I arrived at Jamie’s parent house and was greeted by the sweetest ladies in the driveway who directed me inside where I found Jamie calmly hanging out with her family. As I would find out throughout the day, that is how Jamie is…she is fully present wherever she is and is always there for you, no matter what! She grew up in that house, just minutes from Elk Mountain where we met Shaun for their first look. Jamie’s Dad works at Elk Mountain during ski season and we had the whole mountain to ourselves for portraits because of that! We all piled into his jeep and trekked up to the top of the mountain and my breath was taken away with the views! It was AMAZING! One of Jamie’s friends said that years ago, Jamie walked her through exactly what her wedding would look like…she had always dreamed of being up on top of the mountain on her wedding day and we made it happen! 

Sean has lived in State College for many years and they met when Jamie was doing her PhD at Penn State. However, they quickly realized that they actually lived around the corner from each other in Bozeman, MT many years before that, but somehow had never met. It took OKCupid in State College to finally bring them together. After graduation, Jamie took a job in Texas for a year and once they realized that they could make a long distance relationship work, they knew that it was a forever thing. She was able to get a job in West Virginia and now they split their time between Penn State where Sean’s job (and two kids live) and Morgantown. 

The wedding took place at Chet’s Place, owned by Jamie’s aunt and uncle, out in the backyard by the pond. There were 300 of their friends and family there and lots of kids & babies!! It was a very laid-back, joyful afternoon and started with their Quaker ceremony. I didn’t know what to really expect with the Quaker ceremony but it was such a special time. (To find out what I’m talking about: https://www.theknot.com/content/quaker-wedding-ceremony-rituals) About an hour and a half was filled with sweet stories about the couples and well wishes. I felt like I got to know them so much through listening to their friends talk about them. The kids were nearby playing yard games and Dad’s stood in the back with babies babbling and everyone was just so relaxed. 

It takes a village to put a wedding on and the aunt who owns Chet’s Place grew all the flowers for the wedding, Jamie’s uncle from Cape Cod is an interior designer so he decorated the tent and deck and her mom’s best friends all came together with decor from their daughter’s weddings with willing hands to help. This day was truly focused on getting married and spending quality time with their loved ones. Guests traveled from near (right down the road) and far (California, Colorado, Montana, even London!) and Jamie & Sean wanted it to be relaxed so they could enjoy it all. Yard games, good food, and a live band for dancing made the night fly by. 

One of my favorite memories from their wedding day was during the ceremony when Sean’s son stood up and told a story about the time him & his sister decided their Dad was lonely so they made him a cardboard girlfriend. They named her and she sat in the empty chair at their dinner table but after about a week, their Dad recycled her. They said Jamie was so much better than the cardboard girlfriend & they promised not to recycle her! That was just one of the stories shared during their heartfelt ceremony.

Congratulations Jamie & Sean! So happy for you!!

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