Real Wedding: Jaymie & Jonas at the Longue Vue Club

This wedding.  I can’t even.

I’m rarely speechless but when I first caught glimpses of Jaymie and Jonas’s October wedding, I just sat with my mouth hanging open for a bit.  If edgy high fashion and gothic romance had a love child, it would be this wedding.  With a color palette that embraces both soft pastels and rich burgundy, gray, and black, the tone was both romantic and dramatic.  The couple bulked tradition in many ways but ended up with a day that was full of vintage and baroque inspired elements.  Pair this with the many modern spins Jaymie and Jonas put on things and you end up with a perfect yin and yang of sorts. There is no way I can narrow down my favorite aspects but if I’m forced to choose:

• I hate to spoil the surprise but the bride wore a BLACK VERA WANG MASTERPIECE OF A GOWN.  I die.
• No stuffy tuxedos for these gents.  Instead, they wore burgundy corduroy blazers.  And looked like they stepped right out of GQ doing it.
• A wedding website and stationery that was designed by a friend with a font and look that I am totally in love with
• Bride and groom portraits that scream “Vogue editorial spread” more than “wedding day”.  It seems like it was a windy day and normally wind annoys me.  But here, it’s perfection.
• Two of my favorite Pittsburgh treats – Vanilla Pastry Studio cupcakes and Pittsburgh Popcorn Company (and in my favorite flavor too!)
• An entrance and first dance that is truly unlike any other but 100% Jaymie and Jonas.  You can watch it below!

Impeccably designed and ever-so-cool, Jaymie and Jonas’s wedding is hands down the most amazing one I’ve ever laid eyes on.  My words aren’t doing it justice so I’m just going to stop talking.  But before I do, dare I say this is photographer Beth Insalaco’s best work yet?

Prepare to have your mind blown.

From the bride…

When and how did you two meet?
Jonas and I met back in 2005.  I was attending college at Kent State University and had just joined Facebook.  This was back when you could only see people within your college network, but all profiles were public.  I was searching profiles to find people I knew when I came across Jonas’s picture.  He was the most handsome guy I had ever seen!  He took my breath away.

So I looked at his profile, added his AIM name to my contacts, and watched his away statuses for a couple of days (to make sure he wasn’t posting about having a girlfriend).  After a day or two, I couldn’t wait any longer so I instant messaged him and said “Hey, I don’t know if you have a girlfriend or anything, but I just wanted to let you know that I think you are really hot.”  His response?  “Word.” Haha!

We got chatting and found we had a lot in common.  Then, he said something like, “If you’re for real, then let’s meet up right now.”  He thought I was someone with a fake profile, playing a trick on him.  I was so nervous, but I really wanted to meet him!  And when I did, it was love at first sight.

I was so nervous that I didn’t talk the entire time we hung out.  He kept asking me if I wanted him to leave and I told him no, but kept silent.  It was so awkward!!  The both of us left that night thinking we would never see each other again.  Me thinking it was because I acted so stupid, and him thinking it because he thought I clearly wasn’t into him.  But we were both wrong.  We never stopped hanging out after that.  And now, we will be together 10 years this month!

Over the time we’ve been together, we’ve raised our wonderful and completely perfect puppy Louis, we moved from Ohio to Pittsburgh, we built our professional careers, and purchased our first house together.  We grew up together, which is why his proposal in our first house that we have lovingly turned into our home was so special, so perfect, and so unforgettable.

Juicy details on the proposal, please!  Where, when, how?
From Jonas…I proposed to Jaymie the night of November 23, 2013.  I had been planning a big surprise engagement with all of our friends for weeks.  Picking up the ring got delayed, which kind of ruined those plans.  It was a good thing it did because, in passing, Jaymie had mentioned that her dream engagement would be an intimate setting just between the two of us.

I know people say that “no matter what you do, it will be special”, but none of them know Jaymie – she’s not just any normal girl.  I’ve made her wait for this day for a long time.  She is such an amazing person, and she is so special to me that I had to make this moment unforgettable for her.  I decided to ask her to marry me in our house, our first home – something truly special and meaningful to the both of us.  So, now that I had found the right place, the next thing I had to do was find the right time.

It was a fight night (a date night tradition of watching MMA fights) and Jaymie had stepped out to get her hair done.  I knew this night would be perfect because nothing typically comes in between us and fight night – she would never expect it.  And it takes her hours to get her hair done – giving me more than enough time to set everything up.  With the help of my furry little companion, Louis, I set up the candles, the flowers, the video camera, and the music just the way I wanted it.

I remember being more nervous about this moment than I had ever been about anything in my entire life – and I hop in cages to go against trained fighters on a regular basis!  Nevertheless, the biggest win of my life came that night when I asked the most important question to the girl of my dreams – and she said yes!  That night I became one of the luckiest guys in the world.  Every day that I spend with Jaymie, I fall more and more in love with her and I am so excited to continue to build our lives together!

