• Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Women in Music
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion House
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Color Files Podcast
    • Nails
    • How-To
    • Beauty Carnival-Archive
    • Dope Stuff On My Desk
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
    • Spring Hair And Beauty
  • Love
    • Love & Sex
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle News
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • Holiday Gift Guide 2020
    • Unbossed Podcast
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
    • Your legacy
  • News
    • BLACK VOTES MATTER
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence

Follow Us

Skip to content
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence
  • Celebrity
    • Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Women in Music
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion House
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Color Files Podcast
    • Nails
    • How-To
    • AVEENO® Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty Carnival-Archive
    • Dope Stuff On My Desk
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • Beauty News
  • Hair
    • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
    • Spring Hair And Beauty
  • Love
    • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • Lifestyle News
    • Holiday Gift Guide 2020
    • Netflix’s Jingle Jangle Gift Guide
    • Unbossed Podcast
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
    • Your Legacy
  • News
    • News
    • BLACK VOTES MATTER
    • Essence 50th Anniversary
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • Events
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
Home · Weddings

Bridal Bliss: Regina and Ramondo’s Philadelphia Wedding Photos

Regina, a Zeta, and Ramondo, a Kappa, found love after a chance encounter through mutual fraternity and sorority friends. It only took three months for him to realize he’d found the one. See their romantic “I dos” and share their love. (Just wait until you see who performed at their reception!)

By Charli Penn · October 29, 2014October 27, 2020
01
The Only One For Me

Regina, a Zeta, and Ramondo, a Kappa, found love after a chance encounter through mutual fraternity and sorority friends. It only took three months for him to realize he’d found the one. See their romantic “I dos” and share their love. (Just wait until you see who performed at their reception!)

Zamani Feelings Photography
02
Beauty Was Her Name

“To save money we first looked at friends we knew who could provide the services we needed,” says the lovely bride. “My long time girlfriend Robin Dove did my hair and my bridesmaid Zanyette Mitchell who once worked for MAC did my makeup.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
03
A Perfect Choice

“This might sound excessive but I had three pairs of shoes,” Regina admits. “My first pair was wedding wedges because my ceremony was in the grass and I wanted to be comfortable standing at the altar. For my reception entrance and first dance I wore a pair of Rene Caovilla shoes my friend gave me before she passed away. And for my dress change, I put on a pair of six-inch heels I completely covered in crystals myself. They were so stunning people asked me to make them a pair. As for my jewelry, my mom found a beautiful costume jewelry set that went with my gown perfectly.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
04
Just How I Pictured It

“My something borrowed were broaches my friends and family gave me,” says Regina. “For myself I wanted a broach bouquet but I wanted to make it. I asked family members to donate broaches they had and I bought the rest. Sixty five broaches later, it was gorgeous, and just how I pictured it.” We love a non-traditional bouquet!

Zamani Feelings Photography
05
So Delighted

Regina’s niece was delighted to be her flower girl.

Zamani Feelings Photography
06
The Brotherhood

Ramondo and his frat brothers had a good time posing for the cameras.

Zamani Feelings Photography
07
Her Bear

“I call him my bear because if you were to see him on the street you would probably thinks he looks mean, but he’s so sweet and gentle, unless he’s hungry, and then you must beware of the bear,” Regina jokes.

Zamani Feelings Photography
08
Hey Guys

“We had a budget but it got thrown out the window at the beginning when we realized how many guests we both wanted to invite,” Regina admits.

Zamani Feelings Photography
09
Here We Are

“Her beautiful smile makes me smile and that’s worth its weight in gold,” says the proud groom.”I knew eventually I would find true love. The very first thing I said to Regina when I met her was, ‘I’m going to marry you,’ and  of course she thought I was crazy, but here we are.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
10
I Wouldn’t Change A Thing

“I wasn’t looking for it, I was perfectly okay by myself and then he came along with all his love, messing everything up,” says the bride. “I wouldn’t change one bit of it.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
11
The Perfect Touch

“Our theme was music,” says Regina. “One day while riding the subway to downtown Philly Ramondo found three high school students playing orchestra music at the station. After hearing how beautifully they played, he gave them a big tip and asked if he could hire them to perform for our wedding ceremony. The two violinists and cellist (who happened to have a purple cello) were the perfect touch to our outdoor wedding.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
12
Baby Girl

“My dad walked me down the aisle,” says Regina. “I have always been his baby girl so there was never anyone else I would have considered.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
13
Love Is So Amazing

“I always knew I had to walk down the aisle to Esperanza Spaulding’s version of ‘Tell Him’ by Lauryn Hill,” says Regina. “Thankfully my sorority sister Shakera Jones, who sings in Atlantic City, volunteered to sing it for us, and at the last minute her phenomenal bass player Nemrod came too. It was so amazing!”

