After meeting on a church trip in 2009 and walking into a God centered courtship, Beatrice and Jonathan were overjoyed to exchange vows in front of two hundred loved ones on the 22-acre site of The Mansion at Noble Lane.
As guests arrived at noon, they were greeted with umbrellas and treated to cool beverages on the warm summer day. Traditional Haitian appetizers were served during cocktail hour, a small portion of how this beautiful couple incorporated their culture into their big day.
Wedding Date: Sunday, June 29, 2014
Wedding Location: The Mansion at Noble Lane, Bethany, PA
Favorite Item on the Menu: Fried Plantains & Pickles; Wedding Cake
Tell us about how you met and all about the proposal!
Joey: We met on a church trip that I organized in February 2009. Days before the trip, her cousin, Rachelle wanted to add her to the list. I actually didn’t want to, because it would have caused me a lot of headaches to make her fit. After much persuasion from Rachelle, I made it work. It also didn’t hurt that Beatrice was very cute. I became really interested in her when I saw her planning a baby shower for Rachelle, months later.
The night before the baby shower, I prayed that I would stand out to her, that she would notice me and I would somehow catch her attention. The next morning, she called me to ask for my help with setting up a tent for the baby shower. I played it cool and said sure and as soon as I got off the phone, I rushed to the church to be her assistant. That day, I became not only her tent builder, but also her chauffeur and I didn’t mind a bit. The baby shower was a huge success and a couple of days later, she called and asked me to go to lunch as a thank you. After lunch, I asked her to go on a real date.
As for the proposal, Beatrice loves museums. I took her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a date once and we stopped at The Charles Engelhard Court. I told myself if and when I do propose, this would be “the spot.” I hired a photographer and videographer to film us and be inconspicuous. I met Bea in the lobby with a small bag filled with flowers and assorted gifts. We walked around the museum and stopped at Engelhard Court. As we sat down at the fountain, I presented her with a necklace that had a diamond-encrusted Hershey’s Kisses pendant and a short photo montage on my iPad of our relationship, and had her watch it. I told her it was a short documentary about Engelhard Court. While she was watching the video, I got on one knee and waited for her to turn around. I waited for what seemed like an eternity. When she finally turned around, I tried to get through my speech and finally was able to ask the question. She made me the happiest man there ever was.
Wedding Style
The first thing that stands out about my wedding dress is the peplum design. Then, the satin material, the ivory color, the small embellishments along the waist and the use of the same material for my cap sleeves. I love this dress, because it is both unique and timeless.
My first dress shopping experience was with my sister and my best friend from college. We went to a popular bridal store and after trying on nearly 15 dresses, we thought I found my dress. But I wanted my mom to see it first before I finalized my choice. So about a week later, I happened upon the Macy’s Bridal Salon by Demetrios, while in search for bridesmaid dresses with my sister. My sister-in-law was a Demetrios bride and suggested checking it out for bridal party attire. The moment I saw my wedding dress on a mannequin, however, it immediately caught my attention and I asked to try it on. The staff thought I would be disappointed and tried to discourage me, because they said no one who tried it on at managed to look nice in it. I decided to take a chance, because I figured “if it doesn’t work out that’s fine, because I technically already have another dress.”
As I tried it on, I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. When I walked out of the dressing room and into the main area, all the staff expressed surprise that the dress looked so beautiful and noted that it seemed to be the perfect fit for me. This dress was traveling throughout the country, so my mom and sister went with me a few days later as I made my purchase. I excitedly looked forward to the day I could wear the dress and make my husband smile. I didn’t expect his reaction to also include tears and a request to make sure I preserve it for future generations.
Culture
Both Jonathan and I come from very religious upbringings, so our Christian beliefs played a huge role in our wedding. His father and his uncle, both bishops, shared officiating responsibilities for our wedding. We wanted to start off our wedding grounded in our faith, so we each prayed with our bridal party and groomsmen, respectively. Since we didn’t want to have a first-look, we also prayed with each other, separated by a corner and blindfolds, before the ceremony began. All in all, faith was a constant theme in all aspects of our wedding and continues to be, in our marriage.
We are also proud first-generation Haitian-Americans and language is one of the few things that link us to our heritage. Acknowledging that many of our guests might prefer the French language (particularly the elderly members), we collaborated with our stationery vendor, Sandi Spells to design and customize bilingual wedding invitations– wording was both in English and in French. We also provided some Haitian cuisine to our guests and incorporated kompa into our music. Lastly, each of our thank you cards were hand-written with personal messages in Haitian-Creole, French, or English, depending on the preferred language of the recipient.
Memories
Our best memory from our wedding was the toasts from our best men and matron and maid of honor. Standing in that room surrounded by all of our family and friends was really touching and meant so much to us. As the speeches were made, the atmosphere was overwhelming, as we looked around and laughed and cried together. Everyone present genuinely enveloped us in so much love and support. It was an affirmation that we, as individuals but also our families, had now been united in the presence of God.
Help a bride-to-be out!
Ask your married friends and vendors for recommendations of other vendors and take advantage of the Muna Coterie. That’s how I found most of my vendors, through recommendations from others…although I wish I knew about the latter much earlier on in my wedding planning process.
Also, if you’re a Christian, stay in prayer! Wedding planning will try all your patience, drive you slightly crazy, weed out your true friends, etc… but it will also lay the foundation for the strength of your marriage.
Vendors:
Wedding Dress Designer: Demetrios
Wedding Dress Salon: Demetrios Bridal at Macy’s
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy
Bridesmaid Dress Salon: Here Comes the Bridesmaid
Bridesmaid Sashes: Pantora Bridal
Bridal Party Reception Shoes: TOMS
Hair: Hair by Mica
Day of Hair Stylist: Stacy Hammond
Makeup Artist: Tishonna Ferguson
Ceremony & Reception Location: The Mansion at Noble Lane
Tent/Tables/Chair Rentals: Rent-E-Vent
Catering: Constantino’s Catering
Photography/Videography: Elevate Pictures
Florist: Annie’s Orchids
Cake: Sweet Sensations Cake
DJ: LJonthebill of Father& Sons Productions
Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Jos A. Banks
Stationery: Sandi Spells Design
Jewelry: Bianca Jewelers
Leave a Reply