COUPLESJeannie Mai & Jeezy Tie The Knot In Intimate Backyard 'Mini-Mony' — See The Stunning Pics
The wedding must go on! Jeannie Mai and Jeezy didn’t let the coronavirus pandemic stop them from saying "I do" and had a "mini-mony" wedding in their home in Atlanta.
The pair had a small ceremony and invited "immediate family and a few close friends" who tested negative for COVID-19, which is in stark contrast to the big wedding they initially hoped to have in Italy or France.
The 43-year-old popped the question during quarantine when the trip to Vietnam he planned to propose on was canceled. Instead, the "Put On" hitmaker organized a romantic Vietnam-themed date night at home in March 2020 where he asked Mai to marry him.
"We were really looking forward to having all of our friends and family there to celebrate," Mai explained. "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. And at the end of the day, Jeezy and I really just wanted to become husband and wife."
The host of The Real stunned in a nude strapless dress and wore her hair in a sleek low ponytail underneath her veil while the groom donned a blush pink suit. "I collaborated with my stylist Lisa Cera and the Galia Lahav atelier to custom design the layers and the perfect hue," Mai said of her bridal gown. "The finished product was everything I envisioned."
"For hair and makeup, I wanted a sleek and graceful finish, along with a bit of drama," Mai explained, "so Lisa and I worked on a handmade headpiece with a 15-foot Galia Lahav veil. My hairstylist, Kristen, impressively sewed this into my hair."
The pair met when Jeezy, who was born Jay Wayne Jenkins, was a guest on The Real and hit it off. "Years later, he asked me out on a date," Mai recalled. "We shared a romantic sushi dinner in Los Angeles and salsa danced the night away. Later that evening, he asked if I could picture spending the rest of my life with him. And crazy enough, I could."
The wedding ceremony went ahead in their back garden. "Everywhere you went, there were tall glass candles lighting your path," Mai gushed. "And, we had a live band, Trap Jazz, perform our favorite songs." A rose was left on a seat reserved for Jeezy’s mother, Sharon Denise Jenkins, and he made his way down the aisle to "I Can’t Stop Loving You" by Kem. Mai then followed to "How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees.
"He [Mai’s brother] led Jeezy and I in a ritual performed at Vietnamese weddings," she recalled. "In this ceremony, we honored our parents by pouring tea as a gesture to welcome Jeezy into my family, and me into his. Then we paid our respects to our parents and ancestors by bowing four times, each one symbolizing a significant gift in the life that they have provided us with.
"The entire night was filled with speeches and funny memories from all our guests," Mai gushed. "Not to be outdone, my mother, Mama Mai, kicked off the after-party with a special performance of her own."
Vogue was the first to report on Mai and Jeezy’s wedding.
