Fall 2017 MunaLuchi Bride Magazine Feature: Nancy and Louis

MunaLuchi Bride Magazine Fall 2017 Feature: Nancy and Louis
Print copies available for pre-order here!

“Regardless of when, you are always fortunate to have met your soulmate. Whether it is from the beginning of life in childhood or middle-aged and beyond, being able to say that you have truly found your soul’s mate isn’t something everyone will be able to do… For Nancy and Louis, not only can they say they’ve found their perfect match in each other, but have the great fortune of having met the other at the ages of nineteen and twenty – giving them more than a lifetime to cherish their relationship together.”

Bride & Groom: Nancy & Louis
Occupations: Artist/Designer & Engineer
Wedding date: May 13, 2017
Wedding location: Rockhouse Hotel – Negril, Jamaica

Regardless of when, you are always fortunate to have met your soulmate. Whether it is from the beginning of life in childhood or middle-aged and beyond, being able to say that you have truly found your soul’s mate isn’t something everyone will be able to do… For Nancy and Louis, not only can they say they’ve found their perfect match in each other, but have the great fortune of having met the other at the ages of nineteen and twenty – giving them more than a lifetime to cherish their relationship together.

Having been aware of each other by way of mutual friends through social media, Nancy and Louis had never actually spoken or met until one day when Louis, guided perhaps by more than intuition, sent her an online message – creating a pathway to what began as an instant friendship. It wouldn’t be long for that friendship to blossom into a relationship of love.

For almost six years the couple lived in different states, Nancy in New York and Louis in Connecticut – spending the majority of their time together during the weekends. The weeks apart were long, feeling like months, until finally the weekend would once again arrive bringing them back together with a euphoria akin to a lung full of air after holding your breath under water. Though a physical distance were between them, those six years brought them closer together, strengthening their love.

The proposal happened on an afternoon like any other, or so it seemed. Louis picked Nancy up from the train station after work, as usual, but didn’t take the normal route home. Nancy assumed they were just going for a drive to relax. The car finally stopped before a gorgeous garden park that Nancy is fond of, often asking if they can go there for the beautiful serenity. They slowly strolled through the garden, enjoying the peaceful moment, when at the garden’s center, Louis dropped down to “tie his shoelace.” After a moment more of taking in the floral scenery, Nancy glanced down at Louis to find him on one knee, open ring box in hand, and asking her to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife…

For Nancy, dress shopping was the most stressful part of her wedding experience, though ultimately she did end up wearing her dream wedding dress… “A year before my wedding, I tried on and ordered a blush colored dress that I saw featured on a bunch of bridal sites and the sample looked amazing on me. The first time the dress was completed (yes, I said ‘first time’), it was the wrong color! It was re-made, but when I received my actual dress, it looked nothing like the pictures or the sample! A few months before my wedding, I was frantically searching for a new dress and found my dress designer at Versailles in Brooklyn. It took a few tries but the dress came out exactly how I wanted! My wedding dress style was what I like to call ‘Island Princess.’ I wanted my dress to reflect my creativity and slightly out-of-the-box style, so I knew it had to be something I didn’t see too many other brides wearing. All the dresses I loved were way out of my budget, so I ended up going the custom-made route. The result was the dress of my dreams!”

Culturally, Nancy and Louis are of Jamaica decent (Louis being directly from Jamaica), so they wanted to incorporate the Jamaican culture within their wedding. Nancy recalls how “we wanted to bring our friends and family together in an atmosphere where people felt like they were right at home,” so a destination wedding in Jamaica was the perfect setting. The dinner menu was Jamaican cuisine, including oxtail, stewed snapper, coconut chicken, and rice with peas. Welcome bags for the guests contained treats like banana chips, ginger wine, coconut drops, and the favors were DIY brushed-gold acrylic miniatures of the island, laser inscribed with each guest’s name.

The overall theme of the wedding was “Art, Nature, Music” – things that play a big role in who the bride and groom are, both individually and as a couple. The art aspect was reflected in custom invitations, the wedding website background, guest sign-in, and custom poster signs all completed by local Jamaican and family artists. Nature was incorporated by choosing a venue on the West End cliffs of Negril, Jamaica, surrounded by gardens and greenery, overlooking the beautiful Caribbean Sea. And the wedding music featured lots of reggae, lover’s rock, and dancehall music that “kept our guests dancing all night!”

What is your best memory from your wedding?
Groom – “The introduction before our first dance when they introduced us as ‘Mr. and Mrs. Barrett.’ At that moment I was filled with love, pride, and adoration for my new wife.”
Bride – “Our first dance. We danced to “For You” by Kenny Lattimore and after about a minute, the DJ switched it up to the reggae version by Sanchez. I felt so much love in that moment, and the energy when the DJ switched it up set the tone for the rest of the wedding.”

“Throughout our wedding weekend, we were surrounded by family, friends, love, and great energy. The weather was beautiful, which we found funny because the morning after the wedding there was heavy rainfall that lasted all day and for days after we left. It was like the rain waited so we could have the perfect day!”

What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Our advice to couples planning a wedding would be to work together as a team and get things done as early as possible. There will be times when planning gets stressful, but try your best to make things fun and enjoy yourselves in the process. Remember why you’re doing it. When you’re surrounded by love everything else falls into place.

Vendors:
Wedding Dress Designer: Emmanuel Whitmore
Wedding Dress Boutique: Versailles Brooklyn
Veil Designer: Orchid Eccles
Jewelry: Givenchy, Pandora, Melanie & Marie
Bridesmaids’ Dresses & Shoes: Fashion Nova & Lulu’s
Grooms and Groomsmen Suits: Combatant Gentlemen
Hair: Styled by the bride
Makeup: Tricia Taitt
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Groom’s Shoes: Aldo Shoes
Ceremony location: Rockhouse Hotel
Reception location: Rockhouse Hotel Restaurant
Photography: Merrick Cousley
Videography: Safel Peterkin
Music/DJs: Big Red (Music: Sound Illusion Entertainment) and Max Glazer
(Federation Sound)
Wedding coordinator: Alecia Eastwood
Florist: Floral Fantasies Jamaica
Stationery: Drawn/Designed by Daraja Eccles Art; Printed by Wedding Paper Divas
Custom Welcome Signs: Nurse Signs