1. Real Weddings

Jaymi & Kerri: An Outdoor Wedding in Pacific Palisades, CA

Jaymi and Kerri grew up 15 miles from each other in Indiana but met in Los Angeles when Kerri interviewed Jaymi for a position at her office. They fel

Jaymi and Kerri grew up 15 miles from each other in Indiana but met in Los Angeles when Kerri interviewed Jaymi for a position at her office. They felt chemistry from the second they saw each other and started secretly dating a month later. Thankfully, Jaymi’s contract lasted only four months and the couple went public the day it ended. The Brides Jaymi Lee Smith, 35, assistant professor & Kerri Stoughton-Jackson, 38, director of operations The Date August 16 Instead of one proposal story, Jaymi and Kerri have two. They both wanted to be proposed to as well as propose to each other. Jaymi asked Kerri to marry her on the last day of a trip to Washington, at sunset on Mount Constitution on Orcas Island. Kerri then proposed to Jaymi on a surprise trip to Las Vegas.

Jaymi and Kerri wanted all their friends’ children to feel as welcome as the adults, so they had a small kids’ table set up outside with butcher paper. Crayons, stickers, matchbox cars, and small stuffed animals were all on hand to keep the kids busy during the hors d’oeuvres and cocktail hour.
Each guest left Jaymi and Kerri’s wedding with a small tree sapling (of different varieties) and instructions on how to care for it.
Neither Jaymi nor Kerri is really into dresses, so choosing ones for their wedding posed a challenge. Jaymi searched for weeks to no avail and finally found her dress in Chicago a month before the wedding. Kerri wore a navy blue, knee-length MaxMara dress.
Jaymi and Kerri made the scroll ceremony programs. One side of the program listed the events of the day and the delicious menu; the other side featured a Rumi poem.
Kerri’s 12-year-old dog Scott walked the rings down the aisle, led by Kerri’s best man (her nephew).
Jaymi and Kerri had a five-word theme for their wedding: “a lemonade stand in a meadow.” While guests waited for the ceremony to begin, three flavors of lemonade were served from a stand set up next to the ceremony site.
Rather than take turns walking down the aisle, Jaymi and Kerri created two aisles with the ceremony chairs. The aisles were wide enough for both parents to escort them. The couple loved the idea of flower petals placed in a design along the aisle and asked their florist to create this for theirs.
Instead of a wedding cake, Jaymi and Kerri ordered mini cupcakes in 10 different flavors. They also ordered a small red velvet cake for the traditional cake cutting.
Jaymi and Kerri shared their first dance to The Drifters’ “Save the Last Dance for Me.”
Jaymi and Kerri wanted the decor to feel very fresh, alive, and energetic. Small, collaged, red-orange arrangements topped the reception tables.
All the bouquets consisted primarily of mango calla lilies. Jaymi and Kerri chose the color orange for the way it pops against an earthy green.