Luxe Chic Wedding at The Merion in Cinnaminson, NJ | Whitney & Richard | August 13, 2016

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Brides Full Name Whitney Marie Hopkins
Grooms Full Name Richard David Strong

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal.
We saw each other for the first time when I (Whitney) was at his job for a work visit. I was with my colleague, who said she knew him, which was perfect, so I asked her to call him after we left and give him my number. She did and he called me the next day. Despite not meeting that first time we saw each other, we remembered each other and have been dating ever since!

PROPOSAL
Ricky asked Whitney to go to a paint studio for a date night – when the original plan was to go eat at their favorite Mexican Restaurant. He asked her to do a competition, so they both put on their paint gear and posted the backs of their easels together, so they couldn’t see what the other one was painting!

Whitney was starving, and because of that, her creative juices weren’t flowing too well…so she painted a taco. Genius! It was time for Ricky to present his piece, and he painted…WILL YOU MARRY ME!

 
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WEDDING DETAILS
Wedding Style: Describe your wedding dress. What was wedding shopping like for you?
My dress was a pear and beaded bodice sweetheart gown with detachable drop sleeves! Wedding shopping was so easy, one of my flower girls was with me, and picked it for me!

Culture: Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? If yes, tell us more.
n/a

Memories: What is your best memory from your wedding?
The ceremony – even though there were 200 people there, it literally felt like it was just he and I. I loved the family communion also.

The unchoregraphed “Swag Surf” dance from the guests was my favorite from the reception!

Advice: What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Don’t stress. You’re paying way too much money to have anxiety. Don’t let anything get to you and try to relax the entire day.

QUICK FACTS
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts:
Bridesmaids – Robes, Monogrammed Slippers, Bridal Squad sleepwear, Earrings, Necklace
Groomsmen – Monogrammed Leather Shaving Kit Bags

Favorite item on the menu:
Ribeye! Also, the cake was everythanggggggg πŸ™‚

First dance song:
We had 3 LOL!
1. Never Felt This Way – Alicia Keys version
2. Promise To Love – Kem
3. Saving My Love For You – Kem

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photography by Kanayo Adibe Photography


CAST & CREW

Photography: Kanayo Adibe Photography
Videography: Yamean Studios Films
Coordination: Trilogy Event Design
Florist: Alisha Simone – Elegant Event Flowers and Decor
Cake: The Merion
Photo Booth: Lux Photobooth
Makeup: Jacen Bowman – Shades of Jacen
Hair: Haddonfield United Methodist Church
Wedding Dress: Robinsons Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: Watters
Entertainment: DJ Premonition – Cubie Coleman

Elegant Chic Wedding at J Verno Studios in Pittsburgh, PA | Shardae & William | August 6, 2016

Elegant Chic Wedding at J Verno Studios in Pittsburgh, PA | Shardae & William | Best Pittsburgh Wedding Videographer | Luxury Wedding | Destination Wedding

Brides Full Name Shardae Hughes-Johnson
Grooms Full Name William Johnson

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal.
Met: We met during sophomore year at Hampton University and quickly became friends.

Proposal: Will got a surprise photographer during our trip to Paris. On a brisk morning, we went to the Trocadero with has an iconic view of the Eiffel Tower in the background. Will proposed to me, and the surprise photographer captured the whole thing.

 

WEDDING DETAILS
Wedding Style: Describe your wedding dress. What was wedding shopping like for you?
Wedding dress was beautiful, unique, and versatile.

Shopping for the wedding dress was an exciting experience. I visited 6 stores in person, and spent many more hours gaining inspiration from online sources. I included close friends in this experience, but still wanted it to be a surprise.

Culture: Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? If yes, tell us more.
Not really, just jumping the broom and the sand ceremony

Memories: What is your best memory from your wedding?
Bride – Reading our vows to one another
Groom – Entering the room for our reception

Advice: What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Enjoy the moment and take it all in. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

QUICK FACTS
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts:
Bridesmaids – Personalized toiletry bags and jewelry.
Groomsmen – Canvas duffel bag with their initial engraved on it.

Favorite item on the menu:
Vineyard roasted chicken and apple cider braised beef short ribs, and the signature drink which represented our alma mater where we met.

First dance song:
Michael Jackson – The Lady in My Life


CAST & CREW

Photography: Maura Ellen Photography
Videography: Yamean Studios Films
Day of Coordination: Big Day Little Details
Florist: Blue Daisy Floral
Cake: Bella Christie and Lil’ Z’s Sweet Boutique
Entertainment:
Tee Jay Vision
Band: Bridge Band
Photo Booth: Lux Photobooth
Makeup: Makeup By Bo
Ceremony & Reception location: J. Verno Studios

Romantic Luxurious Guyanese Wedding at the Greentree Country Club, New Rochelle, NY | Alana & Vibert | July 31, 2016

Romantic Luxurious Guyanese Wedding at the Greentree Country Club, New Rochelle, NY Best NJ Wedding Video

