Abigail and Ramon’s Regal Chic wedding is featured in Issue No. 28!
Abigail and Ramon’s love story began with a simple, wholesome DM: “Your smile makes me smile.” As their conversations deepened, they learned that they both shared many of the same cultural values, leading them to go on their first date.
For their first date, the couple went to a Jamaican restaurant called “The Door.” This restaurant was very special to Ramon, as his family celebrated many special events there. As the night progressed they both realized that they liked each other even more in person and shared similar life goals.
Ramon surprised Abigail by proposing during a family photo shoot with her mom and sister. When the group photos were complete, the photographer held Abigail’s attention while Ramon got down on one knee behind her. As Abigail turned around, the photographer was able to capture the special moment.
Their regal and elegant fairytale wedding featured all-white florals, refined decor, and an exquisite venue that perfectly matched the couple’s wedding style.
Read more about their love story and see the beautiful details below!
- Couple: Abigail & Ramon
- Occupations: Construction Project Manager & Registered Nurse
- Wedding date: July 20th, 2022
- Wedding location: Park Chateau Estate & Gardens East Brunswick, NJ
- Photographer: Jaylim Studio
Quick Facts
- Gifts for your bridesmaids & groomsmen: Bridesmaids received custom bridesmaid proposal boxes (made by the bride) with items they would reuse on the wedding day. The groomsmen received a pocket watch with their names engraved on it. They also received a gold pin for their suits that were the initials of their first name and last name.
- Gifts for one another: Abigail was nice enough to gift me a Movado watch. I gifted her a beautiful Luxury Honeymoon at the Tamarind Hill Resort In Antigua.
- Favorite menu items: The food was catered by our wedding venue Park Chateau. We enjoyed the service and food. We had the opportunity to participate in their food-tasting event and picked our favorite dishes. On the day of the wedding, our favorite dishes were the Hickory Smoked Barbecued Brisket of Beef (Served in a Sweet Barbeque Sauce), Chicken Chateau (Boneless Breast of Capon Chicken with Mushroom Stuffing and a Truffle Sauce), and the Chateau Salad (Baby Field Greens Topped with Toasted Walnuts & Gorgonzola Cheese, Garnished with a Roasted Pear and Dressed with a Champagne Walnut Vinaigrette).
- Wedding flowers: No one could prepare me for how expensive flowers are. However, with the right floral team from Ritz-Walton Collection, I did not have to sacrifice style for my budget. Although I went with budget-friendly options like adding artificial flowers with fresh flowers. Choosing a backdrop with silk flowers from Royal Backdrops. Also, I learned a tip to make sure my ceremony arrangements could be repurposed for the reception.
- Ceremony entrance song: “Till Death Do Us Part” by Brian Nhira
- First dance song: “Made by God” by Rutshelle Guillaume
How did you meet?
“Slide in the DM.” I approached her with the words “ Your smile makes me smile.” Corny I know, but it worked and we started talking and eventually, I asked her out on a date.
How did you know they were “the one”?
Ramon: I knew Abigail was the one when we would have disagreements and overcome them. We would both want to come to the table and have the hard discussions on how we would move forward from this problem, stronger and better for it. The more and more we got past these difficult moments together, the more and more I realized that even if I lost everything, as long as I was willing to fight and make the necessary sacrifices to provide for our family, Abigail would be willing to rebuild with me and not run away.
Abigail: I knew Ramon was the one when he accompanied my mother to the hospital while I was on vacation on UberSoca Cruise. My grandmother had complications at home and had to be rushed to the ICU. I was totally unaware. I was on a girl’s trip, and he wanted me to enjoy it without the guilt and anxiety of knowing I was not there to help. When I arrived home, I was shocked to find Ramon in the hospital with my grandmother by my mother’s side. At that moment, I knew Ramon was the one for me.
Tell us all about the proposal
The proposal was made at Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, NY on May 1st, 2022.
