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A Chic Celebration

Jamie Lynn Sigler & Jake J. Lescatello | May 19, 2007

Jamie Lynn Sigler and Jake Pescatello were just friends during their Cape Cod high school days, but they found love one summer during college. Eight happy years later, in May 2006, Jake surprised Jamie with a trip to Italy and an elaborate proposal. On a gondola under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, he kissed her and proposed at sunset, while the church bells tolled—following a legend that if a couple kisses right there and then, they’ll be in love forever.

Upon return, Jamie immediately began planning for a high-energy wedding. “We’re both very social people,” Jamie says. “We love to throw parties and wanted this to be the biggest party of our lives.”

To put their personal stamp on the event—from invitations to décor—Jamie chose a modern aesthetic theme of subtle spheres (including a round “J&J” logo and decorative touches of circular, elegant capiz shells), as well as a black, ivory and fuchsia color scheme.

A three-day event, festivities began Thursday night with a casual fiesta at Su Casa in Windansea. The following night, a rehearsal dinner for the wedding party and family at Tower23’s JRDN was followed by a late-night party for all wedding guests.

The ceremony itself took place at Del Mar’s Seagrove Park, a favorite spot for the couple. Guests enjoyed a five-piece string ensemble, as well as tray-passed pink champagne bellinis and pink lemonade, while Jamie and her bridesmaids arrived in a chartered trolley.

Rev. Eric Bourdette—who’d prepared with extensive interviews with each wedding party member—opened the ceremony with the couple and their bridal party facing the guests as he told moving stories about each of them. “I don’t think there was one person who wasn’t crying,” Jamie says. The bride and groom retreated down the aisle to The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.”

Wedding guests arrived at the reception site, the elegant Witherby loft space in the historic Gaslamp Quarter, and gathered in its second-story windows, where they dropped rose petals onto the sidewalks below—which were blocked off by city permit. The wedding party arrived by trolley to the sea of fluttering rose petals and walked a red carpet into the building. “There was just so much excitement,” Jamie says. “It was raining rose petals.”

Once inside, Jamie and Jake kicked off the celebration with an untraditional first dance: they rumbaed to Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love.” From then on, the party never stopped.

Setting the festive stage was pink uplighting and sparkling candlelight on the dinner tables. “I wanted the whole place literally to glow,” says Jamie. With no formal sit-down dinner, guests kept dancing or mingled, while enjoying miniature-size gourmet food from three food stations: one with fresh Maine lobster macaroni-and-cheese, in honor of their East Coast upbringing; a West Coast station with Kobe beef California sliders and truffle parm frites; and an Italian station with chicken piccata, honoring their engagement. The cake cutting was followed by tray-passed mini round cheesecakes with the “J&J” logo and piping-hot chocolate-chip cookies.

All the while, deejay Tim Altbaum kept the crowd hopping. “We told him, ‘If people aren’t slowing down, don’t play a slow song,’” Jamie says. “Literally all 160 people danced from the time it started till the time it ended.” And was it the biggest party of their lives? “Absolutely,” Jamie says. “It’s all about memories and being with the people we love.”

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Adrianne Smith, Adrianne Smith Floral Design
Adrianne Smith likes to hear a couple’s personal story when designing flowers for their wedding. “I try to find ways to take something personal that they didn’t expect and put it into the wedding,” she says. “It’s kind of a fun game for me. I look for people’s unusual needs or interests and see how I can translate them into the right floral design expression.”

In the case of Jamie and Jake, she immediately understood the blend of natural beauty and urban sophistication they were seeking. So, for the beach-side ceremony, she used organic elements that created a distinctly modern feel. Hot pink hydrangea and strings of white capiz shells hung from curved iron hooks. And capiz shells also fell from a bamboo altar, creating both a stunning visual and a “quiet, gentle clinking” sound when rustled by the sea breeze, Smith says. “It was really magical.”



John Mireles, Ventana Photography
“I work in an industry where I know how valuable good photographers are,” says Jamie, a partner in a PR firm. And John Mireles captured her wedding’s spirit perfectly, Jamie says. “He let us be our own personalities.”

Mireles started his career in photography 17 years ago. An avid rock climber, he began photographing his peers, which led to shooting other outdoor sports and eventually grew into editorial and advertising work. Although he climbs less today, he still enjoys high-pressure situations. “I do my best work when I’m in challenging circumstances,” Mireles says. “We’ve got 250 people and 10 minutes to get the shot—that’s where I excel.”

In photographing weddings, he says it’s important to build a trusting relationship with the bride and groom beforehand. “With Jamie and Jake, we enjoyed a drink and just talked for the first hour of the engagement shoot,” he says. “That way we got to know each other. They felt relaxed with me.”

The Witherby
Inside an ornate 1882 building, The Witherby on Market Street provides a surprisingly modern urban experience. The 7,500-square-foot loft space, which holds 600 people, has original exposed brick, crown molding and vaulted 18-foot ceilings. And it provides a uniquely private event. “We’re closed to the public,” says Mike Georgopoulos, vice president and partner of EnDev, LLC, which owns The Witherby. “When you rent the place, it’s for your event and nothing else.”
 

Despite its classic look, the ability to customize the menu, décor, florals, lighting and entertainment offers couples great flexibility in bringing in their own colors, styles and designs, says Georgopoulos.
 

Jamie and Jake took advantage of the ability to personalize the environment, making it uniquely their own—from the rose petal drop to their “J&J” logo projected on a waterfall at the top of The Witherby’s grand staircase. The Witherby also allowed the couple to replace artwork displayed next to the waterfall with their own engagement photos. And, The Witherby’s executive chef, Antonio Friscia, created exquisite gourmet food that perfectly suited their style and themes. His miniature lobster macaroni-and-cheese bowls were “the biggest hit of the wedding,” Jamie says.

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