Munaluchi Issue 32 Featuring Charity and Dotun of The Bachelorette

YOUR WEDDING AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS:

A MATCH MADE IN PARADISE

Have the unforgettable Caribbean wedding you’ve always dreamed of on St. Thomas, St. John, or St. Croix. With our three islands easily accessible to one another, you have the option to host your ceremony on one island and your honeymoon on another. VISIT USVI .COM

The name MunaLuchi holds a special place in our hearts. It is the combination of two African names which when fused together mean, "Beautiful Work of God"... Perfectly describing our brides...

The MunaLuchi bride is bold, beautiful, worldly... She is witty, vibrant and free. She loves the finer things in life, and is not afraid to go after what she wants. She exudes style and grace and is determined to look her very best not just on her wedding day but every day. She yearns to embrace her culture and seeks inspiration that speaks to her. She comes in all sizes and shades. Simply put, she is beautiful no matter what skin she's in.

Our mission is to promote positive images of women of color...because we believe positive imagery is the threshold for confidence... and confidence inspires self love. We aspire to inspire...

PHOTO: SHAGARI GERARD PHOTOGRAPHY | LOCATION: SPICE ISLAND BEACH RESORT - GRENADA | SEE MORE ON PAGE 30.

The Islands of the

BAHAMAS

fly away

editor's letter

Hey Muna Family!

It's always exciting to share a new issue of Munaluchi with you. This edition is especially dear to us as we feature the inspiring love story of Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko from Season 20 of ABC's hit show, The Bachelorette. Our Associate Editor, Linda Wallentine, had a chance to chat with them about their love journey, their dreams for the future, and their much-anticipated wedding.

In this issue, we also bring you the latest designs from 4 talented Blackowned wedding gown designers. Discover the inspiration behind their newest collections and gain insight into their creative processes. Their innovative designs are sure to spark your imagination and elevate your bridal fashion dreams.

We are thrilled to present an exclusive "Behind The Brand" interview with luxury resort wear designer Isy B. of the Cayman Islands. Her unique approach to fashion and dedication to craftsmanship offers a refreshing perspective on luxury and elegance.

Health and wellness are paramount, especially for brides preparing for their big day. Pharmacist and speaker Dr. Lorneka Joseph shares her top tips on how to elevate your emotions and maintain wellness during this special time. Her advice is invaluable for ensuring you feel your best as you walk down the aisle.

Our "Exclusive Food Experience" segment features interviews with Chefs who provide insights on incorporating cultural elements into your wedding day menus. Their expertise will inspire you to create a culinary experience that is both meaningful and memorable.

This issue is also packed with beautiful engagement sessions, stunning weddings, vibrant celebrations, and meticulously styled shoots. Each page is a testament to the diverse and enchanting ways love can be celebrated.

As we curated this issue, we were reminded of the profound beauty of love and the many ways it manifests in our lives. Charity and Dotun's story serves as a testament to the transformative power of love and the strength found in partnership. Their candid interview offers a glimpse into the highs and lows of their relationship, inspiring us all to believe in the possibility of finding true love.

Thank you for joining us on this journey through love, beauty, and celebration. We hope these stories inspire you to create a wedding day that is as unique and magical as your own love story. Your thoughts and feedback are always welcome, so please share your experiences as you explore this issue.

To love, joy, and the beautiful journey ahead.

Jacqueline Nwobu

CEO/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MUNALUCHI BRIDE MAGAZINE

EDITOR@MUNALUCHIBRIDAL.COM

COVER CREDITS

Photographer: Shagari Jackson of Shagari

Gerard Photography

Photography Assistant: Collins Camp of Studio

87 Media

Makeup: Felicia Graham - Felicia Graham

Beauty

Hair: Tinika Sadiku - Hair by Sadiku

Wardrobe Styling for Dotun: Ilbert Sanchez of Garcon Couture with assistance from Rachelle Teart

Wardrobe Styling for Charity: Gani Shittu of House of Simiraj

Videography: Mike Okafor Films with assistance from Roseline Conteh

Cover Shoot Location: Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada @spiceislandbeachresort

Creative Direction: Jacqueline Nwobu

Cover Interview: Linda Wallentine

Cover look: Corset+Skirt: @andreaiyamah.bride

| Tux: @garconcouture | Earrings: @earring_envy | Headpiece + bracelet: @aiandeva

NO. 32 | AUG. 2024

CEO/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jacqueline Nwobu

PRESIDENT Chike Nwobu

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Linda Wallentine

MARKETING & SALES ASSOCIATE

Barbara Montedori

MARKETING SPECIALIST

Angela Washington

MARKETING ASSISTANTS

Foluke Balogun, Muna Nwobu

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

SPECIALIST

Desiree Dossen

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Marie D. Smith, Lily Taylor

DIRECTOR OF EVENTS

Tiffany Chalk

BY

PHOTO

DONIA WEDDING ARTS

LUXURY WEDDING FAVORS & GIFTS FOR YOUR

DREAM WEDDING Caribbean

- WEDDING GUESTS FAVORS - BRIDESMAID GIFTS - BRIDAL PARTY ROBES - WEDDING DAY ESSENTIALS

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA @ISYBDESIGN

PHOTO: SHAGARI GERARD PHOTOGRAPHY

How to Elevate Your Emotions Before the Big Day

TEXT BY DR. LORNEKA JOSEPH

Y our wedding date has been set and your Pinterest board is saved but you already feel overwhelmed with all of the planning. As the bride, you don’t have to sacrifice your peace leading up to your BIG day.

As a licensed pharmacist and coach who focuses on mental health, I invite you to pause and let’s dive into some of the unique challenges that can arise, which may include unresolved stress, family feuds, tight deadlines, and divine interruptions.

Here are some practical tips to help you prioritize your wellness:

1. Address The Stress

Stress is normal but when stress is unresolved, it will eventually interrupt your sleep patterns and your ability to communicate with your loved ones and wedding vendors. Additionally, when stress or anxiety is heightened, the stress hormone called cortisol is increased which could lead to acne and fluid retention.

So it’s time to do what I call a “braindump” and I want you to jot down your unmet needs. For example - Do you need to start asking loved ones for help? There is no doubt that you are going to slay on your big day but are you being honest about your vision or unmet expectations? Each week leading up to your wedding day, become intentional about addressing bridal party wars, anxiety, or lack of confidence.

2. Know Your Numbers

I am not just referring to your dress size. Knowing your numbers is about knowing your status. If you want to slay the day, along with your spouse, schedule medical appointments to know your blood panel numbers.

It’s okay if the new year just started for you (no judgment here from us at Munaluchi Bride). However, please block out time with your primary care provider to get your cholesterol, thyroid, iron levels and blood pressure checked and evaluated.

3. Mindful Planning

One of the strategies I share with my clients is the art of intentional pausing. Intentional pausing counteracts the adrenaline rush – to rush.

So moving forward, start your day by drinking a glass of water, expressing gratitude, and stretching your body for 2 minutes before grabbing any device to check notifications. Throughout the day, as you’re inundated with calls and emails, be sure to nourish your body, set boundaries at home and work, and don’t be afraid to delegate.

Here at Munaluchi Bride, we want you to look and feel good beyond your wedding day.

4. Identify Pain Points

Contrary to popular belief, balance is impossible so here’s your permission to cease trying to balance so many schedules especially if others are depending on you. Embrace the fact that every season requires a different level of attention and in this season, it’s your wedding day and family planning.

5. Nourish Your Soul

Make time to build your faith or find a hobby that requires minimal brain work (walking, drawing, or cooking). Prioritizing your soul and self-care consistently can help you nourish the love and passion you have for your fiance.

I know that unpacking mental health and wellness as a bride can be overwhelming but vulnerability leads to greater revelation.

So START prioritizing your emotions now. Preparing for your wedding requires renewal from within, which can be a beautiful reflection of your well-being.

Dr. Lorneka is an award-winning licensed pharmacist, speaker, and wellness coach, where she helps professionals and organizations redefine their work and wellness.

Visit her website at www.drlorneka.co/services IG: @drlorneka

Headshot Photographer: CJermaine Photography

the FOOD experience

Celebrating Culture in Your Wedding Menu

Food is an integral part of any celebration. It has the power to transcend boundaries, inspire conversations, and bring joy to both the palette and the soul. A well-crafted meal not only brings people together but also leaves a lasting impression. On your wedding day, this is especially important.

Creating a tasty wedding menu that tantalizes the tastebuds will have your family and friends reminiscing about your nuptials for years to come. Your menu is also a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and showcase your culture. By curating cuisine that resonates with you and your partner, you can share your love story through the flavors and traditions that matter most to you.

To help guide you on this culinary journey, we’ve enlisted the expertise of three Muna Coterie Chefs: Juan Hernandez of Delivering Experiences, Christa Lynch of Brooklyn Braised, and Grace Odogbili of Dining with Grace, Inc. These talented chefs offer invaluable tips on how to incorporate cultural elements into your wedding day through food and beverages.

Specializing in Latin American and Fusion Cuisines, Sustainable Comfort Classics (with a twist), and Pan-African Cuisines, each of these culinary experts brings their unique cultural insights and distinctive flavors to the table.

FEATURED CHEFS

Juan Hernandez DELIVERING EXPERIENCES

Christa Lynch BROOKLYN BRAISED

Grace Odogbili DINING WITH GRACE, INC.

TEXT BY LINDA WALLENTINE

Juan Hernandez

JUAN HERNANDEZ , a native of Colombia who later migrated to the USA, has dedicated over 30 years of his life to the hospitality industry. His journey, spanning hotels, restaurants, and upscale events management, is not just a career path but a testament to his unwavering passion for this field.

"From a young age, thanks to my mother’s business, I was immersed in the world of catering. I vividly recall assisting her with food preparation, a role that instilled in me a deep-rooted catering orientation.

I came to the USA nine years ago. After being denied many opportunities, I told myself 'I’m going to start my own business.' So, I did deep research on the existing caterers in the New York Metropolitan area and we found there were no elevated Latin cuisine catering businesses. We saw an opportunity and this is how Delivering Experiences was born."

TIPS for incorporating culture into your wedding through food:

The weddings and events industry, in general, has evolved so much, and now we do not talk just about events; we talk about experiences.

At Delivering Experiences, we believe the most important tip for couples is to incorporate your background and nationality into the food experience. This adds a personal touch and makes the event more memorable. We encourage couples to think about their favorite food from their childhood, the food they had on their first date, and more.

We always love to have a menu consultation with our couples and clients to ensure that we create a menu that reflects them. Of course, sourcing fresh, local, and native ingredients is key to serving unique dishes. We are always thinking about how to elevate traditional dishes.

The possibilities in terms of menus are endless, and we love creating customized menus for each celebration. Our artisan flavors combine unforgettable tastes and great emotions, taking you and your guests on a cultural food journey.

Get in touch: EMAIL: info@deliveringexperiences.com | PHONE: 201.494.3029 IG: @deliveringexperiences | WEBSITE: www.deliveringexperiences.com

Vegan Entree, Photo by Miguel Pichardo @miguelpichardophotography

Photo by @abmarketinggroup

Photo by @abmarketinggroup

Mediterranean Octopus over Patatas Bravas and Sun-dried Tomatoes Tapenade | Photo By Zani & Duwayne @zaniduwayne

Photo by Miguel Pichardo @miguelpichardophotography

Photo by Miguel Pichardo @miguelpichardophotography

Grace Odogbili

Dining With Grace has been in business for 13 years in Brooklyn, NY. Nigerian-American Chef-Owner, Grace Odogbili, was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and developed her passion for food and celebrations at an early age while hosting community service parties at her parent’s church.

After attending culinary schools, studying the catering and special events market, and seeing the lack of representation of West African and Diaspora cuisines, she developed a passion to focus on leading a culturally inclusive catering service highlighting the excellence, tastiness, and authenticity in African and multicultural cuisines.

TIPS for incorporating culture into your wedding through food:

ECLECTIC HORS

D’OEUVRES - TELL YOUR STORY

The ceremony is over and everyone has love on the brain; it’s time to wipe away the glossy eyes and celebrate! We love to wake up people’s taste buds right away to let them know dinner will be memorable! Incorporate bold flavors and colors to engage your guests with food telling YOUR STORY. We have a Nigerian Chili Slider that utilizes tender pulled goat and oxtail in a traditional spicy tomato stew, topped with our house slow and scotch bonnet spiked pickles. It’s uncommonly delicious and craveable and for the Nigerian, invokes a memory of a commonly enjoyed dinner experience meat stew typically eaten with rice. If you are dreaming of having grazing tables or stations, work with your caterer to create one that has the classic elements but also incorporates your favorite cultural snacks and dishes.

TRANSPORT TO A FAVORITE MEMORY

It’s no wonder when people want to go on a vacation they are usually thinking of a coastal place with delicious foods. Think of the shacks by the beach that had the best local Dishes. I love to incorporate my couple’s favorite international food memories.

Whether they fell in love with tuna tostadas in Mexico City or they have a mission to order fish cakes everywhere in the Caribbean, we aim to fall in line with what lights them up. We have a crowdpleasing hors d’oeuvre, our Bajan Style Salt Cod Fritters, that our clients all fall in love with. We think it’s top-tier, too!

BE FLEXIBLE TO DITCH THE SALAD...

Disclaimer: Salads are great and refreshing. First Courses also present an opportunity for cultural representation in a formal plated wedding. Typically,

there are so many dishes the couple enjoys that they can’t truly fit all of them on the dinner menu. We explore ways to include these as an appetizer or first course. Of course, for a buffet, there is more flexibility.

We have a Nigerian Pepper Soup, a spicy broth-style soup typically served with fish or goat, that we serve in shot glasses if for passed hors d’oeuvres (a tease I know) but we also serve it as a first course in lieu of a salad, if preferred.

Feel free to experiment! We recently created Roti Canai, a Malaysian dish of roti served with a curry sauce, as a first course and that was very exciting! We lean towards what engages the happy emotions of our clients.

TROPICAL INSPIRATION & NOSTALGIA

Dining With Grace is highly inspired by “Cuisine of the Tropics.” Work with your Caterer’s beverage team to create innovative

specialty cocktails and mocktails to excite and transport your guests. Consider a bar of fresh green coconuts or frozen tropical drinks for a summer wedding.

Consider what elders or those abstaining from alcohol would be transported or refreshed by. Be open to including nostalgic soft drinks such as Malta, Fanta, Bitter Lemon sodas, Ting, Kola Champagne, Cream Soda, etc. A twist on the popular zobo or sorrel beverage is nostalgic for Afro-Caribbean weddings and is always fun to play with. I personally love the brightness of passionfruit and am always thinking of ways to incorporate it into new beverages and desserts.

SWEET ENDINGS TO A SWEET BEGINNING

Be sure to make dessert exciting! We offer specialty desserts like our 4-Layer Deluxe Carrot Cake, a “carrot cake X fruit cake” for a special plated treat but we also offer exquisite mini desserts (including carrot cake bites!) which can be passed while guests are mingling and dancing! A special shoutout to one of our favorite dessert partners, Brownstone Cheesecakes, a local business that makes exquisite mini cheesecakes! We are working with them on a passionfruit pineapple recipe to lean into the tropical!

Get in touch: EMAIL: grace@diningwithgrace.com

PHONE: 347-770-2844

IG: @diningwithgrace

WEBSITE: www.diningwithgrace.com

HEADSHOT PHOTO: AMBROSE ENG

PHOTO BY POLINA PORTNAYA.

Christa Lynch

BROOKLYN BRAISED EVENTS is a NYC-based luxury catering company that leads with sustainability. Over the past 7 years, the company has offered fullscale event services in the NYC area including staffing, bar services, event planning, and pastry + desserts.

Owner Christa Lynch is a classically-trained Chef specializing in the art of elevated comfort food. In her work, she champions equity in the culinary space with 100% of Brooklyn Braised vendors being minority and women-owned. Her extensive culinary talent is currently enjoyed at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens where she is the Executive Sous Chef.

Chef Christa is also passionate about giving back. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Brooklyn Braised team engaged in creative ways to reduce hunger in the community they call home. In the company’s most recent charitable project, Meals On Us, they raised over $30k to benefit Brooklyn families providing 4000 meals over the course of 8 weeks.

TIPS for incorporating culture into your wedding through food:

Think about how you would like your food to fit your wedding theme.

