You Put Your Arms Around Me - Jess and Thomas's Memorable Lake Merritt Wedding

Jess and Thomas’s wedding took place at two of our favorite East Bay venues, the beautiful and unique Our Lady of Lourdes and the historic, waterfront Camron-Stanford House. We’ll start at their home where Lumitone captured the bride and her ladies prepping for the big day. Jess wore a pretty white robe with her bridesmaids in purple with bright colored florals. Glamorous Hollywood curls by Linda Lealao were swept back on one side with a crystal hairpiece, and Huong Vo made sure the bride’s makeup was flawless. Before heading to the church, Jess’s mother helped her into her incredible lace gown, with a sweetheart neckline and drop sleeves (still one of our favorite looks!). Her veil was a show-stopper, trimmed with lace it framed her face perfectly.

Thomas wore a blue suit and a purple tie while his groomsmen wore light grey. They laughed and enjoyed the sunshine, shaking off those pre-wedding nerves.

A wooden welcome sign greeted family and friends when they arrived at the church. It’s courtyard with magnificent columns, arched doorways and lots of greenery was the perfect spot for Jess and Thomas’s emotional first look. Afterwards, wedding party and family photos took place. The girls wore long purple dresses to match the groomsmen’s ties and bouquets by Bloominaire had some of the prettiest purple florals we’ve ever seen. You’ll get a closer look at the reception!

The church had incredible stained glass windows, tall ceilings and a circular alter. The ceremony was extremely heartfelt, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. We love being able to witness couples become newlyweds and the emotional moments from this ceremony are some we won’t ever forget.

The bride’s grandfather’s vintage white Cadillac waited outside for Jess and Thomas to take them on their short drive around Lake Merritt to cocktail hour. All those wedding nerves were finally gone and both had permanent smiles on their faces because they knew only minutes separated them from their dance floor with a waterfront view!

Jess was a wedding coordinator’s dream. She had a clear vision, down to the very last votive, of what she wanted the space to look and feel like. The lanterns on each table, surrounded by delicate flowers, doubled as table numbers. Her sweetheart table was something out of a fairytale, with a wooden arch wrapped in white linens holding a chandelier over their pretty ivory loveseat, all from Joe Squared Productions. The personal touches were our favorite though. The hand-wrapped blankets for guests when the sun went down, the memory table with framed photos of loved ones who couldn’t be there, and the marriage advice each kid in her classroom wrote (these were seriously hilarious and so cute to read).

The biggest personal touch of all was waiting for guests under their chairs. Thomas is a big Steelers fan. For those of you who don’t know, the Steelers fans wave what they call Terrible Towels at football games. Jess decided to surprise her groom with custom towels in the same color and font, but with their last name and wedding date on them. Guests also didn’t know about the surprise. Before Jess and Thomas were announced, the DJ asked each guest to grab something from under their seat. Every single person knew immediately what to do with the towel, most were laughing and yelling, loving this perfect way to get hyped up and welcome the bride and groom. The look on Thomas’s face when he realized what was happening was priceless!

After dances and speeches, the couple snuck away for sunset photos in the venue’s grassy yard. The smiles on their faces say it all. This was and will forever be one of the best days of their lives. And we learned they also both really love to dance, which is why it didn’t take long for them to find the dance floor again and close out the night under twinkle lights with all of their favorite people.

Jess and Thomas, we wish you a lifetime of Lake Merritt sunsets, Steelers victories and smiles like the ones you had in these photos. Welcome to Married Life you two!! XOXO