Old Hollywood Glam meets the Harlem Renaissance at Aneka and Dwayne’s black-tie wedding in the heart of New Orleans!
Aneka and Dwayne first met on an icy, cold February night in New York City.
If you let Dwayne tell it, he “withstood four brutal hours of frigid February air” for me to show. In reality, it was maybe 15 minutes, and he waited inside a warm coffee shop until I arrived.
– Aneka
Conversation flowed easily between them and they formed a strong year-long friendship before their relationship bloomed into something more.
Once Dwayne realized that I could be as silly and quirky as him, he realized that he found his person. Once I saw that Dwayne could meet my daily requirement of hugs and keeping me fed, I was all in.
– Aneka
After their move from New York to Los Angeles, Aneka and Dwayne threw a housewarming party. While Aneka was preoccupied with organizing the party, Dwayne was busy planning the perfect proposal. In the company of close friends, Dwayne proposed to Aneka in the living room of their new home.
Inspired by where they grew up and their move from Harlem to Hollywood, Aneka and Dwayne’s black-tie wedding was a classy and joyous affair, filled with culture, celebration, and glamour.
Aneka originally from California and Dwayne from New York, decided to get married in the middle. Attracted by New Orleans vibrancy and culture, it was the perfect choice to have their wedding festivities. Their ceremony unfolded before a grand staircase at the New Orleans Museum of Art. From there, everyone joined in a second-line parade through the heart of the French Quarter to the reception.
Doing the second-line parade with our family and friends was the best moment. There was a point where Dwayne and I looked behind us and saw a whole parade filled with all of the people we both love most in the world.
– Aneka
Learn more about their love story and see the glamorous details of their black-tie wedding below!
- Couple: Aneka & Dwayne
- Occupations: Senior Manager Marketing Partnerships Strategy at Netflix | Senior Customer Success Manager at Amazon
- Wedding date: March 3, 2024
- Ceremony location: New Orleans Museum of Art
- Reception location: Brennan’s New Orleans
Quick Facts:
- Gifts for Bridal Party: We had no bridesmaids or groomsmen. Our mothers were the flower girls and that was the whole bridal party. We got them necklaces and earrings. I got Dwayne’s mom a handkerchief that said: “Thank you for raising the man of my dreams”.
- Gifts for one another: Dwayne received a bouquet pin with his aunt’s photo on it. They were very close and she passed away shortly after we were engaged. Dwayne bought me a gold bracelet with the wedding date engraved in Roman numerals.
- Ceremony entrance song: “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” – UGK ft. OutKast
- First dance song: “Voyage to Atlantis” – Isley Brothers
How did you meet?
The year is 2018 and it’s a cold, February night in New York—we met at Harlem Tavern on the corner of 116th and Fredrick Douglass. If you let Dwayne tell it, he “withstood four brutal hours of frigid February air” for me to show. In reality, it was maybe 15 minutes, and he waited inside a warm coffee shop until I arrived.
The Knicks and Lakers, Biggie and Tupac, and the differences between New York and California were the topics of conversation on the menu. That night set the foundation for a year-long friendship that would eventually blossom into much more.
Once Dwayne realized that I could be as silly and quirky as him, he realized that he found his person. Once I saw that Dwayne could meet my daily requirement of hugs and keeping me fed, I was all in. Over the past 5 years, we survived a NYC 3rd-floor walk-up, a pandemic, career changes, a cross-country move, and now we’re married!
My Husband Dwayne is from New York and I’m from California. We met in Harlem, NY and now live in Hollywood, CA, so we only felt it right we get married in the middle—New Orleans was the obvious choice. It’s a vibrant city filled with music, beautiful people, culture, art, and history.
– Aneka
Tell us about the proposal.
We had just moved from Harlem, NY to Hollywood, CA so that I could take my new job at Netflix and we decided to have a housewarming. I was so preoccupied with planning the housewarming that I didn’t notice Dwayne was planning a proposal. He proposed to me in the living room of our new home in California in front of some of our closest friends.
How was the wedding shopping experience?
For the ceremony dress, I wound up picking the first dress I ever tried on after trying on a thousand more that didn’t compare.