Use food stations to highlight different cuisines. For example, serve Caribbean fish stew shots with chiles and red potatoes or camarone fritos with coconut and lime as an appetizer instead of salad. You can also include traditional foods, such as those from your home country or culture but possibly with a modern spin.

Create a signature cocktail that reflects your culture. We made in-house sorrel and incorporated it into a cocktail for a client last year.

Headshot photos: Troy Mattison

Food Images: “Food as Content LLC”-- David Manrique

Get in touch: EMAIL: events@brooklynbraised.com | PHONE: 917-624-0995

IG + Facebook: @bkbraised | WEBSITE: www.brooklynbraised.com

These Wedding Gown Designers Are Giving Brides What They Really Want For Their Wedding Day

TEXT BY MARIE D. SMITH

A huge part of your wedding experience is choosing a look that makes you feel special and unique. From ball gowns to tailored pantsuits, you deserve a look you love. With that in mind, we have four wedding gown designers that are members of our exclusive wedding vendor collective, The MunaCoterie, whose stories will inspire and whose looks are icing on the cake for your upcoming wedding celebration. These brands all have a common cause: to dress their brides in remarkable designs for the most important day of their lives!

“It's about more than just making a dress; it's about creating a piece of art that encapsulates the essence of who you are, and the love story you are about to tell.”

Laurie Underwood ’s fashionable journey has seen her path go from Project Runway to owning an exquisite bridal atelier in Chicago. With over 15 years of experience, the brand seeks to help brides express their inner beauty as they step into the next chapter of their lives.

The designer's Classical Bloom Collection features floral motifs with clouds of tulle

and mikado satin giving brides modern silhouettes with traditional craftsmanship. The brand also caters to brides with its Day of Styling service which helps its clientele prepare for their walk down the aisle.

THE COLLECTION: “Inspired by the enchanting allure of classic floral motifs, each gown in the Classical Bloom Collection is meticulously crafted to make every bride feel like royalty on her special day. It's a celebration of love, elegance, and the everlasting bloom of romance.”

After a soft launch of her Modern Matrimony Collection, designer Lawrencia Blount is gearing up to unveil their full bridal line. Based in Los Angeles, California the couture brand was founded in 2009 and officially launched in 2021.

The self-taught designer and alumnus of Parsons The New School for

Design in New York set her sights on redefining bridal fashion through her own sartorial inspiration. Blount believes “Fashion is not just an art, but a true gift—a medium through which she can touch the lives of women on one of their most cherished days.”

THE COLLECTION: “The Modern Matrimony Collection is a manifestation of selfexpression, an invitation to defy conventions and embrace individuality. The designs are a celebration of female empowerment and artistic expression, tailored to highlight the individuality of each bride.”

Lawrencia Bridal Couture

Page XVII

By Jasmyne S

“My designs are about empowering women to walk in the confidence that God gave them during their journey and stories of life….texture, glam and quality craftsmanship.”

Jasmyne Summers ’ flair for fashion started when she was eight years old sewing handbags made from old jeans. Her passion progressed as a teenager when she got her own sewing machine which ultimately set her fashion story in motion.

The brand's ethos is to produce smallscale collections and to keep its exclusivity, Summers’ online design studio takes the bride on her style journey with exclusive sketches, fabric selections, and finally the fitting. The founder, whose business in Statesboro, Georgia is celebrating 10 years, releases her

collections as chapters.

“Many of the gowns in this collection are named after influential women in the Bible,” she shares. “The standout gowns from this collection are “Mamie Lou” and “Willie Mae”, as they are named after and dedicated to my grandmothers.”

THE COLLECTION: “The Welcome to Genesis collection represents a new beginning and strong foundation. This collection was birthed after I felt like I was starting over in my career as a designer. I felt like I was moving in a different direction and prayed to God for guidance. Through this collection, I hope to encourage women by letting them know it's ok to reset and go back to the beginning. Before anything can be built a strong foundation must be laid first.”

PHOTO: JAMES DUBUISER

PHOTO: ELLA CHARIS

PHOTO: ELLA CHARIS

elleNelle Bridal

Leah Langley-McClean is the founder of the Nashville-based label which has been in business for seven years.

While going to school as an accountant, Langley-McClean experienced a creative void. By educating herself through Youtube University the self-taught designer’s brand ultimately evolved into what is now elleNelle Bridal.

Langley-McClean shares, “My mission is clear: to empower brides of all sizes and hues, allowing them to be the heroes of their own stories through stunning, tailor-made wedding ensembles. What began as a passionate side gig has now flourished into a business making waves in the bridal industry, featured in major publications such as NY Times, InStyle, PopSugar, Munaluchi, Business Insider, and more.”

Her most recent collection, The Transition from Tension to Freedom , explores the contrast and journey from stress to relief that Langley-McCLean found herself in during a trip to Sierra Leone.

THE COLLECTION: “This collection draws inspiration from a pivotal moment in my life, a period marked by tension and stress. The turning point came when I embarked on a journey to Sierra Leone following my grandmother's passing. To my surprise, upon my arrival, I was engulfed by an overwhelming sense of liberation and serenity—a profound weight seemed to lift from my shoulders.”

HEADSHOT PHOTO: NANA ANNAN

Exploring the Colorful World of Isy B. Design in the Cayman Islands

TEXT BY LINDA WALLENTINE

Through an artist’s eyes, the world is a rainbow of endless inspiration, movement, and stories to be told. Luxury Resortwear Designer Isy Obi of Isy B. Design is no exception.

I first met Isy during MunaLuchi’s 2023 Coterie Retreat in the Cayman Islands. As our gifting partner for the event, I was enamored by the playful patterns dancing across each of her designs.

From colorful sarongs to bathing suits, tote bags, notebooks, and more, each pattern featured vibrant flora and fauna, strong feminine silhouettes, and motifs of the Caribbean. I would soon learn each custom design echoes the folktales of her Nigerian, British, and Caymanian roots.

"I am Nigerian, British, and Caymanian. I am a proud blend of all three in my life and general outlook! I love to explore my multicultural background in my art and designs and use my designs to tell the stories of each place I come from." – Isy Obi.

ISY’S LOVE FOR THE ARTS BEGAN DURING CHILDHOOD. HOWEVER, HER PATH INTO FASHION AND DESIGN

WASN’T A NATURAL CHOICE.

“Like many creative kids from an ethnic or immigrant background, art and design were not included in my choices of potential careers,” Isy admits. “At the most, you had your passion as a hobby on the side while pursuing a “proper career” –the cliched doctor, lawyer, or accountant. I chose to be an accountant by the way.”

Embarking on a career in finance was more stable than pursuing fashion full-time. The idea of juggling a stable job with a creative passion on the side wasn’t so unusual. Isy’s mother, a Ph.D.-level scientist, was also a fashion designer in her spare time.

Isy recalls, “After her work day, my mum would come home and go into her studio to work with her seamstresses and machinists.”

FOLLOWING IN HER MOTHER’S FOOTSTEPS, ISY PURSUED ART AND DESIGN ON THE SIDE.

She began by trying to follow the conventional path in fashion design. Often looking ahead to the latest trends and silhouettes for design inspiration over her own, it wasn't until she discovered the magical world of prints and patterns that she immersed her love of art into her

designs.

"My passion came alive when I brought my love of art and storytelling into my design through the prints and patterns I create. Combining all the things I love has allowed a different energy to flow into my work." – Isy Obi.

AFTER YEARS OF SUPPRESSING HER CREATIVITY, ISY FINALLY DECIDED TO CHASE HER DREAMS.

Leaving behind the success and stability of her career in accounting, she officially launched Isy B. in 2015. Today, her company is a thriving eco-conscious luxury resort wear brand catering to the Caribbean and beyond.

Over the years, Isy B. has garnered numerous local and international awards. This includes being named the ‘Lifestyle Designer of the Year’ at Phoenix Fashion Week and receiving the bronze star for creativity from the Cayman Islands National Arts and Culture Committee in 2019.

In 2024, she started the Isy B. Fund. The initiative strives to give back to the islands that have been, and continue to be, the inspiration for Isy B.’s designs.

Most recently, on May 18th, 2024, Isy B. was a participating designer in The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Cayman Islands Beyond the Scar fashion show at the Hotel Indigo ballroom. During the show, 10 women and breast cancer survivors strutted across the catwalk, celebrating their beauty and strength styled in Isy B. and other designers.

Isy describes the experience as one of the most moving and powerful things she’s ever done. “My heart was filled to bursting!” she exclaims. “I was so proud of our models.”

TOP LEFT: IMAGE BY VICKY ROWE PHOTOGRAPHY

IMAGE BY JP WALTON PHOTOGRAPHY

LOOKING BACK ON HER DECISION TO START HER OWN COMPANY, ISY SMILES. SHE HAS NO REGRETS.

“I realized one day that I have only one short life to live, and I wanted to make it meaningful by doing work that lights me up,” she explains. “I’d spent many years being very successful in careers I didn’t much enjoy. Eventually, the pain of staying on the traditional career track became more significant than the fear of heading off on my own path and starting my own business.”

To live and flourish in one’s purpose is the dream. I can confidently say Isy Obi is living out her dream in real time.

Keep reading for our exclusive Q&A with Isy on her latest designs, inspiration, and more.

Why “Isy B.”?

My namesake, Isy, is the short form of my Nigerian name, “Isioma,” loosely translated as “Wisdom” or “Good luck” in the Ibo language. When I was a kid, my mum called me Isy Baby, which she shortened to Isy B. So the brand name is a subtle tribute to my mum and my family.

When did you know it was finally time to pursue your dreams full-time? What challenges did you face after?

I look back at when I decided to leave my stable career with awe and appreciation for my younger self and my courage in doing it. I’d achieved a very senior role at the company I was working with and had been offered the option to progress to partnership. But I knew in my soul that this wouldn’t be the right step for me. So I turned it down and resigned to pursue my dream of starting my own business.

My biggest challenge was stepping into the unknown and believing that I could achieve what I had set out to achieve. I also didn’t realize how much of my identity had become rooted in the stable career that I’d resigned from. Ultimately, I had to relearn who I was without the safety net and structure of a regular job and the security of a regular salary.

I had this big dream of creating and being a designer. I was determined not to feel intimidated by all the other designers in the fashion industry who’d had years at prestigious fashion schools and/or fashion industry experience under their belt. All I knew was that I wanted to create pieces that make the women who wear them feel

amazing, and that intention continues to guide me today.

Let’s talk about your latest Storyteller collection influenced by Cayman Islands folktales. Tell us more about your inspiration, the color palette, and the materials you used.

My inspiration definitely comes from living on the islands. The Island folktales I write are simple and whimsical but often convey a potent message through my designs. I choose each color palette to reflect the feeling and mood of the story. I collect colors wherever I go and love exploring relationships between different colors.

My new Orchid collection, for example, was inspired by the national flower of the Cayman Islands, the banana orchid. The banana orchid features a beautiful and unusual deep purple color in some of its markings, and I knew I wanted to bring this into my story palette. The challenge was selecting other colors in the palette that would work well with this key color while expressing the story’s mood. It’s an intuitive process that I enjoy!

What is your creative process? And as an artist, how do you fuel your creative energy and combat your inner critic?

Each collection begins with the story I write. I never plan for them, and I write many stories (writing is another passion), but I will usually know when one is meant to be for an Isy B. collection because the wisdom contained in it feels right.

I hand-draw the main artwork illustration from the story. This process starts by creating my mood board, which constantly evolves as I add new ideas and remove concepts that no longer work. Then, I begin a series of rough pencil sketches as I try out different ideas and elements, intending to capture the essence of the story as a whole. It’s often fascinating to see my progression from the initial rough draft as I start to understand what the artwork wants to be!

Once I have developed the finished artwork, I work with my textile design team to digitize the artwork for use on fabric. We also develop different prints and patterns from the main illustration that will be used in various garments and products.

MY CREATIVE ENERGY IS FUELED BY BEING OPEN TO INSPIRATION WHEREVER I AM.

I love to travel because my intuition is even more heightened when I’m in foreign places or having new experiences. Using my sketchbook and phone camera, I record everything I see that interests me.

I also fuel my creative energy by getting enough rest and taking frequent time-outs. This is the best way I’ve found to calm the voice of my inner critic. When I am tired, rushed, or stressed, I lack the awareness to sort out fact from fiction when my inner critic kicks in. But if I’m rested and calm, I can see the inner critic for what it is, which

makes all the difference.

On your IG, you have started a marketing campaign called Show Us Your Isy B. What was your vision for this campaign? Why is working with diverse women (of all body types, skin tones, and personalities) important to you?

I know that self-image is a huge issue for so many of us. We’re asked to compare everything about ourselves to an unrealistic and manufactured ideal of beauty, and when we can’t match up to it, we feel like we have somehow failed as human beings.

In living with the daily challenges of being a woman at this time, we often forget or don’t have time to look after ourselves, and, most importantly, we forget to see how amazing and beautiful we are.

This is one of the reasons I’m careful about selecting the models I work with. They are all everyday women I admire and respect, and they represent the spirit of Isy B. They also show my customers who I have in mind when designing the collections.

The women I design for come in all different and unique body shapes and are all beautiful. They are also feminine, intelligent, resilient, courageous, and kind.

My vision for our ongoing campaign is to encourage women to look at themselves with fresh eyes and appreciate their own unique beauty.

Sustainability and eco-friendly fashion are becoming even more important for consumers. How is Isy B. staying ecoconscious with its designs and products?

It’s important to me that Isy B. continues to be a responsible brand. We’re constantly researching and testing new materials and production methods that help us minimize waste and over-production. For example,

we produce just one limited edition collection a year, and our designs are created to be timeless and last season after season.

Furthermore, in 2024, we launched the Isy B. Eco Fund, into which we reserve a proportion of Isy B.’s annual profits to offer grants to grassroots and established local environmental groups to help support their projects in the Cayman Islands.

At our 2023 Coterie Retreat, you attended and showcased some designs and products from your latest Storyteller collection (and also gifted us some lovely bags!). How was that experience and why should other designers attend MunaLuchi’s Coterie Retreat and/or partner with MunaLuchi?

I was blown away by the Coterie event and by the MunaLuchi family as a whole. I’ve rarely seen business done in such an open-hearted and generous manner, all for the benefit of attendees and participants. It was evident in the high energy of the event in the Cayman Islands and in the love and loyalty of the attendees, many of whom return every year.

It was a pleasure to work with the team and network with a wide range of attendees from different backgrounds. I was able to showcase my collections to prospective buyers from across the globe and make valuable connections with people I may not have otherwise met. It was a rewarding experience for the Isy B. team and one I look forward to repeating.

What advice would you give designers just starting in their careers or to your younger self? How have you overcome adversity in the fashion world?

It’s so important to be yourself, and once you figure out what you’re about, let that be part of your unique offering to the world. Staying true to what makes you unique can become your NorthStar, guiding your decisions and giving your life meaning.

What you’re doing may not look like what everyone else is doing or says you should, but just continue to trust that your soul knows what is right for you.

I’ve come to understand that the service I want to offer is to support women, make them feel beautiful, and remind them of how amazing they are. I find great fulfillment and creativity in that service.

What does the future have in store for Isy B? Share any exciting updates or events we can support you in.

I’m currently enjoying working on the new collection for 2025. Additionally, this year is all about giving back and supporting the community that has supported us. I’m also excited about expanding the projects that the Isy B. Eco Fund can get involved in.

PHOTOSHOOT MAKEUP & HAIR

CREDITS: STYLEBAR CAYMAN BY SONIA SAJNANI

JP WALTON PHOTOGRAPHY

VICKY ROWE PHOTOGRAPHY

Charity +Dotun

CHARITY: Hand-beaded Crystal Bralette & Satin high-waisted pants - Hanifa Bridal; EARRINGS: Earring Envy

DOTUN: Garcon Couture, FUSCHIA

ROSE Shirt Pant Set with the Club Collar and Signature on Cuff

From Reality TV to Real-Life Romance: Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko Celebrate a Year of Love at Spice Island Beach Resort in Grenada

CREATIVE TEAM

CREATIVE DIRECTION: Jacqueline

Nwobu INTERVIEW: Linda Wallentine

PHOTOGRAPHY: Shagari Jackson of Gerard Photography PHOTOGRAPHY

ASSISTANT: Collins Camp of

Studio87Media VIDEOGRAPHY: Mike

Okafor Films VIDEOGRAPHY ASSISTANT: Roseline Conteh MAKEUP: Felicia

Graham Beauty HAIR: Hair by Sadiku

WARDROBE STYLISTS: (Charity) Gani

Shittu of House of Simiraj; (Dotun) Ilbert Sanchez of Garçon Couture with assistance from Rachelle Teart HORSE

HANDLERS: Royan Smith & Johanna

Diederichs

of Bonanza Stables VENUE: Spice Island Beach Resort

Our Issue 32 cover couple, Charity Lawson

and Dotun Olubeko, began their fairytale romance on Season 20 of ABC’s hit reality TV show, The Bachelorette.

