The Wedding Story of... Jessica & Blake Sharpe

Young Love

Blake and Jessica Sharpe have known each other a long time.  She moved to Fort Wayne in the 7th grade and they both attended the same small middle school, then everyone moved on to high school together.    

The couple began dating in the fall of 1999—their freshman year—and stayed together through high school. When Blake received the opportunity to continue his soccer career at a college in Florida, Jessica followed him to the Sunshine State, attending a different college there.

“I think a lot of people reacted to the fact that I moved down there with him,” Jessica remembered. “But we were willing to take that risk.”

Both earned degrees in their respective fields and graduated.  The couple was committed to each other, but they still weren’t ready to get married. Blake moved to Utah for a job, and Jessica went back to Fort Wayne for her job. For the first time ever, their relationship would take the test of distance.

Meant to Be

In summer 2009, the couple met for a beach vacation in South Carolina. Jessica admits she kind of wondered if the proposal was coming that weekend. After all, the couple had already been together 10 years and they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.  

“I proposed on the beach in the middle of the day,” said Blake.  “It was a very special place for both of us—her family has a house in South Carolina and it just felt like it was meant to be.”

"Can We Change the Wedding"

Both Blake and Jessica are pretty laid back and they both come from big families. Those are two factors that caused them to put wedding planning on the back burner until after the holidays—Jessica’s grandmother was very sick and they wanted to focus on her alongside the rest of the family.  

Then in January 2010, the couple began planning what they thought was their dream wedding.  “Our initial plan was based around a guest list of about 350, the traditional church wedding, country club reception in May 2011,” Jessica explained. “That’s what all our friends have done.”

Then she and Blake attended a bridal show and decided they didn’t want a “cookie cutter wedding” like everyone else. “So we went home to my parents and were like ‘Can we change the wedding and get married in the back yard of your house?’” Jessica recanted.

Her parents agreed, but a back yard wedding meant cutting the guest list to about 110 very close family and friends. They ended up with a beautiful venue that meant a lot to both of them.

The Wedding

The couple actually shared the favorite moment of their wedding day before the ceremony.  

“Our ‘first look’ (at each other) was definitely my favorite part of the day,” said Blake. “Before everybody arrived at the house, I was down by the arch where we were going to get married and I turned around and saw her for the first time, coming toward me. It made the day go a lot smoother and saved some tears later on.”

“It was literally just us. Our photographer was using her telephoto lens and our parents were watching from the house, but it was just the two of us out there,” Jessica added.

A short time later, in front of their closest family and friends—amid a gorgeous set up where no detail was overlooked—the couple exchanged vows. Immediately following the ceremony, the couple and their guests enjoyed a cocktail hour, dinner, cake and Jessica and Blake’s first dance.  

“We went back and forth about whether we were going to do a first dance and decided we might regret it if we don’t,” said Jessica. “We had put together a play list on an iPod for cocktail music, so we changed it to our song. The sun was setting and it was gorgeous.  It was really all about us because our guests weren’t waiting to get out on the dance floor.”

Something to Look Forward To

The celebration didn’t end at the dinner. The day after their wedding, the couple invited everyone they had to cut from the ceremony list to a huge barbeque at Jessica’s parents’ home.  

Like the couple, the barbeque was very laid back—with a bounce house for the kids, a Live Jazz Band for entertainment and a beautiful atmosphere for celebration.  

Although Blake and Jessica had officially been together 11 years by the time they married, they still had something to look forward to after all that time.

“We had never lived together, and it’s been really different for us,” Jessica said. “Everything we have is ours now. Being married and living together has changed our relationship for the better.”