Shameika and Richard were connected through church. First meeting at Shameika’s childhood house of worship Zion Cathedral, located in Long Island, NY after Richard and his family began attending. It initially started off as innocent waves, accompanied by polite, “hello’s” until the pair were officially introduced once Shameika’s mother realized she went to high school with Richard’s father. However, in spite of meeting officially, they still continued to exchange courteous greetings across the opposite ends of church pews.
But, it wasn’t until Shameika’s best friend played matchmaker that the two truly experienced a connection. Without Shameika’s knowledge, she slyly (but sweetly!) messaged Richard via Facebook, encouraging him to reach out to her single bestie. Once the love connection was made, Richard finally made his move and contacted Shameika that night to set up a date. Needless to say – the rest was history, as the pair have been inseparable ever since.
“On our first date he made his intentions known that marriage was the goal and that he did not have any plans to date without a purpose” shares Shameika. And 6 months later, on New Year’s Day, following their churches night service, with God on his side, Richard proposed to Shameika. “Richard said that he was led by God and his spirit to do it at that moment. The initial plans of a romantic setting with roses and dinner went out the window at that moment, the time was now!” says Shameika.
In May of 2015, Shameika, who is also a makeup artist and MunaLuchi coterie member, became the lucky girl sitting in the “bride” chair! Read on for more details from this couple’s exuberant yellow wedding that was appropriately themed “It doesn’t take a day to recognize sunshine”. Their big day also involved several coterie members including, planner Simone Vega of Coordinated to Perfection, photographer Chad Pennington of Sobitart Photography, with the fun photo-booth provided by Oh Shoot Photo Booth by Joshua Dwain and bridesmaids dresses crafted by Pantora Bridal.
Bride & Groom: Shameika + Richard Simmons
Wedding Date: 5/15/15
Wedding Location: Chateau La Mer, Long Island, NY
Quick Facts:
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts: Bridesmaids: Customized name
hangers for their dresses and their wedding accessories.
Groomsmen: Customized flasks.
Favorite item on the menu: Our tip is to not forget to eat! We didn’t get a
chance to taste and enjoy the food! Take time to eat.
First dance songs: Our intro song was “It Takes 2” by Rob Base, First Dance
“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran and then we surprised our guests by doing the
infamous dance from “Dirty Dancing”!
Describe your wedding style!
Our wedding style was; chic, fly,bright and fun! We wanted our individual
styles and personalities to shine through. We wanted to keep the tradition
in our wedding ceremony not in our styles and attire. Our theme was “It
doesn’t take all day to recognize sunshine”. We wanted our love to literally
shine and what exudes that more than the color of sunshine? Yellow! Yellow
represents joy, happiness and freshness all that we wanted to represent for
our new beginnings. The peplum designs were designed by none other than
Andrea Pitter of Pantora. She searched high and low for the perfect yellow.
Our guys kept it cool in their Charcoal gray suits.
What was wedding dress shopping like for you?
Our personal experiences were easy we knew that we knew once it came to our
vision for our personal attire. Rich wore a custom designed blue velvet
jacket and tuxedo pants. I went to Kleinfeld tried on a few dresses
and found “the one” but wasn’t so sure. So I tried one more location, but
nothing else compared to the Maggie Sottero gown so I went back to get the
first choice! I knew my dress was the one when my mother and mother in law
both cried. I am in the industry so I have seen every dress there is so I
wanted to be sexy but unique!
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding?
We incorporated the African American tradition of jumping the broom and the
“cutting of the cord” which is another tradition where the eldest family
member (in which I allowed my grandfather to do) was to cut the ribbon placed
across the aisle to symbolize that we were cutting the ties and
transitioning into the beginning of our new life.
What is your best memory from your wedding?
The best part of our wedding was the music and seeing the smiles of our guests! Our guests had FUN! They were on the dance floor from the time it started started until
the very end. Our DJ, Spyder kept us on our feet! We also loved seeing the
reaction of our guests when we transitioned from Ed Sheeran into our “Dirty
Dancing” choreography to even mimicking the “leap” at the end. They loved
it!
What’s the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
The best advice we can give to other couples is to consider that there is
life after your wedding. Plan accordingly, budget, be flexible, consider
each other’s feelings during the planning and remember that life begins
after the “i dos”. This is only one day. Lastly have the time of your life!
Vendors
Wedding planner: Simone Vega, Coordinated to Perfection
Ceremony location: Zion Cathedral Church of GOD in Christ
Florist: Designs by Rose
Reception location: Chateau La Mer
Photography: Chad Pennington, Sobitart Photography
Photo Booth: Oh Shoot Photo Booth (Joshua Dwain Photography)
Bridesmaids dresses: Pantora Bridal
Entertainment: DJ Spider
Hair: Dawn Wilson
Makeup: Jordana David
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Stationery: Bride & Groom!
Wedding dress designer: Maggie Sottero
Wedding dress salon: Kleinfeld Bridal
Videography: 20 West Media
Leave a Reply