Brides Full Name Alana Griffith-Parris
Grooms Full Name Vibert Parris

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal.
Believe it or not Vibert (aka Jay) and I met in November 2008 on Blackplanet.com (Do you remember that site?)…LOL. I had recently gotten into a huge fight with a guy I used to date and I thought “Hey let me just peruse Blackplanet and see who is on there”. I figured that it would be entertaining. I saw Jay’s profile previously and he piqued my interest, but I was “talking” to someone else at the time so I didn’t even think to reach out. None the less I was not one to make a move or send a guy a message. Immediately after hanging up the phone from my argument with the guy I dated I signed on to Blackplanet and I saw a message from Jay. I figured it was worth responding because I liked his profile and I was through with the shenanigans from the other dude. I wish I could remember specifically what he wrote, but it HAD to be interesting enough for me to respond because I remember deleting a bunch of other messages. He sent me a message soon after and before you know it we graduated to Yahoo Messaging and had our first phone conversation on his birthday in December of that year. I actually mustered up the courage to ask for his number to call him and wish him happy birthday. The first time we spoke on the phone we spoke for hours and it just felt natural–not forced, just good vibes and energy.

Since I was a senior in college in the woods of New Hampshire and he was a teacher and working part time at NYU hospital over the weekend we really got a chance to get to know each other for months over the phone. For him, Blackplanet was an opportunity to socialize since he was essentially working every single day. Jay’s crazy schedule and my previous terrible situationship laid the foundation for the two of us to initially meet.

Jay proposed to me on my birthday, February 17, 2014 in San Francisco with cupcakes.

Jay orchestrated the proposal with the staff at Arganout Hotel in San Francisco. The day of the proposal we went on a city tour, went to the aquarium, and walked the pier. While away we were upgraded to a suite and once we returned there were candles and rose petals everywhere. I felt so special on my birthday. To top it off he also arranged for a private couple’s massage. At that point I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday weekend–San Franciso was a complete surprise to me because I did not know where we were vacationing until we got to JFK airport, it was NBA all star weekend, and I was being treated like a Queen.

After the massage Jay asked me if I wanted to head out to dinner or stay in and look at a movie. We went to dinner and when we returned the room was filled with music and there were two boxes on the bed. I opened the boxes and I immediately saw cupcakes and I was SO giddy over the cupcakes (FYI: I have a cupcake obsession) that it took a few seconds for my brain to compute that the cupcakes spelled out “will u marry me?”. Once I realized what it said and saw that he was down on one knee–I was hooting, hollering, and acting a fool. Not to mention I snatched the ring out of the box and put it on my own hand. LOL. Eventually he did ask me formally again if I would marry him and he placed the ring on my finger. Soon after we called our family (who were all in on this plan) and let them know the good news!

 

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WEDDING DETAILS
Wedding Style: Describe your wedding dress. What was wedding shopping like for you?
My mother gifted me my wedding gown from Kleinfeld Bridal. It was a Dennis Basso princess ball gown adorned with crystals and pearls.
I had always imagined myself in a mermaid wedding dress and thought that would have suited my body most perfectly. However, when I first went to Kleinfeld with my mother, two aunts, and my cousin it turned out that wasn’t the style for me. I tried on ~8-10 dresses and with the opinions of so many people I became overwhelmed. My mother insisted that I try on a ball gown and as the saying goes “mother knows best”. The first ball gown I tried on was lovely and I gave it 8.5 out 10 so it wasn’t the one but I felt confident that after trying it on that I was in a better direction.
I left Kleinfeld without a dress and at a later date went to another store with just my mom in Long Island and tried on a few more mermaids (hey! I had to get it out my system) and more ball gowns. At that point I knew that the ball gown was the way to go. I finally returned to Kleinfeld a month and a half after my initial visit with my mom and cousin and found my perfect dress! I honestly had that magical dress moment. I was SO happy and beaming. It was definitely s 15/10 feeling for me. So I said “Yes to the Dress!”

Culture: Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? If yes, tell us more.
We most certainly did incorporate culture into our wedding! We are Guyanese (I was born there and he is Guyanese-American) and carnival is a huge part of our lifestyle. We thought wouldn’t it be beautiful if we could celebrate as if we were at Carnival and ‘fete-ing’. We knew our friends and family would appreciate that. So as an ode to our heritage and to be inclusive of everyone at the venue we had international flags for all guests under the table. Once the carnival music/soca started playing the DJ asked everybody to go under the table to get their flags and start fete-ing.
We also had a steel pan band play during our cocktail hour–steel pan is also a huge part of Caribbean carnival culture as well.
The song I walked down the aisle to and our first dance were also nods to our Caribbean too πŸ™‚

Memories: What is your best memory from your wedding?
There were so many! It was such a spectacular day (no exaggeration!!!)
1. The carnival flag waving when everyone initially got on the dance floor
2. When everyone was palancing–LOL (Benjamin you kept up :))
3. The first look meant the world to me. Seeing my husband to be calmed my nerves and I knew the day was going to be perfect!
4. Hearing the vows that he wrote to me brought tears to my eyes.
5. Literally dancing in the rain towards the end of the night. Somehow we took photos in the pouring rain and Josh was able to capture some pretty amazing shots. Who would have thought messing up my press on my wedding day would have been so much fun?? LOL.
6. Listening to our parent’s speeches warmed our hearts.
7. The first dance!!! OMG. And hearing our loved ones sing “Is this love?” as we danced our hearts away.
8. Just too many to count.

