“I knew Isaiah was the one early on when we were dating and I drove my ‘hoopty’ to his house and got a flat tire on the way,” Naima shares. “By the time I made it to his house there was barely any rubber left on the tire. Without thinking twice about it he just fixed it for me. The whole time he was underneath my car I was thinking to myself, I think I may be in love with this man.”
“My lace veil was borrowed from my mother who wore the same veil for her wedding 35 years ago,” says the lovely bride.
“I scoured Etsy.com for weeks looking for the perfect and affordable accessories to wear,” says Naima. “I really liked the Swarovski and vintage rhinestone look so most of the items I found fit that theme. I found a crystal belt on a ribbon to wear with my dress at the reception, crystal accents to dress up my very plain white satin shoes and a crystal hair clip to accent my swooped hairstyle. My earrings and necklace were purchased from Macy’s and my bracelet came from Lord & Taylor.”
“My something old was my grandmother’s ‘L’ pendant,” says Naima. “She passed away this past December and I was able to grab a pin she owned with her initial and I placed it on my bouquet stem in memory of her on our special day. It was sweet. It stands for ‘Lillian’ and ‘love.’”
You know that Naima’s pre-wedding festivities could not be complete without a selfie moment with her girls. Too cute! (We recommend all brides pause for a moment like this one.)
While Naima and her girls were snapping selfies, Isaiah and the fellas were toasting to the occasion.
Naima’s cousin’s daughter and her college bestie’s daughter were the adorable flower girls on the big day.
“My wedding dress was designed by ALLURE from their Romance Collection,” says Naima. “I had viewed tons of dresses and look books online to get an idea of what I was looking for before I went shopping. (I’m a very focused shopper.)”
Naima’s bridal portraits were absolutely lovely, and the queen of the day posed to perfection.
“I said yes to Isaiah because he makes me smile and laugh every day and can always make me laugh at myself and not take myself too seriously,” Naima admits. “He can be serious but he knows when things are not that serious too. He is smart and loving and I know he will be a great father some day.”
Naima’s bridesmaids were stunning in their Amsale gowns. “I decided on the color lavender because purple is my favorite color and I wanted to use that color in a more pastel shade for the spring,” she says. “I decided on the style because it was the most complementing dress for all of my bridesmaids with varying shapes and sizes.”
The groom and groomsmen stunned in custom tuxedos designed by Vera Wang. We see you, fellas!
“Isaiah is smart and very funny,” says Naima. “He can be boisterous at times and laid-back at other times. He is a humble and hard working guy who wants to see others do well. And, he is a giving person, but he also knows when to say no.”
“I come from a single parent home and when I saw the way that her family raised her and the strong morals that they had instilled I know that she was different,” says Isaiah. “I know that a strong family starts with a strong man, but everybody knows that the strong Black woman actually makes and keeps a family together. That is Naima.”
“The thing I love about Naima most is the way she loves me for just being me (and I’m sure that can be hard),” admits Isaiah.
“I love Isaiah’s sense of humor and spontaneity,” says the bride. “He has the ability to always make me smile even when he is irritating me.”
“We decided on using Newton White Mansion for the wedding because it offered a variety of options to host our wedding ceremony, cocktail hou and reception in the same venue,” says Naima. “It also had an indoor option for the ceremony in case the weather didn’t work out for our outdoor garden wedding, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day in early spring.”
We never get tired of seeing brides and grooms encourage their wedding guests to pick a seat, not a side. Aww!
“We did have a wedding budget and we were able to stick closely to it,” says the bride.
“We honored the memory of our grandparents, who could not be present at our wedding, by having their pictures in frames and in the first row of seats,” says Naima. “When the ceremony was over, those framed photos were moved to the guestbook sign in table.”
The couple hired a harpist to play romantic selections during their outdoor garden ceremony.
Here comes the bride! Aww, these two little ladies really owned the moment.
“My father walked me down the aisle,” says the bride. “I’m sure he embraced that moment as it’s one that every father looks forward to from the time their daughter is born.”
“I was ecstatic and overjoyed to be looking into Isaiah’s eyes at the wedding ceremony,” says Naima. “He kept gazing deep into my eyes and holding my hand tight. I couldn’t help but to wonder what was going through his head. We just kept smiling at each other.”
“I felt like the luckiest man in the world just knowing that I had found and was marring my love,” says Isaiah.
Even the youngest guests felt the love on Naima and Isaiah’s wedding day. Look at that smile!
“My uncle is a pastor and he officiated our wedding,” Naima tells us. “He did marriage counseling with us and had us recite some lines we had gone over with him in one of our sessions. I found bible scriptures that were fitting for our ceremony.”
“I feel like God had me go through some trial and error with a few guys so that I could realize the blessing he sent me when Isaiah came back into my life. I was able to really receive him,” Naima admits.
“When my grandmother was alive, she once gave me some really great advice to pray for a husband and tell God to send you exactly when you need,” says Naima. “God answered my prayers and delivered Isaiah when I least expected him but right on time. Isaiah is perfect for me. He has a little bit of all the good qualities in every guy I’ve dated before I met him, and then some.”
The couple chose Pharrell’s “Happy” to play as they entered the reception for the first time as husband and wife.
The newlyweds danced their first dance to “You and I” by Avant and Keke Wyatt. “We sang into each other’s ear (off key) through the entire song and all,” share Naima.
“It felt really cool to be everyone’s center of attention for a few hours,” says Naima. “The only bad part was that it all went by way too fast. I think between taking photos, greeting everyone and all the ceremonial stuff like the first dances, the entire day felt like it went by in 20 minutes. We did take some moments to savor all that was happening on that day and in the room, so I do have those memories locked into my mind.”
Elegant décor like floating candles and whimsical blooms helped to set the stage for the couple’s romantic sit-down reception.
“Our wedding cake was a three-tiered, white butter cream wedding cake with lavender ribbons wrapped at the bottom of each tier,” says Naima. “It was topped with artificial mint green hydrangeas that my mother-in-law made. The cake was banana flavored on the top layer, red velvet in the middle, and white cake on the bottom tier. Those were the flavors we could both agree on.”
Sweet treats, anyone? We love this spread!
“We had an awesome local DJ (DJ Al-V) that we found at a live music lounge we like to visit,” the bride tells us. “We also had a photo booth that our guests used throughout the entire cocktail hour and wedding. Our photographer provided a photo booth and posted all the pics our guests took on our personalized link on his website.”
Do you love Naima and Isaiah’s romantic mansion wedding weekend photos as much as we do? Leave them a little comment love below and tell us your favorite details! Want to see your wedding featured in Bridal Bliss? Email us now!
