Jade & Curtis

June 7, 2008; Jerry and Linda Jared residence, Rogersville

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Weather is always a consideration when planning an outdoor wedding, but Jade Smith and Curtis Jared had no way of knowing that June 2008 would be the wettest, stormiest month on record. “We were really worried about the winds on the night before the wedding,” explains Jade. “We already had the chairs out and the tents up.” But Jade, an MSU graduate, and Curtis, a Drury graduate and President of Cody’s Convenience Store, woke up on June 7 to a beautiful day for their wedding.

The couple spent their year-long engagement planning the wedding. “I’d always wanted an outdoor wedding,” says Jade. “And Curtis had wanted to get married at his parents’ home since they moved out to Rogersville.” So the couple worked with wedding planner Lenette Kujawa of Aflair (aflairevents.com) to create a dream venue at Jerry and Linda Jared’s residence. It included a platform stage, theatrical lighting and three tents.

“This wedding set the standard for outdoor weddings in Springfield,” says Kujawa. With a background in music and drama, Kujawa worked with Brad Dittmer of Downhome Productions (downhomeproductions.com) to light the 40- by 160-foot reception tent and create a look worthy of a platinum wedding. “It was amazing,” Jade says. Some of the lights were even synchronized to the music played at the reception.

The brown- and pink-wedding had other interesting features, including Native Arizona Manzanita trees with orchids attached and a gelato bar. Jade wanted a candy tent to house sweet treats for guests, and Curtis and his friends enjoyed hanging out in the cigar tent. The groom’s cake was made to look like a Cody’s Convenience Store and gas station. The couple’s dog, Harley, a 3-year-old Maltese, was the ring-bearer.

The couple’s honeymoon was a two-week cruise to the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast where Curtis, a history buff, shared insights with Jade while visiting Normandy, Portugal, Bordeaux and Spain.