The Black Wedding

Okay, folks, this was our third “I do” moment… Yes, I know it sounds funny.

April 17, 2017, we randomly eloped in Memphis at a courthouse. Overwhelmed with all our life changes at the time we mutually decided to wait to have a formal wedding. I will say it was the best decision we made for our union.

It was my dream day, everything went perfect and I felt relaxed in 85 % of the process. That is pretty much every bride’s goal!

Over a year and a half from our elopement, we finally managed to have a wedding with real people. Family and friends joined as we exchanged refreshed vows, indulged in cake and soul train dancing. The process we chose lessened all the planning woes and emotions that naturally come along with planning a larger wedding. Tasks that would have normally been tear-jerking and button pushing ended up being a quick to fix and simple to deal with.

These photographs were taken after the ceremony. The hilarious part is if you’ll notice, Tarik is in a totally different suit. This is because his pants ripped during the feet washing part! No one really noticed like the wedding party did and he played it off well when walking back down the aisle.

Luckily, he had a purple suit handy LOL. He quickly changed into it and we moved forward with the rest of our photos.

Below are some of our wedding details. My ring is made by Philip Press, on Sunset Blvd. He’s a great friend of ours and making the ring was a fun process.

Earrings, believe it or not, I got from BHLDN in Beverly Hills. When I went to BHLDN it was to find a last minute reception dress and I was pleasantly surprised by all the amazing and fair priced things they carry. The shoes are non-other than Christian Louboutins.

Little Details

The dress was found at Monique Lhuillier in West Hollywood. Honestly, I planned this wedding in about 4 months of timing. The first thing I planned for was the dress. When I found it, they told me I needed to order now and I wouldn’t have it back until a WEEK BEFORE THE WEDDING. Fully tailored, I had 4 appointments the 2 weeks leading up to the wedding and final dress 2 days beforehand. If you’re planning a wedding, please plan this part ahead.

With our event space and most of our other vendors, we were really blessed by choosing a Monday evening. No one really gets married on a Monday.

All of our flowers are from @flowersbycina! I absolutely loved the process I had with one of their coordinators Melissa. She was so helpful and really brought a lot of joy into the process for me.

Another look at my Monique Lhuillier dress. I LOVE HER DESIGN SO MUCH. I even purchased a pair of her sunglasses while dress shopping.

 

Getting Ready

My girls and I had such a relaxing time getting ready. Part of that reason being I ended up cutting out my first look last-minute. It didn’t feel right to do though I would have gotten some fun photos from it. 

We had just got back from Palm Springs the night beforehand also which was so FUN!

Tarik and his brother Amal getting ready!

Ceremony

My mommy looked stunning and so did my little cute Moon Man.

Mama thank you for always keeping everything together for me!

Yeah, don’t ask me why Na’im had no shoes on… and a Wub Nub in his mouth. I don’t know what happened and you can’t control everything LOL

Duke did a great job capturing these moments with my husband. I really enjoyed all the intimate photos we have.

@dukeimages

Wedding Party 

 

 

Thank you to everyone in our wedding party for being so loving to us at this time!

 

Ceremony Details

Details of the reception really came out so much better than I could have imagined it in this brain of mine. I walked into the room and cried tears of joy with also a bit of comedy because I couldn’t believe everything I wanted to happen actually did.

Here are some photos of me crying as any good bride would.

There is Tarik wondering why I’m crying at something I’m not supposed to be crying at LOL.

 

I was crying at all of this perfection. The ladies at @bestdayeventsla, Jenna & Carly are amazing. They helped me SO MUCH. They really filled in the “blanks” for me… as a team, we figured out when I needed or didn’t need.

They also are so easy to work with. I’m appreciative of them. I would highly recommend them for your future wedding planning!

Our cake was from Vanilla Bake Shop! 

We chose the flavors vanilla and carrot.

Daddy, thank you for overcoming your fear of speeches to make me feel loved on my wedding day.

Emily,

My best friend and Marian of Honor. Thank you for all your heartfelt work and tender love and hugs.

Thank you for laughing with me and crying with me.

I love you.

Tarik and Na’im,

I’m so excited for what the rest of our lives hold.

I’m so blessed to be your wife.

Love,

Mrs. Black

 

*This is a free and easy post about my wedding *

Hair: @dontesmith  Makeup: @makeupbylysette  Photos: @dukeimages  Venue: @TerraneaResort   Grooms Suit: @itsgoodeclothing