Real {Atlanta} Wedding: Ivy + Keiston

It’s your first day in school. You arrive a wide-eyed freshman, half-scared that you’re about to begin this “college life” and half-excited that you’re finally able to begin your own personal journey apart from your parents. You most likely don’t expect to meet the person that will eventually be your soul mate and forever-and-ever mate during your very first week there, but that’s exactly what happened with Ivy and Keiston. The wide-eyed freshmen would become wide-eyed in love. Their love journey was so interesting that the couple was featured on Season 1 Episode 8 of TLC’s hit show, “Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta.”

Their beautiful wedding was documented by their fab photographer, Charlton Inije of Inije Photography.

Date of Wedding: 7/3/2011
Location: Villa Christina at Perimeter Summit, 4000 Summit Blvd, Atlanta, GA
Bride: Ivy Watkins
Groom: Keiston Walton
Bride & Groom Occupations: The Bride and Groom are both Analysts for The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

The Meeting …. Keiston and I met on the campus of University of West Georgia in Fall 2001. He and I were both incoming freshmen. A mutual friend of ours introduced us to each other the first week of classes. Surprisingly, I forgot his name the day that we were introduced; but, you could say that it was “love at first sight” because we’ve been inseparable ever since. Never would I have imagined that the “nameless” guy would someday be my husband.

The Proposal …. On December 19, 2009, Keiston and I hosted a holiday party with our closest friends and family in attendance. After fun and food, we decided to end our evening with a toast. Little did I know, Keiston had much more planned for our toast. After giving my toast to our guests, Keiston announced that his portion of the toast was actually dedicated to me. He went on to express his love and appreciation for me as he handed me two dozen roses –that’s twenty-four roses total– one rose for every hour of the day that he thinks about me. He then turned everyone’s attention to our television for a video. The video documented him visiting my mother, as well as his mother, to show them both the engagement ring and give them details of his intentions. After everyone had seen the ring, except for me, I turned to him and asked, “When will I see the ring?” He then pointed to my champagne glass where the ring glistened at the bottom of the glass. He carefully removed the ring from the champagne glass, gently wiped away the champagne then went to his knee and asked for my hand in marriage.

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{Love is In the Details}

What mattered most… Ivy – “What mattered most to me was that all of our closest friends and family were there to witness our nuptials and share the excitement of our wedding celebration. I hoped that our guests would be just as touched by our ceremony as we were. I also wanted our reception to be an absolute party – a true celebration.”  Keiston – “What mattered most to me was that everyone enjoyed themselves and really had a great time. I wanted to make sure that our guests ate good food, enjoyed good music and had fun.”

What they most disagreed on …. “Believe it or not, we had a hard time agreeing on the style of the bridesmaid dresses. Keiston wasn’t your average groom. He was heavily involved in the planning. After a lot of pouting and nagging, I was able to convince him to trust my judgment on the design of the dresses. I chose a bridesmaid dress that he absolutely loved.”

The Vendor Selection Process …. “We were actually surfing the web for outdoor wedding locations when we came across Villa Christina. After viewing the photo slideshow of the facility and other weddings/events that were held there, we instantly fell in love with the location. Their beautiful garden area was breathtaking. It was an added plus that Villa Christina is “all-inclusive.” Their staff took care of the majority of our needs including the ceremony location in their garden and set up, cocktail hour for our guests, catering for the reception including our wedding cake. The only outside vendors that we really needed were a planner, a florist, a DJ and a photographer/videographer. Keiston’s aunt, Vanessia Arnold – an experienced wedding coordinator, so graciously coordinated our wedding. My fabulous great-grandmother, Dorothy Tyler – a former wedding coordinator, was ecstatic about creating our floral decor for the ceremony and reception. To add to our reception decor, we utilized the services of Cover-Ups Linens in Roswell, GA. They provided us with the perfect formal chair covers and sashes for our reception. My uncle, Mr. John Porter, served as the ceremony musician/keyboardist.We were referred to our awesome DJ, DJ Webb of Webbs DJ Services, by newlywed friends of ours. He definitely made our reception one to remember. One of our co-workers, who also plans weddings, referred us to our photographer/videographer — Mr. Charlton Inije of Inije Photography. Our co-worker made sure we understood the importance of having great photographic memories. Choosing Inije photography was the one of the best decisions that we made for our wedding.”

VENDORS

Bridal Gown: Dineh’s Collection, Alterations by TK Designs Boutique
Shoes: Martinez Valero
Formalwear: Savvi Formalwear
Venue: Villa Christina at Perimeter Summit 
Event Designer/Decor: Villa Christina at Perimeter Summit 
Wedding Coordinator: Vanessia Arnold 
Florist: Dorothy M. Tyler – Hampton, GA
Cake: Villa Christina at Perimeter Summit
Favors: Oriental Trading 
Bridesmaids Gowns: Bridal Shop – Bride Beautiful, Dress Designer – After Six/The Dessy Group
Hair: Tinaka (Hair Stylist) –The Weave Shop Marietta Plus
Make-Up: Bianca Nicole – MAC Cosmetics – Perimeter Mall
Honeymoon: Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino 
Photographer: Charlton Inije/Inije Photography 
Caterer: Villa Christina at Perimeter Summit 
Registries: Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond 
Rentals: Chair Covers from Cover-Ups Linens
Entertainment: Ceremony Musician/Keyboardist: John Porter, Reception DJ: Webbs DJ Services 

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{Loving You is Easy}
One thing Ivy loves about her Keiston …. I love his sarcastic, yet playful sense of humor. He definitely keeps me laughing.
What Keiston loves about his sweet Ivy ….  EVERYTHING.

Advice for other engaged couples or brides-to-be …  Do not procrastinate with your wedding planning. Try to plan things as far in advance as possible. This prevents mayhem from occurring just before your wedding. Also, try not to stress about the wedding. This is supposed to be a joyous time in your life. You don’t want to reflect on stressful memories in years to come.