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The couple. From the minute Jessa Samson and Jeff Miyamoto locked eyes at a bar in Baltimore, their marriage was meant to be. Jessa, 28, a senior clinical research associate, and Jeff, 33, owner of a personal training studio, discovered how much they had in common that very first night. The next day, Jeff made a phone call to Jessa, and they’ve been together ever since. “I am certain that we were meant to be together from that chance meeting,” Jessa says.
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The engagement. Two years after that fateful meeting, Jeff had a plan—but it didn’t quite work out. The morning after the first snowstorm of the 2009-2010 winter season, he tried to take Jessa to Quiet Waters Park, where they love to go running together. With the ring, a small bottle of Champagne, and two flutes hidden inside his coat, Jeff began shoveling the car out. It was a doomed effort, and they never made it to the park. He wasn’t deterred—later that evening, with a fire burning and Christmas carols playing, Jeff pointed out to Jessa a new Christmas ornament on the tree—a sparkling diamond ring.
The venue. The couple lives in Annapolis, and Jessa “wanted a truly Annapolitan wedding,” she says. “The Calvert House embodied everything about the city … I really wanted all of our out-of-town guests to experience the city that Jeff and I love.” Jessa walked down the aisle in the atrium in front of 150 guests, wearing a white strapless gown with intricate floral beading on an organza overlay. Her five idesmaids wore floor-length, dark pink dresses with one shoulder, chosen to ensure that everyone would be comfortable—as two of the idesmaids were pregnant!
The reception. The cele ation kicked off with a cocktail hour on the back patio, where guests dined on hors d’ouerves of uschetta, scallops, tempura shrimp, and chicken skewers. Immediately following, the reception began with the ide and groom’s first dance to “You are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne, and a station-style dinner with roast beef, stir fry, and mashed potatoes. “People are still talking about how fantastic the mashed potato station was,” Jessa says. And then, there was dancing. “We kicked off our shoes and boogied the night away,” Jessa says. “Everyone was on the dance floor—young and old!” She made dancing a bit easier for the female guests by offering a big basket of pink and white flip-flops for the ladies to change into.
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The honeymoon. Following the wedding, Jessa and Jeff spend 10 sun-filled days in Huatulco, Mexico, where they stayed in a private villa overlooking the Tangalunga Bay. Their days were spent reading on the beach and playing in the ocean, while the nights were full of delicious meals from restaurants in nearby towns. And now, Jessa and Jeff are looking to their future with an eye on a new home and starting a family. “It’s a great feeling to know that the man you love is going to be with you forever,” she says. “I feel like we just started this new chapter in life, and it’s so fun and exciting to talk about the future.”
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