You may recognize this gorgeous bride from our Intentional Bride series on Instagram. We followed Jacklyn Sweet on her journey from girlfriend to fiancé, all the way down the aisle. We chose her because we knew she would plan her wedding like she lives her life, intentionally. This generation of brides and couples is all about authenticity and planning a wedding that speaks to their story, rather than blindly following tradition or trying to keep up with “The Joneses. ” So now that the petals have settled and the honeymoon has passed, we checked in with Jackie to see how married life is treating her and to reflect on all of the decisions she and her hubby made along the way to create a day that truly belonged to them.
What steps did you take to preserve your sanity and peace during the planning process?
To be honest, preserving my sanity and peace throughout the process was challenging! My now-husband and I got engaged in February, and I planned our wedding in just five months. We both knew that once we got engaged, we wanted to get married that same year. We didn’t see a reason to prolong our engagement era.
I gave myself two weeks to bask in fiancé bliss before diving headfirst into securing a venue, back-and-forth negotiations, and everything else that comes with planning a wedding.
I’m naturally someone who keeps her cards close to her chest, with a bit of a “don’t let ’em see you sweat” mentality. But having a few close girlfriends to confide in, vent to, and occasionally spiral with definitely helped.
There were moments when I felt completely overwhelmed, but I kept reminding myself that I was planning a special day for me and my best friend, surrounded by our favorite people, to celebrate US.
I also learned that not every opinion required consideration, and not every tradition required participation. Once we were clear on what mattered to us, it became much easier to make decisions and let the rest go.
What are you doing now to keep the romance alive as the intentional wife?
I find curiosity to be sexy. There’s something incredibly romantic and fun about continuing to discover one another, not just as a couple, but as individuals who are constantly evolving.
One of the things that was important to me about becoming a wife was maintaining my individuality through every version and season of life, while continuing to grow alongside my husband.
In my vows, I promised Corey that I would “stay curious about the man you continue to become and never assume that because I know you deeply, I know every version of you.”
I think that sentiment really captures how I approach marriage. I never want us to stop discovering each other simply because we’ve made a lifelong commitment.
For me, being an intentional wife means continuing to date my husband, remaining curious about one another, creating new memories, and finding pleasure in the life we’re building together.
What about your wedding design? Aesthetically, what was intentional? Like a specific color choice that represented something, inside jokes, a specific meal, etc.
To be honest, almost everything! I’m a deeply sentimental person, and I love the idea of creating little worlds and inviting the people who are special to us into them.
Funny enough, I originally wanted a micro-elopement, and my husband was the one who wanted a wedding!
We wanted our wedding to feel like a modern heirloom. Something timeless, romantic, and deeply personal without feeling overly traditional or predictable.
Our ceremony took place in the gardens of Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, which provided such a beautiful, historic backdrop. Our color palette featured rich burgundy, ivory, and deep emerald with brass accents. We wanted warmth, depth, and a sense of understated elegance.
Corey and I live in a Spanish-style home here in Los Angeles, and in the spirit of bringing our two families and groups of friends together, I dubbed our reception “Casa Cooper.”
I sourced some amazing small businesses on Etsy to help bring the vision to life. One of my favorite details was our custom matchboxes. Rather than illustrating our wedding venue, I had our actual home illustrated on them, with “Casa Cooper” on the back.
It was important to me to create pieces that would live beyond the wedding and become part of our home. Our custom Casa Cooper bar menus, “JC” monogrammed butler napkins, and matchboxes were all designed with that in mind.
And rather than traditional escort cards or table numbers, we wrote personalized notes to our guests. It was important that the people who had loved and supported us throughout our lives felt that love reflected back to them.
We wanted our guests to feel like they were experiencing a piece of our story, not simply attending another wedding.
How did you go about choosing those special details? Did your planner help you, or did you come up with them on your own?
I’ve always been someone who appreciates beautiful things, but I’m equally interested in the meaning behind them. Much of the creative direction came naturally from the way Corey and I live, entertain, and experience the world.
I had a very clear vision of how I wanted the day to look and, more importantly, how I wanted it to feel.
I approached the wedding almost as I would curate an experience in our home. I thought about the atmosphere, the music, the food and drinks, the personal touches, and how everything would come together to tell a cohesive story.
I personally developed the creative direction and sourced many of the custom details, while our vendors helped bring those ideas to life.
Ultimately, the inspiration was rooted in our relationship, our personal style, and the experience we wanted to create for the people we love.
Nothing needed to be elaborate for the sake of being elaborate. It simply needed to feel like us.
Was there anything about how you handled your wedding planning process that surprised your family or friends? How did you handle that?
Probably how comfortable we were doing things our own way!
We got married on a Tuesday, didn’t have a traditional wedding party, and made several decisions that weren’t necessarily conventional.
And to be completely transparent, the Tuesday wedding wasn’t some grand statement against tradition! We got engaged in February and knew we wanted a summer wedding that same year. As you can imagine, most weekend dates were already booked, so we worked with what was available. And honestly, it turned out beautifully.
I think weddings can come with a lot of expectations, both spoken and unspoken, about what you’re supposed to do and who you’re supposed to accommodate.
We were thoughtful about the people we love, but we also understood that we weren’t going to make every decision by committee.
Ultimately, we wanted our wedding to be a reflection of our relationship rather than an exercise in meeting everyone else’s expectations.
Cheers, Jackie! We’re so happy for you both!
XOXO- Wedding Chicks
To follow her @jacklynsweet on IG as she continues her journey, now as the Intentional Wife.
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