Saturday April 24, Dearly Beloved held its
annual
wedding event at the Historic Akwaaba
Mansion. It
was a wonderful day and an opportunity for a look at
a very different kind of bride. Many of the bridal
magazines boast beautiful women in very traditional
styles. Lovely as they are there are still many
women who do not look anything like these magazine
images. Dearly Beloved wanted to give the audience
a taste of style they have been longing to see and
wedding ideas that touch the soul of who they are.
Yes I am bias, but this event was fabulous.
The Mansion, which has its own elegance, was the
backdrop for the models to glide through the rooms
with gowns designed by Cassandra
Bromfield. Gina, the makeup artist,
created beautiful wedding day
looks on each of the models. Khamit Kinks
coifed
the hair perfectly in natural styles, braids and locks.
Beauloni headpieces delicately intertwined
with the
hair to create the crowning glory of a bride's day.
Bed of Roses bouquets were so fabulous no
bride
would want to toss them. You would certainly have
to ask for a throw away bouquet. Tiny ankhs with
crystals, thin thin bangles of silver and long
necklaces that draped across the body by
Amaka
Jewelry pulled it all together.
The informal modeling was not the only show
stopper. If you your wedding is to be unique you
must give Maximum Glory a call. By using
fabric, branches, roses and more, they can set the
mood for any type of wedding. It was really unique
how they tied branches to the banister along with
dried roses. You could even get a sweet sent as you
walked by. Zawadi Gift Shop has a
wonderful selection of wedding accessories and they
brought many of them with them that day. The
dining room table was set with toasting glasses
etched with Adinkra symbols. That's just a taste of
what they you must visit the shop and see all they
offer including the Jumping Brooms.
Music is so important to any wedding day and we
didn't miss a beat with Sounds of New York.
They have
the perfect blend of old and new. New and old family
coming to town for the big day, say Thank you with a
gift basket by Basket Wraps. Sara can
personalize
each gift and can create them as centerpieces.
Our caterer for the day was The Fork Goes On
The Left. Mellanee R. Harvin created not only
an elegant menu but she never stopped it coming.
The salmon, chicken, vegetables, and more all taste
were accommodated as one guest put it the food
never stopped coming. Then the bride cuts the
cake, Nana Pearls, makes a cake so beautiful
you won't want to cut it but please do the taste is
out to this world. As I like to say, the eggs, butter,
and sugar were not only in the kitchen she really did
put it in these cakes. At the end of the day the
guest were scraping the bottom of the serving dish.
I don't even think I got a piece. It was wonderful.
There are many ethnic and cultural wedding books on
the market and Brownstone Books has a
great selection including Jump the Broom by
Harriette Cole. We were also very excited to
have her speak that day.
The day could not have been more perfect, but wait
there is more. Sponsors like Washington Mutual
provided our guest with valuable info on home
buying. Crane & Co. gave a gift of stationary
that
valued over $100. Guest left with Pathfinders
Travel
Magazine, the travel magazine for people of
color; there are great ideas for honeymoons, family
reunions and more all inside. The Association for
Wedding Professionals, International gave away
a 4
day 3 night stay in Jamaica or the Bahamas as a door
prize, Wow. I was so excited to give the news to
the lucky winner. Akwaaba got into the act
by giving away a one night stay at the inn. Now
that's a wonderful day!
