mobile bay bride

Jenna Laine Weddings: Emily & TJ

Working with Emily and her mother to plan this special day was such a joy for our team. Her mothers main concern was that Emily have the day she dreamed of. During meetings I loved watching the dynamic, as Emily talked about her ‘wedding wants’ and her mother sat there and smiled at her with the sweetest smile. Come wedding day all went according to plan. We are so thankful to be part of such special occasions where we can visibly see that two people are meant to be together. Below are a few of our favorite photos from Emily and TJ’s wedding day!

Cheers to the Hays!

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Jenna Laine Weddings: Charlotte and John

Getting the opportunity to plan weddings for families is a rewarding career, but it becomes even more personal to me when I have known the family for over fifteen years. This sweet bride is the little sister of one of my best friends from high school, so making sure her wedding day was spectacular was a top priority for me and my team. Showing the reception space to Charlotte, John and her parents before all their guests entered was one of my favorite parts of the entire weekend. I loved seeing their reactions to the hanging greenery boxes over the dance floor, the perfect pop of fuchsia in their flowers and their magnificent cake display. Seeing them happy and watching them dance the night away with friends and family was a rewarding experience and we thank the Gill family for trusting us with this special occasion. Scroll down to read some advice from Charlotte on planning your wedding and what her favorite part of the day was and of course at the bottom we have some gorgeous photo from Laura Rowe Photography!

Tell us your story.

John and I met during our senior year of college at Vanderbilt University. We knew our relationship was something special pretty quickly. We dated long distance for a year after graduation, but I soon returned to Nashville for law school, and the rest is history!

Photographer: Laura Rowe Photography

Photographer: Laura Rowe Photography

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?

That’s so hard! I loved the flowers. I was a bit nervous about them because I didn’t trust my aesthetic “vision,” but Wildflowers did an incredible job—they were better than I could have ever envisioned! I also wrapped a rosary around the bouquet that John had made for me while we were dating.

If you could give advice to another bride in the process of planning her wedding, what would it be?

It will all get done! Just enjoy what a unique season of life it is.

What was your favorite part of the planning process?

I loved being able to spend time with my mom! She’s amazing!

Tell us your overall thoughts and takeaways from the day.

John’s and my wedding was more amazing than I ever could have imagined! I’m not one who always had her wedding mapped out, so I often got overwhelmed with all the decisions. I was (and am) so grateful for Jenna’s experience and expertise.



Vendors:

Florist: Wildflowers Fairhope, Rental Company: SOHO Events and Rentals, Venue: The Grand Hotel Point Clear, Cake: Couture Cakes, Lighting & Draping: Willow Bridges, Wedding Coordaintion and Design: Jenna Laine Weddings, Photographer: Laura Rowe Photography, Videographer: The Wild Soul Films, Photo Booth: Magic Memories, Hair and Makeup: March Hair, Bridesmaids: Bella Bridesmaids Mobile, Calligrapher: Southern Calligraphy

Jenna Laine Weddings: Sunny and Mic

Nestled under beautiful Oak Trees along Mobile Bay is a beautiful Bay Home with wrap around porches, where many family weddings have taken place in the past. When Sunny and Mic got engaged they thought they would continue this family tradition. We worked hard to put together a beautiful, bay inspired wedding. However, mother nature had other plans and sent a massive thunderstorm right up the middle of Mobile Bay. Despite the downpour and pool of water that gathered on Sunny and Mic’s dance floor they made the best of it by kicking off their shoes, poured another drink and dancing the night away with all their guests. Ironically enough the downpour became one of their favorite parts of the entire day.

Photographer: Josh Malahy Photography

Photographer: Josh Malahy Photography

Tell us your story.

