Their wedding was one initially thought got away. Angelica initially reached out to us in January of 2015, but I didn’t hear back from her for several months. Yes, I was bummed! Five months later I received an email learning that venues and dates had changed, and that Stephen + Angelica were ready to book us for their Solas Raleigh wedding! Soon after we talked and put together their wedding collection. A couple months later we met at our residential studio to walk through their wedding day schedule, and the rest is documented in the photos you see here (and many, many more)!
Stephen + Angelica, thank you for trusting me to photograph your wedding day.
Solas Raleigh Wedding
Share with us how you two met:
Stephen and I met in Raleigh, NC in 2010. Stephen had recently relocated to North Carolina for work and I was already working in the city. We met on OKCupid and instantly “clicked.”
Tell us about your proposal:
Stephen proposed on 12/31/2013. We have a small terrier/schnauzer dog, named Stella that we both adore. Every morning, I take Stella out for her morning walk before work. That particular day, I was getting Stella ready for our walk and noticed something on her collar. When I looked closer, I saw it was a ring! I looked up and Stephen was down on one knee! I was so excited and the moment was even more special because he incorporated Stella into the proposal.
Tell us about your gown:
I bought my gown at David’s Bridal. It is an Oleg Cassini gown. I knew I wanted a trumpet style dress. I tried on a few dresses but nothing stood out. When I tried on my wedding dress, I knew instantly that it was the dress for me. It fit perfectly and I even cried because it was so beautiful!
How about your wedding shoes and jewelry:
My earrings were a gift from my Mother-in-law. She had given them to me for Christmas the year prior and they matched so perfectly with my style and my dress. I purchased my necklace at David’s Bridal. I purchased my shoes from off Broadway. The shoes matched so perfectly with the dress!
Was there any particular theme or style for your wedding:
There was no particular style/theme; however, the color scheme was gold, ivory and black. We incorporated special touches of ourselves into the day. We love to travel and take pictures so we incorporated that into our wedding. Instead of a traditional guest book, we had a giant wooden map and our guest signed it. We also had pictures of ourselves on our wedding cake and made a wedding slideshow.
Tell us about his groomsmen:
There were 8 groomsmen! Stephen’s college friend, Gary, was his best man. His groomsmen included his brother-in-law, cousin, college and work friends. The groomsmen were a non-stop party the whole night!
Tell us about your hair & make up:
My hair was done by my long time stylist, Precious. Precious did all of my bridesmaid’s hair. I specified that I wanted everyone’s hair up and I was wearing my hair down. I wanted an elegant and classic look and Precious did a great job! My make up was done by Tiwa. My sister/matron of honor found Tiwa on Instagram. Tiwa was so professional and did such an amazing job! Tiwa and Precious worked together to make the Bridal party look beautiful. When they were finished I felt like such a princess!
Any wedding favors:
Our wedding favors were customized miniature bags of m&m’s. We had our pictures printed on them along with our names and our wedding date!
How about the wedding invitations & stationery:
We ordered our invitation and stationary using Wedding Paper Diva’s. It’s an online company. We customized our stationary online and had the copies mailed to us. We received a lot of positive feedback about our stationary.
And your decorations:
We used Fresh Affairs for the ceremony and reception decorations. We used candles and flowers for most of the decorations.
Tell us about your bridesmaids:
I had 7 bridesmaids! My sister, Alexus, was my matron of honor. I also had my sister-in-law, cousin, high school and college friends. It was a big bridal party but I couldn’t imagine it any other way! We spent the morning getting ready together and it was filled with so much laughter. Having their support and encouragement meant so much to me.
How / why did you choose your ceremony venue:
We were looking for a venue that would allow for us to have the ceremony and reception in one location. We also wanted it be to in downtown Raleigh. Solas was perfect because it offered multiple levels that we could use for our special day!
Tell us about your flowers:
We used Fresh Affairs for our flowers and centerpieces. The arrangements were stunning. When I met with Lyn at Fresh Affairs I gave very little direction regarding the flowers – I only specified the colors and was extremely happy when I saw the bouquets. We received so many compliments about the flowers.
Tell us about your wedding photography:
We used In His Image photography for our wedding. The photographer was very important for us and after reviewing Dajuan’s work and talking to him, it was an easy decision! It was also the best decision we made because our photos turned out absolutely beautiful! Dajuan and his second photographer, Jen, captured so many amazing moments and I cannot say enough positive things about them and their work! I continue to go through my photos and smile as I relive that special day!
And your videographer:
We used Steve Creel for our videographer. Steve did an exceptional job capturing our day and compiling it into a memorable video. I’m so glad we used Steve Creel for our videography and I cannot stop watching our video and reliving the many precious moments!
Tell us about your wedding planner:
We did not have a wedding planner. Solas had an event planner, Miriam. We used Miriam and her staff that day and everything went smoothly! Miriam was great and very helpful during the whole planning process.
What songs did you choose for your wedding ceremony and reception, and why:
For our ceremony, the wedding party walked down the aisle to “here and now” by Luther Vandross. I walked down the aisle to the piano version of “A thousand years” by Christina Perri. For the recessional we played “Marry you” by Bruno Mars. For the reception, we played top 40 music and partied the night away!
Would you share a memorable moment:
My most memorable moment was my dance with my uncle. My father passed away when I was 10 so I had my uncle walk me down the aisle and also step in for the father/daughter dance. One week before the wedding, one of my uncles found a video of my dad singing “one in a million” by Larry Graham. I had never seen the video before that day. It was so special to hear my dad’s voice again and I knew I wanted to dance to him singing that song. During my dance with my uncle, the DJ lowered a screen and the Larry Graham version of the song changed to the video of my dad singing the song. It was the most special moment and I felt like a piece of my dad was there with me that day and it meant the world to me!
Tell us about your reception venue:
We had our reception at Solas on their second level. The reception area had a glass see-through dance floor and was very open to move around.
And your cake:
Our cake was made by Ashley Cakes. Ashley is my mom’s neighbor and we have known her for many years. We used Ashley in the past for special events and loved her cakes. When it came time for the wedding, it was a no brainer to go with her! We met with Ashley and she helped us to design our cake to match our style and personality. We kept with our gold, ivory and black color scheme and also incorporated photos of us over the years onto the cake.
What’s your favorite image from your wedding day, and why:
My favorite image from my wedding day is the image of Stephen and myself in the middle of Glenwood Avenue. Dajuan stopped traffic so that Stephen and I could get a picture of Stephen dipping me in the middle of the street. The image looks so beautiful and is my favorite!
Tell us about your honeymoon:
Stephen and I went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon. It was the perfect place to relax and unwind after months of planning! The people were friendly, the food was delicious and the sights were breathtaking!
Any advice for future brides:
So many people kept telling me that my wedding day would go by so fast so I made it a point to pause, look around and enjoy the moment! The wedding day is a lot of fun and you are being pulled in multiple directions, to talk to people, take photos, etc, so my advice to future brides is to make sure you take time here and there to really look around and enjoy the moments!
Any final thoughts:
I had so much fun on my wedding day! We had great vendors that were professional and exceptional! My husband and I have so many great memories from our wedding day and are so glad all the memories were captured! It meant so much to us to have all our friends and family there on our special day!