Abigail wanted to do a family photo shoot with her Mom and Sister to capture before her sister went off to Nursing school. I volunteered to plan the event for her. Little does she know I would also use the opportunity to propose to her.
First I explained the plan to her mom and sister in January. Secondly, I found the photographer (Jaylim Photo Studio) and explained the plan and how I would like her to take pictures with her mom and sister without mentioning engagement photos. Then I would propose when the group photos were complete.
The photographer and I set the plan into motion and she held Abigail’s attention long enough so I could get down on one knee and pull the ring out. The photographer then instructed Abigail to turn around and she was able to capture the surprise.
This moment was so special and the photos reflected that. So much so that we selected this photographer to be our wedding photographer.
Wedding style:
The wedding style was Regal. We wanted our suit and dress to be simple but elegant with details. It was hard to find the look we wanted with the local bridal and groom clothing stores. We decided to instead find vendors in the tri-state area, even as far as Pennsylvania, that would match the style and then reach out to them to meet in person.
The color scheme for our wedding was white, black, and gold. Abigail wore a beautiful custom-design white gown made by the luxury bridal designer, Jean-Ralph Thurin. I wore a white couture Ivory Tuxedo from Henry Couture Paris.
Wedding shopping experience:
To be honest, the wedding shopping experience for us was challenging. As we mentioned we could not find regal but simple designs in local bridal stores. We live in Long Island, New York. Abigail’s wedding dress designer storefront was located in New Jersey. She had multiple fittings and had to drive back and forth for a total of four hours a trip.
My tuxedo vendor was in Philadelphia. I visited in person once before purchasing to ensure what I saw online was the quality I would be purchasing. To add to the stress, we had 10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen (no one warned us lol). The groomsmen were also purchased from Henry Couture. The bridesmaid was a popular bridal store in Brooklyn, NY. Additionally, what made the planning process challenging was Ramon had to move to Minnesota in February 2022 for a work assignment while planning the wedding for July 2022.
It was a logistical challenge to coordinate 11 different male measurements, send them over to Henry, then Ship and Distribute them to groomsmen, some of whom lived in Maryland, Florida, New Jersey, and NYC. To speed up the process of delivery, Ramon’s Best man drove to Philadelphia on our behalf to pick up the suits and drop off the guys in New Jersey and NYC because Ramon was still in Minnesota managing the construction of a Data Center for a major wireless retailer. Because the suits were ordered online they still required adjustments. Additionally, the bridesmaid’s gowns were not delivered until a week before the wedding despite being ordered in February, causing the bridesmaid to rush to local tailors for adjustments.
Regardless of the many hiccups, we preserved through them and it all came out great. Abigail was stunning and so was everyone who took part in the wedding party. We couldn’t be any happier. We made a conscious effort to hire Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) vendors from our photography to wedding planner Francine Brown (Forever Us Inc.) Each and every vendor we selected were caring and worked extremely hard to make our day run smoothly.
The Dress:
My dress was dramatic! And I LOVED IT! Creating my dress with luxury bridal designer Jean-Ralph Thurin from scratch was one of my favorite parts of the wedding planning experience. I’m so happy I went custom! True custom! From the sketch to my actual dress, it felt like we were slowly creating a masterpiece. It really gave me that Cinderella effect that most brides long for when planning a wedding! My dress was conservative and sexy. It was regal, all while being simply elegant. I’m sure I’m not the only bride to think that about their wedding gown. However, I know that Ralph and Delfrance made a gown for me that I will cherish forever.
My favorite accessory was the bouquet brooch my cousins gave me with a picture of my Dad and me. In 2017, my father was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer and, three months later, tragically passed away. It was my favorite because it reminds me of my dad and the good times we had together and that although he was not physically present, he will always be with me through my life’s good and difficult times.
Did you include any culture?
