Can you imagine your fiance planning the surprise wedding of your dreams, and only finding out about it an hour before it happens?! That’s just what happened to this local Jacksonville bride!
Video Credit: Fox 30 Action News Jax
After ten years together and two wedding postponements, De-Shazo Wilkinson did not want to spend another day without being married to the love of his life, Jacarra Wilson.
When their original wedding venue in Orlando was forced to close in 2019 to make way for a new high-rise, De-Shazo and Jacarra set a new date for 5/25/2020 at The Treasury on the Plaza in downtown St. Augustine. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and they begrudgingly made plans to postpone their wedding, yet again, to the following year.
De-Shazo had other plans! He decided to surprise Jacarra with an intimate Memorial Day wedding at her dream wedding venue, The Treasury on the Plaza.
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Planning the Surprise Wedding
After speaking with The Treasury venue team and wedding planners The Wedding Authority De-Shazo jumped at the chance to make Jacarra’s wedding dreams come true. “[Jacarra] did it all. All I did was listen to her and remember what she wanted, and shared that with our wedding planner,” said De-Shazo, who is a middle school vice principal in Jacksonville.
Jacarra was told she was going to The Treasury to do her hair and makeup for a photoshoot to help make up for another canceled wedding day. However, after Jacarra arrived for what she thought was a simple day around St. Augustine, De-Shazo got down on one knee for the second time and asked her to be his bride THAT DAY!
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
The Wedding Ceremony
Surrounded by an intimate group of family and friends, the two finally became Man and Wife on Monday, May 25th. The beautiful ballroom was set up for a ceremony in the round, with photos of friends and family adorning the ceremony chairs to honor those who could not be in attendance. Their ministers, who were out of the country, officiated the ceremony via a Zoom call.
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
First dance in the Plaza de la Constitucion
Once the wedding ceremony was completed, the couple headed outside to the Plaza de la Constitucion for their first dance as husband and wife. A car parade comprised of more friends and family circled the downtown landmark, wishing congratulations and a lifetime of love while the couple danced in the gazebo.
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
“This isn’t the wedding that we planned,” De-Shazo Wilkinson said during the ceremony. “It just solidifies that we’re in the right place, we’re doing the right thing, and we’re meant to be here,” Jacarra Wilkinson said in response.
The couple plans on having a formal wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza on the weekend of their one-year anniversary, so all of their 160 friends and family can attend. They have currently put their honeymoon trip to Italy on hold indefinitely, but are excited to share a special day with their friends and family next year.
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Check out these links for more coverage of Jacarra and De-Shazo’s surprise wedding day:
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Photo credit: Monarch Studio
Vendors for De-Shazo and Jacarra’s Surprise Wedding at The Treasury on the Plaza
Wedding Venue: The Treasury on the Plaza in St. Augustine, Florida
Wedding Planner: The Wedding Authority
Photographer: Monarch Studio