Mic and I met in a college bar. I was with my mom and one of my bridesmaids, Alison. Alison introduced us, and my mother sparked interest by saying “One of y’all needs to date him.” Mic had a girlfriend at the time, but we became instant friends. Fast forward six months - we are in the same bar, and my mother asks him “Where’s your girlfriend?” When he replied that he was single, she kicked me so hard under the table I am still recovering from the bruise. Then I convinced Mic to be the coach of a charity flag football league I was playing in for Alzheimer’s Awareness. My stunning athleticism and knack for injuring myself just captivated him. At the post-game party. Mic cornered me and said: “If you’re all in, I’m all in.” We had out first date shortly after and have been inseparable since. I called my friends and said, “ So, I think I am dating a boy…I think we will get engaged.” They gave me a lot of grief, naturally, but we were engaged 10 months later and married two days shy of our two year dating anniversary.

What was your favorite moment of your wedding day?

There are so many to choose from. My favorite part of our day was the torrential downpour. We are used to rainy days in the Grove at Ole Miss before football games. Weather is unpredictable. It should have rained all day, but for some reason, it waited until around 9 p.m. and it poured! It should have been an absolute mess, but Jenna and all our friends rolled with it! The tent flooded, we took off our shoes, the boys rolled up their pants and we all poured another drink. It has to be my favorite moment of the day. Mic and I were married. All of our friends were together, and it was similar to the best Grove day ever. It also helped that Mic requested ‘Africa’ by Toto, and we sure “blessed the rains” down in Fairhope.

If you could come give advice to another bride in the process of planning her wedding what would that be?

My advice would be to relax, as hard as that is! At the end of the day, you are still married and most guests only remember the rocking good time they had. Also, working with Jenna and her team, we were on a great timeline. We only had a couple of to-do items a month, and it was manageable! Also, I would suggest trying to have “dates” with your mom where you don’t talk about wedding stuff! My mom and I got together a lot to do “wedding stuff” and travel back and forth from Fairhope. It was nice to go to lunch or shopping with her and not talk about wedding details and just be normal. Same with Mic! Date night meant no wedding talk.

What was your favorite part of the planning process?

Cake tasting. Mic and I both have a huge sweet tooth and love a good piece of cake! Cake tasting was something we looked forward to for so long. I honestly want to cake taste everyday. Couture Cakes in Daphne has the best cake. We decided on the coconut filling and can’t wait to have another slice at one year.


Vendor Information

Photographer: Josh Malahy Photography , Florist: Wildflowers , Rental Company: SOHO Events and Rentals, Lighting: Willow Bridges, INC Cake: Couture Cakes Band: East Coast Entertainment Catering: Clifton Morrissette Catering Bar: Mark Kidd

Happy 100!

Photo by: Aimee Reynolds Photography

Photo by: Aimee Reynolds Photography

It's been just under five years since I, Jenna Laine Rachal, started this little business and I am thrilled to see how its grown and excited to reach 100 weddings along side these fabulous ladies pictured above.

My very first wedding in Fairhope, Alabama was in November of 2012. I had just moved home from New York City a few months earlier with hopes of a creating a successful wedding planning business and was very nervous and excited to be helping Elisabeth and William Hays with their special day. The weekend couldn't have gone better and I thank both Elisabeth and William for placing so much trust in me.

 Here's a sweet shot from Posh Images of Mr. and Mrs. Hays, who have since then added a precious little girl to their family.

Photo by: Posh Images

Photo by: Posh Images

 

Since the Hayes wedding, four and a half years ago, we have added new members to our team, began selling custom stationery in the store, and also offer retail items, such as custom jewelry dishes, champagne flutes, custom guest books, garters, stationery sets, and more.

We celebrated our 100th wedding on February 25th, with the marriage of my dear friend Meg Perkins and Brian Wittendorfer. We actually pulled triple duty at this wedding. We were planners, bridesmaids and mine and Alexs daughters were flower girls. It was one of our most exciting weddings and probably the most stressful. Getting two two year olds down the aisle is no easy task, but it all went off without a hitch and it was fun having our entire team at the wedding to celebrate this milestone.

