Sydney and Stanley’s love story began in college; she a Freshman, and he attending for graduate school. Though they noticed each other frequently it would be months before they actually spoke. But it wouldn’t be until four years later upon Sydney’s graduation, when Stanley reached out to congratulate her, that they would become a regular part of each other’s lives. Before long friendship would blossom into love and romance, and on September 24th of 2016 they would meet each other down the aisle to be joined together forever as husband and wife.
Read all about Sydney and Stanley’s love story, romantic surprise proposal and ceremony experience in their beautiful rose red and gold museum wedding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Featuring photography by MunaLuchi Coterie member Shagari Jackson of Mosaic by MG. See the complete gallery here.
Bride & Groom: Sydney & Stanley
Occupations: Sydney – HR Manager & Stanley – Sr. Financial Auditor
Wedding date: 9/24/16
Wedding location: Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. From the bride: We met while attending LSU in 2009. I was in undergrad and he was in grad school at the time. It seemed like we noticed each other for months before we actually talked to each other. We would always see each other between classes randomly, but had never actually met. We eventually met while out one night, but didn’t start officially dating then. Four years later, I graduated from LSU and he reached out to congratulate me. After that, we started talking more and more and the rest was history!
Proposal
From the groom: Well, I started planning the proposal during the summer of 2015. I was in the process of purchasing the ring around the same time. I knew that Sydney enjoyed bringing in special moments with loved ones, so I knew I had to have our families and friends at the proposal. The hardest part was coordinating the schedules of her friends and her dad. A few of her friends live outside the state and her dad works outside of the country every other month. After a lot of back and forth, it was determined that October 16th would be the date. The easiest part, believe it or not, was coming up with how I was going to propose. A good friend of mine, had recently gotten engaged and I knew that people sometimes had engagement parties to celebrate their engagements. The plan was to make it seem as if we were going to my friend’s engagement party, when, in fact, we were going to a surprise engagement party for her! The key to all of it was her saying “YES”, but, of course, I knew she would! Well I started dropping tidbits in Sydney’s ear about “my friend’s engagement party” months before October. With the help of her mom, we rented a beautiful reception center and e-vites were sent out to our closest family and friends. Leading up to the proposal, it was evident that she didn’t have a clue the proposal was fast approaching. I would constantly ask Sydney what she planned on wearing and she didn’t seem the least bit interested in it. On the day of the proposal I made sure that everyone arrived at the venue before 7:15pm. Sydney and I arrived around 7:30 and as we walked towards the entrance, she scolded me the entire way because we were late to the engagement party. Once we got inside, all of our closest family and friends were there to surprise her! I proposed shortly after and the party kicked off!
What was wedding shopping like for you? When shopping for a wedding dress, there were two things I knew I had to have. First, the dress had to be lace. Second, the dress had to have an illusion back. I went to a few bridal boutiques in New Orleans and Baton Rouge before finding the perfect dress. I tried on an Enzoani dress at one of the boutiques I visited and loved the style but it didn’t have the intricate detail I was looking for. I began looking on line at some of their other styles and came across Enzoani Jodie. The first time I saw it online I knew it was the one. I found a place in New Orleans that had it and went with my mom, mother in law, and a few of my bridesmaids to try it on. As soon as I put it on, I knew it was the one! We had champagne and toasted to me saying yes to the dress and that was a wrap.
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding?
Since both of us are from Louisiana, we had to incorporate a lot of Louisiana culture into our wedding reception. Our entire menu consisted of staple Louisiana dishes such as crawfish etouffee, seafood gumbo, creole red beans, and boudin balls! The groom even had a 5-tier Mardi Gras style king cake as his grooms cake, which the guests loved. We also couldn’t end the night without a New Orleans second line band. The last thirty minutes of the reception we pulled out our second line umbrellas and gave the guest handkerchiefs and we second lined the night away!
What is your best memory from your wedding?
From the Bride: I’d have to say the best memory from my wedding day was seeing my groom for the first time that day as I walked down the aisle. Seeing his face light up was and the tears rolling down his face was unforgettable. It was very emotional for both of us, but walking down the aisle to my husband was a feeling I’ll never forget.
From the Groom: In my opinion, the best memory from the wedding would have to be a three way tie between seeing my bride walking down the aisle, signing the marriage license during the ceremony, and the reception. Those three things are the top unforgettable moments for me.
What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples? Don’t sweat the small stuff and try to remain as calm and relaxed as possible. You’ll forget things and things won’t always go as planned, but don’t let it get to you. Make sure to remember that at the end of the day you get to marry your other half, while being surrounded by your closest family and friends. Keeping that in the forefront of our minds helped us remain calm and truly enjoy every second of the day!
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts: Bridesmaids – Monogrammed totes and robes; Groomsmen – Aldo shoes that they wore on the big day.
Favorite item on the menu: Crawfish Etouffee!
First dance song: “Spend My Life With You” by Eric Benet
Vendors:
Wedding Dress Designer – Enzoani
Hair – Ryan Delahoussaye
Make-up – Courtney Foulds
Brides Shoes – Christian Louboutins
Grooms Shoes – Aldo
Ceremony/Reception Location – Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Capital Park Museum)
Photography/Videography – Mosaic by MG; Shagari Jackson & Quinn Gordon (Bridal Portion by Shagari Jackson day of wedding Quinn Gordon)
Photo booth – Flash and Geaux Photo Booth
Wedding Planner/Event Design/Florist – Gala Productions
Brides Cake – The Cake Shoppe
Grooms Cake – Gambinos
Catering – Culinary Productions
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