It was when Lil Wayne took the stage that things really kicked into gear. Sarah Jordan and Jesse Buss chose to marry at their Los Angeles home to allow their two sons to be a bigger part of the day, but the familial setting didn’t mean there was a sacrifice in glamour. Far from it: Jordan wore dresses by Oscar de la Renta and Kim Kassas Couture; there were performances by Wayne, Anderson .Paak, and Leon Bridges; and food was served from the team behind Carbone.
“When we were looking at venues and starting the planning process, it felt like we were always compromising something regarding the kids,” says Jordan, who is a stylist. “We did the best that we could, and it turned out even better at our house.”
The Buss family owns the Lakers, where Jesse works and runs the scouting department, and has a deep connection to Los Angeles, something that impressed chef Mario Carbone, who very rarely does weddings. “He was like, ‘This is L.A.,’” Jordan recalls. “I think the reason why he was willing to do the event was because what my husband does is so steeped in actual L.A. history. The entire night was so Los Angeles.”
The Setting
Over seven days, a production team readied the residence for the wedding. A floor was laid over the pool, where the ceremony was held. For the reception, a tent, which creative consultant Melissa Andre, who spearheaded the wedding with her firm Melissa Andre Design Company, calls “Coachella level,” was put up over the pool. They brought in two commercial kitchens and installed heating, cooling, and bathrooms.
The Dresses
Jordan had a very clear vision of what she wanted to wear to the ceremony. “I really wanted a beaded, kind of antiquated looking dress. I wanted it to be corseted; I wanted it to be very embellished. Nothing about our wedding was classic or traditional.” She went with a beaded gown by designer Kim Kassas. She loved the look, but the piece was heavy, and she ended up changing out of it quickly.
The Last-Minute Alteration
For the reception, Jordan knew she was looking for something baby blue. She tried on an Oscar de la Renta dress, which she thought was just about perfect. “I asked for a pair of scissors, and I started hacking it while I was in it. I have the representative for Oscar [de la Renta]; I have the tailor looking at me in shock. I wasn’t even really thinking, but I was like, ‘It should be this long.’” She ended up trimming it to something between midi and full-length, which she felt would be comfortable enough to allow her to move and lift up her son. “I wanted to feel like I could breathe and I could eat—I was going to eat that Carbone.”
The Ceremony
Jordan had her stepfather walk her halfway down the aisle, and her father walk her down the second half. The reception was kept brief. “It was everything that I wanted, and it was very quick. We actually were going to do vows, and I looked into my husband’s eyes and was like, ‘He might pass out.’ So we both looked at the officiant and were like, ‘No vows,’” says Jordan.
The Foul Ball
Andre and her team installed a basketball hoop with a Swarovski crystal net in the reception tent. “Obviously we’re very into basketball, and my stepson is a killer basketball player, luckily. It could be weird if he wasn’t. So, he made a basketball shot,” says Jordan. It was a strong shot, but a bit astray, and unfortunately landed in the face of a guest. But no one was harmed!
The Reception Priorities
The couple talked about “what’s important to you and what’s important to me, other than making sure that the kids are a part of everything,” Jordan says. “He said, ‘The food can’t suck. We just can’t have wedding food.” He’s a big foodie, he cares about food. I said, “Okay, you have the food. I have the music.’ That’s what I cared about.”
The Menu
The menu included Carbone’s famous spicy rigatoni pasta and caesar salad. Buss’ late father Jerry loved Dover sole, so Carbone added it despite it not being one of its offerings.
“Carbone is such a favorite for so many people, but they don’t have restaurants in Los Angeles. It was such a treat for guests to not have to leave their home city to enjoy Carbone,” says Andre. “[Jordan and Buss] really wanted that. They just wanted [the wedding] to be all about surprising and delighting the guests. That was a good little way to do that.”
The Melissa Andre Design Company team even created a special pasta sauce for the event, which guests were given to take home. “It was a gift for everyone when they left. It says, ‘Buss Family,’ on the sauce, and it was really cool,” Jordan says.
The Surprise Guest
“I came out [to the reception] and I’m talking to one of my friends, and I look over and I was like, ‘Is that Leon Bridges?’” Jordan hadn’t realized the Grammy-nominated musician was attending the wedding as a plus-one, and couldn’t believe it when she saw him joining the local jam band playing during cocktail hour. “He made their whole life because they’re like, ‘Is this Leon Bridges jamming with us?’”
Bridges was followed up by Paak, we did a full vinyl DJ set. “He stayed after his set and partied all night,” Jordan reveals.
The Main Event
“We had Lil Wayne, which was quite a moment. He came out and people were running. We didn’t share that he’d be performing with anybody. So Lil Wayne walks out and everyone’s like, ‘Wait, what? What’s happening?’” Jordan explains. The rapper very kindly offered the couple his deep and genuine best wishes. “He blessed us. I have a video of it, it’s so funny,” she adds. “He was like, ‘On the way over, I prayed for your marriage in the car.’”
Sarah Jordan and Jesse Buss’ Wedding
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.
