Jake proposed to Karisa when she was nine months pregnant with their son. “Although I knew he was planning on proposing soon, I had no idea it was coming,” she says. “Jake is a very simple guy and took me on a walk to get me out of the house. The entire walk he was telling me how excited he was for our baby boy to be born and how much he loved me. Toward the end of our walk, he got down on one knee and proposed on a bridge near our house. It was so cute and simple—just the way we like things!”
Since her maternity leave coincided with the proposal, she jumped right in to making calls and booking vendors. “I hopped on Pinterest that evening and started pinning everything I loved,” she says. “I tried to book and plan a majority of the wedding early on, so I could focus on the more detail-oriented things toward the end.” Karisa loved the planning, especially sharing the experience with Jake. “Jake really trusted the vision I had for our wedding, so we got along great. He really let me decide on most things, but definitely was not afraid to express his opinion,” she says.
Once she went back to work, they relied on family to help with the various tasks. “We had so many things going on. It was really hard to find time to go and look at venues, or meet with caterers,” she says. “My father actually picked up cake testers from Divine Desserts and dropped them off so that Jake and I could taste cakes in our pajamas on the couch—that was so fun!”
As the big day arrived, Karisa was hopeful that her vision would come to life. “It honestly turned out better than I could have ever imagined in my head and I have so many people to thank for that, especially my mama,” she says.
As she prepared to walk down the aisle, the butterflies began.
“I was so nervous that I was going to trip, or mess up my vows, or cry uncontrollably,” she says. “I drank a glass of Champagne about five minutes before I walked down the aisle and that really helped take the edge off!”
After the ceremony, Karisa and Jake were overcome with happiness. “I remember feeling so relieved when the ceremony was over, then getting on the back of the golf cart with my new husband and being so excited for the evening,” she says. “I don’t think I have ever been so happy in my life!”
— Kourtney Jason
