This Wedding in Jamaica Was All Minimal Elegance and Lush Palm Trees
Maurice Slade, the vice president of marketing at Epic Records, was working at Jay-Z’s Roc Nation when one of his coworkers mentioned to him that Jamie Baratta was single. “She told him I wasn’t attached and that she thought we might hit it off,” Jamie remembers. “She then arranged a Sunday brunch with friends and invited us to join. Unbeknownst to me, this brunch was a total setup.” The coworker’s plan worked. Maurice and Jamie, a music fashion attorney who represents brands, creatives, and artists like Cardi B and A$AP Rocky, spent the remainder of the day restaurant hopping. “Because we both worked in the same industry, we took it very slow in the beginning,” Jamie remembers. “Which was actually a really beautiful—actually getting to know someone!”
The two had been dating for a little more than a year when Maurice proposed. They’d just returned from celebrating Jamie’s birthday on a wine tasting trip in Valle de Guadalupe. “Upon our return, we decided to spend the Saturday in Malibu at the Soho House and ended up making our way, upon Maurice’s suggestion, to one of our favorite spots, Neptune’s Net,” Jamie explains. “It’s a seafood restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway. Our ritual is to order a big plate of seafood with a couple of beers, cross the highway, and sit watching the surfers from a cliff above, overlooking the water.”
As soon as they’d crossed the highway and sat down on the bench where they’d shared so many intimate conversation before, Maurice proposed. “It was perfect,” Jamie admits. “Just us, two beers, and a disposable camera to capture it all!”
The two love to travel, and had spent her 31st birthday the year before at the Round Hill Hotels Villas in Montego Bay, Jamaica. “Round Hill has so much old Hollywood history,” Jamie notes. “JFK and Jackie honeymooned there. Alfred Hitchcock, Bing Crosby, and Adele Astaire were regulars...and you feel that same classic aesthetic when you visit there today. We had such a magical time there that as soon as Maurice proposed, it was the first place that came to mind.”
They reached out to the hotel to check on the next availability, and took it. From there, they had 10 months to plan the wedding in order for it to happen during Jamaica’s peak season.
For the overall aesthetic of the wedding, they wanted an elegant look that reflected their cosmopolitan lifestyles based in Los Angeles and their previous home, New York. “We both prefer a classic and minimalist design aesthetic,” Jamie says. “However, we also wanted our wedding to reflect the laid back and tropical nature of the Caribbean islands, so think neutrals and lots of greenery.”
They worked with Alfred House Production to create the vibe they were going for. “It’s probably no surprise from my photos that Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was my inspiration,” Jamie jokes. She worked with Vera Wang’s team in Beverly Hills to find a dress that reflected the kind of elegant minimalism she was hoping to communicate, and after a couple of visits, she chose their Michaela gown. Made in a soft white silk crepe, the structured gown has a plunging neckline and architectural cutout in the back. She completed the look with Vera Wang’s Leda veil and custom-made mesh gloves by Dorothy Gaspar. “They were the perfect accessory for an otherwise understated gown.” Shoes were created by the bride’s client and best friend, designer Amina Muaddi. “Amina chose her Begum slingback in PVC for me and engraved my and Maurice’s initials on the sole,” Jamie says.
When it came to jewelry, Jamie wore a diamond tennis bracelet, a wedding gift given to her by her parents. The stones in it were her late grandmother’s. “The last special item I wore was a raw silk ribbon custom-embroidered with the initials of family members we have lost over the years,” Jamie notes. “We wanted to make sure our loved ones were still a part of our special day, even though they were not able to be there, and we wrapped this ribbon around my bouquet of white roses.”
Makeup artist Rebecah Janian flew in from L.A. to give the bride a natural look using cool earth tones, and her hair was done by her hairstylist and friend, Caile Noble. “I wanted my hair pulled back into a classic low bun,” Jamie says. “From there, we experimented the week before with the part and the style of the bun, and ultimately decided on a side part to add a softer look. The bun was literally art!”
The dress code called for formal attire. “Just because the wedding was in Jamaica, we didn’t want our guests thinking this was a casual affair!” Jamie jokes. There were Grecian one-shoulder Margiela gowns and gold floor-length slip dresses. (“My girls showed up!”) Meanwhile, bridesmaids dresses were custom-made by the Chicago-based designer Azeeza, who just so happens to be a friend of the bride. With dresses in chiffon, raw silk, and taffeta, each one was distinct, but still light and airy for the warm weather in Jamaica.
At 5:30 p.m., right when the sun was beginning to set, the non-religious ceremony started on the sundeck. It was officiated by Maurice’s father, Alzo Slade, an ordained minister. “We decided to forgo a traditional ceremony arch as we wanted to do something different, and we also didn’t want to encumber the natural beauty around us,” Jamie explains. Instead they opted for a circular ring of tropical greens, and the aisle was lined with candles.
“Being that we both work in the industry, the music was very important to us,” Jamie explains. The wedding party walked in to “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles; the bride processed to “Prototype” by Outkast; and the newlyweds exited to “Is This Love” by Bob Marley, all performed in an acoustic fashion by a guitarist.
“I had so many different emotions going through me during the ceremony,” Jamie remembers. “Excitement, nervousness, joy. And on top of all of the typical emotions that come from this type of monumental moment in one’s life, the ceremony in particular was difficult at times being that my older brother, who passed away at 26, couldn’t be there.” Maurice’s father had everyone take a moment of silence in remembrance of family members that have passed and could not be there on such a special day.
Afterwards, guests made their way to the Hanover Terrace at Round Hill. “We were inspired by the classic elegance of old-world New York and wanted to bring that to the tropics,” Jamie says. “We loved the idea of having an absence of color—everything was done in classic black and white.” They melded the look with the island feel of Jamaica by using tropical greens in the centerpieces and lighting the space with paper lanterns from above. Crisp white silken linens were used for the tablecloths, along with napkins from Wildflower Linen in L.A.
