Shahana and Jacob 
October 20, 2018

How They Met
Shahana and Jacob first met while Shahana was attending VCU Arts. A mutual friend (who would later become Shahana’s Maid of Honor) introduced the two and sparks flew immediately. While they were in and out of each other’s lives for some time before officially dating, a whirlwind summer romance reconnected them and ignited that initial spark into a full-blown flame. Three months into dating they had their first “real” date which consisted of mini-golf and dinner at Olive Garden.

The Proposal
Shahana explains, “Jacob always said he was ready to propose a week after we started dating. That’s him, diving headfirst into everything!” He held out until their fifth Christmas together, where he gifted Shahana a birthday trip to Colorado. Little did she know, he had a very special surprise planned with his best friend Jeff (One of Jacob’s future groomsmen)! She describes, “Jeff led us on a snowshoe hike through the Rocky Mountain National Forest. Two and a half miles in, we came to the most beautiful clearing in the center of the snowy mountains. We stopped for a picture and before I knew what was happening, Jacob was down on one knee asking me to marry him.”

The Details
From the jump, they both knew that they wanted an outdoor wedding, Jacob’s only requirement was that there were trees. Shahana describes their venue, “The vintage, mismatched vibe of the space fit in perfectly to what I had already been planning for months before we found it.”

Their theme was vintage and perfectly mismatched. “Everything was gathered from different places to be brought together in just the right way.” Mismatched chairs, farm tables, bistro lighting, vintage china, and the rest of their decor were perfectly complimented by muted neutrals, stunning metallics, and beautiful bouquets and altar decoration provided by Vogue Flowers. “The idea I had for the centerpieces turned out to be one of the more elaborate parts of the setup. The bottles and candlesticks that made up all the centerpieces were gathered from thrift stores, flea markets, antique shops–you name it–from all over. I even had family and friends scooping them up for me when they would see them out and about.”

“I wanted our friends and family to come to our wedding and say, ‘Oh, this is so Jacob and Shahana.’ I went through design school, so getting to design our wedding was one of my favorite parts.”

Shahana and Jacob had Jacob’s brother, Andrew, officiate their wedding, adding even more intimacy to the day. “Neither of us is religious, so we just gave him a few points we wanted him to talk about, including a Mark Twain excerpt that I love, and he took it from there. Just the right amount of humor and sentimentality.” Shahana’s brother also performed the music for the processional and sang a song with Shahana’s Maid of Honor during the ceremony.

Favorite Part of the Day
“I think we both agree that the ceremony was everything we wanted it to be. It was perfect. We also both really loved the time we had in the morning getting ready with our closest friends and our family.”

Biggest Challenge
“Definitely cost. There were a lot of things I wanted to do but had to cut out because it was just too expensive. But hey, that’s the name of the game and it forced me to get more creative!”

Best Piece of Advice
“Do what you want to do! You’ll get a lot of opinions from a lot of people (and yes, you should listen to the professionals) but in the end, it’s your day and you both are going to be the ones that really remember it forever. Try to cherish the whole day. It really does go by fast.”

*All information in our Featured Weddings is provided by the couple. Richmond Weddings™ is not responsible for discovering and adding vendors who were not on the submission form completed by the couple.*