With Bachelor Nation tuning in every Monday night to watch Charity’s journey to find love, it didn’t take long for Dotun to be recognized as a top contender. Emerging from the limo at 6’7” as one of the tallest men to arrive at the mansion, Dotun’s height certainly helped him stand out. But for Charity, his confidence is what first caught her eye.

“Obviously, the first interaction was him getting out of the limo,” Charity recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness. He's super tall.’ Of course, he was hot. But there was this distinct level of confidence that Dotun had. He's just a very secure guy. And I hadn't even had a conversation with him yet.”

On The Bachelorette, those first interactions out of the limo are everything. They can make or break a connection just like in the real world. And with Dotun being one of the last hopeful suitors to meet Charity, his speech was even more important. Luckily, his words left a lasting impression. “He didn't come out doing a gimmick or anything that was crazy or weird,” Charity shares. “He just spoke from his heart. I knew he was a person of intention and he really possessed that.”

Dotun’s first impression was, ironically, quite the opposite.

After finding out who would be the Bachelorette the day before filming, he reveals, “I did a quick Instagram check, I thought she's probably average height. And I come on and see she's so petite.” In fact, Charity is only 5’3 ½” tall! However, a height-gap relationship wasn’t a problem. Dotun was quickly enamored by Charity’s charisma, kindness, and of course, her beauty. “It's not fair how beautiful she is,” he admits, smiling. “Then her eyes. Her eyes are so expressive and she makes intense eye contact with you.”

Standing on the steps of the Bachelor Mansion, looking deeply into each other's souls, Dotun had no idea he would be the lucky man to hold Charity’s gaze for a lifetime. But he was hopeful.

This was just the beginning of their love story.

Over the course of the season, we watched Charity and Dotun grow in love and understanding as they navigated cultural differences together. Some of the most moving moments were their discussions surrounding culture, identity, and family. Dotun, who immigrated to the United States with his family from Nigeria when he was 4 years old, proudly shared his Nigerian roots with Charity early on. “The moment I talked to her and I opened up about my immigration card, which is so meaningful to me, she received it so well…. That was a turning point for me to then lean into [our relationship] fully because she was worth it.”

Charity was moved by his vulnerability and opened up about her own upbringing in Columbus, Georgia, where there were not many other kids who looked like her. Fueled by compassion and curiosity, the two critical components needed to nurture an intercultural union, Charity and Dotun accepted each other fully.

By Hometowns and after meeting Dotun’s family, Charity admits, “... our bond at that point was just so much in a league of its own.”

With an open heart and an open mind, they fell in love, and on April 30th, 2023, Dotun proposed in Fiji. Charity exclaimed “yes!” and Dotun happily accepted her final rose. The couple (who had already been engaged for 3 months before the finale aired), began a whirlwind romance in public for the first time.

From Charity competing on Dancing with the Stars to living in Los Angeles together during filming and now cohabitating in a cozy New York City apartment, they’ve gone strength to strength in every phase of their relationship.

This year, on April 30th, 2024, Charity and Dotun celebrated their one-year anniversary – a rare milestone in the franchise’s history, and are excitedly looking ahead to their nuptials. To celebrate, we invited Charity and Dotun to the luxurious Spice Island Beach Resort in Grenada for an exclusive MunaLuchi cover shoot.

Under the creative direction of Jacqueline Nwobu, the Muna Team created magic from sunrise to sunset with the couple posing before vibrant tropical backdrops and exchanging laughs and steamy glances in every frame. Gani Shitu of House of Simiraj carefully curated Charity’s looks which consisted of modern and chic bridal-inspired attire, sexy swimwear, and a Nigerian traditional gown (custom-made and shipped straight from Nigeria!). Dotun also wore a custom agbádá from Nigeria. His sleek suiting looks were designed, tailored, and styled by Ilbert Sanchez of Garçon Couture. With styling assistance from Rachelle Teart, luxe hairstyles created by Tinika Sadiku, and glam makeup by Felicia Graham Beauty, the couple looked gorgeous and photo-ready at all times. Shagari Gerard Photography and Collins Camp of Studio87Media expertly snapped all the details with Mike Okafor Films and Roseline Conteh capturing video and BTS content.

Sitting down to speak with Charity and Dotun after the photo shoot, their immense gratitude for the entire experience stood out to me. With so many opportunities in the wake of The Bachelorette, one would think this is just another appearance. Just another day in the life of a celebrity couple. However, for Charity and Dotun, this shoot holds a special place in their hearts. Dotun reveals, “In the past year of all the craziness, to me, this photo shoot is the most meaningful thing that I've done. Because of this team, first and foremost. So many good people. Everybody is great. I'm a sucker for a good soul. And when they're Black, it's a wrap.” “I feel a lot of times everything is just smile and wave,” he adds, “but this actually means so much to me. It was shown in the way that y'all came through with the fits. Even the Nigerian looks, the outfits straight from Nigeria, no fake stuff that people just got on Amazon. You guys truly got it right.” Charity echoed her husband-to-be: “You guys are amazing. Don't be surprised if we're like, ‘All right, Fall 2025. We need everybody back again. Clear the schedule, please’.”

Keep reading for our exclusive interview with Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko on everything from their fateful beginnings on The Bachelorette (which almost didn’t happen!), to navigating cultural differences and their future wedding plans. Cheers to the future Mr. and Mrs. Olubeko!

Let’s start at the beginning; your love story almost didn’t happen. Dotun, can you share some background on how you got on the show?

PANT SUIT: Lawrencia Bridal Couture

JEWELRY: SimiGems by Simiraj

DOTUN: Part of our story is that this was all meant to be because of how it all happened. I actually hated reality TV and daily shows before going on. What happened was usually people are casted six months to nine months before the season starts filming. It's this long process. Then two weeks before they started filming, I think someone may have dropped out, and the casting agent was looking to fill that position.

My roommate at the time happened to know somebody who was approached by a casting agent to do the show, but they were already in a relationship. Then a friend of his asked, "Could I do it?" And she said, "No. You don't fit the bill." He's a small guy.

They were looking for height?

DOTUN: Exactly. They're looking for very specific things. So he said, "All right. Let me see if I can find someone to do it for you." Then he hit me up. Mind you, I don't know this person at all, but he was friends with my roommate and we went to college together.

He reached out in a dead group chat that I’m in and wrote, "Hey, I’m looking for someone who has this, this, and this?" And then my roommate called me immediately. He said, "Hey, do you want to go on The Bachelorette?" I thought he was kidding. I remember it like yesterday. It's so vivid because it was two o'clock and I was just working from home.

After that, he texted me, but he always plays jokes, so I was like, "He must be being stupid.” I sent him some pictures and then within an hour, a casting agent reached out to me and she said, "Hey, we'd love to set up an interview."

I reached back out to my friend and said, "Hey, is this for real?" He's like, "Yeah, man." He told me the whole story. So I had two weeks to get all of that done. By the end, I wasn't sure if I was going to do it.

Eventually, I was just like, ‘Fine. I’ll have some fun. Have a nice break from work.’ Then the day before flying out, I woke up being like, ‘No, I can't do this.’ It's too much of a risk. My job, they weren't really on board at the time.

Well, it just wasn't me. But the way that things kept working out, there were so many different times when it shouldn't have worked out and it did work out. I called my mom and I was like, "Mom, I don't want to do this show."

She was like, "I don't want you to do it either, but life always likes to put you in these positions and that's where you shine. So I think you should do it."

That was when I was like, "You know what? Let me go for it." That's how I got on the show and I flew out the next day.

It's almost like it was fate.

CHARITY: Exactly. We always say that.

DOTUN: 100%. There's no way, the way that things were getting worked out... Little instances and you're like, "Huh." I like to listen to that voice. I feel like it's done me well and it did me well again.

When did you both know you found “the one” on the show? And then after you transitioned into the “real world,” how was that period?

CHARITY: It was three months between the finale and when we wrapped up our proposal until our finale aired. I knew Dotun was the one I'd have to say at Hometowns. Hometown's 100% I think

solidified it.

Obviously, it's taboo to answer this question because people are like, "Why did you go on with the show?" But you have to at some point. Then with all the emotions that come, there's a lot of things that you try to reason and figure everything out. But without a doubt, he was the first person I said I was falling in love with. I think I told him I love you first.

After meeting his family, our bond at that point was just so much in a league of its own, and it was crazy. But it was extremely electrifying and powerful. I couldn't really comprehend it. I just knew in my body, again... I would tell him after our dates... I got these universal signs.

I'm a believer of angel numbers and stuff. So on our way to a lot of our dates or even just to dinner, I would see an angel number confirming that I'm in the right place. This is my person almost. And just like our conversations, they were so in-depth. We didn't really miss any beat on the show. We were both just so in sync. I was like, "This makes the most sense." And you really are, I believe, the person that's for me.

How did you know Charity was the one for you?

DOTUN: I mean, it started off rocky because I didn’t get to talk to her night one. And it took up to two weeks until I got to talk to her and I was regretting going on the show. The moment I talked to her and opened up about my immigration card, which is so meaningful to me, she received it so well. I was like, “Okay.” That was a turning point for me to then lean into it fully because she was worth it.

As we had conversations, they started to transcend the TV show. It wasn't just about TV. What we were talking about was really real. And I would say I was pretty locked in. I meditated a lot during filming because you kind of have to. You have so much time on your hands.

I knew that around Hometowns, how that went so well, I was like, "Holy crap. There's a very good chance." At that point, you're still with the boys, and you're having fun. But then at that point, it's very serious.

The Hometowns went so well. And as I said, I didn't expect that. Growing up in a Nigerian household, they don't expect your son to find love on TV. They're like, "What the hell?" For them to love Charity and for them to all say that they did... I felt what I felt. But then they all were like, "I've never seen you like this. This is something that brings it out of you."

Each and every one of them, they're always going to do that with me. They're not going to say anything just for TV. They pulled me aside and said the same thing with cameras off. That was huge for me. I was like, "Oh my God." Even from the outside, not that I needed that validation, but when you get it, you go, "Okay, my feelings are confirmed. It's for real. It's not just me being in this environment." For me, I think that's when I was like, "Okay. I think I'm ready for her to be the one." And I just took it in and as signs to continue to say yes.

CHARITY: Then to answer the second part, in real life, obviously, making that transition was a lot. I think people sometimes underestimate or maybe not, I think they know, obviously, with the stats of the show. It's a big transition. But we had our proposal and went straight into Dancing with the Stars.

I think I was very hesitant even about doing the show just because I knew there was so much that we needed to nurture in our relationship. And I was like, I don't really want to jeopardize our relationship because I took it so serious for an opportunity. But he was so supportive. When I say I was the one that was doubting and

he was like, "Do this. I'm going to be with you every single step of the way."

Just the way he supported me but also our communication styles outside of the show still was very much... I don't even know how to describe it. It's just we're always blown away with how we handle things that are a little rocky or things that are a lot for us to navigate. And he's so gentle, he's so patient. I just think that was a huge telltale sign. But also when the cameras are off, we like to cut up. So I think our goofiness, seeing that our goofiness is literally the exact same.

And I always tell people I do have a presence when I'm doing things and I'm putting my best foot forward, but deep down, I'm truly such a kid. And he sees that and he brings it out of me. But the way that our energies just match, this is a dream.

Because I was a little nervous. I'm like, "He's going to see something and be like, 'I made the wrong choice. I got the ick from this girl.'" But it has not. I think if anything, it's definitely brought us so much closer.

DOTUN: That's always the risk. I always say that... Even sometimes you can make it to the end and pick the best person, but it's still such a small chance of it working out. What are the chances that person is compatible with you?

I remember after the proposal, we have three days to just hang out right after. No cameras or any filming. Just hang out in this beautiful villa. I remember sitting there after the proposal and taking my socks off and I was like, "Okay. Best stage is done, but now it's going to get real."

Because we're so serious in that environment. You're so serious. You only have limited time. So you have to talk about things. But she said, "There's this whole other area of who I am. I'm very lighthearted, I'm very goofy, very stupid.” I was like, "I hope that that's there too, because that's important for me, too."

Then we wasted no time. We had visits while we were in hiding, they'd be every couple weeks to meet up in secret, like hat, glasses, that kind of thing in the airport.

CHARITY: It was crazy. It's hard to disguise him because he’s so tall.

DOTUN: Somehow, I didn't get caught, but I should have. I was always so nervous. Hat, hoodie, glasses. Then we had our first meeting. I just remember Charity’s laugh. All over through the house. It just came out and I was like, "Okay. That's the one."

CHARITY: That's crazy.

DOTUN: But that's most of what we're doing. Ever since that, that's when I knew. We started having moments like that. She's stupid like me.

CHARITY: I am. I am.

DOTUN: That's when I knew.

What have you guys discovered about each other since the show?

CHARITY: We all have our things that we do. But I will say a good thing about him that I didn't get to see as much on the show is that he's just a very independent person and he is very spontaneous in a good way. He just likes to do his own thing and loves to explore. I saw that come out a lot after the show. I was like, "Okay. He has a little adventure in him." And I like that because that's always a good element to have in a relationship because I think it's a little bit... I don't wanna say the opposite of me, but it takes someone to pull

that out of me. I'm not someone who's naturally going to do that on my own. Knowing that I can live this life and that's something that I can grow into myself with him is nice.

DOTUN: Charity is a ball of energy. She's has energy that can't be contained and it has to be released. Usually, she'll be moving her legs really quickly–

CHARITY: Very sporadic spastic.

DOTUN: –It's like energy is just being absorbed and it's too much and she’s just got to let it go. She's just kicking her legs, screaming. Things have to come out. Basically, I was like, "Okay." Because when we're filming, we're just having these conversations, we're all serious.

How do you solve conflict and what are some conflicts that you have experienced or overcome together in your relationship so far?

CHARITY: Like I said, our communication style is really, really good. I'm extremely blessed for that because I think I have experienced not the best conflict resolution skills growing up, even in my family, but also in relationships that I've been in.

Seeing how we communicate has been just a breath of fresh air. But also, for me, it's something that I'm having to get used to because it's not familiar territory for me. But he's just really patient. We never raise our voices at each other. We're usually on the same page about a lot of things. We just don't sweep anything under the rug. We talk it all out.

The biggest thing that he always says is ‘get to the root of what is causing this’ or ‘where is this coming from.’ We're really patient with trying to explore all of the avenues of everything. Again, it's just a big blessing and it's really good. I would say our conflict resolution has been one of the cornerstones, I feel, of just our relationship and how we have sustained it to this point. And I'm really grateful for it.

DOTUN: I'll say one thing that we've had to work around definitely is getting ready and the time differences. We're both kind of, not last minute, but usually a few minutes late. Then one thing, for me, because I know she has to do makeup and all these other things, so I'll just be chilling.

I feel it's pretty common, right? Guys just chill. I know what I need to do so I plan it out. I'm just chilling. Then to her, it's this weird time of, "Hey, come on. We should be getting ready." But I'm like, "I know. I have it mapped out in terms of how long it's going to take me so when you're done, then I'm done too, and then we both head out." That's one thing we had to work around.

CHARITY: I'm very anxious.

DOTUN: We've had to work around that in terms of how we communicate that to each other. Because initially, for me, I'm like, "Wait." I'm in Lalaland. "What's the issue?" I've had to learn about the anxious energy and how to work with her. She's had to work with me too in terms of... I'm like, "What am I doing wrong?" I'm like, "Stop pressing me." I've also had to work on being more patient in that way and understanding who she is.

