Certified Coordinated Bride Theresa
JE # 5
Becoming The Beltons
It has been four months since we walked down the aisle and said “I do” and I still can’t believe I am married to the love of my life. But as unreal as it feels I am loving married life. I giggle inside every time someone calls me Mrs. Belton. I love the way that sounds. To see all of our planning and our vision come to life the way that it did was just magical. I had my perfect fairy tale wedding and I was surrounded by all the people that I love.
The night before the wedding
The day before the wedding was pretty chaotic to say the least. We had friends and family coming in from California, Georgia, New York, Qatar, and Senegal. But things started to settle down once we all got checked in to our hotel rooms and started getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. We decided to have a West African inspired rehearsal dinner at a Senegalese restaurant in Baltimore named Nailah’s. I wore a custom dress made with Ankara fabric and my bridal party and I all wore matching gold head pieces. We ate, laughed, and told embarrassing stories. Once we got back to the hotel I returned to my suite to get some much needed beauty rest. Meanwhile my amazing bride tribe was hard at work all night putting together our party favors. It truly takes a village to make everything happen.
Here come the Brides
And finally the day had come. We woke up at 6am to commence getting ready. We had a bridal party of 16 so hair and makeup was an organized process between the makeup artists and the hair dressers. But everything went so smoothly and without a hitch like a perfectly executed ballet recital. I have to say the getting ready part of the day was so much fun. We laughed, drank some champagne, and took some pictures while jumping on the bed. Watching everybody getting all dolled up was a blast. The makeup artist even commented that I was one of the calmest brides she had worked with.
We decided to do a first look which I strongly would advise to other brides. This gave us plenty of time to take all of the pictures we wanted and get it all out of the way. It also gave Zekeera and I time to kind of soak in everything that was happening and have a “JUST US” moment before getting wrapped up in a whirlwind of wedding formalities.
We had an outdoor ceremony in a garden surrounded by tall oak trees. I walked down the aisle to the sound of Pachelbel’s Cannon in D being played by a string trio. We exchanged our vows with all the people that are dear to us as witnesses. I remember feeling so full of joy that I could not stop smiling. And while for the sake of the pictures I knew that I had to keep it together, everything in me just wanted to jump up and down when the officiant said to us “you may now kiss your bride”.
The reception was a true Zee & Resa event. We danced ALL NIGHT LONG. Zekeera and I pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening when our first dance ended with a dance battle between us. With our bridal party cheering us on, we battled to the sound of Baltimore club music and of course I won the battle. We made our rounds and I made sure to greet and hug every single person in attendance. This was the first time that both of our worlds got together in the same space so I wanted to enjoy each and every moment of it. Of course the night could not end without my Alma Mater’s fight song “We Are The Bears” being played and all the Morganites took over the dance floor #BearPride.
Wedding Day Reflections
I had my dream wedding. Violinists, beautiful wedding gowns, huge crystal chandeliers, gorgeous flowers and center pieces, esthetically my wedding looked exactly the way I dreamed it would look like. I always knew ever since I was a little girl that I wanted to walk down the aisle to the sound of Cannon D being played by a violinist. But what I will hold on to forever is all the love that was felt that day. I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt by the end of the night.
Having a good team does play a huge part in the way the wedding day flows. All of our vendors did an impeccable job at making sure everything went as planned and on time. My wedding planner was nothing short of amazing. She arrived with her 3 assistants and took care of everything. We literally did not have to worry about anything the day of the wedding. All Zekeera and I had to do was wake up, get ready, and enjoy every single moment of our special day. I would definitely advise future brides to invest in a good wedding planner, trust me it makes a huge difference. Another advice would be to make sure you take your time and truly enjoy each and every moment. It took a year to plan our wedding and the day went by so fast. But because other brides had given me this same advice I made sure to enjoy the process and each step of the day. Looking back on my wedding day I would not change a single thing. It was my perfect fairy tale princess wedding!
XOXO,
Theresa
Vendor Collaboration
Photographer: Iris Manning Photography || Wedding Planner: Cest Belle Events || Videography: Pope Weddings
Florals and Lighting: Davinci Florist Brides Gown: The Bridal Room – VA || Make Up: Soul Star Makeup
Trackbacks/Pingbacks