For Cherise Tidd, a current Ph.D graduate student, and Shann Bernard, a Software Engineer,
the cafeteria at Spelman College will always bring back wonderful memories on how they met.
In the summer of 2003, Cherise was hired at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia for their parallel
program while Shann was helping tutor high school students at the Morehouse College summer
science program. It was in the Spelman cafeteria where Cherise first locked eyes with Shann. Only
admiring him from afar, Cherise never had the courage to pursue him until her students, who happened
to notice how perfect they would look together, took it upon themselves to speed up the romance
process and give Shann her number. ”When we finally met face to face, I could tell that Shann was
attracted to me as well,” said Cherise. “On our first date, we went to a movie to see
Bad Boys 2 and had dinner at Steak ‘N Shake.” …Read the entire love story below…
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Wedding Date: June 6, 2010
Bride: Cherise Tidd
Groom: Shann Bernard
Venue: Frenchman’s Reef St. Thomas
Photographed by Joshua Dwain Photography
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By Kaylyn Eshesimua @kaylyneshesimua
For Cherise Tidd, a current Ph.D graduate student, and Shann Bernard, a Software Engineer,
the cafeteria at Spelman College will always bring back wonderful memories on how they met.
In the summer of 2003, Cherise was hired at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia for their
parallel program while Shann was helping tutor high school students at the Morehouse College
summer science program. It was in the Spelman cafeteria where Cherise first locked
eyes with Shann. Only admiring him from afar, Cherise never had the courage to pursue him
until her students, who happened to notice how perfect they would look together, took it upon
themselves to speed up the romance process and give Shann her number. ”When we finally met
face to face, I could tell that Shann was attracted to me as well,” said Cherise. “On our
first date, we went to a movie to see Bad Boys 2 and had dinner at Steak ‘N Shake.” After a six year long relationship, Shann would soon realize that there was more to their
relationship than friendship. Shann recounts the night he realized he was ready to propose
to Cherise. “I went out to a local bar with a coworker, Shelton, who would later become one
of my groomsmen. We began to talk about relationships, and I told him that I knew Cherise
was the ‘one.’ That night, he hinted at the fact that I sounded like I was ready to pop the
question.” At the end of the night, Shann spontaneously came up with a plan to propose
to Cherise. He called her to make sure she was still awake and made up a story that he was
stuck in traffic and needed her to talk to him to keep him awake. “As I pulled up
to her house, I told her I had arrived home and needed to call her back,” said Shann.
Surprised at seeing Shann at her house, Cherise received yet another shock when he dropped
to one bended knee and proposed. “She initially laughed uncontrollably and kept asking me if
I was serious,” said Shann. “After convincing her I was serious she finally said, ‘Of course baby!’”.
Envisioning an island celebration that would wow their guests, the couple, along with the help of
their wedding planner, booked the Frenchman’s Reef and Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort
in St. Thomas to host their ideal Caribbean wedding. “For both Shann and I, it mattered most to
us that our entire families were able to meet each other for the first time and have a wonderful
and exciting vacation,” said Cherise. Considering their relationship to be of high value and
opulent as a diamond, Cherise and Shann centered their wedding theme around the world’s
premiere jeweler, Tiffany & Co., choosing a color scheme of the famous Tiffany blue and light
beige. The ceremony décor was simply elegant. Ivory rose petals lined the aisle while the
couple joined hands beneath a beautiful canopy draped with ivory fabrics. Once they were pronounced husband and wife, guests headed into the reception area, where
tables named after a cut of diamond were set in an orderly fashion while centerpieces of ivory
floral arrangements rested on Tiffany blue and ivory linens.In addition to feasting on a Caribbean
inspired cuisine, guests were treated to an island mix of calypso, soca, oldies, and popular music
that had them dancing long into the night. After the wedding, the newlyweds continued their
island romance at The Ritz Carlton Resort, proving to be the starting point of a wonderful
beginning for Cherise and Shann’s journey together.
“Enjoy every moment of the process,” suggests Cherise. “Your wedding day goes by extremely
quickly, so it’s important to savor every moment so that you’ll have memories to last a lifetime”.
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Vendors
Gown: Badgley Mischka
Venue: Frenchman’s Reef and Morning Star Marriot Beach Resort
Event designer/decor: Bernadette Saunders, The Kairos Moment Wedding and Event Planners
Bridesmaids: Annhum Red Designs
Hair and Makeup: Sugar and Spice Artistry (St. Thomas)
Photography: Joshua Dwain
Registries: Crate and Barrel, Bed Bath and Beyond
Entertainment: TNT Entertainment
THANK YOU, Munaluchi, for featuring a big-chop bride — the first I’ve ever seen on any blog. I’d love to see more, but unfortunately neither the pictures in the post nor the thumbnails below it are working. Any way to fix that?
Thanks J. The images have been re-uploaded. You should be able to view all of them now.
Thank you! STUNNING couple and pictures.
Absolutely stunning. Very classy and romantic! The wedding dress is to die for!!!! Love it!
I love that dress!! The pictures are gorgeous and I love a destination wedding!!
BEAUTIFUL N SIMPLE.
beautiful photos. As a St Thomas photographer I look to photos like these for inspiration. http://www.virginpixel.com
Wish they had included a pic with her and the dress alone.