It's still somewhat a work in progress, but luckily, we've made a ton of progress from when it first started happening to now. It's a lot better. Even this morning, she's like, "Hey, Dotun, get ready." And I'm still back there. I know she's doing makeup so I'm just lying down. I'm like, "Okay." I think, four months ago, I would've just laid in bed. But I was like, "Let me get up..." Even though I know I'm going to be done earlier, "Let me get up." We're just trying to find that balance and make things work.

CHARITY

Feathered Bandeau Top & Skirt: The Ivy Show Room; Earrings & Bracelet: Ai & Eva Jewelry

DOTUN

Suit: Garçon Couture

Teal Double Breasted Peak

Lapel Side Buckle Suit with the Signature Garçon Couture Pin

CHARITY: And I've learned to only ask once, not 18 times.

Of all the issues you could have, that’s really not that bad.

CHARITY: Listen, I'm telling you, we are very fortunate. It's more just a learning curve of once you're living together, that's normal in a lot of couples. But the way we handle them has been the reason why we've been able to get past them.

DOTUN: We go to therapy, too. We were fortunate enough to have the show gives us therapy sessions. We got lucky with Russ. Shout out Russ. Awesome, awesome therapist. Love that guy. We're still doing it today. We started when nothing was wrong and it helps just talk through things and just have a space to do that.

That's great. I feel everyone should go to therapy. It's fantastic.

CHARITY: I'm telling you.

DOTUN: It should be a part of life. CHARITY: It's a blessing.

How soon is too soon to go to couples therapy?

CHARITY: Never. I always say I mean, obviously, if you just started dating then no, but in our case... We dated very fast. It was speed dating so we're still trying to get to know each other. But even in the real world, I feel as soon as possible. Because it's more so getting ahead of the thing so when you have a problem, you already have these skills that you can utilize in those conflicts or in those situations to get through them rather than waiting until

something is so bad and now you're having to try to fix it and put screws and stuff. It's more proactive. It's all this stuff that we're just trying to get ahead of for the future. But now we know how to handle them if we get to that point.

DOTUN: I think there’s two things that therapy does and why anyone should do it at any time. First of all, it's a space to talk about things. And I find myself being able to talk about things that are on my chest more easily in that space because that's what it's created for. Therapy gives you that space to be raw and honest. And both people have an understanding that it's not personal. We're trying to work through this. It also gives you a mediator. Someone who's in the middle because we're both going to think we're right and that causes more issues. So to have someone who can be the middle man is very, very helpful. For those

two reasons, no matter where you are, in a relationship or not, it can be extremely helpful.

What do you guys love most about each other?

CHARITY: There [are] so many things. I've got a list.

DOTUN: I know the big one off my head, which is why I was getting a little emotional today. I have never felt more loved by anyone than I have in this past year. When I think about past relationships, and I had some that lasted three, four years, no one has ever given me more love than this lady right here. The capacity is unlike anything I've ever seen. That's just so rare to find. And it's a double-edged sword. Because she gives so much of herself but I just do my best to never, ever take advantage of that. Consciously, subconsciously, never, ever. And honor the love that she possesses. Because It's really special, it's really unique.

That's what sold me. I knew it off the bat. She just puts her whole heart into what's in front of her. That's why she also connected with other people on the show because she has that ability. But I knew that once she was mine, then I would get all of that. I felt that for the past year or so. To me, that's just the greatest thing. This girl just loves me. I don't feel I deserve it all the time, but she just does. I just so much appreciate that.

CHARITY: That is very sweet. So sweet. Thank you. I think for me, there's a whole bunch. But if we're talking about one thing in how to sum up who Dotun is, I don't think I can. But I like to describe him as someone who's very selfless. And that's a trait that I see show up every single day even in ways that's not as obvious.

At least for me, in our relationship, the way that he is constantly looking out for me in ways that I don't even think I do for myself at times, even just health, things like that, or just how he loves on me in different ways, it's so beautiful. He's so loyal and respectful. That is just a huge thing for me in my life and the things that I've been through...Patient. He's very understanding, which I love. Really understanding.

I think he has an ability to be able to put aside the things that maybe sometimes even he wants to say, but out of love, again, or out of respect for me, he's like, "Okay. I can reason with you here. I can understand you here."

I think what we both share together is that we have a lot of compassion. He's a very loving person. He loves big, works hard, and does so much for people in his life. I have seen that through and through every single day.

Even on, I don't want to say our worst days, it's just I don't consider any day worse, but even on days that are not as great... He’s still someone who I see forever with. I just want to always be loved by this person and I will always love him.

How is life in New York since the big move from LA?

DOTUN: Life in New York is good. Before the show... I should say I've never technically lived outside of New York. But after the show, while she was on Dancing with the Stars, we went to LA. So essentially, we lived in LA for those three, or four months. Then I slowly convinced her to come to New York and she did it. It's been good. It's been great. I mean, it's busy and in some ways, we haven't even really got to explore because we have just been moving around a lot. Her more than me, because she has all these other opportunities and obligations that she has to do.

But it's been good. Our area is good. It's treated us well. Our home, thanks to her mostly, feels so homey. Where I lived before, it didn't feel homey. It was just a place. I think that's really hard to get in New York, is

a place that feels like home. Again, one of those divine things where we decided to move to New York and didn't even have a place because we were so busy.

CHARITY: Literally, four days before we had to be there. It was crazy.

DOTUN: We started looking four days before and then found one. And it all worked out. The place ended up being beautiful. We didn't even get to see it in person before. We had to take a virtual tour. So even in that way, it's been a blessing. New York is wild. It's a wild place, wild city.

CHARITY: It's all a party.

DOTUN: My brother's warming up to it now.

CHARITY: The outside.

DOTUN: The crazy outside and we love that. We love mess. We love people-watching.

CHARITY: Chaos. Truly, we'll just walk out and be like, "Let's just go hit the corner."

DOTUN: I would tell her don't make eye contact. Use your peripherals. CHARITY: I've learned that. Not to make eye contact in New York. It's hard.

DOTUN: You don't want to activate the crazy. You just want to be around it and enjoy it.

CHARITY: Well, I'm crazy, too.

DOTUN: Exactly. It's been fun. Taking the subway. I'll say this, I'm proud of her because New York is a hard place to live. You have to be rugged, you have to be down, you have to be prepared to step in dog shit. If you are not down for that, you're going to be miserable. There's some people who just came to New York and there's things that you have to get over.

If you're a germaphobe or anything like that. Those are things that she's gotten over and she's totally embraced it. And she gets better and better. The weather. We moved in the winter so it was cold. It wasn't prime time to move. There was an adjustment period but I think she's done very well. For me, I'm used to it. I can enjoy every day as it comes. But I think she's now in full stream of New York life so it's been good.

CHARITY: I absolutely love it. Obviously, me coming from the south, it was a big adjustment. Like not having my car. But like he said, "You adapt to New York life." I love going to Costco, buying in bulk, and getting my groceries for the month. Now you got to go to the grocery store every two weeks. Or not even that, twice a week, only carrying enough. That has just been different for me and I'm getting used to it. Then, obviously, space. Space is non-existent in New York. But like he said, our place is so homey and it's in a perfect spot.

I just love the city life. It gives me, I don't want to say motivation, but it's just that everyone in New York is on a mission and they move with purpose. And I'm like, "That's me." At my core, I love doing things with purpose. It's been a lot of fun. Obviously, now that things are slowing down, we're going to be still going here and there. But now that summer's coming, everyone's going to be outside. I'm so looking forward to having a summer in New York City and just living life.

DOTUN: I'll say, for the record, I was always like, "We can go anywhere. I will actually go wherever you want to go." But through filming, I was seeing all these things... she was so adventurous. Jet skis, going fast. That's where I was like, "I feel New York would be good." But then as you start to get to know each other after the show, then you learn more things. She has some anxious tendencies.

And then I started feeling guilty. I was like, "I hope New York doesn't

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" I have never felt more loved by anyone than I have in this past year. When I think about past relationships, and I had some that lasted three, four years, no one has ever given me more love than this lady right here. The capacity is unlike anything I've ever seen. That's just so rare to find. And it's a double-edged sword. Because she gives so much of herself but I just do my best to never, ever take advantage of that. Consciously, subconsciously, never, ever. And honor the love that she possesses. Because It's really special, it's really unique." - Dotun

"I think what we both share together is that we have a lot of compassion. He's a very loving person. He loves big, works hard, and does so much for people in his life. I have seen that through and through every single day.

Even on, I don't want to say our worst days, it's just I don't consider any day worse, but even on days that are not as great... He’s still someone who I see forever with. I just want to always be loved by this person and I will always love him." - Charity

mess things up. Hopefully, it's not going to be miserable,” and I felt bad. But that's why I'm saying I'm proud of her because despite these new things that I learned about her... If I had known those things, I may not have tried to push New York as much. But I'm just proud of her for embracing it.

CHARITY: It was actually a big conversation. When he met my parents, my dad was like, "Are you coming down to Georgia or North Carolina?" And Dotun was like, "No." He was being open. But I knew in his heart, too, he had only been in New York at that point for a year and a half. I always wanted to go to New York but I don't think I would've ever done it by myself. And then I was like, "I don't really want to have a roommate." But now that it's my fiance, it makes sense.

I definitely have adapted. And I think New York is a growing experience for me. So the things that he knew I was probably going to struggle with, like he said, him being proud of me, it's been things that I've grown in. I want to continue to put myself in these positions that I'm not familiar with so that I can grow from them.

You can always move in the future, too.

CHARITY: That's what I'm saying. We're not raising kids in New York. I think it's a really good stage for now. But after the wedding, we'll probably figure out where we want to establish our roots.

DOTUN: We love experiencing life. It's cool that we both lived in one of the biggest cities, if not the biggest in the world. We're young, we can move. So let's enjoy it now.

What is a typical day for you both when you’re together?

DOTUN: We're together all the time because I work from home. So we're literally together 24/7.

CHARITY: We need space sometimes.

DOTUN: Definitely. Everybody does. It's been good though. Because I work remote, I'm very fortunate I don't have to be in the office at a certain time. I do go to bed late, wake up around between 9:00 and 10:00 maybe. Sometimes even later if I had a really late night. I have trouble sleeping, I have insomnia. Then I'll go for a walk. She'll get breakfast. I'll make her breakfast. If I have a Zoom meeting or two, then I get in my own meetings. But we're always in the same place pretty much and we just dip out. I go for walks a lot. That's how I clear my head.

CHARITY: I've been venturing out into the city more during the day. Before, we were just literally always together and I'm like, "Okay." I think we were starting to hit heads a little bit. But I was like, "Maybe some space would be great." So I would go in the city, he would work, or vice versa. He every now and then pops into a coffee shop to do some work. It's just we've found our balance. I'm, obviously, not working, but I'm doing work for other stuff. I'll have meetings here and there, and then my day just consists of exploring the city.

DOTUN: It's not super exciting, the day-to-day, but when you live in New York, you get opportunities. We have a beautiful place, which is cool and it's very comfortable, and then on the weekend, Friday, Saturday, we get dressed up and we have fun.

What are your love languages as individuals and for each other?

Charity: For me, what I need the most is words of affirmation. That's my big one. Dotun has done really well at that. Of course,

DOTUN

Garçon Couture, Triunfo

De La Cruz Pin Stripe Blue Double Breasted Vest Pant set with the White Spread Lapel Shirt and the signature on the cuff

everyone has room to grow. We talked about it a lot in counseling. He has, I feel has done great. And for what he needs or how I give love, I feel is physical touch and acts of service. I love doing things and helping out. If he cooks then I'll clean the dishes and vice versa.

DOTUN: Mine were acts of service and physical touch. Those are two big ones for me. I think she does excellent in those. Charity is very service-oriented. For me, growing up Nigerian and African, there's not a lot of praise, not a lot of, "Hey, good job," pats on the back.

CHARITY: Which is why I need it. We come from the same. I need that.

DOTUN: Exactly. But that's also why, like she said, I have things to improve there because that's just how I grew up. In my culture, until you're elite, nothing else matters. That's something I'm definitely trying to work on. It doesn't need to be elite. It can just be good and that's good enough.

This one's for Charity. Recently on Instagram, I noticed you talked about your elective breast enhancement surgery. Was that something you always wanted to do? And how did you support her in that, Dotun?

CHARITY: Definitely was something that I was a little reluctant to share on social media, but I was like, "I'm a person of transparency." And obviously, it was an opportunity that I was able to get it done at the time. So I was like, "Why not?" I definitely wanted it for a long time. I wanted it very young. I would always talk to my mom and sister about it and they were like, "You're too young. You just need to wait it out." And definitely, I don't want to say they were against it, but they were like, "You don't really need it." I know I don't need anything. I did not need it, but I wanted it.

I sat on the decision for, I want to say, at least 8 to 10 years, like a long time. Then, like I said, the opportunity came for me to do it and I was like, "You know what? I'm going to do something for me. It's something that I, in my heart, always wanted to do."

I talked to Dotun about it and he was completely on board. I was scared because I was... Everyone has their views on cosmetic surgery or just implants and fillers and all that. But I'm like, it's 2024. I'm so against telling people what they need to do with their body. It's anyone's choice. If you like it, I love it. That's my motto. He was completely on board, which I was so thankful for.

Recovery was a breeze. He was there with me on surgery day, after, leading up to it. I mean, my experience was something that I personally would recommend to anybody. But obviously, for every single person, everybody's body is different. Do your research. Because I knew it came with complications and risks or possible risks, so I can't speak for everyone else. But for myself, I am just really grateful that this was a choice that I made and I would do it again. I really would.

DOTUN: For me, there was no issue. I do think you have to be careful. There's some people when you go too far and you start changing who you are and that changes your mental health, I don't think those people should be getting work done. But I can't imagine what it's like to be a female and beauty is just so much a part of life.

For guys, like I said, we don't put on makeup. We just walk out the door and we're fine. So I don't know what it's like. Just in terms of being empathetic and understanding where that can come from, it's not like she was getting a BBL and doing all these things. Because she's already beautiful. That's where I would be, but I 100% support it more than anything. If that makes her happy, then great. It doesn't really affect me. I mean, it does, but not in a bad way. I'm just like, well...

CHARITY: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

DOTUN: Go for it. She's the one who kept asking me, "Are you sure?" I'm like, "Yeah. I don't care."

CHARITY: I did it in moderation. I was nervous about that. I was like, "We'll start off small." Because I'm obviously so small. I didn't want it to be overpowering me. They were perfectly done.

DOTUN: She's like, "You hate it." I'm like, "I just said I don't care." Two days later, "You don't want me to get it." I don't know how many times I can say, "Let's get it done."

CHARITY: We did. DOTUN: We sure did.

Charity, do you have any specific advice for women who are thinking about having an elective surgery?

CHARITY: Piggybacking off of what Dotun said, I'm a believer of doing things in moderation. I think when it comes to beauty, it's meant to enhance, not completely change. I would just say obviously, follow your heart, your gut. But please do your research, that is the most important.

There are a lot of complications and risks, which whoever your service provider is should be explaining these things to you. Do your research on a great doctor. My doctor had a holistic approach, which

was really important for me because it wasn't just about the surgery itself, it was about my overall health and wellness and my recovery after that. So that was really important to me.

I would say, for me, the biggest thing and the message that I was trying to send out was it's about what you want, not out of fear of what other people are going to say or people disapproving your choice. Because you can do everything right and people still are going to have something to say and it may not be something you want to hear. At this point, live your life for the things that you want and make sure it's the best choice for you.

That's good advice. Going back to Dancing with the Stars, how was that experience? I saw you supporting in the audience, Dotun.

CHARITY: He was there for every single performance. And oh my goodness. When I think about Dancing with the Stars, it comes with so many feelings, honestly. It was obviously an experience of a lifetime. Something that I am very grateful that I did because I know, looking back, I will probably never have an opportunity like that again.

Obviously, with Dotun’s help and support, definitely played the biggest role in that. But I will be honest, I feel when I hear people talk about Dancing with the Stars, they are not as honest with how their experience was. Quite frankly, it probably was the best thing. But when I say that this was the hardest thing that I've ever had to do in my entire life, I kid you not.

Mentally, physically, and emotionally, it was just a lot. I also give credit to maybe just the timing of it all. Maybe if I had [participated in] Dancing with the Stars now after I've been able to live life a little bit or have time to nurture our relationship... But because I came right off of Bachelorette... I had two weeks.

