HANNAH + JACOB WEDDING DAY

Oh 2020. You’ve definitely thrown us all for a loop.  Especially the couples planning a spring wedding.

Hannah and Jacob were not supposed to be our first wedding of 2020 wedding season, but thanks to Covid-19 they were the official beginning – and what a way to begin.

What we’ve seen come out of the new world of weddings is exactly what the underlying silver lining that this pandemic has brought us – a reset to what truly matters.  The only thing that truly matters on a wedding day is that at the end of the day you’ve married the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.  As much as that perhaps sounds cliche, and maybe annoying to someone who just had their plans and dreams uprooted by something out of their control – it’s true.  COVID has forced us to get back to basics and find joy in the little things.  Hannah and Jacob’s day embodies exactly that.  While it wasn’t exactly what they had planned, it was exactly as it was meant to be.

Their story began long ago when Hannah was attending college at Mckendree University where she lived with roommates, Olivia and Nicki. (who are now bridesmaids) Olivia was dating a boy named, Sean. (who is the best man). He knew that Hannah was having a difficult time in the dating scene and randomly mentioned that his best friend from high school was newly single and he thought they would be a perfect match.
They decided to go on a blind double date with Sean and Olivia to go bowling. Jake had just had knee surgery, so of course, bowling seemed like the best choice lol.  It was a frigid January night with more than likely either snow or ice on the ground, but he hobbled over on crutches to meet Hannah. They both went up to the food stand together where Jake bought them both Dr. Peppers and a pizza and from that moment on they were absolutely smitten.

They had been going on dates for three weeks when Hannah very impatiently asked Jake, “would you be my boyfriend already?” on Superbowl Sunday. After the first date when her roommates asked how it went and Hannah boldly stated, “Oh I’m going to marry that kid.” He knew quickly into dating he would propose to Hannah someday, and that someday came 4 years after their first date on a cold day in St.Louis. Jacob took Hannah to Peel (this girl loves pizza), then they walked through the Missouri Botanical Gardens and around the Art Museum for a while. He had the ring in his pocket and Hannah almost bumped into it several times. Afterward, Jake mentioned wanted to take Hannah to his favorite spot from when he was a runner at SLU. Jacob was soon to be deployed and mentioned a certain spot and he really wanted to enjoy it before leaving the next month. At the bottom of Art Hill at golden hour they stood in front of a little pond and fountains.  She was admiring the color of the sun reflecting off the ice and was just about to make a comment about it when Jake turned to her and said, “honey”. It was in that moment she knew he was about to propose. He got down on one knee and opened the little ring box with a ring that had her grandma’s diamond in it and asked her to be his wife.

They originally planned to be married at Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton IL, but due to Covid the plans had to change.  They decided to get married in her mom’s backyard which used to be her grandma and grandpa’s land. They had already planned to be married on her grandma and grandpa’s 55th anniversary, with her grandma’s ring. Although COVID messed up a lot of plans, they truly believe that everything happened the way it was meant to.
Hannah got a new dress that fit the scene a bit better. She and her mom and grandma took a trip to local nurseries to start growing flowers that would be perfect to harvest for a bouquet – naming it the “Wildflower Wedding.” It allowed then to keep the excitement alive, despite everything going on. She wanted it to be very natural and the ceremony spot was plucked right out of her dreams.

They had stumps that were filled with white daisies and wildflowers picked off the road. Larger stumps held their unity candles, and more whimsical flowers of yellow, light blue and dark blue. There were angel wings that they nailed to the back of a tree at their ceremony spot – something that honored Hannah’s grandpa and symbolized him there watching over them, on the land that he built, and he was so exceptionally proud of.

It was beautiful, sentimental, intimate, and exactly what they always wanted.
Enjoy a look at this storybook day!

Hannah made all the floral pieces on her own and with flowers that were grown with love from her mom and grandma’s gardens. 

