Jackie & Evan

This originally ran as a Local Love in the 2021 issue.

WEDDING DATE August 10, 2019

When Jackie Hood and Evan Fielder met at the University of Oklahoma—she was from Maryland, he was from Oklahoma—they were friendly, but nothing more at first. It wasn’t until a year later, when they were both back visiting and ran into each other at a tailgate for the first home football game, that they really started to vibe. “We hung out that entire day and night, and the rest is history,” says Jackie. They had just started dating—Jackie was living in Dallas, Texas, for work and Evan was getting ready to move to Atlanta, Georgia—when Jackie was given the opportunity to relocate to Atlanta for work, too. “I thought it would be fun to try out a new city, especially being that my crush would be there as well,” says Jackie. She signed the offer, and shortly after, Evan told her he was moving to . . . Dallas. “We switched places,” she says, laughing. They ended up dating long-distance for two years. Every three weeks they would each drive six hours to a middle point—typically ending up somewhere in Mississippi. “It was a difficult time for our relationship,” admits Jackie, “but the adventures we took during this time were super special and fun.” After an engagement in Texas that wasn’t a total surprise given that they had been dating for more than five years and Evan had taken her ring shopping, Jackie was ready to plan her wedding on the Eastern Shore—a special place for the Hood family since Jackie grew up spending summers and weekends on the Chesapeake Bay at a house that had been in her family for generations. She wanted to find a venue on the water that was essentially a blank palette that she could turn into her vision. “I’m a designer by degree, and a control freak/planner by birth,” she admits, “So visualizing exactly what I wanted wasn’t hard in the least.” That meant a nautical feel that was fresh and unexpected: fuchsia, blue, and green hues, palm leaves, bridesmaids carrying bouquets of orchids, and a black-and-white checkered dance floor under a big white tent. As the sun set over the Bay, Jackie and Evan took to the dance floor. Even though it didn’t go exactly as they had hoped—the band ending up playing a different version of their first dance than they were expecting—it was still magical. “Take time to breathe,” says Jackie, offering advice to future couples. “Take time to smile. Take time to look around and understand where you are, what and who got you to that point, and how special this moment in time truly is.”

Beauty Jeff Enriquez Beauty (makeup); Tress Hair Co (hair) Bridesmaids Katie May “Liu” dresses Cake Cake by Jason Hisley Caterer Herrington on the Bay Custom Drink Signage Cami Monet Miller FLoral Design My Flower Box Designs Groom and Groomsmen Suit Supply (groom); The Black Tux (groomsmen) Honeymoon Hawaii (Kauai and Maui) Location Herrington on the Bay Music String Poets (ceremony) Officiant Jim Southworth, bride’s uncle Photographer Audra Wrisley Photography Rentals White Glove Rentals, Select Event Group, Revolution Event Design Stationery Color Box Design & Letterpress Videographer Josh Gooden Cinema Wedding Dress Hayley Paige Wedding Planner Elle Ellinghaus Designs