We came out as a public couple, announced our engagement. I had two weeks. In that time, I’m just trying to soak up everything. We're just so happy to be able to go to the grocery store and not have to hide. I was trying to spend as much time with Dotun as I could.

Then I had to leave to go to LA to start rehearsal. That was, I think, already emotionally and mentally playing a toll in my head. I was like, "Oh my goodness." The first week there, it was exciting, but it's also in the back of my head, I was like, "Did I make the wrong choice?" I kept thinking, "Is this really what I want to do?"

Luckily, Dotun was able to come out to LA to stay with me. That helped because I will say for anyone who's doing Dancing with the Stars long distance, God speed. Because it's a lot…Long distance would've been actual hell for us. He was able to come and that made things so much better. But even just the days…the days were so long. We're rehearsing from four to six hours a day. And when you think about it, that's primarily the biggest chunk of your day. It's a full work day and you're just on your feet all day.

It was hard. But apart from that, I mean, the show itself, it was good. The show days were really a lot of fun. Being able to work with the hair and makeup crew. Designing your costumes, that was really fun for me. I love the hands-on experience of that.

I guess when it comes to the actual experience, there was a lot of highs and lows. I didn't really have the best feedback from the fan base, which was a lot to take in and deal with. And obviously, Dotun had to support me a lot through that. It was a lot. It was a lot on just my mental and emotional state. It sucks because I feel my experience was tainted to a certain point. Because I had to just tune out the outside noise. I'm trying to explain that in the best way without...

DOTUN: Talking about racism. CHARITY: It was just the fan baseDOTUN: Pretty straightforward.

CHARITY: Yeah. It was really hard. I think my perception on this show was not who I was or how people viewed me on the show. But even then, anyone who knows me would just see this girl is really hardworking and she's going to put her best foot forward. She wants to learn all these dance skills. She wants to improve her technique. She's trying to push herself out of her comfort zone. But the reality is I dealt with a lot of racism. Just trying to navigate that the best way that I could and then having to explain that to my dance partner was a lot.

I'm so sorry…That’s very upsetting. You were amazing on the show.

CHARITY: No. It's okay. Thank you.

Here at MunaLuchi, we are all about multicultural love and you both are the perfect example of two cultures (African American and Nigerian) coming together. Was this an easy union for you both? How have you navigated cultural differences together and what have you learned about each other’s backgrounds since filming?

DOTUN: There's definitely some differences. Cultural, in terms of Nigerian, but even just American, too. She's a southern gal. Her moving to LA was the first time leaving the South. An exposure to a major city in that way. I [was] born in Nigeria, raised in California, but might as well be Nigeria number two because I go home and my parents are there. We come to a union and we have these fundamental similarities that brought us together, and we try to explore the things that make us different. Therapy's been really helpful with that.

The big one is, again, obviously, having a Nigerian background, a lot of Nigerians know, it's a much more strict culture and not a lot of pats on the back. I see it come out for me in terms of I don't need any pats on the back. Almost never. Then I don't really need words of affirmation. But Charity does. That's hard for me to get at times because my expectations are already so high being a Nigerian person. I think that's probably the major way how the differences come out.

But in a funny way, it's also been similar. I remember meeting her family and being like, "They remind me of my family." Everybody is a character. Everybody in her family depicted my family almost in a parallel African southern universe. That's actually really helpful, which was totally unexpected. Did not see that coming.

Her dad and my dad, they’re both yappers. Now they both have someone to yap to. They call each other and yap each other’s ears off, and it's amazing. Our brothers and sisters are all stupid, goofy, and clown each other. So in a lot of ways, there's been a lot of similarities that were unexpected.

I think undoubtedly, that's always a risk. If you date outside of your culture, even if they're Black, but if you're still outside of the culture, that's another step now of the level of understanding that's required. But I think growing up in America helped me really balance it out. I didn't take on everything cultural, I didn't take on everything noncultural, and I have a balance. I think that part helps me relate to her.

CHARITY: Dotun covered a lot of it. I talked about his level of independence and how he is as a person. I'm kind of different but I think I pay a lot of that credit to my family and my upbringing. It's just in the south, family units, we do literally everything together like family dinners. I'm sure in your country as well. But he was like, "You go to the grocery store with your mom?" I'm like, "Yeah." My mom

and my sister. We make a whole day out of it. We just do everything together in the South. It's this big unit. Super close with my family. That has been something that he's seeing a lot.

I'm on the phone all the time with my mom, I'm on the phone all the time with my sister. We'll be on the phone literally for hours. We'll just go about our day and they're still on the phone. It's something he saw and was not really used to. But also, again, his independence. I think, for me, I'm a little different. I don't want to say codependent but I like to do things together and he's like, "I'm fine doing things on my own.” Which I'm sure is how he was raised to be independent, strongminded, strong-willed. Not to say that I'm not but it comes out a little different. That was the biggest thing I think I've seen and noticed.

But culturally, I would say the food. He has been feeding and eating, nothing ain't good. He cooks so good. Not just Nigerian food but in general. But his mom will come over. I remember she visited us in LA and she brought a spread. It was insane. I'm like, “This lady, I love her to infinity and beyond, truly."

DOTUN: I'm going to be going to Georgia in a couple of weeks. I've been there a couple times, once or twice already.

CHARITY: But you haven't had the food... we're about to have a full southern cookout, which I'm so excited about! You got to get on the grill.

DOTUN: That's another good one for cultural differences.

CHARITY: For Christmas, I was like, "I need to get you a grill."

DOTUN: I was like, "A grill for what? That's crazy."

CHARITY: Chicken on the grill. Exactly what I mean.

DOTUN: But for them, that's like a man. A man gets home and grills. There’s this whole culture, I'm like, "That's new to me."

CHARITY: I was like, "You're going to have the sandals, the hat." Come on. It is a whole thing.

DOTUN: I've never seen my dad on the grill. Not one time in my entire life.

CHARITY: Please. I was like, "Don't worry about it, David Lawson will get you right." But my dad is all about it. When he comes home with me in two weeks, he's going to experience the whole cookout. DOTUN: I'm ready. I'm locked and loaded.

Looking ahead to your wedding, do you think you’ll be incorporating any cultural elements into your wedding(s)?

CHARITY: We are. We're planning to have a Nigerian wedding and are hoping to have it in Nigeria. Then we're going to do an American traditional wedding and play influences to the South. So a Southernthemed kind of wedding just because of how I was raised. But his mom has been very hands-on, and I love her for it. Because she's helping me learn about everything and incorporate everything.

DOTUN: Like she said, we're trying to have two. It's going to be a big push but I think we can make it work. One of them in Nigeria, one of them somewhere here in the States. Undecided yet. But for sure, regardless of what happens, listen, I don't have a choice.

CHARITY: He doesn't really.

DOTUN: As it looks now, there's a good chance that I might be the first one in our family to get married. Unless my brother beats me there. We'll see. A good chance. I know my parents are gonna put their all into this already.

CHARITY: We'll have traditional garments and everything.

DOTUN: I mean, truly, my mom loves this lady so much. I know that she's just ready to get her ingrained into the culture as well. It's going to be a party. It's going to be a good thing one way or another. But I do need one wedding that is more intimate…

CHARITY: That's much smaller. Because it's going to be a big guest list in Nigeria.

You could have a nice destination wedding.

CHARITY: I really thought that, yeah.

DOTUN: It's just hard with so many people. That's tough. I do want to be mindful of other people as well. We're going to figure out the logistics on how that makes sense. But ideally, that's what we're thinking is to have one in Nigeria as well.

Do you have dates picked yet?

CHARITY: We've been aiming for fall 2025. That just makes the most sense. At some point, our parents had talked about pushing it up. But planning is planning and we know how that goes. I just want to not be stressed and I really want to just enjoy actually planning, which already is... we've even talked about certain things and it's so overwhelming. So I'm like, "If that's how it feels now in the early stages, I just don't know how that's going to be when we actually get to the nitty gritty." We're just trying to give ourselves ample time. I think fall 2025 is what we have said from the beginning. It's what the trajectory is aiming for.

DOTUN: I will add on to that. I must, because Charity is so sweet. But listen, here's the deal. The average person in a relationship, they date for three, four, or five years, and then they get married and that's normal. Because you go on a show, they expect you to get right off the rib. I ain't playing that. I'm going to do what's best for us. If that happens to be in three years in some crazy way, then that's just what it is. But we're going to do what's best for us no matter what. We're aiming for fall. If we have to take more time to make it right, we have no problem. We're going to do what's best for us no matter what people say.

The fans can wait.

CHARITY: Truly, they can. They will be all right.

I saw you were at the Bridal Fashion Week. Did you say “yes to the dress” yet?

CHARITY: I have not. But I will say, obviously, I'm a person who, if you know my style, I have two extremes. I'm very sleek and classic, traditional, and classy. Then I have the whole high fashion glitz and glam. I think I've decided on two separate looks... Obviously, I'm having two separate weddings. But in terms of looks, I'm going to have more than one dress.

I definitely think for the ceremony, it's going to be more sleek and simple. That way, my photos when I look back are just going to be timeless. Then, when the party time comes, we have the rhinestones and the sparkles and everything that’s glitz and glam will come out.

I've been able to narrow down the styles and the designers that I want to do my dresses, which is really exciting because my mood board was all over the place. It's so funny because that week really did help me. The ones I thought I was going to love, once you put them on, I was like, "Probably not." And the one that I thought I was going to hate, I put them on and I absolutely loved. It's always trial and error.

But fashion week, definitely was super fun to experience. I plan on having the actual dress fitting and everything in July-ish. It'll be my mom and all the girls in my family. Hopefully, at that time, we'll be able to say yes to the dress.

Can you reveal the brands that you're considering?

CHARITY: I can reveal one. I actually went to her show during Bridal Fashion Week. It's Ese Azenabor. Her dresses were amazing. I got to spend time with her after the show and I talked to her about everything. I set up an appointment with her for later in the summer to draft up a custom look. It's going to be everything.

What about your looks, Dotun? Are you going with any custom attire?

DOTUN: This whole fashion stuff is all pretty

new to me. I work from home. I don't wear suits. I don't care for them, really. Up until the last year where I've had to for ceremonies and all these appearances. So it's still new. I'm still learning how all this works. But now I got Garçon Couture in my pocket, I'm going to work with him. And he's already got the concepts mapped out. I don't have a team yet, but I'm excited and I trust him.

What about your traditional looks? Do you feel like you'll be repurposing any outfits from this shoot?

DOTUN: I might.

CHARITY: Listen, I'm the southern one. I really want to have so much fun with our looks. It's going to be Southern but traditional. I definitely want to play into the whole Southern Belle theme. We're just very extra in a way but still classy. And obviously, the looks... I was surprised by the shoot. That was the first time

Earrings: Earring Envy

Aria Top: Andrea Iyamah

Skirt: Andrea Iyamah

Hairpiece & bracelet: Ai & Eva

Jewelry @aiandeva

DOTUN

Tux: Garçon Couture, Triunfo De La Cruz Pin Stripe Blue Double Breasted Vest Pant set with the White Spread Lapel Shirt and the signature on the cuff

CHARITY

CHARITY

Custom Aso Oke Dress: Yves Elizabeth Autogele: Chygele Earrings: SimiGems By Simiraj

DOTUN

Custom House of Simiraj

I saw Garçon Couture's designs on Dotun and I was like, "This is crazy. This is crazy work in the best way because it was just so beautiful."

I have ideas now that I'm going to try to influence him a little bit, the vision that I see. But definitely probably repurpose some of them. The white dress with the baby blue and the hat, that was giving little Charleston vibes. I'm here to redo that probably for the wedding rehearsal dinner or a welcome dinner for when everyone gets in town. Something like that for sure.

DOTUN: I've been looking at some stuff so I have one in mind. I have a picture. I don't even know how to describe it. But the thing is there's so many ways to do Nigerian men's suits. They can look so clean and so sleek, very modern. I think I might go with something more modern. Not so traditional in terms of the whole Agbádá and everything. But something, you got to have the cane and all that stuff. Again, it's hard to describe, but it's just these really sleek cuts, really modern, but still long and still paying respect to the culture. That's where I'm heading towards. Really vibrant colors.

What about your wedding vendors? Will you be prioritizing Black-owned brands?

CHARITY: It's the wedding day. I'm sorry. But we ain't going to play around. Respectfully. It's just we have met so many amazing people in the past year alone. Obviously, so grateful for the opportunities that has led us to these people. Because otherwise, again, he is new to all this. I've never done a wedding or planned a wedding before. I'm also the first in my family that would be getting married because I have three other siblings. But the whole glam team, the six designers, will be all Black. We're really looking forward to that. Again, we have a list of people that we really want to, at some point, be able to reach out to and be like, "Yes, we want them for our big day." Super special.

Looking ahead, what does the future look like for you two? Are you staying in New York or have any exciting business ventures coming up?

DOTUN: I mean, we're taking it year by year. We'll see how we feel this year. Maybe we have big life moments or a baby or something that we want to change course then we go somewhere else. But for now, New York is good. Again, trying not to look too far into the future. But I can say that this year's still going to be crazy. We have a lot of things coming up.

CHARITY: Praise God.

DOTUN: It's all great. I'm extremely grateful. There's a lot of cool things coming up. I know she's working on a podcast. Potentially one we're going to do together.

My business which is integrative health, I really want to find a way to be able to offer that on a larger scale. Some people I feel need it. That's just my contribution to the world. She works in mental health. In a perfect world, we can combine both. So those are the ideas that we're sketching. Again, it's just been so crazy. Even with my regular job, I'm always playing catch up. So it's hard to put effort into these new bigger ventures when you want to do it right. But those are the things that we have planned. I'm hoping to get these into the works sometime this year.

CHARITY: I know a big question a lot of people ask me is am I going back to work? I don't plan on doing full-time in the office one-on-one client care, but I was working beforehand in mental health and I was working with children and families in trauma. Beforehand, I wanted to always do forensic interviewing, which is working with kids who come from traumatic situations and you have to do the whole clinical interviewing before they go into the next step which is counseling. I want to start doing that. I definitely think that'll provide me a little bit more flexibility in terms of just how busy we'll still be.

But it'll give me the opportunity to go back to doing what I loved and where my heart was at. That's on the plan. Dotun mentioned the podcast. We're just taking it, again, one step at a time. If we move out of New York, it'll probably be the South. The South or California. We're open to both. I always say California. I think he hears me talk about it way more than, honestly, the South.

I'm like, "I love California." I don't plan on going back to LA. But if we went to the outskirts, I'd be open for that. The weather's unbeatable over there. But then it’s also like, "Where can we buy a house at?" Definitely, the South. My family's there. His parents are looking into areas down there too.

CHARITY

Bikini Top and Bottom: Andrea Iyamah Shell Bib: The Ivy Showroom Earrings: Ai and Eva

DOTUN

Swimming trunks: Genese LegereNoire.geneselegere

What advice would you give to other engaged couples?

CHARITY: It's crazy because I always feel my advice is to take as much time to get to know each other but I just feel that's been our biggest thing because how we met each other was so fast. But even in general, quality time is something that's just so important. It's not just surface level. Take time to get to know each other, get into couple's counseling, and explore those things that are uncomfortable or that you aren't used to talking about. I think it's been really helpful for us to really understand and continue to strengthen our love for each other. I would just say quality time and spending as much time together as possible. Just finding the depths of who the person is that you are spending time and connecting with.

CHARITY Gold Earrings: Ai & Eva Jewelry Swimsuit: Noiré by Genese Legere

DOTUN

Swimming trunks: Genese LegereNoire.geneselegere

DOTUN: Well said. Partly along the same lines, really understanding who that person is. Understand what their true needs are and work towards that and check in with yourself too, if that's something you can deliver to them as well to make sure you guys are both on the same page. Don't rush anything. Don't listen to outside noise. Don't listen to too many opinions on the outside. Do what's going to be best for you and check in with yourself.

Also, do your best to wake up every morning and be grateful for whatever that person brings to the table for you. Every day is not going to be perfect. Some days, it's going to be tough. You're going to have tough conversations. When you wake up and go to bed, just meditate on what that person thinks and how much that person loves you, and then move forward with that feeling in mind.

