Originally having planned to host their wedding at a venue in New York City in March of 2020, couple Maxime and Tiara had to shift their wedding plans due to COVID-19. Even so, they wouldn’t have changed a thing about their big day. On September 25th Maxime and Tiara had the intimate garden-themed wedding of their dreams. In fact, it was more perfect than they could have ever imagined!
Our gardened themed wedding that was originally supposed to be inside of a sophisticated yet ordinary venue right after the winter cold, became a stunning outdoor wedding at the beginning of fall at a breathtaking Arboretum. What can be better than a garden, a garden for trees – the representation of growth, life, and eternity.
Tiara (Bride)
Through faith and positivity, they graciously celebrated their 9 years of love and commitment to one another with the people that matter to them most.
Although we were only allowed a third of our wedding guests to attend, which was basically the wedding party itself, we had all that we needed. Every person who was supposed to be at our wedding was there…I am grateful for the beautiful unpredictable wedding we were granted
Tiara (Bride)
See more beautiful details of their wedding below.
- Couple: Tiara Imani Blain and Maxime Blain
- How They Met: High School. The bride transferred schools and met her future hubby during a fire drill
- Occupation: Psychology Research Scientist / Mechanical Engineer
- Wedding Date: September 25th, 2020
- Wedding Location: Bailey Arboretum, 194 Bayville Rd. Locust Valley, NY
Quick Facts
- Bridesmaids gifts: Robes with their names on them
- Gift for the groom: “A little dolphin figurine because he used to always joke in high school before we actually got together that there will be dolphins at our wedding, so I made sure there happened.”
- Favors: Masks with the bride’s and groom’s faces on them (digital art was drawn by the bride and groom).
- The song the wedding party walked down to: “I Want You Around” by Snoh Alegera
- The bride walked down to: “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” by Lauryn Hill (Slowed down version)
- Original First Dance Song: Medley of Shine by BJ the Chicago Kid, 2 Steppin by John Givez, Every kind of way by H.E.R. & No letting go by Wayne Wonder
The Proposal
The groom took the bride’s love of escape rooms to a whole new level by planning a creative and memorable proposal. He discretely incorporated aspects of their relationship into their own escape room. The bride was very suspicious, but her friends’ poker faces kept her on her toes. Finally, the bride and her friends found a flash drive (the final key to the escape room). It was a video of the groom. After the video, he appeared and asked her to marry him.
Describe the Wedding Style
The wedding style was beautiful, rose garden theme. There were roses throughout the ceremony’s decoration, in the bridesmaids’ attire, and in the bride’s bouquet. The roses coordinated the bridesmaids and the groomsmen.
“The wedding dress is very Victorian with somewhat of an African bride connection. I always knew how I wanted my dress to be designed and feel that Pantora Bridal fulfilled that. They know how to work well with the Black Woman’s curves and beauty. I also always knew I wanted a jumpsuit for my second outfit, which came out great,! One of my close friend’s Morgan Janaye Spears created it. I had an absolutely terrible experience with my bridesmaids’ dresses, the person I trusted to make their dresses did not fulfill her duties. The quality of the dresses was disastrous, thankfully I had other people who helped make the dresses presentable. I suggest for brides to not get the dresses made unless they know the seamstress is reliable and trustworthy.”
Culture
I wish I could have tied in our black culture and his Haitian culture a bit more. I wanted to do that with the music that was supposed to be at the reception. The reception isn’t until 2021 now. Unfortunately, there was no dancing due to Covid. All of our vendors were black or Hispanic owned though, so that was a plus. I had my hair in a natural style and feel my dress related to my black culture. It was created by a black woman and ties nicely to African Brides. The groom’s hair was also in a natural style. We also implemented our Christian culture. The ceremony included scripture decorations and we were married by a Pastor. We basically had a traditional Christian wedding.
Wedding Memory
My best memory from my wedding was any time I was alone with my groom. I can remember being in the limo and saying to myself, “Wow I haven’t been without my best friend for this long in a while, and this is one of the most important days of our lives”. I think finally being reunited with him and talking by ourselves, I somewhat felt whole again, corny as that sounds.
Advice
My advice is to not let anyone stress you out while planning the wedding, especially on the day of. Even though there will be something that is going to upset you, try not to let it impact you too much. I cried the day before my wedding because of the difficulties with the dresses and some bridesmaids possibly not being able to be in the wedding because of it, but at the end of the day it all worked out. The next day, which was the wedding, my saying of the day was “whatever”. I let whatever be – be, didn’t let anything bother me once. At that point, it was no longer in my hands, and I accepted that.
Vendors
- Photographer: Vinny D Photography IG: @vinnydphotography
- Bridal Gown: Pantora Bridal IG: @pantorabridal
- Makeup Artist: Shamieka Simmons Your Face My Canvas IG: @yourfacemycanvas
- Second Outfit Designer: Morgan Janaye Spears IG: @morganjanaye
- Wedding Singer: CheriYielle – Wedding Singer IG: @cheriyielle
- Makeup Artist (Bridesmaids and Mother of the Bride): Nia Morgan Artistry IG:@niamorganartistry
- Wedding Cake: Dortoni Bakery
- Guitarist: Jeff Mathews IG: @jeff_matthew
That’s incredible. I love it