Cecily + Monae

How did the planning go?

Planning had its ups and down. Cake tasting was a highlight as was choosing the music for the day! Some of the worst moments came when we had to sit with our budget or just became overwhelmed with all there was to do.

Memorable Moments

The entire night was a whirlwind but so amazing. Probably the favorite memories were seeing all of the people we love in one room and dancing together. We were surprised that the kids also danced all night!

Favorite Detail

There were too many to count, but one that stands out is our bar menu with signature cocktails named after our dogs.

Biggest Challenge

Navigating different priorities for the day and how to spend our money and time; also, having too many ideas to fit into one wedding! Cecily made about five different wedding mood boards before we settled on a theme/vibe for the day.

What was the best part of your day?

Cecily: I was so excited to see this day we had been planning come to fruition. Seeing the ideas we had discussed with our wedding coordinator and other vendors brought to life was amazing. Also just getting to openly express the love I have for my amazing partner in front of our family and friends is something I’ll never forget.

Monae: Honestly just having all my people there. I’m from the East coast and I don’t get to see all my family and friends often and the pandemic made that even harder. So having them there to celebrate us is something I will never forget. Especially seeing my grandmother who is getting older and doesn’t like to fly [or] travel far.

Special Cultural Features

We decided to jump the broom at the end of our ceremony; an important tradition in African American culture. We had a memorial table to honor close family and friends who weren’t there physically that day. We also walked down the aisle together as a symbol of our closeness and equal standing in the relationship

Advice from the couple:

Hire a wedding coordinator…even if it’s just for the day-of or a couple months before. Also, make time for each other to reconnect and remember why you are doing this. Sara, our wedding coordinator, encouraged us to have monthly dates to talk about non-wedding things and when we did this, it made a huge difference.