High school sweethearts, Jonathan and Kelsie, said “I do” in a stylish white and gold modern wedding.
Natives of Pageland and Jefferson South Carolina, Jonathan and Kelsie first met in high school. They fell in love. However, after graduating, they decided to part ways and attend different universities.
But, as fate would have it, young love would ultimately prevail. The couple eventually rekindled their romance. And although a few years had passed, their love stayed true. They fell back into each other’s hearts as easily as they’d first fallen in love.
When the timing was right, Jonathan began planning a surprise proposal.
As they celebrated their daughter Kallie’s first birthday party in their backyard with family and friends, Kallie began giving her annual birthday speech to thank everyone for coming to her party. This time instead of her usual speech, she turned to her mom and said, “Mommy, will you marry Daddy?”
To Kelsie’s surprise, Jonathan got down on one knee! She paused briefly before responding and everyone collectively yelled “YESSSS!” with her.
“It was perfect,” Kelsie recalls, smiling. Keep scrolling for more details on their white and gold modern wedding below!
- Couple: Kelsie Reed & Jonathan Blakeney
- Wedding date: Aug 19th, 2023
Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions?
The inspiration behind our wedding was to just be ourselves and celebrate our union, our way! We did not incorporate many traditions at all because we are not a very “traditional” family. The most important thing for us was to have our two children present and to have a magical time with everyone in attendance. We only used white, with accents of gold and we went for a very modern, elegant look.
Let’s talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.
We are both fashion lovers and we love getting all dressed up. We also love to compliment each other’s outfit choices, so our wedding day was no different.
I knew I wanted to wear a mermaid-style, off-the-shoulder gown, with lots of bling and that’s exactly what I wore: a mermaid, off-the-shoulder gown by Pantora Bridal.
My dress was full of bling, sparkle, and glitter.
The six-foot train was white with a sparkly tulle underlay. I also wore silver accessories to accent the bling in my dress. My necklace was a silver choker in cubic zirconia with a bracelet and teardrop-shaped earrings to match. My headpiece was by Ai and Eva Bridal Jewelry.
Jonathan’s style was very unique to him.
He wore a floral print white tuxedo jacket from Gentleman’s Guru paired with a satin black button-up and slim-fit cropped black tuxedo pants. He had his nickname made into a gold lapel pin and it really made his tux pop. To accent his gold jewelry, he wore black and gold velvet loafers.
His favorite 14-karat gold pendant necklace accented with diamonds hung around his neck, and it was layered with another gold necklace with a cross on it to symbolize his faith. His glasses were a slim rectangular style with a gold frame. He wore a black satin turban, as a bold fashion statement, to top off his wedding day look.
Did you personalize the day in any way and what were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?
We were very thoughtful in the planning process in trying to make every part of our wedding relate to us in some way. From the morning of our wedding to our last dance, we wanted our day to truly feel like a fairy tale.
Brunch with the Bride kicked off the bride and bridesmaids’ morning. It included a buffet-style brunch and unlimited mimosas of all different flavors. Game day with the Groom kicked off the groom and groomsman morning. It included brunch, sports, and cigars.
The Groom’s favorite rapper is Future, so for his entrance instead of the traditional way of entering with the officiant, he entered by himself to a song by Future, played by the saxophonist.
One of our favorite parts though, had to be our children’s entrances.
Our daughter is five years old and she was the miniature bride. She was the prettiest princess we’d ever seen.
Our baby boy is nine months old and he came down the aisle in a white Mercedes Benz remote-controlled car. It was personalized with his name, our wedding hashtag #BetOnBlakeney, and our wedding date, 8.19.23.
The rest of the evening flowed seamlessly, from personalized Bride & Groom cocktails to our personalized menus. We absolutely love food! So we had five different appetizers, three self-serve appetizer displays, and a personalized menu of four different entrees.
We also had an ice cream bar to go along with the serving of our cake after dinner. Our last dance, to “All My Life” by K-Ci & Jojo, had been a favorite song of ours since high school. We danced like no one was watching although we were surrounded by our very close friends and family. It was absolutely perfect.
What were the flowers like at your wedding?
The majority of the florals at our wedding were white roses, hydrangeas, and baby’s breath. We wanted minimal greenery. Every decorated area in our wedding was accompanied by live flowers. Florals played a huge role in the overall style. We even selected our actual arrangements with the florist during a mock set-up a couple of months before our actual wedding!
What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
The most anticipated moment of our wedding day was walking down the aisle. Since we did not do a first look before the ceremony, I was so excited to see Jonathan’s reaction to my wedding day look. The most special moment of our wedding day was the exchange of our personal vows to each other; our vows to love one another unconditionally and wholeheartedly, forever.
Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?
Our wedding planning advice would be to first, hire a wedding planner! They seriously make your experience so much smoother. Second, make sure you thoroughly research all vendors to ensure that they are capable of giving you everything you desire for your special day. Third, be sure to take a breath and enjoy each other through the planning stage, especially on your wedding day. Take time to soak it all in and love on each other. Plan your wedding, your way, and have fun!
Looking for more white and gold modern wedding inspiration?
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Vendors:
- Wedding Planner: The Diva Wedding Planner
- Floral Designer: Beyond Expectations LLC
- Wedding Cake: Coccadotts Cake Shop
- Photographer: AG3 Digital Photography
- Videographer: Timothy Thompson of Horizen Media
- Saxophonist: Darius Starks
- Bridal Party MUA: Ashley Smith
- Bride’s Hair: The Qween Effect LLC by Jala
- 360 Booth: Simply Social – Wax & Casey Richardson
- DJ: “Fully Loaded Entertainment” – DJ Unk G & DJ Ricky Da Truth
- Dress: Pantora Bridal
- Bridal Salon: As One Bridal Columbia, SC
- Caterer and Bartender: 21 Main Events At North Beach
- Wedding signage: Delighted Dreams
- Floor Wrap: Authentic Wraps
- Special thanks to Jasmine Anastasia, Hazel, and Val for being the best parts of The Diva Wedding Planner
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