Our Wedding - Lucky in Love
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Two things inspired our wedding day - our family and our Brooklyn apartment. We weren’t going for vintage, rustic, classic, but rather a mix of everything Jamie and Jason. It was very important for our guests to walk away and feel like they saw the world through our eyes. We made sure every single detail was true to who we are as a couple and did our best to include every member of our immediate family in a special way.
For the ceremony, we worked with the city of Pittsburgh to secure a permit to close off the alley where our reception venue was located. The backdrop was a row of homes painted by literary writers who were exiled from their country and under threat of persecution because of their writing. These safe homes, owned by City of Asylum, are used as a canvas to express their feelings. The minute we strolled down the block after booking our reception venue, we both looked at each other and said, “let’s get married in the street!” and so we did.
As guests arrived, my nephew and ring bearer, who surprised with me a ring box he made the night before with his Legos, gave a piano recital. We purchased raffia fans to keep everyone cool on the hot summer day and handed out my favorite, local beverage, Turner’s Iced Tea. I walked down the aisle to Kissing You, performed by a string quartet, and my uncle, who I’ve always respected and admired, married us underneath an open canopy made of birch tree branches.
After the ceremony, guests walked to the Mattress Factory Art Museum for dinner and drinks. We kept the galleries open for those who wanted to explore while my oldest nephew, a jazz musician, performed with a few of his friends.
My father, an avid antique collector, gave us a vintage mattress spring, which our wonderful florist used to create our own mini art installation woven with vines, dahlias and escort cards. We filled the space with hanging plants in macramé holders just like our home. A tent strung with globe lights housed our 175 guests for dinner. My mother used the same fabric design as our sofa to make table runners and my father let us borrow his antique glass jar collection to use as vases. Glitter dust was scattered on the tables for a pop of metallic!
After dinner, guests hit the dance floor, which was both indoor and outdoor. We had a disco ball to give a genuine party feel and I asked the DJ to create a playlist of music from our high school days -1998-2001! We served our cake and an assortment of 15 pies for dessert and surprised our guests with the PGH Taco Truck for a late-night snack before they hopped on the bus back to the hotel.
The next day, we treated our guests to a baseball game - Pirates vs. Mets. It was the best way to end our wedding weekend and it allowed us more time to spend with family and friends and reminisce about the wedding festivities. Everything about our wedding was a magical dream come true.
