Bride and groom
Ashley McGrew, 25, a space planner at the U.S. Department of Energy, originally from Monrovia, Md.; and Adam Jessen, 24, an associate inside sales representative at Qiagen, originally from Fort Myers, Fla. The couple now lives in Gaithersburg.
The wedding
June 4, at Union Mills Homestead in Westminster, Md.
How they met
Waiting tables and slinging tacos at On the Border restaurant in Tallahassee, Fla., while attending Florida State University.
First date
After spending time together at a work party, Adam got up the nerve to ask for Ashley’s number. He called the next day and asked her out. They went to dinner at Bonefish Grill in Gaithersburg, then watched the “not-so-romantic” movie Identity. Neither noticed; they were too busy talking. The next morning, Ashley called her mom—who was in the middle of teaching an English class 1,000 miles away—and told her that she had found the man she was going to marry.
The proposal
Adam re-created the couple’s first date three and a half years later: dinner at Bonefish Grill followed by Identity. A few minutes into the movie, Adam stepped away to Google which finger the ring should go on (he was so nervous, he’d forgotten). When he returned, he teased Ashley about calling her mom after their first date, then asked what she’d say after this date. With that, he bent down on one knee, pulled out a ring and asked her to be his wife.
What she loves most about him
“He still gives me butterflies.”
What he loves most about her
“Her creativity and silliness.”
Wedding theme
Vintage country garden
Number of guests
115
What made it special
In the barn where the celebration took place, a table displayed wedding photos of the couple’s relatives. “It was a wonderful way for guests to see where we came from and to laugh about whom each of us looked like,” Ashley says. And photos of those who had passed away made them “feel as if they were with us to celebrate our special day.”Also on the table was a guest book created by the maid of honor and the bride’s younger sister, Caitlin. Guests’ advice and well-wishes were placed in a wine bottle, to be opened on the couple’s one-year anniversary. A second bottle, to be opened on their five-year anniversary, held predictions for their future life.
Gown
Crystal-embellished ivory lace gown—with a ruched taffeta bodice and small train—ordered from a custom designer website (thecustomdresses.com)
Photographer
Ferry Huang Photography in Germantown
Cake
Two flavors of cupcakes—vanilla butternut pound cake with a buttercream frosting and red velvet with cream cheese frosting—were made by Ashley’s childhood friend, Abby Bishop.
Honeymoon
Riviera Maya, Mexico
The Details
Wedding planner was Ashley, with the help of friends and family; flowers were by the bride’s childhood babysitter, Lori Mayhew; caterer was Kountry Kafe; hair, by Amanda Stick of Renaissance Salon; makeup, by Elyse Michelle of Sephora; music, by Stephan Zimmerman of Legendary Sounds.
