Romantic Villa Wedding in North Carolina

Erin and Ja’Quan’s love story began during college spring break in beautiful Panama City Beach.

“He immediately piqued my interest,” Erin fondly recalls the first time she saw him. With Erin going to college in Virginia and Ja’Quan in South Carolina they never thought a long-distance relationship would work. However, following their hearts, they had already found themselves visiting each other just a week later. “We dated for a couple of years and knew after being long-distance that as soon as we got the chance we’d want to be together forever…”

Bride & Groom: Erin & Ja’Quan
Wedding Date: 8/18/2019
Wedding Location: High Point, North Carolina

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. We met in college on spring break in Panama City Beach! I know it sounds crazy and we can’t believe it ourselves most times! I saw Ja’Quan and a group of friends walking and I immediately ignored them (as college girls who think they’re in high demand do) but then his friend came over and tried to talk to me and my friends. We paid him no mind until I noticed my then-unknown husband-to-be standing behind him and he immediately piqued my interest. We hit it off and hung out the entire spring break. He went to college in South Carolina at Furman and I went to college in Virginia at Old Dominion University so we figured the long distance between us wouldn’t workout! However, we found our way back to each other just a week later once I decided to use all of my waitressing money to buy a plane ticket and go see him. And we’ve been inseparable ever since. We dated for a couple of years and knew after being long-distance that as soon as we got the chance we’d want to be together forever. But even in knowing this, it was still a total surprise when he proposed! After we graduated college we went on a big trip to the Dominican Republic for my dad’s 50th birthday. We rented a yacht with all the bells and whistles to have an all-white party out at sea for my dad. The day had been a blast with all the partying that was going on already but then we sat down to eat and I was having the world’s most incredible fish and became completely off guard. And just as I took my last bite I looked over at Ja’Quan, who I assumed had dropped his fork on the ground, and he was on one knee with a beautiful ring! He proposed to me on a yacht in front of my entire family, of course, my reaction was to ball crying! It was the beginning of my journey to my happily ever after.

How was your wedding shopping experience? I knew for my wedding dress I wanted a big statement. I wanted something that made people think “now that’s a bride!” I tried on over sixty dresses and bought two before I found my dress and settled on it! And when I found it I had it customized to fit my exact vision! And since I was so focused on my dress making a statement I decided to go with a simple yet classic look for hair and makeup. I wanted gooey natural skin and a very muted look everywhere else! I also wanted shoulder-length curls that would very softly compliment my cathedral length veil and Swarovski studded hairpiece. My shoes were also simple yet bold. They were nude meshed with scattered crystals to make them shine.

Describe your wedding style. I have always been obsessed with Italy and all the romance associated with the city. And while it would’ve been a dream to get married in Italy, we wanted to celebrate near home with our family and friends. So we decided on the theme of Italian romance with a color theme of white, gold, and rose gold. We had all of our family come from out of town, as none of us lives in the city my wedding venue was in. However, it fit my theme so perfectly I decided to have it their anyway and our family happily complied. We had our childhood pastors marry us as they both played a major part in the people we are today. We wanted the ceremony to be such a sweet intimate moment as this is when we did our religious sand ceremony. For that reason, we made the wedding unplugged and it made the moment that much more special. After the ceremony our main focus was to make sure our guest had an awesome party, and that they did!

Let’s talk about wedding decor. The majority of my decoration was DIY. I saw all of these huge glamorous weddings with large florals everywhere and I knew I wanted my wedding to be like that. However, my budget wasn’t as extravagant! So I got out of my comfort zone and learned how to use power tools, wood, paint and whatever else I needed to make my dream wedding happen! The ceremony was completely done by me featuring a DIY all-white aisle runner and platform stage. As well as handmade pedestals and silk floral arrangements. The reception was also mostly DIY as well. I made 4 ft candelabras as a centerpiece for a portion of my tables then had exclusive centerpieces imported from India on the other portion of my tables. I also did another look where the centerpieces were just simply glass vases staggered in a circle.

Wedding florals: For my wedding, I mixed silk and fresh florals. I saved money by having silk florals in places where people couldn’t notice the difference such as the ceremony backdrop with hanging wisteria and the floral arrangements that lined the aisles. Then I had a company do the fresh florals for the centerpieces at the tables as well as the bride and groom’s bouquet and boutonniere. They also did fresh florals on the cake.

What were your most memorable wedding day moments? The most memorable moments included walking down the aisle and giving my husband my written vowels. For months I had gone over them and made sure I said everything perfect just for me to get to the day off and change everything! It was special In that way since he did the same and every single word he said confirmed why I was so in love with him and why that was the most important moment of the beginning of our forever.

What wedding advice do you have for engaged couples? Take a deep breath. Don’t let the little things that don’t seem to go right get to you because in the end, it will all be perfect any way since you are marrying the love of your life! Don’t get so caught up in trying to situate your guest that you let your night fly by without getting to enjoy it yourselves! It will be one of the most memorable days of your life!