Vanessa and Raquese’s bold romantic wedding is featured in Issue No. 30!
Vanessa and Raquese’s love story started when they met as teenagers. Raquese, having a bold personality, and with no hesitation, introduced himself to Vanessa’s mom as her boyfriend before ever speaking a word to Vanessa.
After a couple of years of dating, they became pregnant with their first child and became a family, but it wasn’t time for their happily ever after just yet; as teenagers often do, Vanessa and Raquese broke up.
When the timing was right, they were able to reunite and now live together with their two sons and daughter. The couple shares, “We knew we found the one after we had split for 4 years and made our way back to one another living up to the saying “If it is meant to be it’ll be.”
What Vanessa thought was going to be a special dinner for Raquese’s birthday turned out to be much more. After twelve years together, Raquese surprised Vanessa with a helicopter ride over the city, and while taking in the beautiful view, he proposed. He followed the proposal with a fancy surprise dinner with all of their closest family and friends.
Featuring thousands of deep crimson and cherry roses, highlighted with gold decor, the couple’s wedding boasted bold romance.
Coterie Member and Wedding planner, Kawania Wooten, of Howerton+Wooten Events shares, “We are seeing more and more grooms actively participate in the development of the wedding day design and Raquese was no different. He shared how he wanted their wedding to be filled with bold designs, engaging entertainment, and really good food. And that’s exactly what their wedding was – bold.”
The Howerton+Wooten Events team along with the other talented vendors gave Vanessa and Raquese the most perfect wedding. Vanessa and Raquese comment, “Our ENTIRE wedding was our favorite part, it was literally a dream come true…”.
Wanting to include both of their cultures, they incorporated elements of Vanessa’s El Salvadoran heritage and Raquese’s African-American culture through music and food.
See the bold beautiful details below!
- Couple: Vanessa Alvarenga & Raquese Harris
- Occupations: Vanessa is a stay-at-home mom. Raquese is an entrepreneur.
- Wedding date: Saturday, April 29, 2023
- Wedding location: Bellevue Conference and Event Center
- Photographer: Amy Anaiz Photography
Quick Facts:
- Wedding flowers: Our variation of red flowers and red roses stole the entire show! I mean there were thousands of flowers.
- Ceremony Entrance Songs: Raquese proceeded down the aisle to “Just My Imagination” by The Temptations. The song was a favorite song of his grandmother. His grandmother passed away a few months prior to the wedding. Vanessa proceeded down the aisle to “Solo Para Ti”, by Camila
- First Dance Song: The couple’s first dance song was “Collide” by EARTHGANG and Tiana Major9
- Gifts for the Bridesmaids: Vanessa gave the bridesmaids jewelry.
- Gifts for the Groomsmen: Raquese gave the groomsmen their ties and champagne.
- Advice for brides: The best advice I can give another bride is, to relax… everything is going to come out perfectly, and don’t waste this precious time worrying. Soak every moment in, it goes by all too fast.
How did you meet?
Vanessa and Raquese met as teenagers. Vanessa met Raquese’s grandparents after his grandfather caught her sneaking into his bedroom window. And, Vanessa’s mother met Raquese when he walked up to her (before he and Vanessa even met) and introduced himself to her mother as her boyfriend.
A couple of years later when they turned 17, they got pregnant and became a family shortly afterwards. Just like teenagers, they broke up. But, against all odds, they managed to reunite. They now live together in their home with their 13-year-old son, their 3-year-old son, and their 1-year-old daughter.
Tell us about the proposal.
After twelve years of loving each other, I, Raquese, knew it was time to take the next step. Knowing that Vanessa would least expect it, I decided to do it on my birthday, December 23, 2020. I planned a trip to Baltimore, telling Vanessa it was for a fancy dinner, but in reality, I had something much more grand in mind. I surprised Vanessa with a helicopter ride over the city, where I asked her to marry me. The surprises didn’t end there. I kept my promise of a fancy dinner and took her to the Georgetown Harbor, where we were greeted by all of our closest family and friends.
How did you know you found “the one”?
We knew we found the one after we had split for 4 years and made our way back to one another living up to the saying “If it is meant to be it’ll be.”
Wedding Style:
Vanessa wore a mermaid-style Justin Alexander gown. Her strappy, red Louboutins were fire. And Raquese’s rhinestone encrusted Louboutin’s fit his red and black tuxedo perfectly.
Wedding Guest Attire:
Vanessa and Raquese asked their wedding guests to dress in all black and they didn’t disappoint. Everyone looked amazing in black and it made the couple so happy.
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding?
The cultural elements incorporated into our wedding were very important. We are a bi-racial couple, African-American and Hispanic. There were traditional foods at our cocktail hour such as pupusas, horchata, tacos & fufu. We also had two DJs who played Afrobeats and Hispanic music such as bachata, merengue, cumbia, and salsa.
Music:
Vanessa and Raquese wanted the music to reflect both her El Salvadoran heritage and his African-American culture. So, they hired two DJs to perform at the dinner reception – DJ Schemes and DJ Machado. It was a hit and the guests danced all night long.
Food:
Guests were surprised to see that one of the drinks served during the cocktail reception was Horchata, which is a popular drink with Vanessa’s family. The cocktail reception also included Bulgogi Tacos, Pupusa, and Pastelitos.
Father and Daughter First Look:
Raquese didn’t have a first look with Vanessa, but he did enjoy a “first look” with their 1-year-old daughter. It was a fun and very sweet moment when he saw his daughter dressed in her red dress. It gave him a glimpse of what he’s going to experience when she turns 15 and it’s time for her quinceañera.
Garter Removal:
The garter removal was quite an experience! Raquese got so into it that he decided to do a split. Unfortunately, his tuxedo pants decided to split too — right down the middle of one leg! Wedding guests were laughing so hard that tears started rolling down their faces. Fortunately, he had a spare pair of pants that he could change into.
What is your favorite memory from your wedding?
To be perfectly honest, our ENTIRE wedding was our favorite part, it was literally a dream come true. But if we had to absolutely choose we would say our favorite parts were our ceremony and the reception entrance.
What is the best advice you can give to engaged couples?
Create a budget and stick to it. Invest in a wedding planner! Having a wedding planner helped us tremendously from the moment we started to the very day of our wedding.
Looking for more wedding inspiration?
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Vendors:
- Photographer: Amy Anaiz Photography
- Videographer: The Bricks Group
- Wedding Planner & Design: Howerton+Wooten Events
- Officiant: Apostle Leroy Washington
- Caterer: Spilled Milk Catering
- Florist: Bethel Event Styling
- Drapery, Dance Floor Wrap, and Staging: Light Source Company
- Lighting: Bright Consultation Weddings and Events
- Tabletop Décor Rentals: DC Rental
- Table Linen: BBJ/Latavola
- Wedding Dress Designer: Justin Alexander
- Wedding Gown Dress Shop: Ava Laurenne Bride
- Groom’s Attire: Stan Lion
- Bride and Groom’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin
- Bridesmaids’ Dresses: House of Bella Chic Bridal
- Hair Services: B. Evans Hair
- Hair stylist: Vow by Alondra
- Make-Up Artist: Vow by Alondra
- Music: DJ Schemes
- Music: DJ Machado
- Stationery Designer: LePenn Designs
- Get-Away Car: My Sugar Exotics
Ho my gosh! All these roses! Perfect wedding set up!
One of my favorite december’s blog post :)