The moment they both looked the most forward to was their first look.  “It was so amazing and special and it eased all of my worries and stresses for the rest of the day.” – Hannah
“Hannah looked amazing (she kept telling me she didn’t like her dress). Just getting to see her was something I looked forward to that day.” – Jacob

We love the way these two laugh together and just feel most comfortable in their own skin when they are near the other.  It was fantastic to watch them be truly present in the moment and just have time to themselves this day without all the stresses of a “normal” wedding day.  If this is the new normal of weddings, we’ll take it!Hannah’s grandma who was married 55 years ago this day and lived on this very property. <3“Walking up the aisle, hand in hand with my momma who is one of my favorite people on this earth was my favorite moment of the day. We walked to Butterflies by Kacey Musgraves. This song made me emotional the first time I heard it because the lyrics describe exactly the person that I was before I met Jake and describes how I feel with I’m with him even now, five years later. Looking into the faces of every single family member or friend that I love in an environment that means so much to me. It was absolutely magical.”-Hannah “Seeing Hannah walking down the aisle to me was my favorite memory of the day. Getting to see her walking to me with all of my closest friends and family there was something I won’t forget.” – JakeI don’t cry too much at weddings anymore. Being so focused on what I’m doing sometimes takes me out of the moment.  But wow – the moment Hannah walked down the aisle was one of my favorite moments of the day as well.  You could just feel it with every part of your soul.  I think smaller weddings allow for moments to be felt more deeply and intensely.  The energy of it is powerful.“Oh my, the unity candle not lighting for Jacob and I was one of the funniest moments of the day. It seems that there was the tiniest breeze coming through the trees and only impacting our candle right when we lit it every time. The best part was it was right when our officiant, Suzy, said ” a light that can never be blown out” and the flame extinguished.  I honestly think it was a sign from my grandpa to make us laugh a little, he always made us laugh.” – HannahWe loved that Hannah and Jacob decided to do a Facebook Live event of their ceremony.  When you can’t have all of your invited guests there with you, Facebook is certainly saving the day. “Another favorite moment of the day was walking hand in hand, our first time as husband and wife, to our newly planted Redbud tree. I hope to go back to the tree many times over the next decades and see the tree that was planted the day of our wedding. Our anniversary tree.” – HannahMORE ABOUT THE DAY:

How did Covid-19 change your plans?
We have postponed our big formal ceremony/reception to next year – hopefully – with ALL of our family and friends in attendance.
What were the biggest challenges when you knew your date would not be how you initially envisioned?
Trying to find a way to make all of our family and friends happy, and as comfortable as possible. I think we could’ve gotten married just us two and it would have been fine. But we wanted all of the people who are most important in our lives to be there as well to celebrate with us and I’m so thankful we were able to achieve that.
What was unique about your wedding?
I think making the cupcakes myself was a little unique. We decided to go with double chocolate chip and rainbow chip. I think the guests really got a kick out of them. Also getting to do my own flowers was such an amazing, cathartic experience. It was truly therapeutic and I can now always look back and now that I did it all on my own and with flowers that were grown with love from my mom and grandma’s gardens. Also making Jake’s boutonniere, even if it was a bit wet 🙂
If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
Honestly, no. I think I wish I could’ve turned the temperature down on mother nature a few notches lol. But other than that I truly believe this day was exactly as it was meant to be. It was beautiful, sentimental, intimate, exactly what I’ve always wanted.
In hindsight, what were the blessings/unforeseen gifts that COVID restrictions provided?
Us getting to be married on my grandparent’s land on their 55th wedding anniversary. It was the most amazing way to honor them and their beautiful life together. Also, an amazing way to honor my late grandpa who worked his life cultivating that land to make it what it is today.
Any advice for future bride/grooms?
Honestly, it will all work out the way it was intended. You may not realize it until after, but every bride I’ve spoken with going through this has said that there are so many hidden blessings from that day that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.

We hope this look at Hannah and Jacob’s day gives you what it gave to us – hope.  Hope in the fact that there are the happiest of days that lie ahead of us, that life always has a way of working out, and hope in that love is all that matters.

Enjoy a little more of this special day with the slideshow below!  And look forward to next year when we share Hannah and Jacob – part 2! 😉