Triena and H.D.'s Stylish New Year's Eve Ballroom Wedding -Munaluchi Bride

Triena and HD initially got to know each other at fifteen in an AOL chatroom, where their commonalities would continue to bring them closer together. Always keeping in touch throughout the years, they remained a safety net to fall back on, until in 2010 when they decided to take their relationship to an official level. The long-distance between them over the next five years only strengthened their love. Finally, after realizing they had both found the person they were always meant to be with, together they relocated to Atlanta – continuing down their path of happily ever after…

Read all about Triena & H.D.’s love story, proposal, and experiences in their stylish New Year’s Eve ballroom wedding in Atlanta – featuring planning, florals and design by MunaLuchi Coterie member Designs by Ayanna.

Bride & Groom: Triena & H.D.
Occupations: Blogger & Music Producer
Wedding date: 12/31/17
Wedding location: Twelve Ballroom, Atlanta GA

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. HD and I met when I was 15 year’s old. I always teased him and told him that someday he would be my husband. It’s funny because we both met in an AOL chatroom, we started talking because we had very similar screen names (his was Fresh2Def86, and mine was MsFresh2Def205). I guess we were a match made in Cyber-land. After years of dating other people, but managing to keep in touch, we finally decided to give our relationship a real try in 2010. We dated long-distance for five years and decided to relocate to Atlanta to officially be together, in the same city. Those were some of the best years of our life! HD proposed that following New Years Eve (2016) at a New Year’s Eve party, surrounded by our friends and fireworks. My family was on FaceTime so that they could witness the occasion. We married the same day on the following year because it just felt right!

How did you know they were “the one”? I knew HD was the one because in every pivotal moment in my life (good or bad), he was always there, and he was always the common denominator. I realized very early on in our friendship that I wanted him to be around forever. It also made it easy for me to know he was the one because he’s my very best friend. I can laugh and talk to him for hours, without every growing tired of his company.
HD realized I was the one when we shared our first space together and it was a tiny bedroom we slept and lived in, with all of our belongings, plus us (we couldn’t afford much more than that.) He always says, even though we were basically living on top of each other, he never grew tired of me and he enjoyed coming home to me every single night in that tiny little room.

Describe your wedding attire. Our wedding style was “Black Excellence.” Because it was a New Year’s Eve wedding, we didn’t want the traditional cheesy glitter party that you affiliate with New Year’s Eve. Instead we wanted a regal black tie affair, and played with fun textures like sequins and velvet. Our colors were black, white, and gold to tie in the regal feeling for our big day.

Wedding Party gifts: Brides received robes, jewelry, and jewelry holders, the fellas received bow ties, flasks, and booze.
Favorite item on the menu: Collard greens, for sure!
First dance song: “Make Me Whole” by Amel Larrieux

Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? Coincidentally we did incorporate culture. HD and I are both African American, but our wedding party was very diverse with Caribbean and African backgrounds. So we decided that a money spray was appropriate, and our wedding party and guests loved it!
We also did a traditional southern New Year’s feast as our menu for our wedding guests. I’m a southern girl from Alabama, so I believe in the Lucky foods you should consume in order to jump start your new year. Our menu consisted of the lucky foods like black eyed peas, collard greens, fish, and pork so that all of our guests could welcome in good fortune for the new year.

What is your best memory from your wedding? My favorite memory from our wedding was celebrating the entire weekend with our loved ones. We had a fairly small wedding, approximately 90 people. We wanted it to feel like an exclusive party for everyone who attended. Because of the intimacy of having a small wedding we were able to spend time with everyone throughout the entire weekend. Everyone still asks for us to host another weekend so that we can all hang out like we did at our wedding!

What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples? The best wedding advice I can give is to stay focused on what’s important, which is you and your significant other. Nothing is perfect, and things always go left … quick, but as long as you focus on what matters, you will find joy.