Abigail is Haitian and I am Jamaican. We insisted at the Park Chateau food tasting that there was scotch bonnet peppers sauce and Pikliz at the dinner table on the wedding day. They had a Caribbean chef on staff so this was perfect. Park Chateau did an amazing job meeting this requirement. Also, our Master of Ceremonies was bilingual, “Freddy Boom Boom” from Boom Boom Weddings, and did an amazing job blending both cultures. And of course, what is a Haitian and Jamaica wedding without the flags? Flags were in full swing lighting up the dance floor.
What is your best memory from your wedding?
Abigail: As Funny as it may sound the best part was the entire wedding planning process. Despite it being difficult (emphasis on the difficult) for various reasons. Planning our special day, day in and day out, with zoom meetings and conference calls with our planner Francine, truly just made me entirely grateful for the type of husband I have and the type of marriage I knew we would have in the future. Despite wedding planning being “the woman’s job,” having my husband care to be involved made me feel like we will conquer any task that we put our minds to.
Ramon: My best memory from the wedding was the personal vows. I enjoyed being surprised by what she had to say. Everything else we planned together but this portion of the wedding experience was a genuine surprise to each other.
What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Start planning early and often. Set up a biweekly time to meet with each other and create meeting minutes to track the next tangible step that must be done. Wedding Planning is stressful and it becomes more stressful when every detail lives in your mind and not on paper. Write it down, it will be miserable and boring at first to make a meeting agenda. But as the stress piles on you can always go back and check that document. Make the agenda in google docs and share it with your future significant other.
Set up a calendar reminder for the meeting time, go through the agenda, and update and assign the tasks that need to be completed by each other before the next two-week meeting. We had minutes meeting with all the vendors we had for our wedding, including the florist, dancer, DJ, floor wrapping, venue, singer, makeup artist, saxophonist, and Hotel accommodations. Every vendor should have a headline with bullets under each showing the due date of payments and the next tangible step to move the agenda forward with this vendor.
As you plan together you will start to realize each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Leverage each other’s strengths and cover each other’s weaknesses. For us, Abigail is great with design intent, color, vendor selection, etc. I am good with logistics and timing and tracking.
Vendor selection is critical to executing your wedding flawlessly. Take the time to vet the vendors you are procuring. Ensure to put together a day schedule illustrating the time you expect your vendors onsite to set up and execute. Meet with the vendors, get critical feedback on the schedule, and update accordingly.
Advice from the bride:
Identify specific details that are important to you and your husband and those that are simply not. Enjoy the day. It goes by fast. My husband and I spent months planning the wedding, and the months of planning were over in a couple of hours. Stay in the moment and just enjoy that you are getting married to the love of your life.
Regardless of how well you plan the wedding and schedule it to perfection, just realize things will not go exactly according to plan. You should take that into consideration and allocate extra time for each activity in your day, so you are not just running around frantic from one activity to the next. When this does not go according to plan, take a deep breath and remember the big picture the planning is done. Now it’s time to enjoy yourself. That will also show in your pictures and video that you were having a great time.
Vendors:
- Venue: Park Chateau
- Cake Vendor: Salvatore Cakes
- Florist: Ritz Walton Wedding Collection
- Floor Wrapping: Go-To-Shout
- Sweet Heart Table: Royal Backdrops
- Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Forever Us Inc
- Mirror Seating Chart & Photo Booth: Booth-O-Mania
- Photographer/Videographer: Jaylim Studio
- DJ: Toni Beatz
- MC: Boom Boom Entertainment (with Freddy Boom Boom)
- Saxophonist: The Sam Impact
- Dancer: Cirque Central
- Singers: Samantha Howard & James Dale
- Wedding Gown Designer: Jean-Ralph Thurin
- MakeUp Artist: Brides By Melanie B
- Bridesmaid Makeup: Makeup By Megan J
- Bridal Hairstylist: Nidiyah’s Hands
- Groom Suit and Groomsmen Suit: Henry Couture Paris
- Groom shoes: Kingsman Shoes
- Groomsmen Shoes: Calvin Klein Brodie Square Toe Patent Oxfords
- Groom and Groomsmen’s Pin: BellePersonalized on Etsy
- Wedding Bands: Blue Nile
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