All of the Lights

by Laura Vietmeyer

 

Tess and Jake were best friends for three years before everything finally fell into place. Their relationship took them overseas and back, and led to a fairytale wedding before nearly 400 guests. They were even surprised with a recreation of Love Actually when the band played “All You Need Is Love” at the end of the ceremony. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”

 

Our Love Story 

Tessa: Jake and I met our freshman year of college. We were both dating other people but he quickly became one of my best friends. It took us three years to both be single at the same time! We’ve had so many special moments. About 10 months into our relationship, we moved to Florence, Italy, for six months. Fast forward three years to Valentine’s Day 2016, I woke up to find that Jake had recreated our living room from Florence in our home here. Needless to say, there were a lot of happy tears that day.
Jake: I knew this was “it” pretty quickly into the relationship. I remember waking up one morning and thinking, “Wow, I am really happy!” It didn’t take long to trace my happiness back to Tess.

The Proposal

He proposed after running his first marathon in Rome, Italy. He had an elaborate plan but things kept getting in the way, so he asked me in our apartment after the race. It was simple, just us, and perfect.
We texted and called our closest friends and then announced it on Facebook with a photo of us wearing Florentine soccer jerseys. The back of his said “Meier” and the back of mine said “Meier-To-Be.”

 

Key Resource

Our wedding planner, Janelle Meyer-Brown! She is ABSOLUTELY incredible. We could not have done this without her!

Bridal Party 

Tessa: Jake had nine groomsmen, I had six bridesmaids and my two brothers stood on my side as “bridesmen.”
Jake: Including friends and family was most important to me, which is why I had nine groomsmen. I knew it wouldn’t be easy for people to travel to us from out of state, so I did what I could to help out the groomsmen with their suits and overnight stays.

Must-Have Detail 

Twinkle lights! I wanted the ceiling of the tent to be entirely covered in twinkle lights. Majic Productions said they had never before used this many lights. It was stunning.

Funny Moment

We got married outside on a golf course, and at the beginning of the ceremony my nephew, who was 18 months old at the time, took off down the fairway to play in the sand traps. TOO cute.

Bridal Ensemble

My dress was called Skyler by Augusta Jones. It was a beautiful mermaid gown covered in lace. It had a scalloped neckline, cap sleeves and a gorgeous V back covered in lace. My shoes were Manolo Blahnik’s Swan shoes. I wore earrings and a bracelet borrowed from my mom, and my veil was specially made to match the tone set by the dress.

First Look

Jake: I definitely cried right away. Then I remember thinking, “Wow, she is absolutely gorgeous!”

Big Surprise

My mom knew that Love Actually is my favorite movie and I’ve always been in love with the wedding scene. She worked with Janelle and our band, and had musicians stationed in the seats with the guests. Right before we were going to walk back down the aisle at the end of the ceremony, they recreated that scene from the movie and sang/played “All You Need Is Love”. It was spectacular. There wasn’t a dry eye there.

First Dance

We worked with our amazing band, The Ron Bedel Orchestra, and used the intro from “I Won’t Dance” and blended it with the beginning of “It Had to Be You,”  both by Frank Sinatra. I stood in front of Jake with my hand extended, asking him to dance, to which he replied with a shake of his head. The music blended the two songs, “I won’t dance, madame, with you. It had to be you.” And he stood up and spun me onto the dance floor.

Advice To Future Brides

It’s actually good luck if it rains on your wedding day, and chances are you won’t even notice because you’ll be too focused on how happy you are. If you’re having the time of your lives, your guests will too!