Jasmine and Jamal brought the heat to Baltimore for their elegant tropical wedding!
The couple originally had planned to have a 200+ guest wedding in 2020, but due to the pandemic, they had to reschedule and decrease their guest count. Luckily just before they had to send out invitations, the city of Baltimore raised their capacity. Jasmine and Jamal were able to have their dream wedding with 150 guests!
Featuring simple and classy tropical details, like palm leaves, greenery, and an elegant white, gold, and green color scheme, the couple’s vendor team nailed their desired aesthetic and overall theme.
Learn more about their love story and see the beautiful details below!
Quick Facts
- Gifts for wedding party: For the ladies, I gifted them with their bridal jewelry, personalized robes, slippers, gown hangers, and champagne flute that looked like them in their dresses. The guys received personally engraved boxes with multiple items inside including grooming kits, a cigar, a bottle of liquor, a Movado watch, and a personalized cognac glass.
- Gifts for one another: Jamal and I agreed that we were not going to exchange gifts, but….I saw something that I just knew my husband to be would appreciate, so I went ahead and I got him a gift. Jamal is like a baseball fanatic, he absolutely loves baseball, and his favorite team is the New York Yankees. One of his favorite players is Mariano Rivera, so I got him a personalized video message from Mariano to Jamal, congratulating him and wishing him luck on the wedding. He LOVED the video, and he watched it every day, several times a day, for several days, and he showed it to all of his baseball buddies. On the day of our wedding, Jamal wrote me a letter. He told me that he sat in his hotel room alone and put all of his feelings and thoughts about me, us, this, everything that got us to this point on paper. He called one of my bridesmaids and had her deliver the letter to me. To say I got “misty-eyed” was an understatement. It was a beautiful, thoughtful, unexpected “gift”, and I loved it.
- Ceremony entrance song: Jamal and the bridal party entered to “Ribbon In the Sky” by Intro. Jasmine entered to “I Found My Everything” by Mary J Blige.
- First dance song: After entering to Never Too Much by Luther Vandross, we danced to Anything For You by Ledisi and PJ Morton.
Tell us about the proposal
In August of 2019, we took a much-needed vacation to one of our favorite places, the beautiful island of Jamaica! I had no idea that he was going to propose to me while we were there, but I later found out that he had been planning and rehearsing for this moment for a while. On our first night, as we were heading to dinner, Jamal proposed to me near a serene, beautifully lit pool under the moonlight, and we could hear the sounds of the waves crashing in the background. It was such an intimate, beautiful experience that I will cherish forever!
Describe your wedding style
The overall style of our wedding was simple yet classy. My mother passed away in 2019 and I wanted my dress to be similar in style to her wedding gown, so I chose a gown with embellished sleeves similar to hers. Jamal’s tuxedo consisted of black pants with an ivory jacket. His look was perfect and really sealed the classic look of elegance we desired.
What was the wedding shopping experience like for you?
It was so exciting! I had so much fun planning and shopping throughout the entire process. My gown was surprisingly one of the easiest purchases, as I found it at the very first shop I went to. I tried it on and immediately knew it was the one!
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding?
We did not plan on incorporating any culture into our wedding…it incorporated itself. Jamal is Panamanian, and he is from Brooklyn, which is full of Caribbean roots and culture. A host of his family and friends who are also from the Caribbean, traveled from Brooklyn, and needless to say, our reception turned into a West Indian Carnival. Our DJ was a good friend of Jamal’s from college and he played exactly what they wanted to hear. In true Caribbean fashion, you could see several different flags being waved as people danced and represented their countries with pride!
I am a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and my Sorors were DEEP! Our culture is such a beautiful one and I couldn’t have dreamt of our traditions being any more perfect than it was! From the traditional Sweetheart song to me and my line sisters strolling to Beyoncé… it was absolutely perfect!!
What is your best memory from your wedding?
Aside from marrying my best friend, my favorite memory was when we both took a moment during the reception to just sit back and watch our guests enjoying themselves. We had worked so hard and waited for so long for that day to come and it was finally here! The Pandemic forced us to postpone our initial weddings plans in 2020, and at one point, we weren’t sure if we going to be able to have the type of ceremony we really wanted. By the grace of God, and our amazing wedding planner, on June 26, 2021, everything came to fruition. We sat back, watched, and soaked up every moment to make sure that memory was engraved in our minds and hearts forever!
What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Get a Wedding Planner….I repeat, GET A WEDDING PLANNER!!!! Jamal initially thought that we could handle all of the details on our own, but I insisted on getting on a planner. Two minutes into our initial meeting with her he realized….”we need a planner”. There is soooo much more to planning a wedding than finding a venue, a dress, and some flowers, etc. Our planner went over every detail we needed to know to make our wedding a success, and our day went perfect thanks to her. You will need the help, trust us, and you will not regret it when your day goes smoothly and you aren’t stressed about a thing! That was the best wedding decision we made!
Vendors
- Apparel: Alterations by Jazz
- Beauty: Facial Expressions by Tenia
- Reception Venue: Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
- Invitation Designer: Devine Designs by Diesha
- Equipment Rentals: EST 1988 Decor and Events
- Event Designer: Melmor Events
- DJ:DJ KAOS
- Dress Store: Elite Secrets Bridal
- Cake Designer: Sugar Bakers Cakes
- Event Planner: Bird of Paradise Events
- Photographer: Roma Vista Photography
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