Amira and William’s love story began ten years ago during a party welcoming the Freshman class at Princeton University; she an incoming freshman and he a Junior. Immediately a connection formed between them and they dated intermittently throughout the academic years until their relationship was made official upon Amira’s graduation. A surprise romantic proposal in Italy would seal their love, and on May 13th, in the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina they were joined as husband and wife in an intimate beach ceremony.
Read all about Amira & William’s love story, romantic proposal in Italy, and experiences in their intimate Outer Banks beach wedding – beautifully captured by MunaLuchi Coterie member Artije Photography.
Bride & Groom: Amira & William (“JJ”)
Occupations: Investor Relations & Investment Banking
Wedding date: May 13, 2017
Wedding location: Outer Banks, North Carolina
Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. The bride and groom met ten years ago (yes, that’s long!) in college. Both attended Princeton University. “JJ” (William) was a junior (class of 2007) at the time that Amira started school (class of 2009), and they first met at a party on campus to welcome the incoming freshman. They dated on and off throughout college, but upon Amira’s graduation they made it official – and the rest is history!
The proposal…Amira and JJ had been planning to go to Italy for the summer before they both headed off to business school on opposite ends of the country (Amira was starting at Harvard Business School in the fall of 2014, and JJ was starting at USC Marshall School of Business at the same time). The first leg of their stay was in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. They went to the bar of Le Sirenuse, a beautiful hotel, and while admiring the view, JJ dropped to one knee and popped the question. The bride was in complete shock! She had asked someone to take a picture right before he proposed, and he got down on one knee as they snapped away. She in such shock that as the guy taking the picture exclaimed, “he’s proposing,” she said, “no, he’s not, he’s just tying his shoe trust me…”
What was wedding shopping like for you? Our wedding style was simple and sophisticated – a “laid-back luxury” vibe. The wedding dress was by Amsale. Strapless, fitted mermaid with boning. Prior to getting engaged, the bride ran a pop-up high-end bridal consignment shop for a summer, and so she knew exactly what she wanted. She found the dress by chance one day as she stopped in a bridal store to pick up a garment bag. She face-timed her mom, got the seal of approval, and made the purchase.
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? The wedding was very much indicative of the type of couple the bride and groom are. The bride had recently lost her grandmother, so there was a beautiful dedication by her mother during the ceremony. The bride’s aunt officiated the wedding. The DJ played a mix of Motown, hip hop and lots of reggae as the bride’s family (mother’s side) is from Jamaica.
What is your best memory from your wedding? Best memory was the entire feel of the weekend. The one thing we knew was that we didn’t just want a wedding day – we chose a place that our friends and family could gather for a significant period of time to celebrate. So the wedding took place at a beautiful contemporary home on the beach, where we stayed all week, and all friends and family stayed in houses within walking distance of the event home for the week for a long weekend. There were events from Thursday through Sunday and while people may have started off as strangers at welcome drinks, by the wedding reception we were all family. That’s the best memory that I have. All of the people that we love, in one place, enjoying themselves (we also wanted a big party – so we danced and drank and ate well almost every on celebration night).
What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Two pieces of advice:
1. Go with the flow. It rained on both Thursday and Friday of our wedding weekend – so we were forced to make changes to all scheduled outdoor activities (BBQ, golf outing). While not ideal, we made it work. Not much you can do when the weather doesn’t cooperate but you can’t let it ruin the moment.
2. Know your strengths going into planning, and recognize when you need help (a planner is a great idea). People often times go into planning thinking that their significant other or their mother or whoever will pitch in to do all sorts of things, but if it’s not what they are good at or like to do – do you really want them working on one of the most important days of your life? No. So just keep that in mind, use people for what they are good at, and hire a planner.
Vendors:
Wedding dress designer: Amsale
Bridesmaids dresses: Various
Hair: Bride’s Maid of Honor
Makeup: Tiana Smith
Shoes: Tamara Mellon
Ceremony & Reception Location: Private Oceanside Residence in Corolla, NC
Planners: Coastyle Weddings & Events
Catering: Steamers
Photography: Artije Photography
Event Rentals/Décor: OAR Event Rentals and I DO OBX
Lighting: Blue Steel Lighting
DJ: Sean Dawson “DJ S. Dot”
Jazz Band: Mo’Jazz Music
Cake: Sweet-e-pies by Robin Morris
Florist: Sugar Snap Events by Shirley Cook
Beautiful wedding, much success to the bride and groom.