Here's an image from Meg and Brian's special day;

Photo by Dragonfly Photography

Photo by Dragonfly Photography

 

It has been a joy to work with so many brides, grooms and their families over the past four and half years. We have developed many friendships with our brides and with our vendors and we thank both for all the trust they put in Jenna Laine Weddings. I also owe a BIG thank you to my family for their support and letting me work so many long and late hours and most weekends. And to my amazing team, y'all are the best group of creative, kind and smart women and without you Jenna Laine Weddings would not be where it is today! We are looking forward to a busy 2017 and many more milestones ahead! Thank you for your continued support!

Photo by Aimee Reynolds Photography

Photo by Aimee Reynolds Photography

Photo by Aimee Reynolds Photography

Photo by Aimee Reynolds Photography

Cheers to the next 100!

Meet our Team

Jenna Laine Weddings has been in business since November of 2012, and time has really flown by. In the beginning, Jenna operated the business by herself, but as Jenna Laine Weddings began working on more and more events, sometimes multiple events in the same weekend, Jenna added talented associates to her team. So, for todays post we want to introduce you to our awesome event planners and show off our new head shots taken by Michelle Taulbee Photography! 

Jenna Laine Rachal

Jenna Laine Rachal is owner and founder of Jenna Laine Weddings. She started in the wedding industry in 2008 as assistant to the Director of Events at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art in Auburn. She worked there until graduating from Auburn University in 2011. After graduation Jenna moved to New York to further her career in event planning. While in New York, Jenna worked for several highly esteemed companies in the event industry and took courses at the Fashion Institute in Wedding Coordination. In 2012, Jenna received a call from her first client in Fairhope wanting help coordinating her wedding, which would take place in November of 2012. Jenna took this opportunity to move back to her hometown of Fairhope and open her very own company, which today helps more than thirty brides every year with designing and coordinating the wedding of their dreams. Jenna loves the event planning business and enjoys living in Fairhope with her husband, Joshua, and little girl, Madison (Maddie).

 

Alex Watkins 

Alex Watkins has been a member of the Jenna Laine Weddings team since the fall of 2014. Alex grew up in Daphne, Alabama and went to Bayside Academy, where she and Jenna became friends. After graduating from Bayside, Alex moved to Tuscaloosa and attended the University of Alabama. Alex majored in marketing and graduated in 2011. Upon graduation Alex moved back to Daphne and began working as the Marketing and Events Director at Steelwood Country Club. While working at Steelwood, Alex grew to love weddings and events of all kind and developed a close relationship with some of the areas top vendors. After giving birth to her daughter, Landry, in 2015 Alex decided to leave Steelwood in order to have a little more time at home, however she still wanted to be a part of creating gorgeous and memorable events, which is why she continued to work at Jenna Laine Weddings part time. Alex is now an Event Producer at Jenna Laine Weddings and loves bringing a brides vision to life on their wedding day! When she isn't working, you can find Alex relaxing with her daughter Landry and husband Jordan. 

Courtney Araszkiewicz

Courtney joined the Jenna Laine Weddings team in January 2016 as the office manager and event assistant. Courtney grew up in Mobile, Alabama and graduated from St. Pauls Episcopal in 2010 and attended the University of Alabama. Courtney graduated in 2014 with a degree in Communications and moved to Virginia. After living in Virginia for a little over a year Courtney moved back to Mobile and began working at Jenna Laine Weddings. Courtney's friendly personality and organization skills is what keeps the office running efficiently. If you call or swing by the office you will be greeted by Courtney's chipper voice and smiling face! Courtney loves being a part of every event we do here at Jenna Laine Weddings and is looking forward to moving up to Event Producer within the coming year. 

Thank you to Michelle Taulbee Photography for a fun afternoon and thank you to Gari Lynn for the makeup! 

Best Wishes,

The Jenna Laine Weddings Team