Advice: What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Simple-prepare for the marriage not the day. Everything will work out as it is supposed to. It’s honestly in God’s hands. There came a point where I let go. I didn’t worry about the details anymore because I knew that no matter what the day in it of itself was going to be beautiful because the union was blessed–God sent us for each other.

QUICK FACTS
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts:
Bridesmaids: wine glasses with their names engraved along with the wedding date. They also received handwritten notes from the bride.
Groomsmen: engraved money clips with handwritten notes from the groom.

Favorite item on the menu:
To be honest we didn’t eat that much. But everyone said that the food was great and they LOVED cocktail hour. The last thing we wanted was for people to say the food wasn’t good. But the salmon I had for dinner was delicious and Vibert enjoyed his steak.

First dance song:
“Is this Love” by Bob Marley

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photos CRUSHED by Joshua Dwain Photography


CAST & CREW

Photography: Joshua Dwain Photography
Videography: Yamean Studios Films
Wedding Planner: Victorious Events NYC
Florist: Arcadia Florals
Cake: Nathalie Springer
Stationary: Papered Wonders
Wedding dress designer: Dennis Basso
Wedding dress salon: Kleinfeld
Bridesmaid dresses: JLM couture
Hair: Jaselle Watkins
Make Up: Khadeen Ellis
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Ceremony & Reception location: Greentree Country Club

Whimsical Outdoor Garden Wedding at Edgerton Park, East Haven, CT | Danica & Dueren | July 23, 2016

Whimsical Outdoor Garden Wedding at the Country House, East Haven, CT | Danica & Dueren | July 23, 2016

Brides Full Name Danica Lisa-Marie Bradshaw
Grooms Full Name Dueren Kern Hamlet

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal.
We met at a party through a mutual friend and I knew I wanted to get to know him as soon as I saw him walking up to that house. We were introduced and started spending time together ever since. Later on we started driving back and forth from the Bronx to New Haven. Almost 2 years in and he wanted to move to Connecticut, my parents used the “but you’re not married” line and my answer to that was that “what’s a piece of paper going to do?” – I never wanted to get married growing up, but meeting Dueren changed my perspective. Either way, when I told him what they had said, he said “well let’s get married then”. That was it, no fancy proposal, but it did it for me. We went to city hall two months later and our wedding day marked our 3 year anniversary. Doesn’t get any better than that people.

luxury wedding destination Whimsical Outdoor Garden Wedding at Edgerton Park, East Haven, CT | Danica & Dueren | July 23, 2016

WEDDING DETAILS
Wedding Style: Describe your wedding dress. What was wedding shopping like for you?
My wedding dress was a drop waist ball gown with sweetheart neckline and embellished bodice. Shopping for a dress was a little difficult, because there were so many styles I liked, but once I was ready to go to the actual store, I picked out 3 that I loved, tried on 1, loved it but it was too heavy. The second was my dress. I loved it and didn’t want to take it off. I knew it was the one.

Culture: Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? If yes, tell us more.
Through music, we’re both from the Caribbean and it was important to us to hear music we love and have listened to our entire lives.

Memories: What is your best memory from your wedding?
Aside from marrying the love of my life a second time on our 3rd year anniversary… the slow mo booth and the amount of dancing I did

Advice: What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Have fun while planning, it’s your day and no one else. Do what you can with what you have and enjoy every moment of it.

QUICK FACTS
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts:
Bridesmaids: Personalized tote with their names that included: pink floral robes, personalized champagne glasses with names and roles, personalized tumblers with first initial, cosmetic bag with manicure essentials, wipes, advil, earrings and necklace, heel protectors, M&M’s, honey roasted peanuts, mini Barefoot Pink Moscato wine, gold flip flops, personalized rose gold hangers.

Groomsmen: bow ties and pocket squares, socks, personalized scotch glasses with names and roles

Favorite item on the menu:
Seafood risotto
Salad

First dance song:
Alaine – Love of a lifetime
Tory Lanez – Everyone falls in love

luxury wedding destination Whimsical Outdoor Garden Wedding at Edgerton Park, East Haven, CT | Danica & Dueren | July 23, 2016
photos by Abbey Domond Photography


CAST & CREW

Wedding dress: David’s bridal
Bridesmaid dresses: Etsy – Renz Ragz store
Hair: Renee Griffin
Makeup: LaToya Santos
Shoes: Betsey Johnson (bride); Cole Hahn (groom)
Ceremony location: Edgerton Park, New Haven, CT
Reception location: The Country House. East Haven, CT
Photography: Abbey Domond Photography
Cinematography: Yamean Studios
Day-Of-Coordinator: Victorious Events NYC
Entertainment/DJ: Mike Music
Florist: Candi’s Floral Creations
Cake & Truffle favors: Wildflour Confections
Stationery: Ijorere the Invitation
Nails: Vi Nail Art & Design