CHARITY: And have fun.

DOTUN: And have fun.

CHARITY: Really, life is about having fun. You got to have that element.

DOTUN: Never settling and letting things get stale.

CHARITY: Keep the passion alive.

CLOSERCome

Let love begin again. When the whole world—and your entire life together—awaits you, set off on the bold adventure with your favorite person by your side.

ENGAGEMENTS

JESSICA + BRENIAN

CHINYERE + ISHMAEL

KRISTIE + NIFE

JESSICA + ALAIN

NATALIE + JAMES

VIEW THIS ENGAGEMENT SESSION ON PAGE 64 | PHOTOGRAPHED BY REEM PHOTOGRAPHY

Brenian Jessica+

THE SOCIETY OF THE FOUR ARTS, PALM BEACH, FL PHOTOGRAPHED BY REEM PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: September 26, 2024

WEDDING LOCATION: Miami, FL

OCCUPATIONS: Jessica is a Financial Banker; Brenian is a Wedding Photographer

HOW THEY MET: We met during COVID-19, a time when everyone was giving love a chance. It really went down in the DMs lol, however, there’s a back story on how I finally responded. During lockdown, I decided to give the dating apps a chance, and I so happened to come across his dating profile while swiping. Coincidence? I think more, orchestrated by God because what are the chances?!. It dawned on me that, my fiancé had been trying to get my attention for a while by sending me messages and responding to my IG stories, but I never bothered. Meeting someone through the internet was scary to me lol. Anyway, my friend convinced me to respond to his DM. We hit it off and here we are now, on the road to forever.

PROPOSAL STORY: Brenian planned a proposal that still takes my breath away to this day. He planned it all out with my makeup artist. I was under the impression that I was preparing to be a model for a promo photoshoot that my makeup artist was going to use for her upcoming bridal class. Everyone that day knew what was going on besides myself. While I was in the middle of taking photos after my second outfit change, they played our favorite song and I immediately thought of him not knowing this was all a surprise photoshoot proposal. The moment the photographer told me to look in his direction while directing me, to my surprise, my fiancé was awaiting my yes as he was on one knee behind me. We ultimately shared our proposal video on the internet and it went viral on YouTube and other social platforms.

FIRST DATE : Our first date was epic! We tackled an escape room together (survived, of course!), then grabbed some delicious food. The conversation flowed so naturally, so we hit the strip for a walk. It was the perfect way to get to know each other and the most unforgettable first date ever!

ENGAGEMENT SESSION THEME: We didn't have a specific theme for our engagement session, but it was all about capturing the essence of who we are and the love we share. We wanted photos that felt natural and authentic, a reflection of our everyday connection. We also made an outfit choice that complimented our wedding colors. Thinking about it, maybe "us" is the theme! We chose The Society of the Four Arts for our venue because it wasn’t the typical location and we wanted to stand out. It gave a whimsical atmosphere that ties well with our fairytale wedding. The photographer focused on capturing candid moments of us - laughing, talking, and holding hands. There was a moment I’ll never forget during our session that the photographer captured so beautifully. It was the moment my fiance was kissing my hand and I became emotional. I was reminded how God has been so faithful in pairing me with someone whose love has always felt so safe. Our session was all about celebrating our love for each other in a way that felt genuine and true to us.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE: We love exploring new places to eat and our new thing currently has been finding movies and shows to stream.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR? Truthfully, wedding planning hasn’t been too hectic. We’ve definitely had our share of moments but overall it’s been a great experience thus far. We’ve been planning together and he’s already in the wedding industry, so we have a cheat code for making the process a little more seamless.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST? Honestly, there's so much to look forward to! But if we had to pick one thing, it would be seeing the joy on the faces of our families. Our wedding day is a celebration of our love, but it's also about bringing our friends and families together. Seeing them there, sharing this special day with us fills our hearts with so much joy. We can't wait to feel that sense of love and community, knowing we're surrounded by God’s grace and blessings.

VENDORS

PHOTOGRAPHER: REEM Photography

VENUE: The Glass Venue

HAIR: Tiana Henry of Tresses In Vogue

MAKEUP: Tia Codrington of YSBeautyCo

ATTIRE: Voila Haute Couture

VIDEOGRAPHER: Morgan Scott Films

PLANNER: Raquel of J & K Events LLC

Ishmael Chinyere+

HOUSTON, TX MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS & THE LAURA HOTEL

PHOTOGRAPHED BY STANLO PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: June 22, 2024

WEDDING LOCATION: Cabo, Mexic

OCCUPATIONS: Ishmael is a Vice President of Media Company & Chinyere is a Family Medicine Physician

HOW THEY MET:

We met at a networking event that neither of us was originally supposed to be at. But destiny had other plans. He saw me at the registration desk from across the room, and came up to me with these words: “I’ve seen you before, so I don’t want to miss the opportunity again to tell you that you are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen.” The rest is history…

PROPOSAL STORY:

Ishmael told me his job gave him a free photo shoot with their photographer at the office so we can use it anytime. So he bought me a dress to wear for the shoot, and we show up to the "shoot" which is an art gallery building and all I see through the windows are photos of us on the wall! I was shocked and confused lol. We walked in and he took me around the room to see the art exhibit called “The Art of Love” featuring us.

Each photo signified a special moment in our relationship, starting with our first date courtside to the Rockets game. He had a saxophonist playing during this private tour. At the end of the tour, he asked me to be his wife… I said yes, and then he said, “Okay guys, you can come out”. To my astonishment, my whole family and close friends from out of town came from the back of the room in hiding! I broke down in the happiest tears ever!

WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU FOUND "THE ONE"?

I knew early on. After a month of his intentionality, there was no one else in the world who could light my heart like he did. We were inseparable. And my future didn't look complete without Ishmael in it.

FIRST DATE :

Ishmael took me to see the Rockets play courtside!

ENGAGEMENT SESSION THEME:

We wanted something elegant and classy, with a touch of uniqueness that fit our personality. We knew we wanted to capture the sunset, to signify that even when the sun goes down, our love will always shine bright, but didn’t expect the sunset photos to turn out so beautifully and enchanting.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE:

Travel the world & answer couple-themed question cards, lol.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR?

Enjoying the stages of planning. Excited. Stressed. Let’s do a court wedding, instead. Excited again. And now we can’t wait!

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST?

The moment Ishmael looks at me when he sees me walking down the aisle.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stanlo Photography

MAKEUP ARTIST: Denise Wedderburn

HAIR STYLIST: Chigozirim Wellington

PURPLE & RED DRESSES: Debbi Jacob

ROOFTOP LOCATION: The Laura Hotel

+Nife Kristie

THE OXBOW ESTATE IN CLAYTON, NC

PHOTOGRAPHED BY IN HIS IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: September 7th, 2024

WEDDING LOCATION: Adaumont Farm in Trinity, NC

OCCUPATIONS: Nife - IT Auditor | Kristie - Project Manager

HOW THEY MET: We met at a restaurant during our church’s young adults event on March 11, 2020. We both started volunteering at our church’s food bank during the pandemic and developed a lasting friendship. At the end of 2022, we started dating, and about two years later we got engaged in January 2024.

PROPOSAL STORY: The proposal happened during a surprise trip to Looking Glass Falls in Asheville, NC. Standing at the foot of the breathtaking waterfall with our photographer capturing the moment was indescribable.

FIRST DATE : We went to a Frank Sinatra tribute concert at a classy rooftop under the beautiful night skies in Houston. We followed this with a romantic dinner at one of Houston’s finest restaurants.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE:

We enjoy spontaneous adventures like visiting new restaurants, traveling, flying kites, etc. The goal is to continuously bring exciting experiences into our relationship.

ENGAGEMENT SESSION THEME:

Our engagement session was very elegant, clean, and centered around a white and gold aristocratic aesthetic. We wanted to hold the engagement session on an estate that offered multiple spaces to

shoot so we could have a variety of looks, both indoor and outdoor.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR?

Wedding planning has been great. We found and booked our venue during the first two weeks of our engagement, had fun at a few bridal open houses and expos, and enjoyed working with each of our amazing vendors and creating our wedding website. Planning a wedding in seven months is not easy, but the support of our families and a detailed wedding planning notebook have made this seamless.

TELL US WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST:

We are looking forward to enjoying the special pre-wedding moments with our bridal party, dancing together, and money spraying during the reception.

VENDORS

PHOTOGRAPHER: In His Image Photography

VENUE: The Oxbow Estate

Jessica+Alain

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOPFLASH PHOTOGRAPHY

WEST PALM BEACH, FL

WEDDING DATE: November 2024

WEDDING LOCATION: Cancun, Mexico

OCCUPATIONS: Jessica is a Speech Pathologist and Alain is a Chef

HOW THEY MET: We, in a way, serendipitously met on Instagram!

I'm a foodie at heart and one of my favorite shows at the time was "Chopped" on the Food Network. When a friend of mine posted that a Haitian Chef was competing on the show, I was super excited. So following his journey on social media was a no-brainer.

Our story didn't start there though. It pre-started when McAlex (a college friend of mine) called me on a video call to show me that he was at Vanessa's house (who is a childhood friend of mine)! As we chatted, he showed me Alain in the background and told him to say hi to me, to which Alain dismissively said "Hi". Meh. I told myself that this guy was a bit arrogant and brushed it off (Please note: He wasn't being arrogant, he was elbow-deep working on seasoning a salmon for an event they had coming up!).

Fast forward to a few months later, Alain posts a bag of ketchup chips in his stories on IG. Now, I'm from Canada and ketchup chips are a snack I adore so when I saw this, I just HAD to reply! I asked him how he liked them, and he told me they were alright. I felt

something was wrong with this man's palate right then and there. We exchanged a few words, but that was about it. (Please let the record show that I had absolutely NO interest in Alain romantically at the time).

Finally, in December of 2021, Alain was sending his well wishes to his followers and I happened to see it. I thought it was well written and wished him a prosperous new year not realizing that I would end up being the best part of his 2022!

A conversation sparked from there, but it was still very casual. In January of 2022, we decided to meet up (talk about a "blind date") and it was really nice. We saw we had a lot of things in common, and seemed to enjoy each other's company. We both weren't looking for anything serious so all guards were down at the time (at least for me). Alain began to court me and was checking off all the boxes...even the ones I didn't know I had. He wasn't intimidated by my requests, and my hesitancy on all fronts. He saw what he wanted and went after it. We were friends, praying partners, and

eventually became lovers. After 10 months of dating, I told him I was ready to be in a committed relationship.

Within less than a year, he put a ring on it, and here we are today getting ready to make one of the best decisions of our lives!

God truly has a sense of humor. He knew we both had "wants" and if you look on paper, we didn't meet each other's criteria. However, our "needs" matched up and God knew that! He truly orchestrated this union and we couldn't be happier to have Him at the center of it all.

Moral of the story: Love doesn't always come in how you imagined it would look. It can come in a different package, or in a different timeframe. The best thing you can do is open up your heart and trust that God's plans are higher than yours.

The journey to forever may not always be easy, but with you by my side honey, it will always be worth it.

PROPOSAL STORY: It was an entire production. I know that Jessica is very inquisitive, so I had to be very secretive, well at least for the most part. I contacted her sister and some of my close friends and got them involved in the process just to make sure that everything was perfect. I had managed to have both our immediate families and friends make the trip to South Florida. It was a journey I tell you: some traveled all the way from Haiti, Texas, Virginia, New Jersey, and beyond. As far as the location, I had booked the private dining room at the restaurant where we had our first date. The entire room was decorated with flowers, candles, and balloons. All guests were in black, Jessica and I wore green, and the decor matched our favorite colors.

WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU FOUND "THE ONE"?: I knew pretty early in the relationship that she was the one. Her morals and values matched mine to a T. And her unwavering support always made me feel that she got me. It is one thing for someone to say that they love you, but it is a whole different story when you can see it and feel it.

FIRST DATE : On our first date, we went out for brunch at Rivertail in Fort Lauderdale (which ended up being the location for the surprise engagement). Then, we went for a walk and ended up buying matching Crocs.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE: The number one thing that we love doing as a couple is traveling. As individuals, we loved doing it, and to be able to do it together is even better. We love discovering the world, the different cultures, and cuisines. If we could travel every month, we would.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR? As expected. I am in the industry, and I've always seen how stressful it can be for couples. But, in all honesty, now that I'm on that side of it, I really get a grasp of the stress level. Aside from that, I love being able to see both our visions being laid out and cannot wait to see them come to life.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ON THE WEDDING DAY? I am really looking forward to saying “I do” to the woman I love and having a great time with our families and closest friends while celebrating our love for one another with those we care the most about.

James Natalie+

MOUNT VERNON, BALTIMORE

PHOTOGRAPHED BY TRENE’ FORBES PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: June 16, 2024

WEDDING LOCATION: Swan Harbor Farm, Havre De Grace, Maryland

OCCUPATIONS: James Neely is a Cyber Security Analyst Natalie Karyl is a Fashion Designer/Stylist

HOW THEY MET:

Rather than a serendipitous encounter, we had arranged to meet at a specific hotel. I was in the lobby, and James, knowing I'd be there, found himself at the bar. The bartender, playing matchmaker, directed him to me, seated alone. When James approached, our eyes met, we shared a warm embrace and then spent hours engaged in captivating conversation over cocktails and light fare.

WHAT DID YOU DO ON YOUR FIRST DATE?

There wasn’t a strict itinerary in place when James took me away on a spontaneous outing to Washington DC. We indulged in a delightful brunch at a charming spot. He introduced me to Georgetown, a beautiful shopping district, so we decided to window shop and met a few couples. We stopped and engaged with them, playing couples trivia as though we were already one. Afterward, we stopped to eat at a picturesque Mexican eatery and enjoyed chatting. We ended up taking the long way home back to Baltimore and stayed together for the next 24 hours not wanting the date to ever end.

PROPOSAL STORY

James surprised me with a Christmas gift - a trip to Disney World for me and his son. While he initially planned to propose during a dinner with his son, fate had other ideas. It all unfolded perfectly amidst the hustle and bustle of the theme park. Caught up in the excitement of the day and moving from one ride to the next, I didn't notice James dropping to one knee until the entire park erupted in cheers. Turning around, I saw him there, holding out a ring we had admired in a magazine during one of our flights. He asked me to be his wife, and amidst screams of joy, I said yes, enveloping him in hugs and kisses amid the enchanting surroundings. It was a moment I'll cherish forever, especially when his son joined us, embracing me warmly and welcoming me into our new family.

ENGAGEMENT SESSION THEME:

We wanted our engagement session in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, to be fun and vibrant. I am a fashion designer of Doll House Boutique and a stylist so I wanted to incorporate different looks into our session.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE?

While staying at our LA residence we enjoy leisurely shopping and dining at the farmers market, enjoying a beach day in Santa Monica, and cooking together at home.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR?

What began as a modest family home affair has blossomed into a charming celebration at a stunning farmhouse by the Chesapeake Bay, complete with all the trimmings that perfectly reflect our style and vision. There have been twists and turns but the best professionals are navigating us through so I’m nervous and excited.

TELL US WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ON THE WEDDING DAY.

On our wedding day, aside from the paramount importance of beginning our blessed union, especially with James's son “little James,” we are eagerly anticipating an intimate family reunion. Witnessing the special moment of the flower girls will be particularly meaningful for me as I cherish my nonbiological daughters so much, symbolizing the depth of our love. Watching our family and friends dancing, embracing each other, all gathered in a beautiful setting, united by the simple yet profound reason of love.

VENDORS

PHOTOGRAPHER: Trene’ Forbes Photography

HAIR: Rachel Thompson of Celebuton Hair

ATTIRE: Doll House Boutique by Natalie Karyl

Wedding Ideas

PHOTOGRAPHED

BY

DONIA WEDDING ARTS

This editorial was inspired by the one-of-a-kind hues of a sunset in the Moroccan desert. The tranquil and picturesque scenery of the Agafay Desert provided the perfect setting for a design that complimented the natural tones of the scene while also featuring bursts of citrus colors from the ceremony florals set in the heart of the serene landscape to the tablescape set up poolside amidst the desert camp.

