Jamie and Scott celebrated their November wedding in the wondrous surroundings of Yosemite. The weather was spectacular and allowed Jamie to be comfortable and look stunning in her wedding dress. Suzanne stated how incredible the location was and had made for even more amazing portraits than imagined. Their wedding included bright flares of red which accurately attested the abundance of love they share for each other and all of their friends and family.Both being in the Navy, Jamie and Scott had a beautiful arch of swords that they walked under as they exited the church's doors. Their family's and friends' laughter, merriment, and love greeted the newlyweds outside the church. Suzanne remembers the celebratory feeling after the ceremony as one of her favorite moments, especially their friends and family being "ridiculously hilarious." The amusement continued into the night where another highlight occurred as the groomsmen sang to Jamie like a scene out of Top Gun. Although weddings can be stressful at times, it is important to remember that it is your day and you should be nothing but blissful. Jamie was calm and happy throughout the entire day and that happiness skyrocketed whenever Scott was around. Here is some loving advice from the happy bride, Jamie...
Wishing you nothing but smiles, Olivia :)
1) How did you mentally prepare for the big day?
Weddings are such a personal event that in my mind there is no ‘right’ way to prepare. My big day was seriously the most fun I have had at any one event. The ability to let the day flow with it’s natural rhythm and know that stuff is going to go wrong but everyone that is in attendance loves you and will figure it out. I think the best thing you can do is relax and enjoy experience. I relax by a little alone time my now husband relaxes by being around people. We each relaxed in our own way and then when things went wrong we found the best solution but didn’t dwell on the fact.
2) Did you have any events surrounding the wedding. I.E baseball game, rehearsal dinner, brunch, bachelorette party? Tell us about it.
-Our wedding (in my opinion) was in the MOST beautiful place in the world! Yosemite National Park in November it doesn’t get much better!!!! So just being in the park was an event. We rented bikes and rode around the valley floor with our closest friends who were able to arrive a bit early. Took pictures with the deer in the meadow and ate pizza at the pizza shop in Curry Village. Wedding guests took advantage of the park all weekend. We had some friends that stayed up all night the night of the wedding then at about 3am started climbing to Upper Yosemite Falls and made it to the top just in time for sunrise! We also has a rehearsal dinner that everyone was invited to it was great getting to see all the guests when they got to the valley and share one of my favorite places with them.
3) What is something that makes for a great wedding day?
-The people you love being there with you. I don’t care how much your dress costs or if you hair is exactly perfect. Your day will be perfect because the people that are most important to you are all there to celebrate with you!
4) Did you see your spouse for the first time before the ceremony or during the ceremony? How did you feel?
-Scotty and I did see each other before the ceremony and it was very special. Personally, I did not care if he saw me in the dress before we were married in the church we had been legally married (in Guam no less!) over a year prior. It was such a beautiful day Yosemite in November I was expecting snow but somehow we managed such a warm wedding day I did not even have to wear a coat! He was as handsome as I had expected and it makes me smile every time I think of that moment.
5) What is one of your favorite memories?
-The church mouse! We seriously had a mouse running the church during and after the ceremony. It was too perfect for the setting and so funny! We saw him right as we rung the church bell to signify our marriage. A close second was that everyone started singing as we were walking back down the aisle after our marriage was announced. We had am awesome pianist and he played ‘anything goes’ as we exited and it was totally unexpected but everyone started singing as we left it was so cool.
6) What song do you most remember on the dance floor?
-Easy question…the first song Scott and I danced to it was called ‘Lucky’ sung by Colby Caillat and Jason Mraz. The lyrics talk about being around across the ocean and finally being together. Scott and I had a very similar journey. He lived in a Japan while I was in San Diego for 3 and a half years and when he finally moved to San Diego I was on deployment with the Navy so didn’t get to see him until I got home about 1 month before our wedding. So this song selection had a very special meaning to us.
7) What is a piece of advice you wish you had known before the big day?
-Don’t worry about keeping everyone happy . Both of our parents admit that they went a little crazy about our wedding. At one point we created two separate invitations (seriously!) because each of our set of parents had opposing ideas on invitation verbiage. In the end it all worked out but if we had gone with just one invitation it would have been just fine.
8) Weddings are wonderful, but share some marriage tips please!
-Enjoy the time you have together and try not to take things so seriously (which is always a constant battle). Life is so uncertain, enjoy the time you spend with each other it makes life just a little bit sweeter.
