The Wedding Story of...Jennifer & Joshua Bail

The two met in October of 1999 on a New Orleans riverboat cruise. Jennifer was working as a photographer and Joshua, a bartender. The two sparked a friendship that lasted more than a decade until they decided to take the next step forward and began dating in May 2012.

 

“I always knew if we started dating, we would be together,” Jennifer said. And on September 22, 2012 she became even more certain of their future together. She was living in Indiana while Joshua was in Ohio, but he came in for the weekend to visit. Hours before she was expecting him, she arrived home from photographing a wedding to find the driveway lit with luminaries. She walked inside to flowers and champagne, but there was no sign of Joshua anywhere. When she did find him, he was surprised to see her. “What are you doing here? I had a whole thing [planned],” Joshua said to her. So she went back outside, rang the doorbell and then Joshua proposed saying, “I’ve called you my friend for 14 years, now I want to call you my wife.”

 

 

 

After she received this completely unexpected proposal, Jennifer and Joshua began to plan their wedding and went with a theme that was all their own. “I tell people it was carnival chic,” Jennifer said. “I wanted something unique, so I just went with it.” Every last detail was thoughtful, distinctive and the perfect representation of the couple. Instead of using conventional flowers, the two – both avid readers – made their own from the pages of books. The centerpieces made use of “glitter nuts” (peanuts covered in glitter and spray paint), LED light vases, Cracker Jack boxes, Animal Crackers and raffle tickets. On top of that, the two had sideshow performers, a cotton candy machine and a face painter for their guests to enjoy.  

 

 

 

Oftentimes, after months of preparation, the wedding day goes by in the blink of an eye. While Jennifer and Joshua’s wedding day was a bit of a whirlwind, they had several special defining moments that will stay with them forever. For Jennifer, the first was the exciting moment when Joshua took the microphone from the officiant to kiss her, his bride. Another was a bit more comical, as the imported wine they had – which was 30 years-old – “had turned to vinegar and tasted awful.” And finally, watching the children in attendance release balloons into the air; balloons that were meant to symbolize the presence of Jennifer’s daughter, Maya, who had passed away. “Everything else was a blur,” she said. 

 

 

“Everything is easy,” Jennifer said of her relationship with Josh. “I think it’s because we’re such good friends and we have a mutual respect for each other.” Each has been in the other’s life for many years on several different levels – first as friends, then through dating, and now as husband and wife – and each has come to know what makes the other tick; what makes them special and what makes them perfect for each other.