Love Jones. What comes to mind when you read that? Romance, passion, poetry, creativity? The wedding we’re featuring today was inspired by that movie. Lashay say Instead of a first dance, the couple opted for a ‘first poetry piece.’ So unique! In addition, the couple made a strong effort to support minority owned businesses – their wedding vendors were primarily minority owned or LGBTQ friendly. We love that LaShay and Bakari kept things simple and unique while celebrating their love for one another in the presence of close family and friends. We wish them the very best of marriage! Thanks to Renee Hollinshead Photography for the lovely images. Be sure to check out the full gallery at the end of the post.
From the photographer:
This is hands-down one of my favorite weddings I’ve ever photographed. The couple decided a few weeks before they picked their date that they would have an intimate ceremony at a local park and a reception at their home. They live in the coolest building in Baltimore complete with a freight elevator, picture perfect backdrops, colorful furniture, unique decorative items, and even a poetry suite. I love how LaShay and Bakari brought so much culture and love to their wedding day. They had a beautiful ceremony that opened with African dancers, an ancestral ceremony, a Yoruba tasting ceremony, personal hand-written vows, an amazing acapella performance by one of their guests, and a rock star exit. From there we drove to the historical Penn Station in Baltimore for a quick bridal session. The day ending with a heartwarming celebration at their home complete with flatbread pizza, a love poem read to each other in front of their guests, and a lot of partying. I could not be happier for these two!
From LaShay:
“Love Jones is one of our favorite movies (as well as our last name is Jones!), so we took much of our inspiration from Darrius and Nina’s love story. And since Bakari doesn’t dance and Love Jones involved a great deal of poetry, we decided not to have a first dance rather a “first poetry piece” that was a surprise to our guests! To continue our love affair with Black Cinema we took cues for our outfits from Coming to America! HA! We didn’t want traditional looks so, we decided on a regal and royal feel. It was also very important for us to support minority owned businesses, so virtually all of our vendors were either a person of color, owned by a woman, or extremely LGBTQ friendly. We wanted a very intimate ceremony with only those people who love and supported us, not merely tolerated. We also wanted our ceremony to be full of both African and Black traditions, so we had a Yoruba tasting ceremony, a community vow, and we jumped the broom! The ceremony was in a park very close to our home that was also where we got engaged, so it was very special to us.”
Wedding Highlights (from LaShay)
“Our budget was $5,000. We selected that number by each answering the questions: “What is the highest amount we would want to spend no matter if we had a million dollars in the bank?”
Location: “St. Mary’s Park in Baltimore, MD; a park that is within walking distance from our house and we had our reception in our home. We wanted our wedding and marriage to stay connected, so having a ceremony and reception “at home” just made sense to us.”
“When/How Did you meet? As for Bakari and I, we met 3 years before we got married. She pretended not to see me when we first met; and I took her breathe away. I liked her immediately!”
Wedding theme: “Our Very Black, Queer Wedding” haha!
Photographer: Renee Hollingshead Photography//Cinema and Video:EJ Morton-Green//Makeup Artist:Friend//Tuxedo and Mens Attire:Iya Osunremi Aduke//Other:Local African Dancers//Officiant:Officiant//Floral Designer:Pearson’s Florist//Officiant:Shantology//Ceremony Location:St. Mary’s Park//Dress Designer:Zac Posen//
This is so beautiful. Makes me want to redo my own wedding to my wonderful wife.
The photos of the happy newlyweds are stunning and pleasantly understated! May they have many years of happiness!
I love unique wedding and this one was so heart felt. Congratulations
ABOMIMATION :( ABOMINATION :( ABOMINATION :( ABOMINATION :(
I PRAY GOD THAT YOU STOP THIS WEDDING AND THAT YOU REPENT IN FRONT OF HIM, CAUSE HE CONDEMNS THOSE THINGS!!!
GOD CREATED WEDDING FOR A MAN AND A WOMAN ONLY!!!! YOU HEAR ME, MAN AND A WOMAN ONLY!!!!!
ABOMIMATION :( ABOMINATION :( ABOMINATION :( ABOMINATION :(
ABOMINATION :( ABOMINATION :( ABOMINATION :( ABOMINATION :(
GOD CREATED MARIAGE FOR A MAN AND A WOMAN ONLY!!!!!!
REPENT BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!! GOD LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO SAVE YOU :) STOP THIS ABOMINATION AND REPENT YOURSELF AND GOD WILL GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH TO GET OVER THIS DEMONIAC BEHAVIOUR THAT’S CALLED HOMOSEXUALITY!!!
GOD LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO SAVE YOU!
Your Comments are so hateful and God doesn’t like Hate. He is the one to judges not you.
Their love doesn’t effect your life, don’t ruin the amazing and beautiful love that they have. Your comments just make you come off as hateful and like I said God doesn’t like that. You are the abomination.
Love come in all ways and we should encourage it because this world is so ugly and if you can find the person that you love than follow it.
Love all men…however—God is not mocked!
1 Corinthians 6:9New Life Version (NLV)
The Body Is to Be Holy
9 Do you not know that sinful men will have no place in the holy nation of God? Do not be fooled. A person who does sex sins, or who worships false gods, or who is not faithful in marriage, or men who act like women, or people who do sex sins with their own sex, will have no place in the holy nation of God.
@Sheila…Amen, but…Pray and speak in love…
Matthew 7 King James Version (KJV)
7 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Beautiful wedding!
Please I would love to know the name of the African dancers who performed!
Thanks!
This is UnAfrikan! The ancestors are crying over this euro beast deathstyke that so called cultural people have adopted. I am a shamed to be an Ifa practitioner and see the faces I recognize in this unnatural act same on you and all that participated in the sickness!