It was from Galia Lahav. I loved it immediately but after trying on a few others, there were some tweaks I wanted to make to it to make it feel more me. An amazing design and style team at Galia Lahav helped me bring the vision of the dress to life. Sharon Sever, who has designed dresses for some of the biggest names in the world (Beyoncé, Simone Biles, JLo, etc.), just so happened to be there the day I went to re-try on my dress. He loves New Orleans and has so many great ideas. He added a slit, some sparkles throughout the corset, and crystals to really make it shine. We also changed the balloon sleeves to be more fitted for a Black Tie feel.
Because my Ceremony dress was ballgown style and super sweet, I wanted my reception dress to be more fun and playful but still have that glam feel. I found my reception dress from a designer called Mila Nova. The fact that the dress came with arm-length gloves and a cape gave me just the right amount of extra I was going for to keep the glam element alive. But it was really the fringe beading detail all over that made the dress such a fun choice for dancing and the reception.
Dwayne wanted a white suit jacket so that we would both stand out from the crowd wearing all Black.
He looked so classically chic for the ceremony that he also wanted his reception look to be more fun so he switched into a green tuxedo jacket with a black shirt. It matched the same energy as my reception dress—glam and elegant but still playful and fun.
We thought what better way to make our special day feel like a work of art than to have it in an actual museum? Our ceremony was on full display nestled within the grandeur of the New Orleans Museum of Art.
– Aneka
Wedding Style:
We knew we wanted the wedding to be black tie and all black from the very beginning. We love it when Black folks are dressed to the nines so we wanted to carry that over into our wedding. When it came to a theme it was easy because we wanted something that represented where we were both from and lived.
The theme of “From Harlem to Hollywood” came to us quickly because we both love the beauty of both places in the 1920s—Old Hollywood glam meets the Harlem Renaissance. Considering the fact that we’d just moved from Harlem to Hollywood quite literally it felt right.
That said, we leaned into both the decor and our outfits. Dwayne donned a white double-breasted suit jacket and patten leather shoes, I went for full-on Hollywood glam with my hair and makeup. Both of my dresses cemented the eras of both Harlem and Hollywood in different ways with the sparkly elegant glam and fringe details on my reception dress. Some of our reception photos feel as though they are a part of the Harlem Renaissance period.
Did you incorporate any cultural elements?
We jumped the broom. It’s an important Black tradition that we were so excited to do. Mostly just happy we didn’t fall! I am a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, INC. and my Sorors surrounded me and sang the sweetheart song — a celebratory tradition for Delta women.
To kick off our reception, we paraded through the French Quarter on a classic New Orleans secondline, singing our hearts out to songs like Whitney Houston’s “I wanna dance with somebody” and Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration”.
– Aneka
What is the best memory from your wedding?
Doing the second-line parade with our family and friends was the best moment. There was a point where Dwayne and I looked behind us and saw a whole parade filled with all of the people we both love most in the world.
We dined and danced under a ceiling of beautiful lush florals and crystal chandeliers. Surrounded by our closest friends and family, we raised our glasses and toasted to a new beginning together.
– Aneka
What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
- Prioritize what’s important over what’s interesting.
- Remember that it’s about you two and what you want.
- Stay with each other the whole wedding.
- Have a moment where it is just you two (last dance or eat dinner alone together).
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Vendors
- Bride’s Ceremony Dress: Galia Lahav
- Bride’s Reception Dress: Milla Nova
- Bride’s Shoes: Mach & Mach
- Groom’s Ceremony Suit: Hall Madden
- Groom’s Reception Suit: Hall Madden
- Planning + Design: Lonney Jane Productions
- Photographer: September Company
- Ceremony location: New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)
- Reception location: Brennan’s New Orleans | Brennan’s Wedding New Orleans
- Makeup: Chanell M Makeup (Chanell Malott)
- Hair: Christina Michelle (Nola Beauty)
- Florals: Sharime Kayla Floral Design
- Candles: Firefly Ambiance Event Rental
- Furniture Rentals: Distressed Rentals & Revival
- Tent & Lighting: Element
- Cake: Bittersweet Confections
- Second line Band: Kinfolk Brass Band
- DJ: DJ Arie Spins
- Videographer: Chris Foster Media
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