Shaunice and Eric have a love story like no other! Inseparable since their junior year in high school , these two love birds were made for each other. After a surprise engagement, and stressful wedding planning moments, these two took their vowels down the isle. You know we love a good wedding story, so we made sure to get all the deets!
How did you all meet?
Eric and I actually met in High School. We were just friends up until our Junior Year. We started dating in 2005 and have been together ever since. Our engagement was a totally shock to me. I’m very nosy, so it is very hard to surprise me. Eric told me that we were going out to dinner with some friends of ours and I didn’t question it. We ended up going to an Italian restaurant named Carmine’s in the city. We laughed and joked throughout the night. Ironically, I kept admiring my friend Stacey’s wedding ring and how beautiful it was. The maitre’d announced to the restaurant that their was an engagement in the restaurant. So as I was smiling and looking around to see who was getting engaged, the maitre’d came to me. Imagine my surprise! He placed a plate in front of me and lifted the top. On the plate it said “Marry Me?” with my ring in the middle. I looked to my left and Eric was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I cried so much that I can’t remember one word he said. All I remember is saying YES! We were engaged for a year before the big day.
Anything super unique about the big day?
My grandmother and I were able to share a special dance. The dance was in tribute to my grandparents. The DJ played “Everybody Plays the Fool” written by my grandfather (J.R. Bailey of The Cadillac’s).
Where did you all go on your honeymoon?
As a gift from my family, we enjoyed an expense paid trip to Toronto, Canada. We have never been and always wanted to go. They kept it from us as a surprise until the last minute.
Any tips you would share with other couples getting married?
I would say don’t stress the small things. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the small details that we forget to enjoy the process. Your wedding day goes by so fast. Enjoy it and live in that moment.
The Basics
Number of Guests
150
Your Budget Range
30k -40k
What was your planning experience like?
Initially my planning experience was STRESSFUL. I thought I could plan and execute the wedding all by myself. Boy was I wrong. I was only able to buy the dress and pick the wedding venue before I became overwhelmed. Hiring Camille of JunePlumm Events was the BEST decision I could have made. I found her on Instagram and called her right away. We spoke with promises of me booking her but it never happened. Fast forward, months later and we spoke again. Weeks later I had booked my Partial Planner. I can honestly say Camille is amazing. She made the rest of the process so stress free. I felt like I was planning my wedding with my best friend. She answered my countless questions (via text and email), she eased my nerves, and she always gave me the truth (whether I wanted to hear it or not). I couldn’t have done this without her.
Where did you wed and why did you pick the venue/site?
Our wedding was held at The Greentree County Club in New Rochelle. We picked this venue because of their employee Anthony. He was so helpful and honestly sold us on the place. He worked with our budget, gave us additional perks, and made us feel like a part of the family. Also, the ballrooms were GORGEOUS. The room was a neutral color and we were able to incorporate any color
Tell us about the wedding dress!
My wedding dress was everything I imagined it to be. I bought a lot of wedding magazines and searched so many wedding websites looking for THE dress. I knew I wanted something that would highlight my curves and would be glamorous. I found my wedding dress at Glamour Closet NY. My wedding dress was an ivory laced mermaid dress. The dress had a sweetheart neck line with floral patterns and beading that made the dress sparkle. The bottom of the dress had layers, it flared and had a long train. The dress gave me a narrow waist and just enough sparkle. My hair was straight with a side part and soft curls. I normally don’t wear make-up but I knew for this day I wanted the best and Shy (Instagram @xoshy) gave me that. I wanted to still look like myself but a refined version. My make-up was soft yet my eyes were dramatic. I had long lashes and sparkled eye makeup.
Describe the Groom’s and Groomsmen look
We wanted the Groom and the Groomsmen to have a cohesive look but we wanted the groom to stand out. The Groom wore a black patterned tuxedo jacket, black tuxedo pants, with a white shirt, white vest and a white bow tie. The Groomsmen wore black tuxedos with white shirts, plum vests, and plum bow ties. They also wore plum patterned socks.
What inspired your theme/style? What was your color palette? Why was it important to you?
My Wedding style was romantic glam. I’ve always liked weddings with a lot of sparkle and loved weddings with candles which exudes romance. I felt like I couldn’t chose between the two, so I decided that I wanted a mixture of both. My color palette was white, variations of purple/plum, and silver. Those colors were important to me because I felt like the silver would provide the glam I was looking for and the purples (when using a variety of them) provided the romance that I was looking for.
Tell us about your ceremony décor.
Our ceremony decor was simple yet romantic.
During the ceremony did you use and religious or cultural elements or traditions?
We had candles of different heights up and down the aisle. The backdrop at the altar consisted of a silver sparkly backdrop with white draping and a chandelier above us. We had two pillars with a large bouquet of assorted flowers that had crystals hanging from them.
What inspired your reception style?
My reception style was inspired by every wedding I’ve ever seen. I had a bunch of ideas in my head of things that I wanted for the wedding and Yomaris of Diva Blooms was able to help me hone in on them. We hired Yomaris as our florist/event designer and she was able to bring the ideas to life. Yomaris, Camille, and myself met up at Greentree to look at different centerpiece options. Based on the wedding theme, Yomaris set up different centerpiece options for me to select from. My choice was based on the ability to not have each table look identical. I chose 3 different centerpieces ( one high, one low, and one candle based). The tables were alternated with either a silver shimmery table cloth or a plum table cloth. What menu items did you serve?
We had 6 different menu options that included: Steak, half of a chicken, salmon, pork chops, shrimp, and a vegetarian plate. These 6 different menu options were included in the venue package.
Describe your cake.
Our cake was a real four layer buttercream cake provided by the venue. The first and third layer of the cake was decorated with vanilla swirls. Our initials (provided by Yomaris/Camille) were designed in crystals and placed on the cake alongside flowers in different shades of purple.
How did you come up with your wedding day playlist?
Me and Eric have different musical tastes. Therefore, we requested the DJ (Finer Touch Entertainment) to play a mixture of Current and Old School Hip &Hop and Current and Old School R&B. The song chosen for our first dance (Don’t Change by Musiq Soulchild) was selected as I felt the words were more of a reflection of our relationship. Finer Touch Entertainment was the DJ for my uncle’s wedding 14 years ago and they did a great job. So choosing them as our DJ was fairly easy.
Favors?
We had an assortment of cake pops, miniature cake towers, chocolate covered oreos, and melting moments (cookies that melt in your mouth) provided by Lola (Instagram @barcupcake1). We chose the treats as wedding favors because we wanted something that the guests could enjoy after the wedding once they reached home. Instead of something that would be put on the shelf and forgotten.
