Bright and joyful wedding at a Los Angeles automobile museum

Jamie + Vina

Orientation: Lesbian; Lesbian

Pronouns: She/Her; She/Her

Wedding Location: Los Angeles, California

Jamie and Vina’s wedding took place at the Automobile Driving Museum in Los Angeles to honor the couple’s love of cars. Vina’s family owned a body shop growing up, and Jamie grew up attending car shows. A car museum felt like the perfect way to begin their lives together.

“It was fierce, and it was bohemian,” they said. “The signs, balloons, desserts, food, music, the photo, and video experience, and so much more produced so many tears of gratitude.”

The ceremony included a wedding lasso tradition, during which a large rosary was placed around both members of the couple to symbolize their union. They chose this element because it is common in both their Hispanic and Filipino cultures.

The wedding was also a gift from the vendors to the couple. “During the pandemic, I was so down and I felt so bad for couples whose wedding plans were on hold for so many reasons, that I came up with a SAFE micro wedding giveaway and invited this particular creative team, including the museum, to donate products and services,” explains planner Yvonne Wolf of Yvonne Wolf Events. “So grateful for everyone involved.”

The Proposal

Vina proposed to Jamie at her own grad school graduation party in front of their family and friends. “Everyone knew except her,” Vina said. “It was epic.”

“I was just so excited to celebrate Vina’s graduation along with her passing a very important board exam,” Jamie said. “We decided to gather about 100 people to thank all of the important people who played a big role in her accomplishments. While Vina was saying her thank you speech to everyone, she snuck in a huge thank you to me, and I turned around, and everyone’s cameras were looking at me! Somehow this moment turned into being about me. Before I could even process what was going on, she was already on one knee, popping the question.”

How They Met

The couple met in December of 2013, when Vina interviewed Jamie for a job. Vina said it was love at first sight, and three years later, they were engaged.

While planning the wedding, Vina unfortunately got into a terrible car accident and was unable to walk for 6 months.

“It ate away at our savings since I couldn’t work,” Vina said. “Jamie had to work less because she had to help take care of me. I rehabbed every single day and saw so many specialists.”

Once Vina began walking on her own again, the couple went back to wedding planning. From the accident to pandemic-related job loss, their love continues to endure through hardship.

What advice would you give to engaged LGBTQ+ couples?

Continue to be FEARLESS and remember that all you need is the right type of love. There are no rules on how to get married, just follow your heart.

Advice for vendors and venues working with LGBTQ+ couples?

When you think of weddings, you typically think of them being traditional. It is often perceived that one should want to conform to the norms of what a wedding is supposed to look like. Still, sometimes those particular aspects of being traditional just might not feel right to an individual and can often be unsettling. Yvonne did a fantastic job giving us different options and having thorough conversations to help us figure out what felt right for us. The advice would be to help those people be more comfortable with the process.