Marcus, 27, and Jennifer, 29, met at a college fraternity party. It wasn’t love at first sight, but from their friendship a beautiful love story was born. Marcus proposed to Jennifer in a grand romantic gesture at Atlanta’s Centennial Park and then wowed her with a surprise dinner with her parents. They tied the knot July 7, 2012 in Decatur, Georgia at Agnes Scott College. Share their love!
On her wedding day, Jennifer stepped in this lovely Judd Waddell wedding dress. “It wasn’t really difficult to find my dress,” she says. “I knew which bridal salons I wanted to try out, so it was just a matter of narrowing down my choices.”
Jennifer had a feeling Marcus was the guy for her very early on. “He was like no other guy I’d ever dated,” she says. “Marcus was the first guy who ever cared enough about me to work toward becoming the man he needed to be in order to have a fruitful relationship.”
“I kept my accessories very simple and classic,” says Jennifer. “I didn’t want them to overshadow my dress. I wore chandelier earrings and a singular mid-width cuff bracelet by Nadri.”
We're just loving all of these custom dress hangers our Bridal Bliss brides are choosing. It's a simple keepsake that will easily fit into your life as a new wife and always make you smile when you see it.
"Marcus has his own sense of style," says the bride. "So I knew he was going to want to deviate from the norm as much as he could."
Modern groom Marcus made sure to incorporate their wedding colors into his outfit by wearing a fly red watch down the aisle.
“I never saw Marcus coming,” Jennifer admits. “I’ve always heard people say that you’ll fall in love when you least expect it. Well, in our case, that is definitely true. The day I complimented him on his shirt at a frat party, I certainly never thought that eight and a half years later I would be preparing to walk down the aisle and become his wife.”
Christian Balenciaga was the awesome makeup artist behind Jennifer's wedding day look, and Karris Reeves-Robinson styled her hair to perfection. "My dress featured a sweetheart neckline, and I'm a petite girl, so I wanted to wear my hair in such a way that it wouldn't minimize my neck and chest area and shrink me."
“I knew I wanted the flowers in my bouquet to be romantic, yet sassy, and a little less traditional,” says Jennifer, who originally wanted to use peonies but found they were out of season and didn’t bloom in her wedding colors. Instead her florist, Danny Wilson of The Savage Garden, used red garden roses, burgundy dahlias, red mokara orchids, red stock and velvety red celosia.
“The most difficult part about selecting my dress was finding one that I was in love with and one my mom would like a whole lot, too,” Jennifer tells us. We’d say their final choice was a win-win!
The seven lovely ladies that Jennifer chose to be her bridesmaids donned gorgeous grey gowns from Bari Jay. “Because there were so many of them, I decided against having them wear red or blue because too much of a bold or unique color can become too busy,” she admits.
“We held a ‘first glance’ meeting before the ceremony to help get the nerves and jitters out of the way,” Jennifer tells us. “We shared a few happy tears in that moment, and they quickly turned to laughter.”
“Marcus is everything that I’ve prayed for and more,” says Jennifer. It sounds like she knows a keeper when she sees one, and he sure looks thrilled to have found his dream wife.
“Marcus just is who he is and isn’t afraid to be that,” Jennifer tells us. “He is passionate, dedicated, loyal and has an admirable work ethic. He makes me want to be a better me!”
“Marcus lets me be me and fully embraces all my quirks and missing screws,” says Jennifer. “I knew Marcus was the one when loving him was as simple as breathing.”
“As our relationship matured, we matured as individuals and as a couple,” says Jennifer. “I knew he was the guy that I could bring home to meet the parents. It was an added bonus that he comes from a wonderful, strong and loving family.”
Beautiful bridal party alert! This portrait needs a frame, fast.
Marcus and his handsome group of groomsmen wore Ralph Lauren suits from Bridals By Lori, which is also where Jennifer found her wedding gown.
The groom's nephew and little cousin were happy to serve as the couple's smallest bridal members, the ring bearer and flower girl. Aren't they precious?
Jennifer admits to being a “type A bride” and tells us she had her entire wedding planned out in her mind since 2001. Only, when it came time to wed Marcus, that all went out the window. “I knew I wanted understated elegance and something very modern,” she says. “We wanted the style of our wedding to reflect our personal styles.” To pull this off, the couple chose a color palette of Tiffany Blue, Cardinal Red and Slate Gray.
“The campus is absolutely beautiful,” says Jennifer. “I was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, so deciding to wed on that beautiful campus nestled in charming downtown Decatur made our venue selection that much more special.”
After going back and forth about venues and finding it hard to settle on one that met all their needs, Marcus and Jennifer stumbled across the event planning team from Agnes Scott College at the Unveiled Bridal Show in Atlanta.” “The cathedral ceilings and gothic architecture of the Letitia Pate Evans dining hall immediately caught our eye,” says the bride. “It seemed too good to be true.”