The ceremony was designed with a floor-based arch and weaving aisle featuring rich, lush florals with an organic style enhancing the already stunning backdrop of rolling dunes as far as the eye could see. The tablescape incorporated a combination of hearty florals and an abundance of lanterns that provided the most romantic ambiance as the sun began to set on the horizon and candlelight dominated the space. The bride wore a chic whimsical gown by Anna Kara and the groom wore a tan linen suit by Brigdens, a relaxed yet understated look perfect for an intimate elopement.

To weave some elements of the beauty of Morocco into this affair, the couple enjoyed a portrait session with a desert camel and the perfect ending to the night dancing to a traditional dakka al marrakchia band.

Donia Motaal of Donia Wedding Arts

-

PHOTOGRAPHER: Donia Wedding Arts MAIN COUPLE: Abi & Michael VENUE: Agafay Luxury Camp HOST: AMV Retreats WEDDING PLANNING,

STYLING & DESIGN: AMV Weddings FLORAL DESIGN: The Bloom Room RENTALS: Maison Klarabelle | Chabi Chic Morocco | Yacout Traiteur

LINENS: Nuage Designs STATIONERY: Laura Elizabeth Patrick HAIR & MAKEUP: Madeline Eleanor DRESS LOOK 1: OUMA HAIR ACCESSORIES & EARRINGS LOOK 1: Jonida Ripani DRESS LOOK 2: Anna Kara EARRINGS LOOK 2: Shop Moss VEIL: Botias Accessories GROOM’S ATTIRE: Brigdens RING BOXES: The Styling Reserve CREATIVE TEAM

Wedding Ideas

"In the heart of Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a love story unfolded against the enchanting backdrop of the Tea House, meticulously designed by Amberly Odom of Wrennwood Design. This editorial unveils the magical celebration that embraced vibrant hues of turquoise, accompanied by accents of pinks, peach, and yellows, weaving an intimate tale that transitioned from the Tea House to the timeless elegance of Villa Vizcaya." - The Hulls

PHOTOGRAPHED BY THE HULLS

PLANNING: Amberly Odom of Wrennwood Design

The Hulls

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

DESIGN: Mibellarosa

Paper Co

Nuage Linens CAKE: Cake Envy and Bakes by Parisa MENSWEAR: The Modern Gent

Tom Ford | Christian Louboutin

GOWN: Made Bride by Antonea

Vivant Rentals

Wedding Ideas

I n a harmonious blend of soulful melodies, timeless elegance, and unparalleled luxury, The Ritz-Carlton in Toronto played host to a styled shoot that transports viewers back to an era where music was pure magic and love was a melody.

Named "Rhythm and Romance: A Tribute to Motown Elegance," the event planned and designed by Danielle Andrews, of The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada, is an enchanting homage to the iconic Motown era, where the air is filled with the electrifying tunes that shaped a generation.

Guests were greeted by a decorated baby grand piano and the sensational sounds of BluSoul, a live Motown band that breathes life into classics from The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and more.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROSETTA LI WEDDINGS

Text by Linda Wallentine

CREATIVE TEAM

PHOTOGRAPHER: Rosetta Li Weddings PLANNER: Danielle Andrews, The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada DESIGNER: Danielle, WPIC Inc. DAY-OF COORDINATOR: Joy Jones Lewis, Roxy Luxury Weddings DAY-OF COORDINATOR: Lea Vainer, Impeccable Moments DAY-OF COORDINATOR: Rosemarie Whitley VENUE: The Ritz-Carlton Toronto FLOWERS & DÉCOR: Infinitude Designs, Fleur Weddings ENTERTAINMENT: Live Motown Band – BluSoul STATIONERY: Royal Stationery Design OFFICIANT: The Hitch Doctor, for My Wedding Officiant DRESSES: Rent the Couture SHOES: Bella Belle TUXEDO: Andrew’s Formals LINENS: The Linen Closet TABLETOP RENTALS: Nayos Event Rentals FURNITURE RENTALS: Detailz Couture CAKE: Sweet and Shy Cakes WOMEN'S HAIR & MAKEUP: Michele Rose Beauty MEN’S HAIR: Tito’s Fades MODELS: Alexandra Mole and Nick Tito BRIDESMAIDS: Cassandra, Myra, and Sierra Sunkel GROOMSMEN: Brandon, Corey, Jason, and Marcus Tito VIDEO: Beau Films

Wedding Ideas

PHOTOGRAPHED

BY

KINGSLEY JAMES STUDIOS

Nestled amidst the picturesque landscapes of Florida, Barrington Hill Farm beckons with an enchanting allure, seamlessly blending sophistication, rustic charm, and verdant beauty. This idyllic farmhouse offers a breathtaking panorama, inviting guests to immerse themselves in nature's splendor with lush green fields and captivating florals. Characterized by ethereal green and rich gold hues, the regal theme casts a spell of enchantment, weaving a tapestry of magic throughout the celebration. Every detail, from the exquisite table runners in rich grass green to the rustic candle holders and the soft pink roses, contributed to the majestic atmosphere, seamlessly blending tradition with contemporary flair. The bridal table adorned with an abundance of stunning flowers, lush ferns, and flickering candles exuded an air of grandeur and romance.

The crowning jewel of the affair was the majestic cake—a towering masterpiece adorned with intricate gold flowers, harmonizing with the natural splendor of the surroundings. The radiant bride was a vision of timeless beauty and grace in her regal gown, exquisite makeup, and elegant headpiece. Inspired by her luminous presence, each photograph was crafted with passion and dedication, capturing the essence of the couple's love and the ethereal beauty of the moment. With every click of the shutter, I sought to immortalize memories that would be treasured for a lifetime, ensuring that the magic of this enchanting celebration lives on forever in timeless imagery. - Kingsley James Studios (Wedding Photographer)

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER: Kingsley James Studios CREATIVE DIRECTION + STYLING: Terrie Images VENUE: Barrington Hill Weddings VIDEOGRAPHY: Far Reach Studios

FILM LAB: Rewind Film Lab CUT ROSES: David Austin Wedding Roses MAKEUP: Aravany Fajardo HAIR: Hair Inspired by Ciarra GOWNS + BRIDAL WEAR: Lillie Mae Collection

FLORAL DESIGNER: Faiella Creations TABLETOP RENTALS + LOUIS CHAIRS: Oak and Ash Events CHAIR RENTALS: Table for Ten CAKE: SugarDreams LINEN: Nuage Designs Inc. ARTISAN CANDLES: Lavrenti Cocktail TABLES: Any Event Linen & Chair Rental BEHIND THE SCENES CONTENT: Piper Cordeiro EVENT SETUP ASSISTANCE: Yasmine Colón-Maldonado SHAVED ICE VENDOR: Zechi's Shaved Ice Shack LLC. GROOM ATTIRE: Gentleman’s Guru Men’s Wearhouse MODELS: Alizey & Ashley

CREATIVE TEAM

Wedding Ideas

PHOTOGRAPHED

BY

REBECCA CASTONGUAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Set amidst the historic beauty of Winbrooke, nestled in the Berkshire hills of Tyringham, Massachusetts, this “Wonderland at Winbrooke" editorial found its canvas in a mansion once owned by the renowned New York socialite, Brooke Astor. The luxurious backdrop provided the perfect setting to breathe life into our reimagined tale.

Our Alice, led by model Amanda-Kay Prather features a short light blue wedding midi dress by Dani Simone as she falls down the rabbit hole into a dreamland of wedding wonder. We see the transition of the white rabbit take form in various Dani Simone wedding gowns, where every gown showcases the unique beauty of a different model.

Our main bride led by June Ramadhan, also sports Elijah - a live white angora rabbit as part of her wedding ensemble along with long black opera gloves and an Ivorie and Blu ring to enhance the drama of her character. The floral arrangements by The Rose Thief seamlessly complemented our color scheme, while jewelry pieces designed and crafted by White Sands Bridal and others curated by Ivorie and Blu added layers of depth to our story. From the whimsical invitation suite by Max and Maiden Ink to the intricate details of the tablescape and drink me note patron bottle favors made by Calligrapher, Amy Ruzzo, every element was crafted with care and intention.

This editorial was about more than just showcasing beautiful gowns and accessories; it was about challenging beauty standards and redefining what luxury means to encompass the richness of our differences. In our world, everyone has a place, and each voice is essential to the telling of our unique story. Through compassion and appreciation for our differences, we will discover the true wonderland. - Rebecca Castonguay (Creative Director & Photographer)

CREATIVE DIRECTOR & PHOTOGRAPHY: Rebecca Castonguay Photography EVENT DESIGN & PLANNING: Taylored & Thyme RENTALS: Mahaiwe Tent VENUE: Winbrooke

FLORAL DESIGN: The Rose Thief VIDEOGRAPHY: Citrine Wedding MAKEUP ARTISTS: Christine Couture Cormier Deanna Elizabeth Makeup | Lindsey Trop Morin HAIR

STYLING: Jessicah Mclaughlin Beauty Beauty Locale Rubecca Battaini | Abbie Wellspeak of The Beauty Studio WEDDING GOWNS AND BRIDAL ROBES: Dani Simone Couture VEILS: Dhibi Couture ACCESSORIES AND JEWELRY: White Sands Bridal | Ivorie and Blu CALLIGRAPHY: Hand Lettered by Amy STATIONERY: Max and Maiden Ink LIVE PAINTER: IzzyDoesArt CAKE ARTIST: Mic’s Cakes & Bakes FOOD: Cello in Lenox ELIJAH THE ANGORA RABBIT: Grace Morse MODELS: Abarar Saif | Isabel Penales June Ramadhan | Christina Wiggins | Midori Flores Amanda-Kay Prather| Emily Grondine Kellsey Forest Cariça Vil | Saadah Aminah Mitchell Rabold Tommy Cummings | Tyler D’Ambrosio

CREATIVE TEAM

WEDDINGS

108 TRICIA + SIWATU 112 K’NITA + JUAN 116 STEPHANIE + OLU

120 RACHEL + GERALD

JODI-ANN + OBINNA

EVYNN + PATRICK

UCHENNA + ZITE

LOURDIA + JEAN

VIEW THIS WEDDING ON PAGE 137 | PHOTOGRAPHED BY FOCAL MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY

TRICIA + SIWATU

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO

MAY 2, 2024

PHOTOGRAPHED BY REEM PHOTOGRAPHY

Text by Linda Wallentine

Tricia McDermott had sworn off marriage. After losing her husband, father, and grandfather all in 5 months in 1 year, she decided to take a break from dating. For the next decade, she focused on rebuilding her life and told all of her friends that she would never marry again. But then came Siwatu Spikes...

Siwatu came across Tricia’s dating profile on Facebook where she wrote she was “sassy and sophisticated.” He was intrigued and swiped first. Tricia followed suit – it was a match! However, it was a week before Tricia’s 50th birthday party, and Siwatu didn’t get an invite.

He recalls, “We had our first date, and then Tricia made me wait 2 weeks for the next date.” But the wait was worth it when Tricia invited him to her friend's wedding in Mexico. Siwatu said YES to a second date in Mexico, and on November 12th, he asked her to go steady.

Within a month of dating, Tricia couldn’t help but smile when her friends asked if she planned on getting married

again, and she replied immediately: "If he asked me today, I would say 'yes'!“ In less than 3 months, she told Siwatu she loved him. To Tricia’s surprise, she’d found love again. It was only a matter of time before Siwatu would propose.

During a trip to Hawaii, they “by chance” walked into a jewelry shop and picked out a ring. They left with Tricia’s only instructions being that she wanted the proposal to be ‘romantic’ and that she was wearing something ‘pretty.’ Siwatu ultimately proposed (to Tricia’s horror and delight) while she was wearing a white bathrobe on their hotel balcony at sunset. She said “Yes!” without hesitation –bathrobe and all!

The pair tied the knot in an “ethereal luxury” themed wedding at the Nobu Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. With their friends and family surrounding them and loved ones looking down from above, Tricia shares, “There's no doubt that our hearts and souls knew each other and were meant to find each other later in life guided by these angels.”

wedding highlights

Favorite item on the menu: Everything, but the miso cod and lamb dishes were mouthwatering!

Bridesmaids/groomsmen gifts: Bridesmaids received Hermes earrings, robes, slippers, and a necklace; Groomsmen were gifted a Gucci money clip, initialed cufflinks, and lapel pins. First dance song: "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran.

Reflections: "After losing my husband, father, and grandfather in 5 months in 1 year, I believe Siwatu was sent by them (each of them my guardian angel). I don't want to arrogantly assume the same, but when I think that his mom, Gail (who also passed away), was also a lawyer as I am, and my dad was an architect, which Siwatu studied in the early days...there's no doubt that our hearts and souls knew each other and were meant to find each other later in life guided by these angels."

K’NITA +JUAN

ROCK HILL, SC

APRIL 27TH, 2024

PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL COFIE PHOTOGRAPHY

OCCUPATIONS: JUAN IS A SOFTWARE ENGINEER AND K'NITA IS A SR HR GENERALIST

Dearest Gentle Reader,

K’nita and Juan transported themselves and their beloved guests into the Regency era for their enchanting Bridgerton-inspired wedding in Rock Hill, South Carolina!

When K’nita and Juan swiped right on each other, they didn’t yet know the love and connection that would bloom between them.

After getting K’nita’s father’s blessing, Juan planned a sweet proposal for Thanksgiving day. K’nita shares, “My dad told us that he wanted to take a picture of us, and while we were posing for the picture, he told Juan to fix my shoe. When I looked down, he was on one knee, holding the ring box.”

K’nita and Juan’s love of Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton inspired a timeless, romantic, and elegant wedding style, blending regencystyled details and modern sophistication into an enchanting celebration. Guests were in awe of the many nods to the series. Highlights included a musical quartet with

period-appropriate pieces, countless lush dusty pink and blue florals, and signature drinks wittily named after characters from the show. Guests were also impressed by their wedding cake, which was surrounded by a floral meadow, adding to the fairytale-like atmosphere.

Perfectly coordinated to feel like a ballroom scene from the show, K’nita and Juan’s best memory from their wedding day was their magical first dance! First, their wedding party joined them on the dance floor, then as the song progressed, they exited the floor leaving only the newly wedded couple to dance among “clouds” and enjoy their special moment.

“Juan and Knita's wedding was a seamless fusion of past and present, whisking guests away to a bygone era of royalty and romance while enveloping them in the joy of a modern-day celebration.” - Miyoshi Greene (Lavish Impressions)

best memories

"My best memory is our first dance. Our wedding theme was Bridgerton and we wanted our first dance to feel like a ballroom scene on the show. Our bridesmaids and groomsmen started on the dance floor with us and eventually faded away leaving me and the groom to finish our dance. We had the “dancing on clouds” effects to make the dance even more special."

vendors

wedding highlights

Gifts for bridesmaids and groomsmen: I paid for my bridesmaid’s hair and makeup and provided them with an initialed gift bag that included their robe for hair and makeup, a Bridgerton-themed candle, hand sanitizer, and perfume. Groomsmen received custom bowties for the wedding day.

Gifts for one another: We both brought each other jewelry.

Bride: I bought the groom a gold necklace

Groom: I bought the bride earrings with her birthstone

Ceremony entrance song: “Put it on Me” by Ja Rule ft. Lil Mo

First Dance Song: “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

STEPHANIE + OLU

ROCKLEIGH, NEW JERSEY

JULY 3RD, 2023

PHOTOGRAPHED BY STANLO PHOTOGRAPHY

OCCUPATIONS: STEPHANIE IS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL AND AN ENTREPRENEUR, OLU IS A CHIROPRACTIC DOCTOR

Text by Marie D. Smith

Stephanie and Olu’s glamorous summer garden wedding featured incredible entertainers and nods to their cultures.

When the bride and groom first met in high school 10 years before they reconnected, no one could have even dreamed of the amazing love story that these two were about to embark on. With Stephanie trying to catch some much-needed teen beauty sleep in class, studious Olu came to her rescue after she asked him to take notes for her. This was the first chapter of their love story.

Subsequently, their story took an unexpected turn one night with what Stephanie thought was an emergency at an event space she owns. Little did she know, Olu was planning the coolest surprise proposal with the help of Stephanie’s close friend. Once the two arrived, what seemed like a frantic situation evolved into one of the most romantic nights of their lives with the couple's favorite love song serenading them inside to be surrounded virtually by friends and family as Olu popped the question.

