Our Real Wedding: May 29, 2021
We had a wonderful experience with Mike Staff! Our photographers and DJ worked so well together and they were all so attentive to our needs. Amy was so organized and James our DJ was so flexible and easy to work with. He kept the party going and he knew how to read the room. Amy got amazing photos of us and we just smile when we look back on our photos! – Happy Bride, Jillian
Our Love Story
Jim and I met on Match.com in 2017 and our adventure began from there! We make each other laugh and just enjoy life together. We got engaged on vacation in 2019 over the Thanksgiving holiday! We had a beautiful dinner on the beach and Jim proposed at sunset in Fort Myers, Florida. I’m so lucky to be able to spend the rest of my life with my best friend!
Our Wedding Photos
We had a wonderful experience with our professional wedding photographer, Amy! She was exactly what we needed, assertive and organized yet fun and creative! The wedding photos were extremely important to us and she did a phenomenal job capturing our special moments throughout the day. The photos are stunning and we are so happy with how they turned out! We are posting our wedding photos on social media as a way to share our special day with those who were unable to attend.
Our Wedding Vision and How the Pandemic Changed Our Plans
When we started planning our wedding, we envisioned a summer wedding with a Church ceremony and a formal reception including our family and friends. We loved the idea of having our reception on the water at MacRay Harbor and I really wanted to incorporate a swan theme in the wedding decor to tie in with the water! Our wedding colors were blue, gold and white.
Fortunately, our wedding plans did not majorly change. We had gotten engaged at the end of 2019-right before the pandemic hit- and we had booked our venue for a year and a half out at the time (summer 2021). We are very grateful that we did not have to postpone our wedding. In the weeks leading up to our wedding, we did have to make some adjustments to accommodate the restrictions but we were fully prepared to do that and they were very minor changes in the grand scheme of things.
Our Favorite Wedding Moments
Some background first: Jim and I are musicians- he plays guitar and I play keyboard. We recorded two versions of the song “Canon in D” together- the classical version and a rock version that we invented. We wanted to play back the recordings during our ceremony. My favorite moment was walking down the aisle while the classical version was playing and sharing in the beauty of that moment with all of our family and friends.
Another favorite moment was when our friends and family joined us on the dance floor at our reception to dance the line dance that Jim and I had created! We made a Youtube dance tutorial with a goofy three-step routine and we featured it on our wedding website so our guests could learn the dance for our wedding reception. It was a huge hit and we had so much fun dancing with everyone!
Jillian and Jame’s Wedding Vendors
- Ceremony: St. Thecla Parish
- Reception: MacRay Harbor
- Florist: VIVIANO Flower Shop
- Bakery: Giovanni’s Bakery
- Wedding Dress: Piera’s Bridal
- Tuxedos: The Tux Shop on Woodward
- Transportation: Limo World
- Hair & Makeup: Bianchi’s Salon
- Rentals: Luxe Linens
- Mike Staff Productions: Wedding DJ & Photography
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