Melissa and Quincy’s Vibrant and Luxurious Miami Wedding

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For Melissa and Quincy the serendipitous nature of their “chance” encounters certainly seems more fatalistic than random. One may go even further by saying their eventual coming together as husband and wife was altogether guided by a hire power… Having initially met in the school dining hall, Quincy was immediately drawn to Melissa who sat in preparation for exams. After an unsuccessful attempt to ask her out to dinner, the two parted and a few years went by… For the second time they would be brought together, this time during fourth of July in Las Vegas while Melissa celebrated her sister’s birthday getaway. From across a crowded room, Quincy, once again magnetically drawn to Melissa, would make his second approach, and being a professional basketball player means giving up is not an acceptable outcome – this time he would up his game. They danced “the entire night away” after which he provided her with a ride back to her hotel, and upon opening the her car door gave her a kiss. Though the night would seem perfect, it would be another few years before they would communicate again. This time it would be during his professional basketball season in China, and as they say, “third time’s the charm.” Upon his return to the states they officially began dating. Being an R&B singer it would seem that Melissa naturally sang a song without sound that only Quincy’s heart could hear, and on September 10, 2016 in a beautiful church ceremony, before family and friends, they were joined together as husband and wife.

Read all about Melissa and Quincy’s love story, romantic proposal, and wedding experience in their intimate church ceremony and vibrant and luxurious reception. Featuring the work of Munaluchi Coterie members; elite wedding & lifestyle photographer Stanley Babb of Stanlo Photography; and the first-class Videography of Artistic Vision & Design. View the complete selected image gallery here.

Bride & Groom: Melissa ‘Miesa’ Douby & Quincy Douby
Occupations: Music Artist (R&B) & Pro Athlete (Basketball Player)
Wedding date: September 10, 2016
Wedding location: Alfred I. Dupont Building, Miami, Florida

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. The first time we met, was actually in school. He saw me in the dining hall, approached me, introduced himself and asked me to dinner. I was so busy with exams and work-study, I figured, since we were already in the dining hall, I responded with, “we can eat here?” Of course he declined and said “it was nice meeting you.” So I went on my way, until years later, at my sister’s birthday getaway in Las Vegas, which I didn’t want to even go in the first place; I went and had so much fun. We were at a table having the best time, dancing, laughing; enjoying the 4th of July when I got a tap on my shoulder and someone yelled in my ear, “remember the guy from school? He’s calling you over!” I was so happy because I remember the day he approached me in the dining hall and I was having so much fun that I went over to him and we started dancing the entire night. He later told me he lived in Vegas at the time and he gave myself, some friends and family a ride back to our hotel, where he told me to wait in the car so that he could open my door for me and then he kissed me. He said, “hold on, I gotta kiss my wifey.” We kissed and then fast forward to a few years later, we reconnected during his season playing in China. We would text back and fourth and speak every now and then until he told me he was coming back to the states, and then we began dating.

In 2015 after 3 years of officially being together. He was just coming home from another one of his seasons in China and I was actually just coming back to New Jersey from performing in Orlando, Florida on the morning Show called the “Daily Buzz.” I came home that night, excited to see him, because he was overseas for so long. It was about 8 or 9 pm and he asked me what type of movie I wanted to watch. I told him, it didn’t matter, as long as I was next to him, as cheesy as it sounds, I said that and then he started looking nervous and asking me random questions like, “What do I Love?” and I responded with, “basketball?” then he just started trying to go more into the question. At that time, I just wanted to watch a movie and cuddle because I missed him so much. So finally, he tells me to hold on so that he could get something from the garage. He calls me over and I got scared because I thought he wanted to show me something gross from the garage, like a spider or something, so I was a bit hesitant to really go over and see what he was holding. As I got closer, he got on his knees and opened a box with a beautiful ring and the most beautiful words came out of his mouth. “Will you marry me?” I was in such shock, I hugged him and he almost fell down a few steps, but I held him tightly and cried and still kept asking if it was a joke. I was so happy that night I called all my family and everyone was in shock, except for my parents, who knew because he asked them first. I thank God for my hubby and the journey from where we started, to the journeys we experience everyday as we grow together.

