The “Perfect Pair” Wedding in New York with DIY Theme: Shonte + Katakayie

While planning their wedding, Shonte and Katakyie wanted to be apart of every aspect of their special event. Due to how strong their bond is – they reconnected after 8 years of lost communication – they felt it was only fitting to dedicate the theme for their wedding as “The Perfect Pair.” With a navy blue and pale green color palette, this lovely couple created a DIY wedding filled with inspiration and a touch of Ghanaian hip hop.

Their beautiful wedding was photographed by Kesha Lambert of  Lash to Lens Photography.

How They Met

Shonte and Katakyie met in 2001 while they both were attending the Rochester Institute of Technology. After their first meeting the two quickly became close friends. However, Katakyie ended up transferring to another school and their communication was lost soon after. Eight years later the two reconnected over AOL instant messenger. Katakyie was living in the Bronx, New York and Shonte in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time. The two rekindled their friendship and overtime their love for each other grew past their distance. In July 2010, Shonte and Katakyie made their relationship official and chose to have a long distance relationship for almost two years until Shonte finally decided to follow her heart and move to New York to be with Katakyie.

The Proposal

It was a beautiful afternoon at Briscoe Park at the bridge laced with Sunflowers (her favorite flower). The venue was cleared out for their life changing event. Shonte had no clue that Katakyie was even at the park. She was invited to a non-existent event by their friend Deana. As she walked towards the bridge, Deana points out a man behind an umbrella. Surprise, it’s another friend, Lawrence! Lawrence hands Shonte sunflowers and a telephone. Guess who’s on the phone? It’s Katakyie! Katakyie then begins to say “Happy Anniversary Honey.” Shonte replies “What Anniversary and what’s going on?” “Today marks the first day I laid eyes on you. I’m sorry I could not be there but I have a surprise for you. Please look into the camera and tell me what our love means to you.” As Shonte begins to speak Katakyie begins to walk behind her and when she’s done he whispers in her ear “I love you more.” He then begins to say, “Shonte Ebony Floyd, love is an understatement when it comes to you and I. Happiness is an emotion that takes over my spirit when I am with you. I thank you for being my everything and giving me the privilege of being your partner in life. We have a bond that cannot be broken. Time and distance has proven that there is no boundary to our love and there will never be one. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife? Shonte Ebony Floyd will you marry me?” She said yes!

The Wedding

Our wedding theme was “The Perfect Pair” and our colors were Navy Blue and Pear Green. I was a DIY Bride so I had my hands in every aspect of the wedding. The Groom was hands on as well so he provided a lot of input into the wedding. It was also important for me to choose vendors that were small business owners that make customized/handmade items because I am a small business owner that makes customized/handmade items as well.

I was obsessed with a Kitty Chen Couture dress I found online. Then when I started looking for the dress in boutiques I wasn’t having much luck. I found out that it was an older style dress and it was in the process of being discontinued…I was devastated.  I had my heart set on this dress to the point I started looking at pre-owned gowns and I couldn’t even find it there. I also went to various boutiques in the New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts that were retailers for Kitty Chen and I didn’t have any luck finding the dress. I finally gave up after six months of searching for my “dream” dress.  January 2013 came around and I still didn’t have a dress for my July wedding. I went to RK Bridal in Manhattan with my Maid of Honor and one of my Bridesmaids to look for a gown. I tried on about 8 dresses before I found my dress. I didn’t love in  until the Bridal Consultant put a Justin Alexander belt around my waist, then I fell in love with my Watters Bridal gown. Such a subtle item made such a big difference. My advice for brides-to-be would definitely be to be open to different styles of dresses and designers. You may have your heart set on a dress that you found but when you put in on you may realize that it’s not “the dress” and then you’re back to square one.

Most Memorable Moment

There were so many memorable moments but the one I think that stood out the most was my mom dancing to Ghanaian hip/hop music with the groom. Pure comedy!

We chose our Mr.  & Mrs. introduction song to be a Ghanaian hip/hop song. We also chose the Bride/Father of the Groom and Groom/Mother of the Bride’s dance to be to a Ghanaian hip/hop song which I think everyone truly enjoyed seeing the parents dance to.

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