Jessica & Joanna Deleonard-Gaither

10/18/2020 – Lawnhaven

Jessica and Joanna originally met online, but officially in person on Friday the thirteenth, on a cold night in November. At first sight, they fell for each other’s laughter and sense of humor. One of the little things that Jessica loves about Joanna is her singing in the shower.

Joanna remembers their first meetings this way, “The moment I laid my eyes on her I swear my heart skipped a beat and time stopped. She has always had an exuberant way about her that is utterly mesmerizing. Making her laugh is one of my favorite things to do. She’s been taking my breath away ever since we met.”

The couple quickly came to know that their lives would someday be intwined forever.

Joanna asked the question very early in their relationship and Jessica immediately said yes. But at the time, both felt they were too young and thought it wasn’t the right time to get married, so as a sign of their love, they wore promise rings as an outward sign of their devotion. Years later when the world began to embrace equality, it was Jessica’s turn to ask Joanna. She immediately and lovingly said yes, and they embarked on their journey to marriage. . . the rest is history!”

The wedding planning journey began with Google of course. “We were googling LGBTQ+- friendly venues and Stroudsmoor was one of the very first to popup. We immediately fell in love with the venue pictures on their website, so we scheduled a tour as soon as possible.”

After touring the Inn, Jessica and Joanna picked Lawnhaven at Stroudsmoor for their wedding. They said their Stroudsmoor Wedding Team immediately treated them like family, and made them feel like they were fully accepted. On the day they reserved their October 18, 2020 wedding date, the smiles on their faces and the love in their hearts put them on the path to a wonderful celebration.

When asked to describe their wedding experience, Jessica said, “Everyone was sweet and caring and made sure our special day was exactly what we dreamed of. We will never forget how beautiful our special day was. From the flowers to the venue. Even the small things like having our family who couldn’t join us in pictures on the mantles. We love how beautiful everyone made us feel and how wonderful our day turned out to be. We appreciate all who helped us make our day so special. It is definitely a day we won’t forget.”

Joanna remarked, “Our wedding day was nothing short of a true fairytale that I never knew I wanted. Everything looked so beautiful from the cake and table arrangements, to the flowers. I know my entire family, myself included, enjoyed ourselves immensely . . . I will never forget our special day.”