Jessa Pease & Joe Garrett

Jessa and Joe met the summer before their senior year at Auburn University at her apartment complex’s pool. It took a few months, but Jessa finally convinced Joe to go on a date with her.

The dress was an accident. Joe and Jessa were walking through the Galleria, and she saw the dress in the display case at K’s Formal. She walked in and looked at the dress, loving it, and he convinced her to try it on. It was perfect, and Joe agreed. They didn’t follow the rules, but Jessa figured the dress would look different on the big day with her in full hair and makeup.

Joe and Jessa are huge nerds. She knew she wanted to get married in a castle, but a “fairytale” wedding didn’t really suit them. So instead, they had a Lord of the Rings themed wedding. Their processional music was the acoustic version of The Shire Theme, the tables were named after the cities of Middle Earth, Joe’s wedding ring was Aragorn’s Ring of Barahir and they cut the cake with a sword during the reception. Perhaps the most beautiful detail, though, was the custom canvas painting Jessa’s sister, Justine Dahl, created for them to use as their guestbook. The painting features the iconic scene of Bilbo’s Birthday in the shire with the hobbit hole. She finished the piece with a scroll along the bottom half of the painting for guests to sign and leave messages. Jessa cried as soon as she saw it.