With help from her husband-to-be, her mom, and her wedding planner Michelle Gainey of Lemiga Events, Jennifer was able to execute her vision without a hitch. We love how they used their monogram to decorate throughout their ceremony and reception.
Jennifer walked down the aisle beside her “wonderful daddy” to the sounds of Brian McKnight’s “Still In Love.” “His voice is perfect and melodic,” she says. “That song just covers me with a veil of love and happiness.”
Brother Lance Brown, who was the chaplain for the Vanderbilt University football team when Marcus played there, officiated the couple’s wedding ceremony. “From the time our relationship began to flourish and we began to discuss the idea of marriage, Marcus has always known who he wanted to officiate our wedding,” Jennifer says.
“I’ve always said my father set a great example for what I should look for in a mate,” says Jennifer. “I am so blessed to have found that in Marcus. Loving him has always just been so easy. Even when we would hit rough patches, my love never wavered.”
During their heartfelt wedding ceremony, Jennifer and Marcus participated in the lighting of a unity candle to bond their families as one and a scripture reading that followed.
Jennifer wrote her own vows to share with Marcus. “Now, my husband decided to freestyle his vows,” she says. “But, I know they were from the heart.”
“I felt like a giddy teenager at the altar,” Jennifer gushes. “I felt comfortable, secure and like I didn’t have a care in the world.”
Marcus and his new bride pucker up and make it official. Can you feel the love?
Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Buggs! Would you look at those grins. Priceless.
"Everything about my wedding day was awesome," says the new Mrs. Buggs.
“All I can say is God is so awesome,” says proud bride Jennifer. “Words will never do my love for this man enough justice.”
Fun-loving groom Marcus didn't just freestyle his wedding vows, he got their wedding date tattoed on his arm, then swapped out his shirt and jacket for a tuxedo T-shirt and showed the tattoo off at their reception.
Even though the air went out at their venue during the hottest part of the day, soulmates Jennifer and Marcus kept their cool and focused on what was most important—sharing this once in a lifetime moment with each other.
A cocktail hour on the first floor of Agnes Scott College’s Letitia Pate Evans Hall kicked off the celebratory festivities for the evening. While guest snacked on light hors d’ oeuvres and sipped on a signature cocktail, the room where the ceremony had taken place was flipped into this lovely modern dining room for their reception.
To play up the romance of the day, ivory draping from Event Drapery was used to drape three of the four walls of the venue for the reception and then pulled back in certain areas to open up the room for the reception. The alternating round and estate tables from Tent Logix were covered with beautiful, luxe linens from I Do Linens. Each table was highlighted with pin spot lighting from Unique Event Mangagement and featured menu cards from Papered Wonders. Now, that’s what we call a dream team of vendors!
"Since the first moment we heard John Legend's live, un-plugged version of 'Stay With You,' we knew that would be our first dance song," Jennifer recalls. For the surprise, more upbeat dance that followed, they grooved to a mash up of hits like "Poison" by Bel Biv Devoe, "PYT" by Michael Jackson, and "Teach Me How to Dougie" by Cali Swag District. Sounds like we missed an amazing party!
Marcus gives his beautiful bride a spin. We love everything about this classic photo.
The reception featured three uniquely different but equally lovely tablescapes. This one’s our favorite. The combination of gorgeous glass vases, lush flowers and candlelight really sets off an air of romance.
To keep the party vibe grown and sexy, Jennifer and Marcus hired Elegant Event Sitters baby-sitting service to watch the children whose parents attended the wedding and could not find alternative childcare. (Now that’s thoughtful!)
Jennifer and Marcus cut their first slice of this divine cake from For Goodness Cakes in Atlanta. Isn't it a beauty? Yummy!
These modern, luxe centerpieces became talking points at the tables as guests dined on a buffet-style dinner.
Marcus's groom's cake was a 3-D replica of his favorite sneaker, the black Jordan Concrete 3, which was created by Gloria the Cake Lady.
“Marcus and I chose to do a surprise dance at our reception, which was a lot of fun,” says Jennifer. “I was actually quite impressed with myself for nailing every step in a hot, and heavy, mermaid-style dress and 6-inch heels.” You go girl!
“Marcus is a God-fearing man,” says Jennifer. “He loves unconditionally and isn’t afraid to show it. He is my best friend and partner in crime. He keeps me laughing and constantly on my toes with a good healthy debate. I knew that spending the rest of my life with him would be the best decision I’ve ever made in life.”
All the single ladies gathered close as Jennifer tossed her bouquet to the next woman in line.
After the reception ended, the happy couple, their bridal party and their close friends and family all went out together for an official "night cap" followed by a last-hoorah breakfast at 24-hour diner.
“We wanted people to fall in love all over again at our wedding,” says Jennifer. “The theme was really to live, love and laugh.”
The newlyweds honeymooned in Europe after their fun-filled wedding weekend. Did you enjoy their modern wedding style? See more photos from their big day over on The Bride's Cafe and leave them some comment love below. Want to see your wedding featured in Bridal Bliss? Email us now!
