing soon, I had
no idea it was coming,” she says. “Jake is a very
simple guy and took me
on a walk to get me out
of the house. The entire
walk he was telling me
how excited he was for
our baby boy to be born
and how much he loved
me. Toward the end of
our walk, he got down
on one knee and proposed
on a bridge near
our house. It was so cute
and simple—just the way
we like things!”
Since her maternity
leave coincided with the
proposal, she jumped
right in to making calls and booking vendors.
“I hopped on Pinterest that evening and started
pinning everything I loved,” she says. “I tried
to book and plan a majority of the wedding
early on, so I could focus on the more detailoriented
things toward the end.” Karisa loved
the planning, especially sharing the experience
with Jake. “Jake really trusted the vision I had for
our wedding, so we got along great. He really let
me decide on most things, but definitely was not
afraid to express his opinion,” she says.
Once she went back to work, they relied on
family to help with the various tasks. “We had
so many things going on. It was really hard to
find time to go and look at venues, or meet with
caterers,” she says. “My father actually picked up
cake testers from Divine Desserts and dropped
them off so that Jake and
I could taste cakes in our
pajamas on the couch—
that was so fun!”
As the big day arrived,
Karisa was hopeful
that her vision would
come to life. “It honestly
turned out better than I
could have ever imagined
in my head and I
have so many people to
thank for that, especially
my mama,” she says.
As she prepared to
walk down the aisle, the
butterflies began.
“I was so nervous that I was going to trip, or
mess up my vows, or cry uncontrollably,” she
says. “I drank a glass of Champagne about five
minutes before I walked down the aisle and that
really helped take the edge off!”
After the ceremony, Karisa and Jake were
overcome with happiness. “I remember feeling
so relieved when the ceremony was over, then
getting on the back of the golf cart with my
new husband and being so excited for the
evening,” she says. “I don’t think I have ever
been so happy in my life!” OO
— Kourtney Jason
168 | REAL WEDDINGS SUMMER/FALL 2018 REALWEDDINGSMAG.COM