Jess and Brian have quite the story. They technically met 10 years ago when Brian was campaigning for a student senate position at their college and Brian walked up to Jess to ask for her vote. Jess was immediately smitten by Brian. It wasn’t until a year later, when Brian’s friend asked him to help out in the kitchen at a restaurant he was working out (with Jess!) that Brian and Jess officially met. That was the night that Jess definitely caught Brian’s eye. A little later at the best man’s 21st birthday party, Jess was given a dollar to kiss Brian. She did and he then chased her down in the street after that and the rest of it is history.

And here’s the history: Four years into dating, Brian asked Jess to marry him at Sandy Pond, which is Jess’s favorite place on Earth. They got engaged in 2018 and planned a 2020 wedding. Well we all know what happened then. While Brian and Jess did get married on their original wedding date of June 20, 2020, it wasn’t until June 18, 2022 that they were able to have their big wedding celebration and reception with all of their friends and family. It was so special for them to share their love and new marriage with the people most important to them and I’m so happy they were finally able to do that this year.

There are a few things that really stuck out to me about this wedding. First, I really loved their vow renewal ceremony. While they were already married, they decided to do a vow renewal with their own personal vows in 2022. They also included their entire wedding party into the ceremony as well in an idea that I’ve never seen done before. Each member of the wedding party had a small vial of sand taken from Sandy Pond, the location of their engagement. Each bridesmaid and groomsman took turns sharing a memory, well wish, or words of encouragement for Jess and Brian then put their sand into their unity sand glass. After Jess and Brian shared their vows they filled the remainder of the glass with their own sand. I thought that was a really fun and creative thing to do to include the entire wedding party and it really brought a lot of personalization to their ceremony. So many funny stories were shared and there was a lot of laughter!

I also REALLY loved the Father of the Bride toast. I was 100% crying behind my camera by the end of it. I think it’s safe to say that it’s the best father of the bride toasts I have ever heard. They ended their night with an epic dance party at the Double Tree Inn with all of their friends and family, just the way they always wanted it. Congratulations Jess and Brian! Thanks for sticking with me for 3.5 years and I’m so happy I was able to be part of your day, twice!