In August of 2016, Jes and Chris met on the dance floor at Salsa Night at the Crowne Plaza in Wyomissing through mutual friends. Jes, a single parent, enjoyed dancing with Chris, but was seeing someone else at the time. Chris asked Jes out at least a dozen times over the next few months, but it just never seemed to be the right time. Fast forward through a year of being friendly and their paths crossing off and on to an unexpectedly hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity that would change their lives forever.
The Proposal
It all happened when the Lower Alsace Township couple was scheduled to take their 8-year-old son, Ronan, to Philly for the day the weekend before Thanksgiving 2017. During a show at the Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute, a nervous Christopher leaned over to pop the question only to find Jessica asleep. Luckily, they had tickets to Blue Cross RiverRink's Winterfest, as Jes had always wanted to go ice skating there. On site was a life-sized snow globe and Chris insisted Jes enter to pose for a picture. While Jes resisted, Chris finally convinced her to stand in line. A kind stranger offered to take their photo. Once inside the snow globe, complete with a beautiful snowy winter scene, Christopher got down on one knee and proposed to Jessica in front of all of Penn's Landing! As luck would have it, the person who offered to take a family photo also took video.
The Big Day
Jes and Chris wanted their day to be intimate and reflect their spirituality while also being financially and environmentally responsible. So they decided there wasn't a more perfect place for them to get married than at their beloved ashram, the place that made their relationship possible, The Kula Kamala Foundation and Yoga Ashram, with co-founder Rev. Sudha Allitt PhD as the officiant. While sticking to their non-traditional style, Jes and Chris walked down the aisle together with their son, Ronan, serving as the “Lord of the Rings.” Fresh, locally grown flowers of the season filled the room as Christopher and Jessica chanted traditional prayers in Sanskrit and exchanged personally written vows. The food was a traditional Indian dish with ingredients locally sourced and lovingly crafted at the ashram. A non-alcoholic affair, the party featured organic elderflower lemonade while local artist, Yenna Hill, offered mandala henna hand art. As attendees munched on a masterfully prepared wedding cake — made of a layer of cake nestled between two layers of vanilla married with fresh mint with macerated organic blackberry chocolate ganache and frosted with buttercream — friends and family danced the night away to the tunes of local DJ favorite Gregg Nyce. It was a simple affair meant to showcase their pure and deep love and affection for one another, and they nailed it!
The newlyweds’ first dance was a mash up of sorts. It started with Ray LaMontagne’s You Are the Best Thing and then transitioned to surprise guests with a few choreographed traditional Greek dances as a nod to Christopher’s heritage.
Looking back, Jes and Chris say their favorite part of the day was the sheer “togetherness” of it all. Explains Jes, “We did it on our terms and guarded every special moment with our lives. We kept true to what is most important to us and honored our relationship and our values mindfully and profoundly. We didn’t allow anything to sway the pure enjoyment we felt for our day.”
The Honeymoon & Future Plans
Instead of a honeymoon, they enjoyed a “Familymoon” to Costa Rica, which doubled as an exploratory mission. They flew into San Jose and promptly went to Uvita, Dominical, Quepos, Jaco, Malpais, Nosara, Monteverde, Heredia, Alajuela, Atenas and Grecia, staying in all manners and styles of homes from tiny homes to yurts to converted shipping containers. Chris and Ronan took surfing lessons, and throughout the adventure the family discovered all kinds of wildlife, including toucans and monkeys, and even watched sea turtles lay eggs on the beach at night!
Through the ashram, the couple has become certified 200-hour yoga instructors, and beginning in January they will be embarking on an 18-month Spiritual Leadership Certification distance program, also through the ashram. Jes is a certified Reiki Master and Chris is attuned to Level II, heading for a mastership. The pair basically want to establish something like The Kula Kumala Foundation, but in Central America.
Other plans include Jes finishing her book; completing their Spiritual Leadership Certifications; adopting a few dogs; building several Airbnbs, a wellness center, and a farm to table café just like the ashram’s Food4All Cafe.teria; and hopefully along the way being blessed with a daughter.
The Details
Hair: Salon EveLeila, Shillington
Make-up: Alisha's Spa Euphoria, Shillington
Flowers: The Rustic Bunch
