Today Show's Arianna Davis on Her 3-Day Wedding Celebration

Welcome back to Weddings-ish with Jove! Today Jove is joined by Arianna Davis Santana, executive editor of TODAY Digital and author of What Would Frida Do? From starting her career as Gayle King's assistant to running digital at Oprah and now appearing on the TODAY show, Arianna opens up about the decade-long love story that led to her dream Dominican Republic wedding. In this episode, Arianna shares how she met her husband Jay at a Fourth of July party in Long Island City—where he flirted by quizzing her about the books on her shelves and walked away with her copy of The Alchemist. She gets candid about their year-long pandemic breakup, the clarifying time apart that brought them back together stronger, and the romantic Valentine's Day proposal in Puerto Vallarta complete with a hidden photographer and a ring box that lit up the diamond. She also takes us inside her three-day "Dominican Gatsby" wedding weekend at the St. Regis Cap Cana, including the merengue-and-bachata welcome party with a custom Panama hat artist, the unexpected rainstorm that hit mid-vows (and what everyone called a "blessing"), and the Pinterest-inspired bookshelf seating chart that doubled as a love letter to her literary side. Plus, Arianna gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her viral TODAY show April Fool's prank with Jenna Bush Hager and Willie Geist, and shares the wedding details she'd splurge on again versus the ones she'd skip. In this episode: Arianna's career path from Gayle King's assistant to TODAY Digital The viral $20,000 cake April Fool's prank that broke the internet How she and Jay met at a Fourth of July party (and the book that started it all) Why a year-long pandemic breakup made their relationship stronger The Valentine's Day beach proposal she almost saw coming Why they chose the Dominican Republic and the St. Regis Cap Cana Her three-day wedding weekend: welcome party, ceremony, and Sunday catamaran The "Dominican Gatsby" design vision and bookshelf seating chart Honoring both cultures with merengue, bachata, and jumping the broom Bringing her dog Leo down the aisle (and the dog nanny who made it happen) The mid-ceremony rainstorm that became the most magical moment of the day What she'd splurge on again vs. what she'd skip Whether you're here for destination wedding inspiration or honest conversations about love that takes the long way around, this episode is full of heartfelt moments, hilarious behind-the-scenes stories, and beautiful wedding ideas. This episode is brought to you by @destifyweddings. Visit destify.com to skip the stress and get a free destination wedding quote today. If you liked this episode, please subscribe and leave a review on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcasts, or here on Love Stories TV's YouTube channel. Have a question for Jove? Send a voice memo or email to [email protected] Follow along for more behind-the-scenes fun: Instagram: @jovemeyer and @LoveStoriesTV