What was wedding shopping like for you? My wedding dress was a beautiful form fitting low back, sexy gown from Berta. Our original wedding date was supposed to be in August and in a completely different state, NJ. We ended up moving to Miami and changed the wedding date. Due to the move and getting situated, I had only 6 months to completely get it together. First thing I did the week I moved down, I had my Aunt schedule dress fitting appointments. I literally went to one boutique, “Chic Parisian,” tried on 2 dresses and my 2nd choice was the one. I’m so happy that was the first thing I did, because as stressful as all the other parts of putting a wedding together were, I couldn’t even imagine the stress I would’ve experienced had I not found the perfect dress, so I feel so Blessed that that part of wedding shopping was the smoothest, that and finding my shoes. The bridesmaids dresses on the other hand, I tried to leave it in their hands, but because of everyones’ different styles nothing was getting done. There were so many suggestions as far as getting them made and buying them online. One day, I looked at the date and we literally had 2 months to go and there were no plans or bridesmaids’ dresses even picked. I went to David’s Bridal myself, tried on a few selections and chose one. I took a pic and sent a copy, model number along with a sales associate from David’s Bridal contact info to all the bridesmaids and told them this is the dress, order it now. If I would have waited any longer, who knows what I would have had to do.

Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? Yes, my mother is from Haiti and my dad is Filipino American. My husband is Haitian American, both his parents were born and raised in Haiti. The culture that was highly incorporated was the Haitian Culture. My wedding coordinator was from Haiti so I had her cook 3 open buffets full of Haitian food and some Filipino food during cocktail hour. The DJ was also of Haitian descent, so the majority of the music was of the Haitian Culture. In fact, most of my vendors were of the West Indian or Caribbean culture.

Bridesmaids/Groomsmen gifts: Makeup Vanity set, candles and exotic coffee/Cigar and Alcohol Flask.
Favorite item on the menu: I didn’t’ even have a chance to taste much because I was busy greeting guests, but I heard everything was spectacular.
First dance song: Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbon in the Sky.”

What is your best memory from your wedding? The best memory from my wedding was seeing my husband smile during our first introduction entrance as Mr. and Mrs. Quincy Douby. I Love to see him smile. Also, the photo booth provided by my photographer, Stanlo Photography. It was an open air photo booth, which everyone loved because it was quick, spacious and open with funny signs and props to use while you get your picture taken. I Love being with family, so being with family and having a great time was one very special memory I will always feel blessed to have.

What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples? I would say, to use every day to accomplish a wedding task, that way, anything you want to add to your wedding, pay for or anything that might’ve slipped your mind that needs to be done, can be accomplished almost stress free. Get the extra hour during the reception because thanking everyone and taking pictures with every guest, will take up at least an hour of your reception time. Make sure you actually get a chance to sit down and eat your wedding dinner, set that time aside because you’ll need the energy not only to greet guests, but to party and take pictures. We literally took about 3 bites of food and had to get up to greet our guests and flow with the wedding program, cake cutting, bouquet toss etc. Thankfully my photographer, Stanley Babb of Stanlo Photography, kept us in tact. He would take pictures and rush up to me saying “ok, you have to do this now.” So he was extremely helpful making sure we were on task because he had to make sure he captured those important moments.

Vendors:
Wedding dress designer: Berta
Groom Tuxedo: Vera Wang
Wedding dress salon: Chic Parisien
Bridesmaids dresses: David’s Bridal
Groomsmen: Men’s Warehouse
Hair: Chantel Fidelia Thomas of Amour Hair Studios
Makeup: Natasha Gross
Shoes: Bride – Badgley Mischka, purchased at KoKo & Palenki
Shoes: Groom – Ferragamo, purchased at Neiman Marcus
Ceremony Location: First Presbyterian Church of Miami
Reception Location: The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building
Photography: Stanlo Photography
Videography: Artistic Vision and Design
Wedding Planner: Sabine Jean-Jacques – Les Variétes de Sabine
Cake: Elegant Temptations Cakes (ET Cakes)
Stationery: Lillian Designs
Event Designer and Floral: Sabine Jean-Jacques – Les Variétes de Sabine–
Lighting, Drapery and Monograms: J.M. Lighting and Fabric
Music and Entertainment: DJ Scoobz
Bartender: Fire Water Bars
Rentals: Imperial Event Rentals