Jenna & Michael | Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

06 Aug Jenna & Michael | Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

By Catherine Lowe | August 06, 2018

When Jenna and Michael met in 2014, neither ever imagined they would be married to each other four years later. Scroll on to find out how that came to be, hear all about their wedding (including that flat tire during their grand reception exit), and see oodles of beautiful photos from Mackensey Alexander.

The Wedding Row: How did you and Michael meet?
Jenna: We met at training for Ernst & Young. Both of us showed up super early our first day of the “real world” and they hadn’t even opened the building up yet so we met on the stairs. During our class at one point, our instructor said, “Look around this room right now … 50 percent of you will date one another, and some of you will end up married to each other someday.” At the time, we thought he was crazy.

TWR: Fate is a funny thing, huh? Can you tell us about the proposal?
Michael: I proposed to Jenna in December 2016, in Central Park in New York City. It was the one day that year that there was snow on the ground, so it set an amazing backdrop. I led Jenna down to the frozen-over pond in front of the Gapstow Bridge, and got down on one knee and popped the question. We spent the next hour taking photos, celebrated with some drinks at the Boathouse, and topped it off with a romantic dinner (and surprise hotel room overlooking the park). It was an amazing day.

TWR: How romantic! What did you hope for your wedding?
Jenna: Our goal was to have our guests walk away from our wedding and say, “That was so them!” I’ve always loved how whimsical dusty-lavender mixed with neutrals looks … and it’s perfect for a plantation wedding.

TWR: What were you saying to another in your first look?
Jenna: We decided to read our vows to each other during our first look. We thought it was important to really think about the meaning of marriage and what we promised to do during our life together, but we felt it was too personal and emotional to do in front of everyone. So we did it in private with just the photographer (and we also invited our officiant to be there). We wanted him to get to experience our love in the rawest form since he was such an important part of our day. It was such an emotional, but amazing moment for us. We’re so glad we had that private moment together before the craziness began!

TWR: Any funny moments to share?
Jenna: When we were about 10 feet from plantation the driver for our getaway car said, “I think we have a flat tire.” We pulled over out of sight and watched as the buses with our guests passed us. We had a good laugh—and got upgraded to a 1957 Bentley, so it could’ve been worse!