Bridal Bliss: Latonya and Jason

After 10 years of loving each other and growing together, LaTonya Stephens and Jason Banks said “I do” in a gorgeous wedding at the Altanta Botanical Gardens on July 24, 2010. Share their love.

“I fell in love with my dress right away,” LaTonya says of her Renella De Sina Couture gown. “I literally put it on and my aunts, cousins and friends were like, ‘Oh my God! You look like a doll!’ I felt like Cinderella.”

What’s a glamorous wedding without a little bling? LaTonya wore these beautiful teardrop earrings to help her shine extra bright on her big day.

Jason added a touch of purple to his lapel with light lavender cala lilies.

LaTonya found her lavender bridesmaids dresses at Bridals By Lori in Atlanta. “When I saw my matron of honor in her dress, I though, ‘Oh my God! She looks so good.’” The bride ended up choosing lavender as the color theme for her wedding.

“It became an explosion of purple,” she says. The bridal bouquet from DGL Designs featured lavender orchids, poms and roses.

With his closest friends and family next to him, Jason was prepared to pledge his love to LaTonya.

It’s never too late to have a pre-wedding pep-talk with your mom. Before walking down the aisle LaTonya and her mother, Roberta Stephens, shared a heart-to-heart.

Jason took some time to appreciate his mother, Yvonne Banks, with a kiss before he tied the knot with LaTonya.

“I was nervous up until the moment I walked out,” LaTonya remembers. “When I saw my family and my friends it just went away. Then I was like, ‘Oh this is the party.’”

“I was looking at Jason, thinking he would be dramatic or start crying,” LaTonya laughs, “but he was just calm and cool. I was so happy to see him.”

“I wanted the wedding colors to be as monochromatic as possible,” LaTonya says of her lavender theme. The bride had her wedding decked out in shades of lavender.

LaTonya and Jason wanted to write their own messages for their ceremony, but with the wedding date swiftly approaching they decided to leave the vows to the professional — the priest — and went with traditional sentiments.

“Marriage doesn’t feel different,” Latonya says. “It was good before so it feels just as nice now. We’re just on the same track.”

“I think what’s important is that we’re both on the same wave-length and are supportive of each other in the things we want to work toward,” LaTonya says.

“It was so different with LaTonya,” Jason remembers. “Her take on life was so different than what I had experienced and the things that she appreciated in a man, I just had not come across in my previous dating experience.”

“Us going through the long distance and having that connection grow made it clear to me that she was the one I wanted to be with. It allowed us to grow and appreciate our differences.” Jason states strongly.

I just felt a connection with her that couldn’t be rivaled," Jason adds.

Jason held Latonya close as he and his bride danced to “So Amazing” by Luther Vandross.

LaTonya and Jason used popular Atlanta bakery Cakes by Debbie for their floral patterned wedding cake. They’re convinced they made the right choice.

“I had been to weddings where you get a keepsake that you would rather throw away,” LaTonya admits. “I wanted to do something different where people could keep a picture of themselves and they would leave one copy behind for us.”

“I just want the best for him and that’s what I live to try to make happen and hopefully he wants the same for me,” LaTonya says.

For more on LaTonya and Jason visit The Brides Cafe

All photos by Jeremy Harwell Photography