When Shanae met Lucas Robinson at the age of 14, she felt insecure. She always spent her summer’s at her aunt’s house, but this was the first time she noticed Lucas. It was his smile that made her feel nervous. In a show of typical adolescent self-consciousness, Shanae thought that a flaw in her appearance was making Lucas giggle. However, Shanae shares, “The more time we spent hanging out I realized that the huge smile I found freakishly weird before was one of the things I loved the most about him. His smile is so warm and affectionate.”
They happily dated for years until their relationship hit what Shanae thought was a rough patch. At the age of 20, Shanae was diagnosed with a serious health issue that impeded her ability to have kids. Shanae avoided calling Lucas for a week, and even considered breaking up with him. She shares,”We were twenty… We had talked about marriage and kids, and the thought of not being able to have kids… I didn’t want to take away his chance to be a father.” However, Lucas came over, wiped away Shanae’s tears and runny nose, and said, “I love you just the way you are, so if we can’t have kids then that’s okay, but I’m never leaving you.” Lucas literally did Shanae’s makeup, and took her out that night to lift her spirits. He attended every one of her doctor’s visits, and made Shanae feel confident when treatments caused her to lose her hair. Shanae reminiscences, “He was my rock; he never made me feel like I was sick. He encouraged me to stay in school and finish. He kept me laughing when everything else around me looked to be going wrong.”
Their wedding was a beautiful representation of their love. Shanae shares, “We wanted our wedding to be a classic look with a true representation of the both of us. We are young but mature, and we didn’t want anything too serious. We decided to mix a little of old Hollywood glam with some modern and traditional touches.” Their wedding was a true celebration of the preciousness of life. The couple endured Shanae’s illness, and Lucas got into a serious motorcycle accident the day before the wedding! So they felt incredibly blessed to share this moment with their family and friends. Petronella Photography was there to capture every heart warming moment.
Quick Facts
- Wedding Date: 06/23/2014
- Wedding Location: Ceremony: First presbatrian church of Philadelphia; Reception: The IATSE Ballroom Philadelphia, PA
- Wedding Theme: Old Hollywood glam with some modern and traditional touches.
- Wedding Colors: Blush pink,black and white.
- Wedding Flowers: Pink roses
Wedding Style
The DRESS! Of course you want to look amazing on your big day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be frugal. I was very open to trying new styles. I’m very thin so I was very worried about looking like a little girl playing dress up! I went to David’s Bridal with my mom dad and sister. 1st I recommend going with people you know will put you first and will give honest but not hurtful opinions. 2nd have a plan I decided to not worry about all of the embellishments on the dress since the more embellishments the higher the price. I opted to focus on the perfect fit. I picked a plain trumpet style dress that made me feel like a woman! Instead of buying it that day, I went back a week later with five of my closest family members and tired on the dress for the second time. I didn’t want to buy my dress on impulse! It was a perfect fit and perfect price. It was on sale for $299.99, but it was a little too plain. 3rd trip I decided to buy the dress and take it to a small dress shop and get the dress details customized. To add a satin embellished belt, sweetheart neckline,one sheer shoulder strap ,as well as getting the dress fitted and shortened the overall total was $500. That’s including the original cost of the dress. Off the rack my dress would’ve cost at least $1200. Most importantly I loved my dress and felt so beautiful.
Most Memorable Moment
It was a dream and I’m sure most brides say the same. After most people hear that my husband was in an serious accident the day before our wedding they automatically think that means we had a horrible wedding day,so not true. Yes the accident did have an effect on our wedding…it made us even more sure of our decision to get married. We are young so we where asked a lot if we was sure we where making the right decision by getting married so young. We had no doubts; we new we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together! And Yes my husband was pretty banged…but he did not let that stop him from making the day all about our love. We danced ate and had so much fun with our family and friends!
Wedding Advice
My husband was in a serious motorcycle accident the day before our wedding. I could’ve really lost him, so the first bit of advice I would give to other brides is not to forget why your getting married in the first place. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the details and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as you hold on to the true reason your getting married “your love”. The second bit of advice is to really get a great photographer, other than your husband your pictures is the only thing from your wedding you’ll have forever. The one thing you hear when planing a wedding is enjoy the day because you cant get it back. 7 months later when I look at the picture of me and my father walking down the aisle I get the same nervous little tickle in my stomach. I can remember the church growing so still with all eyes on me. It made me so nervous I was holding my fathers hand so tight until I laid eyes on my husband and he gave me a huge smile.Yes all of that! Pictures are so important. I think you should really get what you pay for, so be generous with your photo budget find someone that you trust ,and are comfortable with; this person will be with you for the whole day! Also make sure you talk about the details that are important to you!
Vendors
- Photographer: Petronella Photography
- Florist Chantilly Floral
- Ceremony Location: Church First Unitarian church
- Cake: Oteris Italian Bakery
- Reception venue: IATSE Ballroom
- DJ Superior Sound Productions
- Bridal shop: Bridal 2000
-
Hair: Marget Warner, garden path II
-
Makeup: Yavonda Williams
-
Bridal shoes hand designed: Yvette Allen,brides mom
-
Wedding stationary: Skiwoo Products, brides father
-
Grooms tux: Gallelli Formal Wear
-
Prayer shawl: Bentley Robe Company, LLC
-
Officant: Leonard Ollison, Body of Christ Assembly
-
Guest book poster: etsy
Thanks so much for the feature! I loved photographing Shanae & Lucas so much & their story moved both me and my second shooter!! Thanks!
What a beautiful love story, almost seemed like a fairy tail. I am happy to have witnessed this wonderful union. Wishing you and your husband the best!