BB here…
Ok, Jonas is pretty much perfect because he recorded the entire proposal!  I bawled like a baby watching this.  Even Louis the pup was “cheering” for them during the big moment!

Describe the wedding.  The look, theme, style, colors, etc.
Jonas and I have a very unique style and we knew that Beth Insalaco was the only one capable of capturing these special moments in the way we imagined.  We wanted everything to feel grandiose and romantic.  We wanted our images to look like they could appear in an issue of Vogue and Beth nailed it!

What inspired your vision?
Our wedding was completely inspired by the wedding dress.  I found my dress before I even got engaged, and I was instantly enchanted by its beauty and inspired by its uniqueness.  I knew it was the one the moment I laid eyes on it.  I wore a Vera Wang Joelle wedding dress in black and I never felt more beautiful in my entire life.

My dress was the centerpiece of the wedding’s entire look and feel.  I wanted the theme to be full of romance with just a bit of an edge.  My husband and I like to go against the grain and we aren’t afraid to be different.  We both love fashion and we love to take risks.  So that’s exactly what we did!

We selected the Longue Vue Club as our venue.  It just exudes romance.  It is a historical landmark that has amazing 1920’s stone architecture and is perched upon a hilltop that overlooks the Allegheny River.  I would describe the interior of the club as “vintage royalty”.  From the mirrors and the walls to the furniture and the windows, every single room looks like it was made for royalty and fit perfectly with our romantic theme.

We had a professional designer custom-create our wedding invitations to match the look we were going for.  He ended up hand-drawing our names in a custom font to help truly bring to life what we were going for.  The invitation was our guests’ first look at the theme of our wedding, and our designer made them perfect!

The men wore a burgundy corduroy Tommy Hilfiger slim fit sport coat that we felt struck the perfect balance between formal and fashion.  The women wore Dessy Lux Chiffon bridesmaid dresses that complimented the blush color of my wedding dress.  Each bridesmaid selected their own style and neckline because I also wanted them to feel comfortable and beautiful on this special day.  The colors of the bridal party really brought to life the elegance and the unique look that we were going for.

The flowers were perfect compliments to the wedding theme and came in a lot of pale, blush, and antique colors, with little pops of burgundy in the bridesmaids’ bouquets.

What made your wedding unique?
We really went against tradition, so there were a few parts of our wedding that was unique.  First of all, I wore a black wedding dress, which is completely against tradition but fashion weighs heavier than tradition for me!

Our first dance was not a slow dance, and was actually a choreographed number to “Upgrade U” by Beyonce and Jay Z (watch it here!).  Jonas and I both love to dance and we just HAD to make dance a big part of our wedding.  We also love the meaning of “Upgrade U” and feel like it really captures our relationship.  We don’t feel like one person is better than the other in our relationship.  We just feel by being together we’re essentially upgrading each other, which is why we love the song so much.

What was your favorite moment of the day?
I have two favorite moments.  The first was hearing my husband’s wedding vows.  They were more than I could have ever dreamed and they literally took my breath away (there are pictures of me covering my mouth at the altar while he is reading!).  Jonas isn’t much of a writer, so I didn’t know what to expect but he worked on them for months and really blew me away!

My second was my brother walking me down the aisle.  He has been the man right by my side all of my life.  He is my best friend and he is always there when I need him.  So him walking me down the aisle was very symbolic of the path we’ve taken through life together.  My brother and Jonas are best friends and it was really special to have him give me away to Jonas because I know how supportive he is of our relationship.

Bride to Bride

What advice would you give to other Burgh Brides planning their big day?
Make your wedding what YOU want it to be.  Don’t be afraid of what other people will think.  Do what is in your heart.  I was afraid of what people might think of a black wedding dress, or of me having my brother walk me down the aisle.  But please remember that it is your day, and you want to look back on everything with no regrets.

I would also say that you have to “live in the moment”.  Be present and just savor every single second of the day.  Take a step back a couple of times throughout the day and just take in what is going on around you.  “Live in the moment” was our theme of the day.  We even gave the bridesmaids Alex and Ani “Live in the Moment” bracelets to wear.  We had put in so much effort and stressed about all of the little details leading up to the wedding, but we also understood that not everything was going to turn out perfectly.  We were surrounded by people who loved and supported us, and we just appreciated every moment and let the small stuff roll off of our shoulders.  A lot of the memories I have of the wedding are from those moments I stepped back and took it all in!

Any must haves, must dos, or can’t lives withouts?  Anything you would do differently?
I think every bride NEEDS to have Beth Insalaco shoot their wedding.  I don’t think there’s anyone else out there quite like her 😉

Vendors
Bride’s Bracelet: Alex and Ani | Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang Joelle | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Dessy | Cupcakes: Vanilla Pastry Studio | Ceremony & Reception Location: Longue Vue Club | DJ: DJ Bamboo | Flowers & Stationery: Fox Petal Floral Design Studio | Hair: Lauren Tommarello | Makeup: Cheryl Schwieger | Menswear: Tommy Hilfiger & Men’s Warehouse | Photographer: Beth Insalaco Photography