Bridal Bliss: Chris and Kierra's Dallas Wedding Was A Whimsical Dream Come True

Bride: Kierra Chante’ Smith, 26, Nurse
Groom: Christopher Derrick Lee, 28, Culinary Student
The Big Day: 6/23/17
Location: Dallas, Texas
Style/Theme: Whimsical Dream

On Kierra’s graduation day from nursing school in 2012, she planned a get together and nothing was going the way she wanted it to. Chris was avoiding her, her cake melted in the car and the weather wasn’t cooperating. Little did she know, Chris had the surprise of a lifetime in store for her. “Throughout my party I only saw Chris a number of 2-3 times which I thought was weird,” said Kierra. “Chris has never been the best at surprising me with things, due to his pre nervousness (hence walking in and out of my party and barely talking to me, only staring). I knew something was about to happen. Moments later a video camera and his family walking in, a long 45 minutes mumbled speech was given to me from Chris, going back on memory lane of us dating. He got on one knee and gave me 2 options: 1. To continue dating as he would still be happy, or 2. To marry him and become his wife. Option 2 please!”

“It was all that I dreamed of it to be,” said Kierra.

“The man I married is one in a million,” said Kierra of Chris. “His worries never cast on his shoulders. He always makes mends to any life situation as nothing seems to get in his way. And if it does, you would never know it. He calms me to where I stop to wonder why I was even worrying about certain things. He is so calming, and being in his presence bring nothing but stillness. He is my rainbow and sun before, during, and after the storm.”

“I actually went looking for a dress the day after I got engaged on my own time, and as soon as I walked in I knew it was the one but second guessed myself since I had only been engaged for 1 day. My mom convinced me to continue looking as it wasn’t what she would picture me in just due to my every day style. After 6 more months of looking in every shop in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I went back to Winnie Contour to try it on. It was pure BLISS! That crying, emotional, hyperventilation you see on TV is real! For my wedding I wanted something very simplistic. No bling. No jewelry. No veil. Not anything. I wanted pure simplicity. I knew this was the one, because it was the dress I was comparing every other dress to the entire 6 months. Nothing amounted to it.”

Hey fellas!

“I can describe the women I married as a strong ambitious woman,” said Chris of Kierra. “The desire that she has to want to be a great wife is amazing. It definitely cannot be made up. Not once did she come in this relationship like she was perfect and it showed a lot of strength to be as patient as she was while constantly learning each other and correcting our mistakes. There is not one day that goes by where she doesn’t make an effort to learn more about me.”

What a special moment shared between a bride and her father!

This is Black Girl Magic, mother of the bride and the future Mrs. edition!

“My father walked me down the aisle and I must say, I recognize this blessing in this,” said Kierra. “Not every daughter has a father in their life or a living father to have this moment with. I was so grateful.”

“He and I were both crying!” said the bride. “It was a very emotional wedding for the both of us! Chris and I are both on the emotional side, so it was bound to happen!”

“For once, none of the stress from planning our wedding mattered,” began the bride of looking at her groom while they were at the altar. “None of the little details mattered. All that mattered was that I was his and he was mine. I felt an abundance of newness. This was a new start in our life and the feeling couldn’t have been better.”

“It felt comforting” said Chris of tying the knot. “I felt well internally, in my soul knowing that was the beginning of my duty to provide her with her every want and need. She was and still is gorgeous! I can’t believe a man like me was able to get to this point with a woman so beautiful! The feeling I felt is the feeling I feel waking up to her every morning. At the altar, they always said it’s a moment I’ll never will be able to feel again, but that moment is the same throughout our days together. I guess you can say I got lucky.”

“I chose to make Kierra my wife because of not only our history and the years we grew together, but the fact that God created someone that’s totally different from me, someone that saw more in me then I ever saw in myself. The love, the motivation and the support was equally given to maximum level. I woke up to realize one day that I never wanted to let that go. We always knew we were young, but we also knew the things we conquered at a young age were more advanced then any normal couple in this day in age. I truly felt like she was always my soul mate.”

The bride, her bridesmaids and her flower girls look simply amazing!

“As a little girl, I remember having so many dreams of getting proposed to by the love of my life. Every little girl has a future moment in their life, whether it’s becoming a mom, getting a house, being a house wife etc. But mine was that moment. Having a man look at you so preciously and innocently in front of our entire family and friends, hoping you say the magic word. He made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman in the world in just that moment. I could only image how he could make me feel as my husband!”

“I said yes to Chris for many reasons, but one reason has always been the main one–sense of safety and calmness. Through our 10 years together, Chris has always made me feel emotionally and internally at peace with a hint of stillness. There was never an amount of hurry or rush. When he was with me he took his time and was always patient with me. To me, a man that is willing to wait for a woman to get out of college just to ask her one question, wait for his girlfriend hours in front of her house just to see her and walk 2 hours and 30 minutes in Texas heat to be with her…he deserved more than a yes.”

“What I love most about my wife is our friendship,” shared the groom. “Some days we can hangout and joke around all day and let the time fly. That’s what is most important I always remember we were friends first. Our friendship trumps any paper, witnesses, and difficulties any day.”

“Our wedding cake was a 6 tiered almond cake with crème filling with buttercream frosting!,” recalled Kierra. “The groom’s cake was his favorite from the tasting as a strawberry cake with lemon filling and buttercream frosting. Both cakes were designed with white buttercream with gold polka dots!”

“From the very beginning, I always knew Kierra was the one. We talked a few times on the phone before we actually got a chance to meet in person and even then, I knew I wanted to be more then friends with her. From the first time I met her,  I couldn’t help but notice her wonderful personality. She is goofy, rarely ever serious, down to earth, doesn’t take life for granted and most importantly, she made me feel comfortable. Before leaving after our first encounter, we hugged….that first hug was everything to me and till this day it’s worth more than a million words.”

It looks like the bride and her father had a great time at the reception!