Bride: Felicia P. Joudain, 26, Coordinator of HIV Services
Groom: Antaun B. Johnson, 27, Proprietary Trader
Married On: July 7, 2012
Wedding Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park/Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn
“We’re both firm believers that God wants you to be whole before you choose your other half,” says Felicia. “Our time working together did not spark a romantic relationship, but we continued to build on our friendship and personal growth.” A few years later they made it official.
When it came time for Antaun to propose to Felicia, he knew he wanted to go all out for his love. They completed the March of Dimes charity walk that morning, he later surprised her with an afternoon picnic in Central Park, a romantic dinner at Haru and, finally, a moonlit proposal in Battery Park. “I was completely surprised,” she admits. “As cheesy as it may sound, I felt like I was dreaming.”
Felicia worked a second job and found creative ways to save money along the way to help afford her dream wedding, .
“I knew my dress was the one because my mother cried when she saw me in it,” says Felicia.
Felicia’s bouquet was a pretty mix of pink and white roses. “Although our wedding was modern, I wanted a classic bouquet because I felt it would complement my dress,” she says.
“I decided to wear sparkly Badgley Mischka shoes that were a gift from my mom,” says Felicia. “My earrings were classic pear-shaped crystal, which was my ‘something borrowed’ from my aunt.”
“The dress I chose was everything I thought I didn’t want,” reveals Felicia, who settled on the stunning princess ball gown from Allure Bridal. “I wanted something sleek and sexy at first, but I was so wrong.”
“Antaun has always been ‘that guy’. The nice one and the one who is always there when you need him,” admits Felicia. “I loved that about him even when we were just friends. I loved Antaun as a friend before we started dating and fell in love with him when we became an item.”
Felicia and Antaun tied the knot beneath the Brooklyn Bridge at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Before their afternoon ceremony began, guests sipped cocktails and took in the spectacular sights.
“Antaun had a vision of how he wanted his groomsmen to look,” admits Felicia. “He wanted their ties to compliment the bridesmaids dresses, but not be a solid, so he went with pin dots instead.” The groom’s dapper digs were custom made at My Suit in New York City.
Felicia chose to have both her parents walk her down the aisle — a sweet gesture and total tearjerker moment.
A breathtaking view of the city skyline was a must-have for joyful bride Felicia.
Antaun’s fraternity brother, who is also the pastor or Macedonia Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, New York, officiated the couple’s afternoon ceremony. Another fraternity brother played Luther Vandross’ “Here and Now” on the saxophone. The couple says it was nice to feel so closely connected to everyone involved.
“We believe firmly in the sacredness of wedding ceremonies,” says Felicia. “For our ceremony, we decided to keep it simple and focus on scripture.”
“We chose to exchange traditional vows because we want religion to be the center of our marriage,” says the beaming bride.
After the receiving line, guests were escorted to the Galapagos Art Space for the cocktail hour and reception while the happy couple escaped for a private photo shoot.
What a gorgeous group. Is this a magazine ad or a wedding? We can’t tell.
Antaun wore a white rose boutonniere with green berries to compliment his bride. “We wanted the groomsmen to have a different flower so the groom would stand out,” says Felicia, who planned out each detail to perfection.
After their ceremony, Felicia got comfortable and slipped into a pair of sparkly Toms — it made hopping on and off of the dance floor a breeze. (What a brilliant idea!)
The bridesmaids’ chic gowns came from designer Alfred Angelo. “I knew I wanted them to wear cocktail dresses that they could be comfortable to dance in and wear again,” reveals Felicia. “I also wanted them to be two colors, so the sash was perfect.”
The bridesmaids carried bouquets of white hydrangeas, white roses and green berries. “I wanted white bouquets, I thought it would look great in the pictures,” says Felicia.
“We chose the subway theme because we wanted to do something fun and creative,” Felicia says. “The setup of the venue inspired us because there was a mezzanine and a lower level.”
The new Mr. and Mrs. Johnson hired a lighting specialist to change the colors in the room to compliment the different moods of the evening.
Antaun shared the dance floor with his mother while Christina Aguilera’s “I Turn to You” played along. It was a very emotional moment for the couple, who were thrilled to have their family members there to share such a special day with them. Felicia decided to include a mother-daughter dance as well because she’s also very close with her mother.
“Our venue was a gallery space, so we thought it would be cool to display some photos from our engagement shoot,” says the bride.
“In the middle of the last dance, we invited Antaun’s fraternity brothers and my sorority sisters to sing our perspective hymns,” says Felicia.
In lieu of assigned seats for guests, the couple just assigned sections of the room for them to dine in and labeled them based on popular New York City train lines.
“We wanted the venue to speak for itself, so we decided to focus on candles and lighting,” reveals the planning savvy bride. “We had over 100 votive and pillar candles, which created the ambiance we wanted.”
After the cocktail hour, a buffet style dinner was served with BBQ spiced salmon with molasses glaze, honey herb-roasted chicken, summer roasted vegetables and a field greens salad with champagne vinaigrette.
“We went for a simple, modern décor,” says Felicia of their subway-themed wedding details.
The newlyweds chose to fill their lovely wedding cake with their two favorite flavors: coconut cream and dulce de leche. “Plus, we knew our Caribbean family would enjoy bother flavors,” Felicia insists.
“Our DJ was amazing,” says Felicia. “You couldn’t help but to dance!”
“We decided to greet all of our guests because we felt it was important to let them know that we appreciated them being a part of our special day,” says Felicia.
Felicia and her Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters strolled through the reception in style. Looks like they had a blast.
The bridal party entered the reception to ’90s Bad Boy hits like “Love Like This” by Faith Evans. “We chose those songs because we immediately wanted to establish the energy of the evening.”
Join us in wishing Felicia and Antaun ceaseless joy. Did you enjoy their modern Brooklyn wedding style or find inspiration in their love story? Leave a message for them below!