Adia, 31, an actress, and Kelvin, 44, a DJ, met when she worked at the pizza parlor across the street from his apartment. She resisted his attempts for awhile but eventually she couldn’t deny his charms. Four years later they were married in Oak Park, California on May 11, 2012.
Beaming bride Adia gets hair and makeup help from her maid of honor.
“Jasmine Couture designed my dress,” says Adia. “At the time I found it, I went to David’s Bridal and tried on three dresses I wasn’t in love with. My bridesmaid Esther and I went to a Bridal Expo. When we walked in, I did a double take and saw my dress. I knew I loved it, but wasn’t 100 percent sure if it would fit me or the wedding.”
The extravagant detailing on the back of Adia’s gown took our breath away. From the pretty buttons to the lovely tiers, we just couldn’t take our eyes off it.
Adia’s wedding shoes glittered with goodness. Absolutely a fabulous pick for your “something blue.”
Adia’s vintage inspired birdcage veil was both classic and glamorous — the perfect complement to her stunning trumpet style wedding gown.
Adia honored her parent’s memory and kept them close throughout the day, with this lovely locket bracelet that her godmother made for her.
The happy couple chose a peacock theme for their wedding decor, so when it came time to select flowers, Adia just asked that they represent the bird’s beautiful color combination.
“Calvin Klein designed the groom and groomsmen suites,” says Adia. “The adding of the Chucks was part of the groom’s style. I think they looked HOT!”
“I loved the dresses that had the same base, but the top could change into different styles,” says Adia. “That way each girl could showcase her own style.”
Didn’t Adia and Kelvin chose a dreamy backdrop for their free-spirited wedding portraits? This photo makes us feel so good.
“For my bouquet, I wanted Casablanca lilies, peacock feathers and bling,” says Adia. “My maid of honor had a similar bouquet, but not as elaborate.”
“I knew Kelvin was the one when he told me how he and his brother would call their mom almost every night to pray with her together,” says Adia. “He was really close to his family. Since I wasn’t close to my biological family, I really admired that.”
Adia and Kelvin took these breathtaking portraits along the hiking trails on the hills of Oak Park, California.
Adia and Kelvin chose to hold their ceremony outdoors against the picturesque hills of Oak Park, California at the Oak Park Community Center. Absolutely breathtaking!
Adia and Kelvin are true romantics at heart. On the eve of their wedding, the lovebirds went to see a late night movie with a few bridal party members to be sure they got ticket stubs with their wedding date on it. What a sweet keepsake idea.
Kelvin and his groomsman kept things casual, wearing Chuck Taylors to the altar.
Kelvin can’t help but smile when he gets his first glimpse of the love of his life heading down the aisle.
Since Adia’s parents have passed away, Adia’s godmother, who she loves just like a mother, walked her down the aisle.
“During the ceremony, we had our friend Iris Leonardo sing and play the guitar,” says Adia. “We selected four songs that meant a lot to us: ‘Ribbon in the Sky’ by Stevie Wonder, ‘Lucky’ by James Mraz, ‘Whenever Wherever Whatever’ by Maxwell and ‘Is This Love’ by Bob Marley, but we changed the words to ‘This is Love’.”
The way Adia and Kelvin look at each other just makes us feel all bubbly and happy inside. Yes, you two, we can definitely feel the love.
It’s easy to tell that Adia and Kelvin make each other very happy. Here, the bride reads her vows to her ecstatic groom.
To symbolize the joining of their two families, Adia and Kelvin chose to participate in the traditional sand ceremony, using purple sand to represent her family and blue to represent his.
The bride and groom share a movie star kiss at the altar after being pronounced husband and wife.
“We were looking for a venue that would allow both the ceremony and reception to be at the same location, and would also fit our budget,” says Adia. The Oak Park Community Center met all of their needs.
“One of my favorite memories was all the laughter,” says Adia. “We had so many people there that had such a close connection, so the wedding felt like a reunion.”
“Sam Robinson of Flowers By Sam did our flowers,” says Adia. “His work was absolutely amazing. I am so honored to have him works with us.”
Not that you need another reason to love Adia and Kelvin’s wedding venue, but in case you do, this should do it: The couple chose the location because it reminded the bride of the place where her parents were married.
Adia treated her bridesmaids to some serious savings when it came time to purchase their gowns. “We knew that those dresses retailed for about $200 each,” says Adia. “My mother found the dresses in a boutique store in Atlanta for $40 each in the peacock blue color that we wanted the girls to wear. It was perfect.”
On her wedding day, Adia wore her late mother’s perfume, which she has held onto since 1996. “It still smells the same,” she lovingly recalls.
When it came to her reception decor, Adia tells us she went for a look that was simplistic, but affective. “The venue had such high ceilings, we knew we were going to need space filling decorations.”
To stick to their wedding budget, Adia and Kelvin found smart ways to save. “When it came to the food, we looked at low cost options such as food trucks,” she tells us. “We also limited our alcohol beverages to wine and champagne.”
“My godmother was such a massive help when it came to the planning,” says Adia. “I’d call her the wedding planner. Her style is so flawless; it only made sense to ask her to assist. The tables for the reception were completely her idea, all the way down to the napkin rings that we made by hand the weekend before the wedding.”
The newlyweds even decorated their wedding cake with love. This three tier delight had a yellow cake base with chocolate filling and two red velvet cake tiers with cream cheese filling. The icing was a butter cream. Yummy!
The couple’s color palette really popped against the neutral linens.
Yes, “We honored my parents,” says Adia. “They are both no longer with us, so we had little tributes to them all around. We had a photo of them on our table and the two family tables. We also had, with the help of our florist Sam, red and yellow tulips on our head table. Red was my mother’s favorite color and yellow was my father’s.”
Initially, Adia was planning a Moroccan and Mediterranean themed wedding but once she fell in love with the peacock feather color palette she knew that was the right direction.
“The DJ, Renata, is friend of Kelvin’s, and they have worked together and she lent her Brazilian roots to the celebration,” says Adia.
“Our first dance was way longer than we ever thought, but it was fine because we used the time to fix Kelvin’s wardrobe malfunction — his button came undone.”
As wedding favors, Adia and Kelvin gave their guest wine glasses decorated with their wedding date.
When it came time to plan their dream wedding, Adia and Kelvin decided on a $6,000 wedding budget, and almost stuck to it. When her godmother joined the process things went a little over, but thankfully, Adia says she more than helped out when it came time to pay those bills.
“The day was an amazing day,” says Adia. “I feel that everything went perfectly and I wouldn’t have changed anything if I could.” Congrats you guys! See more photos from their lovely wedding over at The Bride’s Cafe. Want to see your wedding featured on Bridal Bliss? Email us now!