Zamani Feelings Photography
14
Don’t Wake Me Up

“Being a groom felt like it was a dream that I didn’t wake up from,” admits Ramondo.

Zamani Feelings Photography
15
It’s A Family Affair

“Our wedding was a family affair, we wanted to surround ourselves with those who truly love us, so when we picked an officiant we went straight to our pastor (and Ramondo’s Masonic brother) Rev. Joe Williams,” Regina shares.

Zamani Feelings Photography
16
The Bridal Party

“I love purple and I knew from the start my bridesmaid gowns would be a deep, dark eggplant, however my eight bridesmaids were different shapes and sizes so I needed to find something that fit each of them uniquely,” explains the bride. “After days of sifting through Etsy.com, I found a the most beautiful knee length infinity dress, which was basically a skirt with two long pieces of material that could be twisted and stretched to fit all of them on top. Every girl tied theirs differently to express their own personal style.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
17
With These Rings

“We wrote our own vows but for some reason we never actually said them,” Regina recalls of one of their wedding bloopers. “Instead we looked into each other’s eyes and recited what Rev. Joe told us to say.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
18
It’s Official!

“Neither one of us cried,” says Regina “I was hoping he would but we teased each other so much before the wedding about who would cry first I think neither one of us wanted to be the sappy one.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
19
Bigger Than Dreams

“As a child playing with dolls I remember wondering who I would one day marry, and here I am with more than I ever hoped for,” Regina gushes. “God is so good and his blessings for me have always been bigger than my dreams.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
20
Come Here Love

“We had a non-traditional ceremony where we saw each other during our picture session outside before the ceremony,” Regina shares.

Zamani Feelings Photography
21
She Drives Me Crazy

“It was never one thing that made me want to marry Regina but rather a combination of reasons,” says Ramondo. “Just looking at her, she’s striking, bautiful and very stylish. She has her own interesting take on fashion and anything else you can think of. Regina can talk about everything from sci-fi to classical musical, and as much as she drives me crazy taking forever to pick out an outfit, she’s also the first to pitch a tent or go rock climbing.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
22
A Lesson In Compromise

“Ramondo and I are resourceful and we both knew we had talented friends who could provide the services we would need so we planned the whole wedding together and learned a lot about compromising in the process,” the bride shares.

Zamani Feelings Photography
23
You Can’t Top This

A custom cake topper made the couple’s cake style sweeter than sweet.

Zamani Feelings Photography
24
Dance With Us

“We walked into the reception hall to Beyonce’s ‘Standing On the Sun,’ which is a fast song,” Regina explains. “This is how I know this man loves me because I’m kind of hyper, and I can’t do slow songs, so he actually danced with me as I dropped it like it’s hot. Our guests loved the high energy entrance and before we knew it everyone was dancing.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
25
Best Guest Ever

“Our first dance song was ‘All Of Me’ by John Legend,” says Regina. “We had him there to perform it which was mind blowing!” (Jealous? We are too!) So sweet!

Zamani Feelings Photography
26
For The Love Of Music

“Our theme was music so we spent most of our money on just that,” says Regina. “We had live orchestra music for our ceremony, our favorite band from DC, Familiar Faces, our close friend DJ Jazzy Joe for the reception and musical guest John Legend sang his hit song ‘All of Me.’”

Zamani Feelings Photography
27
A Moment To Remember

“It was truly a family affair and having everyone come together for our big day gave the whole affair a positive energy filled with love,” the bride shares.

Zamani Feelings Photography
28
Sweet, Sweet Treats

Sweet treats, anyone? We love a delicious cupcake stand.

Zamani Feelings Photography
29
Give The Girl What She Wants

“Regina wanted an outdoor wedding so we were always looking at parks,” Ramondo explains. “Blue Bell Park in Philadelphia came into play when we started looking for a close alternative just in case it rained. Our pastor suggested we get married in the park across the street from the church, so if it rained guests wouldn’t have far to go.”

Zamani Feelings Photography
30
Romance Realized

Join us as we congratulate the newlyweds on their romantic “I dos.” Leave them a little comment love below and tell us which of their details was your favorite. Want to see your wedding featured in Bridal Bliss? Email us now!

Zamani Feelings Photography

Read More

Entertainment
Infinity Songs’ Playlist Says Cheers To New Beginnings
Beauty
Missy Elliott's New Purple Pixie Cut Is Everything!
Love & Sex
Kelly Rowland Is 9 Months Pregnant And Slaying!
Videos
Fashion
Shop Now: Eleven Launches Pieces From 2021 Collection
FOLLOW US
Privacy Policy
Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now