Paige Hemmis Makes Her Wedding A “Home & Family” Affair

A wedding is an event to be shared with family and friends, but for designer Paige Hemmis and singer Jason Short’s nuptials, they’ve invited millions of people to join the celebration. Hemmis, a lifestyle expert on Hallmark Channel’s daytime talk and lifestyle program Home & Family, and Short, a member of the Australian pop/opera music group ARIA, will share their union in a very special Home & Family primetime event on June 22. “The love that the cast and crew has for each other on this show envelopes anyone who visits our set,” says Hemmis. “That is exactly the kind of love I would want surrounding me on my wedding day.”

In the weeks leading up to the big event, Hemmis’ costars will contribute DIY tips and projects to the wedding. The charming bride reveals, “I feel so blessed and so honored that this group of tremendously talented people are helping me every step of the way. I believe that if people this talented are offering their talents, you take it!”

I had the opportunity to ask the busy bride a few questions about her big day. Just reading all of the love and thought that she and Jason are putting into their wedding makes me want to renew my vows! … Read her sweet, and gracious thoughts below.

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Paige, what shaped your decision to have your and Jason’s wedding televised?
Jason and I met seven years ago on the show I was working on, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. He was based in Australia, singing with an international classical music group, and touring the world. I was based in Los Angeles and touring the States with Extreme, so a love connection seemed unlikely… but somehow we made it work. Since we met on camera, we thought we would continue that tradition and get married on camera. Seems like a nice way to bookend our time together so far. Plus, for us this wasn’t simply about getting married “on camera”. For us, we get to share this amazing experience with my new family at Home & Family. The love that the cast and crew has for each other on this show envelops anyone who visits our set. That is exactly the kind of love I would want surrounding me on my wedding day!

You’re allowing many of your Home & Family friends to contribute projects to your big day. What parts of the wedding are you allowing them to shape, and what aspects of the wedding are you retaining for you and Jason to plan?
Allowing? More like begging! Haha…more like “blessing.” I feel so blessed and so honored that this group of tremendously talented people are helping me every step of the way. I believe that if people THIS TALENTED are offering their talents, you take it! 🙂

Each family member is helping us with his or her field of expertise. Kenneth Wingard is a DIY superstar, so he is helping us with the centerpieces, the chandeliers, and the hanging lights just to name a few. Tanya Memme is a mommy-crafting wizard so she will be helping us with the flower girls dresses, their general attire, and has already done an amazing burlap runner for us to walk down the aisle. Debbie Matenopoulos is helping me plan the wedding day and hooking me up with amazing designers. She is my wedding planner and will be my correspondent for the day.

Jeannette Pavini is helping me find cost-cutting ways to save on the wedding, and other savings ways for my out-of-town guests. Sophie Uliano is creating an ultimate healthy diet or “live it” plan for Jase and me … how to be healthy not only for the wedding (short term), but also for the marriage (long term). Kym Douglas is helping me with fashion for the wedding every step of the way – including helping me find amazing gifts for my bridal party. Matt Iseman is helping Jase and I get in wedding shape through Ninja fitness (I’m a little scared!). Matt Rogers is helping us find the perfect playlist for the wedding music with our DJ, Richard Blade.

Mark Steines took gorgeous engagement photos of us… he did a great job of making us look much better than we actually look (haha). Cristina Ferrare is helping us with the wedding flowers and will do the blessing the night of the wedding. Shirley Bovshow is helping with the landscaping decor and even creating a special place in the reception where we use live plants that we can take home and plant in our backyard as we start the marriage. Fabio Viviani will be creating a yummy menu for the reception. JJ Levenstein is going to give Jase and me tips for staying stress-free for the wedding (is that even possible?) Laura Nativo will help keep our pets safe while we have 16 people staying at our house (yikes!).

Jase and I are feverishly working alongside these talented peeps, and enjoying every minute of it! There are many aspects that Jase and I are working on…but to find out about those, you can check out the “behind-the-scenes” footage on the Hallmark website.

Which family traditions are you and Jason incorporating into your big day?
Our families are very similar, despite living almost 10,000 miles away from each other. There are two main traditions we have in our families: 1. We LOVE the tradition of simply spending time together, and 2. We love the tradition of giving back.

My family from the Midwest and Jason’s family from Australia will all be arriving June 8th. We will all be staying together, and have many activities planned for the few weeks leading up to the wedding. Many people have asked us if we are nervous to introduce our families to each other. Although some family members have met others, this will be the first time that many are meeting.

As an icebreaker, one of the things we have planned as our families meet each other is to give back to our local community. We will have a “team Jase” and a “team Paige” as we help build a Habitat for Humanity home for a family in need. You tend to forget to be nervous when you are given a task…and there’s no bigger task than building a house!

Aside from that, we plan to have a pool party and plenty of barbecues, have planned a golf day for the boys and a spa day for the girls, and will round out the weekend before the wedding with an “80’s Prom Night” celebration where everyone has to don their favorite 80’s look. For us, we always knew that our wedding day would be about so much more than the union of two people…it’s the union of two families and we are both very excited about the journey!

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I think one of my favorite parts of Paige and Jason’s wedding is how the people who love the happy couple get to gift them with their time and talents. These are the gifts that will last much longer than a set of towels, or glassware, and is something that any engaged couple can replicate. And, can we talk about the astounding engagement photos that Mark Steines took? When I interviewed Mark last summer, he mentioned that he loves photography; but wow! His lovely images should hang in a museum!

Home & Family Wedding: Paige & Jason > Hallmark Channel > June 22