Real Wedding: Old-School Meets Whimsical Wedding at Castle Park

January 10, 2020

A Utah Valley florist designs her own wedding with a whimsical take on old-world classics.

Jenessa & Parker

April 20, 2019

Provo City Center Temple & Castle Park Events

THE COUPLE

Parker pulled out all the Prince Charming stops when it came to proposing to Jenessa, his girlfriend of seven months. He arranged in secret with the bride-to-be’s best friend to gift the pair false tickets to The Nutcracker, but when he came to pick her up from her job at Springville Museum of Art (also the location of their first date at a service event), it became clear that Parker had an entirely different plan in mind. A friend handed Jenessa a letter as she headed out of her office, and she immediately knew something was up. The letter led her on a little tour of the museum, where all the galleries were lit up with candles, small gifts and love notes detailing all of Parker’s favorite moments in their relationship. In the final gallery, she found Parker on one knee. She said yes!

They had a relatively quick engagement, because Parker’s sister, who plays professional soccer, was only going to be in town a few weeks out of the year, and the couple wanted to be sure everyone they loved could be involved.

THE WEDDING

Jenessa and Parker were sealed in the Provo City Center Temple, on April 20, and had a ring ceremony and reception at The Lower Ballroom at Castle Park. “The venue had the amenities I wanted, but also a little bit of visual interest with the stone floors and arched ceilings that we could work with creatively. I had a vision for having crawling vines and the columns and backdrop at the venue provided the perfect canvas to bring that vision to life

Jenessa is a masterful florist (and co-owner of Bloom Girls Floral based in Provo), so naturally the floral palette came first and foremost in the wedding plans. She owns the company with a friend from the Museum world, and they specialize in luxurious, spunky arrangements.

“Inspired by the Dutch floral paintings of Art History, we are drawn to whimsical, lush, and spontaneous arrangements. You know those gorgeous moody blooms from 17th Century art? Our work draws from those bold and luxurious combinations, but we aim to add a fresh and modern twist to the classics.”

She went with a fresh and bright palette driven by coral hues (hello, Pantone color of the year!).

“It is so cliché, but coral was a driving color because of my love for Juliet garden roses and Clooney ranunculus,” says Jenessa. The bride used her favorite blooms, teamed with luscious, clean cut greenery and a singular, romantic style to create an event packed to the edges with natural beauty and what Jenessa calls “old world Italian influence.”

THE MENU

Marvellous Catering brought the class with a menu full of finger foods both sweet and savory: prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, tomato-basil soup shots with grilled cheese sliders, Italian wedding cookies and strawberry-balsamic panna cotta featured among the favorite dishes.

The bride’s cousin, Janell Peay, provided an eye-popping tower of a cake in three tiers. One layer was chocolate for the bride, another vanilla + lemon compote for the groom, and the final layer was a surprise, waiting for the couple to sample on their first anniversary. What could it be?

Jenessa added cascading florals to the cake, for an effortlessly elegant, show-stopping display. “As a florist, I’ve placed flowers on many many cakes, but it was such a small joy to be able to decorate my own!”

THE CELEBRATION

After the intimate ceremonies and reception snacking, Jenessa and Parker spent their evening dancing with all of their closes family and friends. The couple’s first dance was to “You Are the Reason” by Calum Scott and Leona Lewis. “It’s a beautiful duet that we felt captured our feelings for each other.” Parker is an excellent Latin dancer, so naturally the traditional first slow dance was followed by several latin numbers.

Jenessa and her father have a special bond, and both are all about appreciating the beauty in life. They shared a father-daughter dance to Rod Stewart’s “What a Wonderful World,” which proved to be one of the most special moments of the day.