When planning your wedding, it’s easy to get caught up in the extravagant details, but you never want to lose sight of what your wedding truly is: a celebration of love. Adriane and Derrick’s wedding was simply stunning. From Adriane’s vintage inspired mermaid dress, to their gorgeous outdoor ceremony overflowing with lush flower arrangements, to El Debarge singing “Love Me in a Special Way” at their reception, their wedding was the epitome of class and beauty.
However, the couple made sure to keep love at the forefront of their minds when planning their wedding. Adriane shares, “We wanted the wedding to honor the love that has been deposited in us from those who have touched our lives through the generations.”
Indeed, the couple’s most memorable moments were all about love and family. Moments such as, Adriane crying as she saw her father for the first time before walking down the aisle; Bishop T.D. Jakes praying and laying his hands on the couple’s heads while Jesse Campbell sang “The Lord’s Prayer;” Derrick’s moving speech giving tribute to his stepfather, these moments reinforced that weddings are all about celebrating generations of faith, family and love!
Enjoy these gorgeous images by Joy Marie Photography. This wedding was also featured in the Spring/Summer 2015 issue on newsstands now. You can grab a copy here.
Incorporating culture
Derrick is from New Orleans, home of many unique Creole traditions. So in honor of his family’s long history in that city, his family treated us to a second line band parade complete with custom designed umbrellas, handkerchiefs, Mardi Gras beads, and pralines as parting gifts.
Favorite item on the menu: Short ribs (although I barely ate!)
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts: Our colors were green and gray so I found natural stones that had those colors in them and had earrings made for the brides. Derrick gave the groomsmen a tie, tie clip and cuff links.
First dance song: Cassandra Wilson’s “Time after Time”
Best memories: It’s hard to pick just one so I’m going to share my top five: 1. Bishop Jakes praying and laying his hands on our heads during Jesse Campbell singing “The Lord’s Prayer” / 2. My husband’s surprise to me of El Debarge singing “Love Me in a Special Way” at the reception. / 3. Seeing my father for the first time (and last time as a single woman) before walking me down the aisle to give me away to Derrick. I broke down crying. / 4. Derrick’s speech giving tribute to his step father / 5. Seeing our parents cut a rug on the dance floor, doing the “I didn’t think this day would ever come!” dance.
Additional details: Derrick and I formed a media company called DNA Media Group while we were engaged. DNA became our monogram for the wedding and represents not only the building blocks of love, people and history that make up our beings, but also the oneness that we formed on that day as Derrick aNd Adriane. It was truly a magical day filled with a divine spirit that we will be drawing from throughout our lifetimes
Thanks Adriane and Derrick for sharing your love story with us! You can check out more from this wedding in our current issue, or in the full gallery here.
Vendors:
Lighting: Audio Stage Labs
Wedding dress: Justin Alexander
Florist: Tic Tock
DJ : Tendaji Lathan
Stationery Suite: Flite Design
Event design/coordination: Hullabaloo Event Design
Strings: Harp Angelica Strings
2nd Line Band: St. Gabriel Celestial Band
Cake: Vanilla Bake Shop
Photographer: Joy Marie Photo
Transportation: Rolls Royce Classy Chassis
Linens: BBJ Linens
The details about the wedding is gorgeous. Each preparation of the wedding is well-done. From the photos, we can see that you really got a romantic wedding and unforgettable memories.