The ultimate collaboration for their glam wedding day came with the bride’s team at Voltaire Luxe Co. Weddings & Events and Weddings by Natasha. Guests were treated to a lavish celebration of two cultures and spectacular entertainment. Walking into the sun-filled outdoor ceremony, family and friends arrived to see opulent florals spiraling down the massive stone columns. Echoing the statement-making floral display the bride brought her own bold look wearing a custom gown that wowed her guests.

More photos from their garden ceremony at The Rockleigh in New Jersey are waiting below!

wedding highlights

What gifts did you give to your bridesmaids and groomsmen: The bridesmaids were gifted with wedding day makeup and an acrylic box full of goodies such as jewelry for the wedding day, Jo Malone perfume, Mortgage Before Marriage book by Alex Edwards, and much more. The Matron of Honors received the same with a designer watch. The groomsmen received a box full of goodies such as DIOR Sauvage cologne, a toiletry bag with their name on it, custom cufflinks, a money clip, a tie clip with their initials engraved, and much more.

Table Numbers: Instead of table numbers we used cities, towns, and countries that are special to us and our families to assign guests their table numbers. In finding their seats guests were guided with "Where in the World are you sitting?”. For example, table names were Brighton "The town where Stephanie and Olu met", Les Cayes "The town in Haiti where Stephanie's family is from" and Brockton, MA "Where the Buraimoh family church is located." This gave the guests an opportunity to learn more about us.

Gifts for one another: Olu gave me my first pair of Giuseppe Zanotti heels. I gifted Olu with a brand new Macbook laptop and a set of cufflinks with photos of his late mother.

Ceremony entrance song: "This is Why I Love You" by Major First dance song: "In My Arms" by Brian Nhira and “Mesi” by Harmonik

vendors

WEDDING PLANNER & DESIGNER: Voltaire Luxe Co.

Weddings & Events

FLORIST: Wedded Events

WEDDING COORDINATOR: Weddings by Natasha

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stanlo Photography

VIDEOGRAPHER: Together Forever Films

BRIDE’S MAKEUP: Beauty By Bless

BRIDAL PARTY MAKEUP: JDMXCV Bridal Makeup Artist

STATIONERY & ACRYLIC DESIGNS: Mel Andrade Design

GROOM’S TUXEDO: Suit Supply

BRIDE’S SHOES: Jimmy Choo

MONOGRAM/LOGO DESIGNER: The Sofenomenal Agency Group

BRIDAL PARTY HAIR: Tyra Bridal Glam

WEDDING DJ/MC: Deejay Mot

CIGAR BAR: The Cigar Host

FURNITURE RENTALS: Glam Party Rentals

FLOOR WRAP: Go to Shout

LIVE PAINTER: J Howard Studios

AERIAL DANCERS: Aerial Acrobat Entertainment

LED ROBOT ENTERTAINMENT: Magic Moments Productions

VENUE: The Rockleigh

CAKE: A Little Cake

GROOM, GROOMSMEN & BEST MEN BARBER: Joniel Barber

RACHEL +GERALD

ST. AUGUSTINE,

JULY 15, 2023

FLORIDA

PHOTOGRAPHED BY STANLO PHOTOGRAPHY

Text by Lily Taylor

Rachel and Gerald’s journey began when they were 10 years old. Both being a part of their city’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, they often saw each other at various events. Gerald shares, “Later, we found out that we both thought the other was cute, but that was down the line.”

Despite seeing each other often through their younger years, they never exchanged numbers or spoke at length. As fate would have it, when Rachel and Gerald were both college-age, they ran into each other at a club in Jacksonville. They chatted for a while and exchanged numbers, however, this was before cell phones were commonly used and somehow Gerald lost the napkin Rachel wrote her phone number on.

Twenty years later, in the age of social media, Rachel and Gerald became friends on Facebook and reconnected. Once they began chatting, their friendship bloomed and after thirty days of talking and going on their first date, they agreed on a wedding date.

Gerald shares, “A whole lot of things could have happened within that time but as fate would have it, we were both single, had never been married, and did not

have any children. Rachel and I arranged to see each other and joked that we still had to like each other and fall in love first, but we had a wedding date. Rachel was so excited; I was too…”.

Two years later, Gerald officially proposed to Rachel at the same restaurant as their first date. Gerald recalls, “I can remember telling Rachel in the beginning "I love a good fairytale." Little did we know we were going to embark on a magical fairytale of our own.”

Their wedding was a seamless blend of culture, tradition, and luxury. To honor their ancestors and heritage, they included the tying of the knot, tasting of the elements, and pouring of libation ceremonies. During the reception entrance, African drummers drummed powerfully as the wedding party and newlyweds entered.

Rachel and Gerald chose their wedding color palette based on their sorority and fraternity’s colors, pink and cream, which were incorporated throughout the abundance of lush florals. Rachel shares, “The florals were the focal point of our overall style for our wedding. Every space felt as if it was in full bloom because it was!”

MUNA network

The MunaNetwork (for brides) is our private bridal community We bring together historically underserved brides looking to share wedding planning and lifestyle ideas, receive support, and build new friendships with like-minded individuals who understand the joys and challenges of planning a wedding Inside, you'll find an engaging and collaborative environment that feels safe and fosters creativity

Once you become a member, you can expect:

✨ To find peers with similar interests so you can navigate your challenges together

✨ Daily and weekly inspiration

✨ Exclusive content including insider tips, expert advice, and inspiration

✨ Perks and rewards: Discounts on Muna Events, exclusive giveaways and promotions

✨ Inspiration for days

✨ Virtual and IRL Meetups

There isn't a more important time to find common ground with people who get you. We ultimately created this group to be your roadmap to the wedding of your dreams. See you inside!

JODI-ANN + OBINNA

ATLANTA, GA

APRIL 20, 2024

PHOTOGRAPHED BY REEM PHOTOGRAPHY

OCCUPATIONS: JODI-ANN IS A GYM OWNER/IFBB PRO ATHLETE AND OBINNA IS A PHYSICIAN

Text by Linda Wallentine

Obi first laid eyes on the beautiful Jodi Riley in her gym, BBL Fitness. At the time, Obi was an “economically challenged” medical student in the middle of his journey to become a doctor. Jodi was running her gym and competing semi-pro in the bikini bodybuilding amateur division.

Over time, BBL Fitness became Obi’s favorite place… and Jodi was a major reason. Compelled to walk up to her one day, Obi said, “I love what you do for people. You really change lives. It is so much more than just the aesthetic appearance. It’s the health benefits, both physical and mental, as well as the confidence you instill in people. I would not have a job if people listened to you.”

Jodi smiled, shouted a few more exercises to her group, and added his number to her phone. She invited him to her upcoming bikini bodybuilding competition, which she won, and Obi took her out to dinner afterward to celebrate. They haven’t looked back since!

Fast forward to May 2nd, 2022, on the eve of Jodi’s birthday, Obi surprised her with her dream proposal. After brunch at Little Hen in Miami and a “Happy Birthday” serenade by a violinist, they drove back to Jodi’s house.

Opening the door to her home, Jodi froze in shock: “My heart was racing… The lights were dim, rose petals everywhere, photos of Obi and I hanging from balloons, and soft music playing. As I looked out into the foyer hall, there stood my now fiancé, holding our daughter with a sign that said, ‘Will you marry daddy’.”

Through happy tears, Jodi thanked God for all his blessings, and said yes! The couple celebrated their love in a beautiful wedding at the Southern Exchange Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia. They honored their Igbo Nigerian culture by incorporating a breaking of the kola nut ceremony, changing into their Nigerian traditional attire for their reception, and money spraying throughout the night as blessings.

wedding highlights

Gifts for one another: We shower each other with gifts constantly so we decided to gift the most important people in our lives, our mothers. They each got a beautiful diamond ring. Ceremony entrance song: Parents - “From This Moment” by Shania Twain | Groom - “I Do” by Rotimi | Bride - “Here and Now” by Luther Vandross First dance song: “Endless Love” by Luther Vandross

vendors

WEDDING PLANNING AND DESIGN: Tica Rose Events

PHOTOGRAPHER: REEM Photography

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Bricks Group Media Films FLORAL DESIGNER: Akeem

Clayton RENTALS: L.P.R. Design Group

FLOORING/BRANDING: Wrap City Vinyl CAKE: Chef Kristal Bryant of K&J’s Elegant Pastries MUSICIAN: Aijee Evans GLAM TEAM: B

For Beaute. Co. & GLAM by Maame CUSTOM ROBES: VTABi BRIDESMAID DRESSES: Rashawn Rose GROOM’S ATTIRE: Eaden Myles BRIDE’S DRESS: Aibina Dyla

EVYN + PATRICK

HOUSTON, TX

APRIL 5TH, 2024

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAO PHOTOGRAPHY

OCCUPATIONS: EVYN IS IN FINTECH AND PATRICK IS IN ENGINEERING

Text by Linda Wallentine

Evyn and Patrick exchanged vows in an elevated and classic wedding at the Peach Orchard Venue in Spring, Texas.

The couple, who first met through mutual friends in college, invited as many loved ones as possible to support them on their special day. Looking back on their journey to ”I do,” two of their most important family members, their moms, played a major role in their proposal story.

Patrick brought Evyn and their moms to his last Marine Corps Birthday Ball before leaving the service. Ahead of the ball, he told Evyn they’d go to a small get-together in another room. Evyn had no idea Patrick had purchased the entire suite just for them and coordinated decorations with her mother. With their moms beside them, Patrick proposed, and Evyn excitedly said yes!

On their wedding day, the couple embraced timeless styles with Patrick wearing a cream double-breasted jacket with a shawl lapel, black pants, and gold accents. Evyn slipped into an off-the-shoulder champagne, lace mermaid-style gown by Galia Lahav, that perfectly complimented their elegant white and soft pink florals.

Their best advice to other engaged couples planning their weddings is to “make it a priority to enjoy your day and take advantage of all the short moments you have with your future spouse – the day goes by quickly!

Groomsmen/Bridesmaids gifts: Cologne, multi-tools; Loungewear, bracelet, earrings, day-of beauty kit

Gifts for one another: Evyn received Cartier sunglasses and Patrick was gifted shoes and a watch

Ceremony entrance song: ”I Do” by Jeezy

First dance song: “Thank God I Found You” by Mariah Carey, Joe, Nas

WEDDING HIGHLIGHTS

vendors

TUXEDO:

VIDEOGRAPHY: Studio Peel Wedding Films

PHOTOGRAPHY: JAO Photography

TAILOR: Laura’s Couture & Alterations

COORDINATOR: Tammy’s Table

VENUE: The Peach Orchard

MUA: Thai Williams

HAIR: The World Wide Whitney

FLORIST: Chelsey J. Blooms

Inheritance By J

UCHENNA + ZITE

THE ADDISON PARK (NJ)

MARCH 23, 2024

PHOTOGRAPHED BY HAK WEDDINGS

Text by Marie D. Smith

Uchenna and Zite’s transatlantic romance began after the two started messaging each other on the online game Runescape. As the two grew closer it was time to take the next step and have their first date. In 2018, Zite hopped on a plane from London to Philly where they shared their first date at an Italian restaurant.

Over time and after lots of trips across the pond from the UK to the US, and back again, it was time for Zite to give Uchenna the prettiest garden proposal. Following a weekend of pampering including a trip to the Bronx Zoo, a couple's massage, and a delicious lunch, they stopped at the Bronx Botanical Gardens.

“While admiring the fountain lights in the center, [Zite] dropped down on one knee and promised to forever love and take care of me,” Uchenna recalls blissfully.

The couple made it official and said their “I do’s” in a royal white wedding at The Addison Park in New Jersey. Since the wedding had a royal theme, Uchenna decided that her best choice would be to go custom and get her wedding day look made by luxury bridal designer Jean-Ralph Thurin.

The bride and groom’s ceremony and reception were filled with international guests from Europe, Nigeria, and America. Traveling from near and far, they were treated to beautiful details because of the couple’s commitment to going the extra mile.

Uchenna shares, “Remember, the day is all about you but these people literally hopped on a plane to celebrate you! So giving an extra 'oomph' to the wedding decor and vibe is absolutely the right thing to do and is justified!”

Best advice: "The advice I would give is if you can afford the vendor who you would love but know it is not a necessity, get it. So many people will try to deter you from booking that extra musician for your ceremony or the flower wall for a photo booth, but at the end of the wedding day, your guests will appreciate it so much and it will make it totally worth the extra money. Remember, the day is all about you but these people literally hopped on a plane to celebrate you! So giving an extra 'oomph' to the wedding decor and vibe is absolutely the right thing to do and is justified!"

vendors

WEDDING VENUE AND CATERER: The Addison Park

BRIDES DRESS: Jean- Ralph Thurin

BRIDE/BRIDESMAID ROBE: Brideandmaids Factory

BRIDESMAID DRESSES: Ibilola Ogundipe

GROOM’S SUIT: Henry Couture Paris

BRIDE'S RECEPTION DRESS: MAYEŃ Couture

BRIDE’S HAIR: Yana Stylez LLC

BRIDE'S MAKEUP: Pink Crush Beauty

PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY: HAK Weddings

RECEPTION MUSICIAN: Sweet Harmony

WEDDING COORDINATOR: Nimma Ovwori Weddings

WEDDING CAKE: Alfonso's Pastry Shoppe

DJ: DJ Kenz

FLORIST: HePortal

DECORATOR: MamaTeEvents

MC: Master Zeji

FLOOR WRAP: TrustJ Events LLC

STAGE: Prestige Luxury Rentals LLC

PHOTOBOOTH: Jchavez Photobooth

LIMO: Santos VIP Limousine

SECURITY: SPIE

wedding highlights

Bridesmaids gifts: I gave my bridesmaids a bunch of gifts (i.e custom champagne flutes and accessories for the wedding day) when we first asked them to be part of the bridal party but on the wedding day, I gave them a bunch of snacks, a robe, and a shot of liquor to get them ready for the day!

Ceremony entrance song: “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel

First dance song: “For My Hand” by Burna Boy & Ed Sheeran

LOURDIA + JEAN

TAMPA, FLORIDA

FEBRUARY 24, 2024

PHOTOGRAPHED BY FOCAL MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Text by Linda Wallentine

From the beginning, Lourdia Jean and Jean Pierre-Louis’s love story was divine intervention.

During their first meeting at their shared Haitian Church in Tallahassee, Florida, Lourdia recalls, “I was new to town, so after services, I would always leave as quickly as possible since I didn’t know anyone too well. But one night, Jean noticed me sitting towards the back of the church with a white head wrap on. From then on he made it his mission to always try to talk to me before I got the chance to hurry off.”

Little did she know Jean had been praying for someone special to come into his life. While Lourdia would later insist that she did not own a white headwrap, Jean eventually realized it might have been what looked like a white crown placed on her head as a sign from God. She happily agreed to this theory!

After a first date at California Chicken Grill, Lourdia shares, “We talked with a purpose and eventually started courting with a purpose, too.”

When the timing was right, Jean surprised Lourdia with an intimate proposal surrounded by friends and family to one of her favorite songs, “Iyawo Mi” by Timi Dakolo.

On February 24th, 2024, the couple tied the knot in a black and white modern wedding in Tampa, Florida, with pops of vibrant color throughout. They incorporated their shared Haitian roots into their music and food with a special Konpa choreographed first dance to “Pi Bon Moman M Pase Se Ave-w” by Delly Benson and worked with a Haitian caterer to create an authentic wedding menu. They also handed out mini bottles of Kremas - a sweet and creamy liqueur originating in Haiti - made lovingly by their mothers as wedding favors.

Their wedding day from start to finish was a dream come true and their love is an answered prayer they’ll cherish together for a lifetime.

First dance song: “Pi Bon Moman M Pase Se Ave-w” by Delly Benson Favorite item on the menu: Our favorite item on the menu was the Macaroni Gratine as it is one of our favorite Haitian side dishes. Advice for brides: "Don’t stress yourself out over anything. Celebrate your small wins and every little thing that you cross off of your checklist. Even if something does not work out, remember that every problem has a solution. So, if something goes wrong, it’s okay to be bothered, but don’t dwell on it. Just take another direction and keep moving towards your special day. At the end of the day, the day has to end – and the wedding planning process will be over. With that being said, make the most of it and enjoy every bit of it while you can!"

wedding highlights

STEP INTO RHYTHM