BRIDAL GUIDE: Forever ‘wildly’ in love

Area couple shares details of engagement, intimate wedding at Georgia Wildlife Federation

Adam and Jackie Schiavone were married April 30 at the Georgia Wildlife Federation’s Alcovy Conservation Center, where the couple first met. (Molly Price Photography)

When Adam and Jackie Schiavone first met, Jackie was working for The Covington News, and Adam was working for the Georgia Wildlife Federation (GWF).

He reached out to the newspaper to inquire about advertising an upcoming fundraising event and possibly collaborating on a story on the nonprofit organization. Jackie said she had never heard of GWF and wanted to learn more, so Adam offered to give her a grand tour and tell her more.

“We scheduled a time to meet out at the GWF’s Alcovy Conservation Center on Hazelbrand Road,” Jackie said, “and after our meeting, Adam asked me out!

“We had both grown up in Conyers (about 10 minutes away from each other), went to rival high schools, had mutual friends, but had never met,” she added. “We don’t really know our dating anniversary, per se, so we’ve always said May 25, 2018, because we know it was sometime around Memorial Day.”

Adam and Jackie bonded early in their relationship over a common love for dogs, Jackie said.

“One night, after dating for about three years, we were taking our dogs on a walk and I noticed something attached to Wyatt’s (our now-2-year-old black Lab) collar,” Jackie said. “I reached down to see what it was. Turns out, it was a ring and when I turned around, Adam was down on one knee!”

The couple was engaged March 25, 2021.

Having met at the Georgia Wildlife Federation in Covington, Adam and Jackie knew that was where they wanted to get married.

“While they have held weddings on the property in the past, it is definitely not your standard full-service wedding venue, which was perfect for us,” Jackie said. “I am pretty crafty and love to DIY everything, so I really enjoyed being hands-on with every aspect of our wedding.”

The couple partnered with Bliss Events & Designs to work out all the details to make their wedding day perfect, Jackie said.

And their big day was, indeed perfect.

“Being April in Georgia, I was so nervous about the weather,” Jackie recalled. “So, before we even picked a date I purchased the 2022 Farmer’s Almanac to check the forecast. It ended up being a nice, 80-degree day with not a single drop of rain.”

Adam and Jackie took part in the Southern tradition of burying a bottle of bourbon to also help ward off the rain, she said.

On their wedding day, April 30, Adam and Jackie did a “first look” around 2 p.m.

“That really helped calm any nerves we both had while getting ready,” she said. “It also helped us get the majority of our pictures done before the ceremony so we could truly enjoy the reception after.”

The couple had a short intimate ceremony in the field of the GWF Alcovy Conservation Center that started at 5:30 p.m. The reception immediately followed at the GWF Tupelo Pavilion.

More about their Wedding Day:

Venue: Georgia Wildlife Federation

Planning/Day-Of Coordinating: Bliss Events & Designs

Catering: Bradley’s BBQ

Cake: Jessicakes

Photography: Molly Price Photography, LLC

Event Rentals: Covington Rentals

DJ: Medlin Entertainment (DJ CJ)

Flowers: Bliss Events & Designs

Hair: Jenn Smith Hair (Jenn Smith Schneider)

Makeup: Lush Beauty Bar (Halie Wooldridge)

Dress: Atlanta Street Bridal