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A “Dancing With the Stars” alum tied the knot in a surprise ceremony when talk show host Jeannie Mai and recording artist Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins were married in Atlanta recently. Here’s what you need to know about their relationship and the beautiful ceremony.
They Married a Year After Their Engagement
In March 2020, Jenkins had planned to propose to Mai on a trip to Vietnam — but due to the pandemic, the trip had to be canceled. He told Vogue that what he did instead was plan a Vietnam-themed date night at his home in Los Angeles in honor of Mai’s Vietnamese heritage. She said yes and the rest is history.
The ceremony took place on March 27 at their home in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally, they had wanted to have their wedding in the South of France or at Lake Como in northern Italy, but travel restrictions again played a part there and they ended up having the wedding at home.
The wedding was kept small and the couple required negative COVID tests from everyone in attendance in order to keep everyone as safe as possible.
They Wanted to Seize the Moment After Jenkins’ Mom’s Sudden Passing
Mai told Vogue that they had wanted a big wedding with all of their friends and family in attendance, but when Jenkins’ mother suddenly died, they realized they needed to seize the day and just do it.
“We were really looking forward to having all of our friends and family there to celebrate. But we had to change all of our wedding plans due to COVID. After Jeezy’s mother unexpectedly passed, we quickly learned that life is too short,” said Mai. “And at the end of the day, Jeezy and I really just wanted to become husband and wife. So we decided to turn our original wedding into a mini-mony, where we exchanged our vows in front of our immediate family and a few close friends.”
Mai also revealed she collaborated with designer Galia Lahav and stylist Lisa Cera to design the perfect custom wedding dress that Mai said was “everything [she] envisioned.”
On an episode of “The Real” after the big day, Mai revealed two things — her full legal name is now Jeannie Mai Jenkins and she talked about all of the symbolism their wedding choices had.
“This dress I envisioned right when Jeezy proposed. I knew that I wanted something very effervescent and nude. I did not want to wear white, because we all know that white symbolizes purity, and that ship has sailed!” said Mai Jenkins with a laugh. “I knew I wanted nude because the color, it represents how skin-deep I want to be with Jay. It’s a color that represents how transparent we are with each other.”
She continued:
There was a lot of symbolism in the ceremony itself. Even the wedding arch, you notice that they weren’t flowers. We chose palm leaves which is very popular in Vietnam. They represent power and eternal life. And then the Italian ruscus, on the other side of it, represent humility, which is obviously before god. We wanted peace, eternal life and humility there. Everything was symbolic. Even our rings. Down to our wedding rings, we didn’t do anything traditional. I personally love the engagement ring that Jay designed for me. I couldn’t imagine stacking something to that, so I did pinky rings, one for him and one for me on my fingers.
The bride also wore a 15-foot Galia Lahav veil that was sewed into her hair, and custom-designed diamond and morganite earrings. Jenkins wore a custom-designed champagne suit from Teofilo Flor and they asked their guests to wear off-white to represent peace for the union.
The wedding featured a Vietnamese tea ceremony, a live band, and an after-party where every guest received monogrammed pajamas and slippers.
“Jeezy and I changed into our own special matching Versace silk pajamas,” said Mai. “And then we danced the night away to our favorite hits, feeling cozier than ever.”
Mai’s DWTS and ‘The Real’ Family Was Quick to Offer Congratulations
On Mai’s Instagram post about the big day, featuring an absolutely breathtaking photo of the bride descending a staircase, Mai’s friends were quick to offer their words of congratulations.
“SO. STUNNING.” wrote fellow “Dancing With the Stars” season 29 contestant Chrishell Stause, and Justina Machado chimed with, “Gorgeous!!!! Congrats hermana.”
“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Brandon Armstrong, who was Mai’s partner last season before she had to withdraw due to medical reasons, simply posted several fire emojis, and judge Carrie Ann Inaba wrote, “Congratulations!!!!! You are stunning!!!!!” Pro Lindsay Arnold added, “Congratulations beautiful!” and Daniella Karagach wrote, “You look so gorgeous.”
“The Real” co-host Adrienne Bailon wrote, “CONGRATULATIONS MRS JENKINS” and fellow host Tamera Mowry posted several heart emojis.
Other celebrities offering their best wishes include Niecy Nash, Nazanin Mandi Pimentel, Chrissy Metz, Perez Hilton, Olivia Munn, Orly Shani, Amber Riley, Questlove, Evelyn Lozada, Melanie Liburd, Marsai Martin, Jewel, Sabrina Soto, and many, many more.
“Dancing With the Stars” season 30 will premiere in the fall of 2021.
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