Hannah and Jake

Jake and I live in New York City; at the time we met, he had been here already for 5+ years; myself, only a couple of months. I will never forget the night that we met; it was December 27, 2013, we had both just returned to the City after being home for Christmas with our families. He had made plans for us to meet for a drink at this cute  and cozy little cocktail bar in the neighborhood of TriBeCa. I vividly remember climbing the stairs to the second floor (where the bar was located)  and with each step, slowly taking in the moment, wondering if my life was  about to change. Needless to say, it did! In more ways than I could have ever  imagined! As mentioned, I had only been in NYC for a couple of months at that point; but meeting Jake experiencing life with him made this massive and uninviting city begin to feel so much like home for me. After only a couple of weeks, I couldn’t imagine life without him.
 
Fast forward 3 years and a couple of months to the night of our engagement. We were in his apartment when he grabbed my hand, dropped to his knee, said he loves me and wants to spend his life with me…and then those 4 words every girl dreams of hearing… And I said Yes! (Fun Fact: The exact song that was  playing when he proposed [I Get To Love You, by: Ruelle], became our first  dance song, the lyrics couldn’t be more perfect for how we feel about each  other.) We popped champagne and headed to dinner – where he surprised me  AGAIN to have both of our parents who had travelled into town to celebrate  with us (mine from GA and his from Philadelphia). Makes me emotional to this  day; I can’t begin to explain how much that gesture meant to me! Following  dinner, all of our friends surprised us at the bar of the restaurant we were  at with our parents. Such a memorable night, full of so much love!  

I never really dreamed of a specific wedding theme or season to get  married…but when we began the planning process, everything seemed to fall  into place, and the details of our special day just made perfect sense for  us. We were afraid that a Fall wedding would be too quick to plan, and we  didn’t want to extend our engagement for over a year, so we landed on a  Christmas-time wedding. I’ve always been a home body, very sentimental, and  raised on traditions (especially around Christmas). With that, we booked  December 9th in Highlands, NC, where my family had spent the past 20 years  celebrating the holidays together. Nothing made my heart so warm to imagine  all of our loved ones under one roof, with Christmas cheer in their hearts,  next to roaring fireplaces!! The theme was essentially that. Not “Christmas”  themed, but rather an intimate setting, with the sense of holidays, warmth,  family, and togetherness. December in the South, we expected temperatures to  be in the 40s, and in the back of my mind I was secretly hoping for a little  dusting of snow for aesthetics….Well, the day before our wedding, 15” of snow  dumped on the little mountain town, creating an insane travel experience for  our guests and vendors. Sparing all of the details, a lot of plans changed  within the 24 hours leading up to our big day…but I can’t imagine it any  other way!
 
With that said, Saturday morning (the day of our wedding) we woke up to  bright blue skies and fresh powder covering everything! It was truly a winter  wonderland! Our ceremony began at 5:30PM, so just past sunset. It was tented,  outdoors, and candlelit…Clear sides covered the tent to keep guests  [somewhat] warm, but also creating the illusion of a snow globe! It was  magical!
 
The Dress!!: I have always aimed to do things differently when it comes to  style. Knowing I was getting married in December, I thought it was a good  opportunity to wear long-sleeves; but everyone does lace! I began scouring  sites, blogs, pinterest, etc. and found the Mikaella 2105. It is the perfect  amount of simple, timeless and classy; however, the tight fit, the low back,  and embellished waistline created interest, and added an element of  ‘fashion-forward’ to the overall look. The dress truly fit the scenery of our  wedding day as if it were custom-made. It was beautiful against the crisp  white snow and bright blue skies!!

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