Bride: Rieleah + Jamie

Rieleah + Jamie

-Liesel Schmidt

Over the past decade, dating apps have become a mainstream way for meeting potential mates. Unlike its competitors, Hinge brands itself as “The dating app meant to be deleted,” and that certainly held true for Rieleah Hester and Jamie Dezendorf when they connected on the app—only to find that they had a number of friends in common. 

“It was history from there,” Rieleah says. 

History, and something of a rom-com. 

The two started dating, and three years and a baby later, Jamie made their deep connection one of forever commitment. “We’d gone to Orange Beach to have dinner, and as we walked down the pier, my mom was there, playing our song,” Rieleah recalls. “Jamie grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes and started telling me that I was his best friend and that he couldn’t imagine his life without me, and then he got down on one knee. Our little girl was there to see it and share that moment with us, and my sister recorded the whole thing. It was perfect and intimate.”

Just over a year later, Rieleah wore a form-fitting strapless white gown with a high slit running up the side and adorned by a massive bow across the back and buttons tracing the length of it as she walked down the aisle at The Avenue at Covey Rise in Husser, LA. Joining her white tuxedoed groom at the altar, Rieleah and Jamie exchanged vows and were pronounced married by her father, who served as their officiant, as 220 of their closest friends and family gathered in celebration of their love—though things didn’t go off without a few hitches along the way.

“It was definitely a memorable wedding,” Rieleah notes. “As the bridal party was walking down the aisle, it started to sprinkle—and then, when I began to walk, it started to pour! The moment I stepped in front of the arch and looked at Jamie, I asked, ‘Do you want to do this?’ He looked back at me and said, ‘Absolutely.’ So we got married in the pouring rain, and I was literally living my ’90s rom-com dream.”

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Vendor List

• Venue: The Avenue at Covey Rise
• Photography: Josh Williams
• Videography: Lex Abshire
• Rentals: Southern Hospitality, Royal Events, Ad Event Group
• Backdrops: Events and Backdrops by KD
• Florist: Villere’s Florist Covington
• Bakery: Falynn’s Sweet Treats
• 3-piece Quartet: Lauren Elizabeth
• Band: Karma
• Officiant: Kurt Hester