Kayla and Jessica attended high school together but didn’t meet until college. They enrolled in the same debate class, and Kayla picked Jessica to be on her team for the final project.
Their first date was a casual hangout at a friend’s house. “I practically had to beg Kayla to come,” Jessica recalls. “We stayed up for hours talking after everyone went to sleep and found we had mutual interests like music, animals and food.”
At the time, they lived an hour away from each other and had to plan ahead for visits. “Since we couldn’t be together every day, we had a special tradition of sending each other a song each day, like ridiculously cheesy love songs!” Jessica says.
When Kayla started to plan her proposal, she knew she wanted it to be at a place where they could make it a yearly tradition. “What better way to start it than at a pumpkin patch on Jessica’s favorite holiday?” Kayla says.
Kayla proposed on October 22, as the 22nd is the same day of the month when they first said, “I love you.” The proposal included a scavenger hunt, where the couple competed against each other. Jessica was so focused on winning that she didn’t notice Kayla sneak away for the next phase of the proposal, nor the commotion going on around her—including a surprise visit from her best friend.
“I couldn’t believe everything she had planned,” Jessica says. “Even the employees at the pumpkin patch knew about it! We spent the rest of the day drinking and celebrating with our friends and family. It was absolutely perfect.”
As they started planning, they realized some of the biggest details were the easiest to figure out. “We both knew beforehand that we’d get married at Kayla’s parents’ house,” Jessica says. “They’ve held many weddings there before, so we used vendors we knew from previous weddings.”
The duo also took on many DIY projects for the décor. “Kayla and her father put stands on French doors and attached wood pieces to form an arch that could hold a chandelier, and I decorated the arch with flowers,” Jessica says. “We also made a custom garden arbor with old doors for our guests to walk through into the ceremony. It almost had a secret garden feel.” They had different visions for decorating the dance floor, but with compromise came up with something they both loved. “Let’s just say by the end of it, I learned to say, ‘Yes, dear’ very well,” Kayla says.
Overall, the wedding was a mix of both vintage and modern styles, with a nice touch of glamour. “We incorporated chandeliers and shabby chic items, along with our custom pieces,” says Jessica. “We also had tons of lighting wrapped around the trees. Everything just glowed at night! Both Kayla and I felt it was the perfect celebration and incorporated everything we wanted.”
— Kourtney Jason
