Jessica Jones and Cameron Donnell first met—quite fittingly—at their mutual friends’ wedding. Jessica worked for Chanel in New York City, while Cameron worked in energy in Midland, Texas. Neither knew if they would attend the wedding in Houston, but thankfully they were convinced at the last minute. The two ultimately spent the entire evening dancing and talking. Jessica left the party, already texting her mom that she just met her future husband. The couple began dating and after six months of long-distance, united in Austin to finally be in the same city. One year later, Cameron proposed.
“We knew we wanted to do a destination wedding in a beautiful place that would feel special for us, and somewhere our families and friends would be excited to go,” Jessica explains. The Yountville area of Napa was perfect. Jessica and Cameron toured several venues before seeing Beaulieu Garden in the dead of winter. Even barren, the gardens were beautiful. They booked a date in October 2020, knowing the venue would look even more picturesque during that time of year.
As the pandemic inevitably changed the trajectory of weddings in 2020, Jessica and Cameron also pivoted their nuptial plans. They moved their celebration to July 24, 2021. “Cameron and I didn’t want to wait any longer to be married, so we ended up doing a small ceremony in my grandparents’ backyard with our immediate families,” she shares. “Getting married in a place where I spent so much of my childhood is one of our most cherished memories.”
To turn their vision into reality, the couple hired Laurie Arons as their wedding planner and Todd Events and Kathleen Deery Design for the design components.”They worked together tirelessly to bring to life our idea of an indoor and outdoor tent in the vineyard, a whimsical dinner in the garden, and a Mexican disco after-party,” Jessica says. “They were also behind our beautiful welcome party and rehearsal dinner.” Jessica’s mother also helped with the herculean effort of wedding planning and re-planning, every step of the way.
Jessica enlisted Cynthia Cook Smith to help curate her wedding weekend wardrobe. For the al-fresco rehearsal dinner, she selected a floor-length romantic pink sequin Markarian gown. For the bridal luncheon, she wore a Dolce & Gabbana floral bustier top and skirt set. At the welcome party, Jessica looked elegant and summery in a floral linen Brock Collection bustier dress.
Jessica was nearly finished with her appointment at Reem Acra when Reem herself walked in with a dress from her new collection that would be perfect for her. When Jessica saw the gown for herself, she knew Reem was right. Cynthia, Jessica, and Reem customized the dress further. One detail in particular Jessica expands upon, “My mom had a piece of her original wedding gown sewn into the inside of the dress near my heart so that I could have a little piece of my parent’s special day with me when I walked down the aisle.” For her final outfit of the night, Jessica changed into a floor-length crystal embellished Naeem Kahn dress.
To complement her wedding day look, Jessica wore her late great-grandmother’s blue sapphire ring—”her something borrowed and something blue.” “It’s a tradition shared with all of the women on my dad’s side of the family,” she says. On her right ring finger, she slid her mother’s late godmother’s engagement ring on.
Cameron kept his groom’s look sharp and debonair with Zegna suits for the rehearsal dinner and welcome party. For the wedding, he sported a classic midnight blue Tom Ford tuxedo. His groomsmen coordinated in navy suits.
Jessica’s fifteen bridesmaids wore a mix of floral and silk Jenny Yoo dresses in pastel greens, pinks, and blues. Jessica’s two sisters and maids of honor were dressed in custom floral-tiered Brock Collection dresses with a train.
On July 24, 2021, Cameron’s godbrother, Michael, married the couple in the sunken gardens around the fountain. “My favorite part of the ceremony was when Michael asked us to face the congregation and take a second to take in and appreciate everyone’s presence in the moment,” Jessica recalls. The newlyweds recessed down the aisle to a gospel choir’s rendition of “Oh Happy Day.”
Cocktail hour commenced in the rose garden with a raw bar, passed appetizers, and champagne and margaritas from the agave bar. “Being from Texas, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to have a full selection of specialty tequila cocktails,” Jessica notes. Cameron and Jessica led the way to the dinner space under the sycamore arbor—not without the gospel choir singing “Higher Love” and leading guests down the path, though.
Laurie, Todd, and Kathleen transformed the dancing tent into a blooming space with added greenery and chandeliers. “It was directly next to the vineyards, so we wanted an open-air tent where guests could feel like we were outside in the middle of the vineyard while maintaining the structure of a tent,” Jessica says. The band played all night long, and the espresso martini shots fueled all the dancing.
Cameron and Jessica left the reception in a vintage Packard getaway car and drove straight to the after-party. They circumvented Napa’s noise ordinance on outdoor music by hosting the party at a local Mexican spot, La Calenda. Todd and his team worked with Laurie to create a Mexican-inspired fiesta, complete with an exploded piñata photobooth, a custom 1942 Ice Luge shot bar in the shape of our wedding logo, and dozens upon dozens of frozen margaritas and late-night tacos. As Cameron and Jessica’s wedding night came to a close, they were reminded of how their relationship first began—at a wedding, no less. Jessica’s mother and Todd surprised the couple with a giant neon sign of the text Jessica sent to her the night she met her future groom.
