Real {Brooklyn Brownstone} Wedding: Tania + Kenwin

Tania and Kenwin met in Miami at a carnival. Little did they know that the heat and celebration they were experiencing would soon become the story of their lives together. About six years after that fateful meeting, Tania and Kenwin are married!

Their beautifully one-of-a-kind wedding in their own home (how cool is that?) was photographed by Chad Pennington of Sobitart Photography. He did such a great job: you feel like you’re a part of this celebration.

The Bride: Tania Spencer
The Groom: Kenwin Pierre
Occupations: Bride – Labor Relations Specialist; Groom – Contractor/Designer
The Wedding Date: 04.21.2012
The Location: Brooklyn, NY

The Meeting  ….. “Ken and I met Columbus Day weekend 2006 in Miami. We were both there for Miami’s West Indian Carnival.   On the way to Carnival, my friend and I were trying to hail a cab in front of our hotel. Ken and his cousin noticed that we were going to the carnival (because of the flags loosely tucked in our pockets) and asked if they could share a cab with us. Ken and I immediately hit it off and were basically inseparable the rest of the trip. After a few days of partying and hanging out together, I just couldn’t deny his wit, sense of humor, intelligence and most of all that Brooklyn swagger – and to know that we worked 3 blocks away from each other in New York’s financial district was definitely the icing on the cake. I knew that we would be seeing a lot of each other.”

The Journey ….. “When Ken & I met, we went out on a few dates like most couples do; but the reality is that Ken and I were a couple since day one. Ken was always very honest and crystal clear about his feelings for me from day 1 and since the feelings were mutual it was very easy for us to dive into the relationship. There were no guessing games. We knew how we felt and we were going to be together point blank.  A little over a year later, Ken and I had a beautiful baby girl, Kamilah, and we were buying our Brownstone.  A few months after that, I was pregnant with my son, Kaleb. So, you see, there was no time to plan a wedding. During this time Ken and I talked about having a wedding at the house and that idea just stuck with me.  We were still in the middle of renovating our home, so I knew it would be awhile to finish. We even talked about going to City Hall a couple of times because our renovations were taking a long time, but I just couldn’t shake the idea of a Brownstone wedding; I wanted that more than anything.”

The Proposal ….. “Ken asked me to show him pictures of what kind of ring I would like.  He had a special dinner planned but I messed up everything.  One day, I saw the UPS guy pull up in front of our house.  I yelled out to him so that I could sign for the package.  As I signed for the package, Ken snatched the package out of my hand and ran in the house.  It was a ring!  After harassing him to see the ring, he eventually gave in and let me see it under the condition that he would give it to me formally during our special dinner.  He showed me the ring and I nearly passed out.  Since I knew where he kept the ring, I tried it on everyday, several times a day. I was obsessed with how perfect it was. Later on that week, he proposed over dinner.”

The Theme ….. “The style of the wedding was “Great Gatsby meets Brooklyn Brownstone”. We went for chic, swanky, fun and intimate.   We wanted the wedding to be very reflective of who we are as a couple. We had a top shelf bar and we hired a top-of-the-line catering company and staff to ensure that our guests were catered to. Now couple that with the DJ on the fire escape … That’s quintessential Brooklyn. It was the perfect balance of elegance and down-to-earth. That’s who we are.”

The Planning Process & Choosing the Venue ….. “In the beginning, Ken and I discussed the style, the feel and what we wanted to accomplish at our wedding. We are in the process of starting a Design-Build company, so it was important that the decor enhanced the style of our brownstone while creating an elegant swanky affair. From that discussion, I designed the entire decor plan.

We bought a “gut-reno” in Bed Stuy and we planned to do all the work ourselves.  One day when we were talking about plans for the house, Ken came up with the idea of selling our luxury cars in order to focus on the brownstone. I fell in love with Ken again that day for his character.  Here was a man who was willing to sell his BMW 745 to make a dream home for me and his family …..  We did everything in the house together, installed flooring, painting, installed kitchen cabinets …… etc. We enjoyed the process together. Our house has been a “labor of love” in the truest sense. Many people tried to talk us out of having the wedding at our house because, a) it wasn’t at a church and b) logistically, they just couldn’t  see our vision. I was determined to prove everyone wrong. I knew in my heart that there was no place more “blessed” or filled with love than our home. There were many nights when I was up alone, that I would pray on our house and prayed that our family would have many wonderful memories in it.”

The Challenges ….. “Since, I’m a DIY-nista and I tried to do everything myself, at some point I had to make the decision that I would not drive myself crazy over this wedding. I decided to invest in the most important thing ever: my peace of mind. 3 months before the wedding ….. I realized that no DIY bride should do everything herself. So, I put out an ad in Craigslist for a personal assistant/wedding coordinator. I already had the vision and plan for the wedding but I physically couldn’t do it all by myself. A full time job, a 3, 4 and a 14 year old, researching and developing 2 business ventures and wedding planning was becoming very stressful. So, after interviewing several people, I hired my assistant, Natalie Lowe ….. I set her up to be a second me come the day of the wedding. I refused to answer any questions the day of the wedding. I kept saying, “ask Natalie”. Natalie was a doer and she did above and beyond.

Natalie was my rock, but the dream team doesn’t end there. I hired a top-notch catering company, Cornucopia Caterers and the owner, Wayne Laviscount, then introduced me to my Chef, Desmond, and Carla of Something Beautiful Decor and Party Planning Services, who was in charge of the staff and bartenders and making sure that, logistically, everything ran smoothly throughout the day. Other than my husband, this dream team of 4 along with the photographer who captured the essence of day, made my Brownstone wedding a dream come true.

As a result of renovating our brownstone ourselves, we developed a love for construction, home design and decor. Having our wedding at our brownstone was a celebratory event on many levels. It was an opportunity to show what you can accomplish with love and patience. Ken and I are very aware of how lucky we are to have found each other …..”

Incorporating Culture ….. “I made sure I hired a DJ who could do a good mix of R&B, Hip Hop and Soca (Ken is from Trinidad and I’m from Antigua). [We also had a] West Indian favor, black cake in a favor box. When I was growing up, black cake was the favor at ALL weddings. I looked forward to it every time. I couldn’t imagine black cake not being a favor.”

The Most Unforgettable Moments ….. “The great advantage of our wedding at home is that we took time alone between our nuptials and the reception to sip on champagne in our bedroom and reflect on our wedding as well as preparing to enjoy our reception with our family and friends.  It helped to create a wonderful pace to a day that could have easily become frenetic and overwhelming. [Also, we loved] the soca line: When the DJ starting playing soca music, we started a party train and it really got the crowd going.  It was so much fun! [We also loved] the slide show. My photographer, who is the best photographer ever, created a slide show from pictures taken during the ceremony and had it ready for the reception for all to see and enjoy.  I loved it!!”

{You Make Loving You So Easy}

He loves ….. “There’s so much to love.  Tania’s warm, sweet, kind, beautiful, sexy, smart, affectionate, passionate, a wonderful companion to me and mother to our children.  It’s hard to pick one thing, but if I had to, it would be how organic our relationship feels.  We just fit together.  We belong together.”

She loves ….. “I love his strength. He is truly the rock of our family. He is a man of honor, he believes in family and he has the biggest heart of any man I’ve ever met. I could go on and on …(Sorry, so hard to pick one thing)”

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