Tatiana and Alvester’s Beautiful Ballroom Wedding in Historic Philadelphia

The Love story of Tatiana and Alvester began as students on the campus of West Virginia University, where upon first laying eyes on Tatiana, Alvester knew he had to find out more about this stunning woman who captured his attention so completely. Their connection during that first date was instantaneous, and immediately they both knew that what they shared was something extra special…

Read all about Tatiana & Alvester’s love story, romantic proposal, and experiences at their beautiful ballroom wedding in historic Philadelphia – professionally captured by MunaLuchi Coterie members Livingston Lee Photography, and Clapp Studios, and featuring the floral work of MunaLuchi Coterie member Eilena Mercier-Ehmann of Event Loft.

‏Bride & Groom: Tatiana & Alvester
Occupations: Adult Mental Health Case Manager & Financial Auditor
‏Wedding Date: September 1, 2017
‏Wedding Location: The Ballroom at The Ben, Philadelphia, PA

‏Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. ‏(Alvester) Our love story began on August 24, 2012 on the campus of West Virginia University where I first laid eyes on Tatiana during a welcome week event. We were introduced to one another through a mutual friend, I instantly knew I wanted to get to know Tatiana more. I invited her to meet with me in a more intimate setting, outside of our social circles. A reluctant, yet anxious Tatiana accepted the invitation. During our first date, we instantly connected and realized how much we had in common. The relationship continued to blossom, all leading up to a romantic night on August 29, 2015 in Myrtle Beach, SC where I asked Tatiana to spend the rest of her life with me.

(Tatiana) ‏The proposal took place during a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC for Alvester’s 25th birthday. Since we began dating in 2012, we always took a trip to the beach to celebrate Alvester’s birthday, so this year was no different. I figured we’d just do some site seeing and shopping like normal. On the night of August 29th we went to one of our favorite restaurants, “Ruth’s Chris” to celebrate our anniversary. After dinner we went back to the hotel and Alvester told me that he wanted to go for a night walk on the beach. After about 10 minutes sitting by the water, Alvester told me that he had a gift for me, it was a scrapbook that he had made with all of our pictures from the last three years, when I got to the last page it had wedding stickers and cut-outs and said “place engagement photos here” and when I looked up, there he was, on his knee with a velvet red ring box – light shining on the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.

‏Wedding Style: ‏Our wedding theme was romantic elegance. We wanted our guests to literally experience our love by totally becoming engulfed in a room filled with romance and love with an elegant flare.

What was wedding dress shopping like for you? ‏Wedding dress shopping made the wedding planning experience real. In March of 2017, I was accompanied by my Mother, Aunt Marie, and Cousin Kevin to Kleinfelds where I had the bridal experience of my life. I came in with only one request, that I look as if I were walking on a cloud. My consultant successfully executed and delivered the vision. What made the experience special was sharing it with my mother. I was with her when she picked her wedding dress 10 years ago and to have her there with me when I chose mine was an experience that we will both never forget.

Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? My family is Haitian and we love to dance so we incorporated my culture in our wedding through music. We played various Haitian artists.

‏Bridesmaids gifts: The bridesmaids received full makeup and satin robes personalized with their names on the front.

‏Favorite item on the menu: The entire viennese dessert room! It included cannolis, cheesecakes, edible chocolate-kahlua shot-cups, and much more.

‏First Dance Song: “Never Felt This Way” by Brian McKnight

What is your best memory from your wedding? Our best memory of the wedding was the ceremony, being surrounded by all of our family and friends, yet feeling as if the only people there was us and Christ. Reciting our personal vows to one another and displaying our love and commitment in front of a room full of everyone we love was an amazing and unforgettable moment.

‏Another great memory from our wedding was our tribute to Alvester’s best friend who passed away last year. We had his shirt that he wore to his college graduation draping over a chair in the front row with the same brooch that all of the groomsmen had pinned on. Even though he could not be there physically, having his shirt there in the front row definitely made his presence felt.

‏One of the other highlights of the evening was having all of my sorority sisters there, some who I haven’t seen since I graduated and having them serenade me with our Delta Sigma Theta Sweetheart song.

What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples? Wedding planning can be extremely stressful, don’t allow the stress to consume you or strain your relationship. This is going to be one of the happiest days of your life and you want the process leading up to your day to be as seamless as possible so we encourage everyone to hire a coordinator/event planner. We started to plan our wedding by ourselves and quickly realized the magnitude of this type of event and our coordinator alleviated so much stress and made our vision into a reality. I remember walking into the reception and seeing all the flowers and decor and feeling like we were in a fairytale.

Vendors:
Photography: Livingston Lee
2nd Phtographer: Clapp Studios
Videographer: Jeffery Perkins
Venue: Ballroom At The Ben, Philadelphia, PA
Catering: Finley Catering
Cake & Dessert: Termini Brothers
Officiant: Pastor Timothy Schofield
Wedding Planning/Decor: Sharlena Garves, Signature Events by Nina
Bridesmaids’ Bouquets: Connie Starkey, Mother of the Groom
Bridal Bouquet: Eilena Mercier-Ehmann of Event Loft
Bride’s Dress: Eve of Milady, Kleinfleid
Bride’s Second Dress: Nancy Boateng
Groom’s Tux: Henry Coffie 
Makeup: Tiyana Robinson
Bridesmaids’ Makeiup: Romelle Potts
Hair Stylist: Justina Debrah-Afful 
DJ: DJ Schemes