Josue and Joscelyn 's Wedding in Atlanta, Georgia

Sway became the Director of Admissions for a private school in Tampa and I became an Event Director in Atlanta. We had both become truly personally fulfilled and realized that when you know who you are and what you want, your partner can better appreciate you.

We took a leap of faith and reunited in November 2017. Even though we had little to no communication in the 3 1/2 years we spent apart, our chemistry was organic! Every conversation was familiar yet refreshing as we quickly realized the growth in one another. All we had ever wanted out of and for each other was now fulfilled.

We agreed that If we had to do it all again just to end up here almost 7 years later, in this place of peace, true love, growth and partnership, we would! And so we spent the next 2 years rebuilding our foundation and shaping the narrative God always intended for us. In that time Sway made the bold move to Atlanta from Tampa and on February 9th 2019 I received a call that my name had been entered for Birthday sweepstakes that entitled me to a free dinner with a guest at the Atlanta Sun Dial Restaurant. I excitedly called Sway who said, "Let's go tonight". We had an amazing dinner and as it was coming to an end my grandmother walks in (my best friend in the world). I immediately thought she set this up as a birthday gift but realized it was all his plan when then the waiter brought out a present that contained a ring.

He proposed and I said YES 723 feet above Peachtree Street, with 360-degree panoramic views of the city's skyline. The man of my dreams was swayed to spend the rest of his life with me!

and thus began... The #SwayedbyJoss wedding planning journey.

I planned our wedding from A-Z by myself and it was GLORIOUS! I've planned corporate events and conference but never a wedding and let me tell you, weddings are a whole different beast. There were many reasons why I decided to tackle our wedding alone but chief among them was control.

Every woman hears of the dreaded “wedding day blur” where you're told you will barely eat or remember the day but that WAS NOT the case for us on our super intricate day, that guest hailed as, "A Production"!

A production complete with:

A mansion estate to host our 200 guest

A light and airy ceremony that felt like walking into heavens garden (feathers and floral)

Pyrotechnics

A Violinist and DJ

A BroadwaySinger

Personalized acrylic signage (welcome sign, bar menus and seating charts)

Cocktail hour mansion tours complete with strawberry basil champagne lemonade and decadent hor devours

Custom flower wall for photos

A Rich, Romantic Reception complete with accents of emerald (satin napkins, velvet chairs), gold mirrored tables and backdrops, and 4ft white feather arrangement centrepieces)

8ft Vinyl cutout of our Initials for the Dance floor

Uplighting

Personalized Moscow Mule Cup favours

Send off sparklers and a vintage Rolls Royce

Photographer and videographer throughout the full day

We decided on our colours as a compromise really. Sway wanted gold but I felt it was to cliche and wanted a pop of colour. The best Groomsmen combination we found was green and gold and that really caused me stress as I didn't want our wedding to look "Christmasy". I was stuck between the bridesmaids wearing traditional gold or emerald but when I came across an interesting $70 emerald-gold ombre dress on amazon I couldn't fight the urge to do both!

It was different, it was bold, it was visually appealing. And so our wedding colours were solidified, Emerald, Gold and White. When I saw it all come together I was extremely satisfied that I not only gave into my groom's desires but also went with my instinct to create an amazing unique look!

Our favourite part of the ceremony was the unity candle lighting which incorporated our parents lighting our candles to symbolize the passing of responsibility. The moment concluded with cold machine sparklers igniting as we lit our unity candle. The guess was surprised and ecstatic.

We cant pinpoint just one moment of the reception as our favourite because it was all magnificent! Because I planned our wedding I was in full control of our time and when things took place. We truly lived in our day and were apart of and engulfed in every moment!

How engulfed? Let's just say we nailed 5 choreographed dances between the both of us!

First dance

Father and Bride

Mother and Groom

Brides special routine for Groom

A special spotlight Dance to represent the Grooms Dominican culture

2.22.20 was a beautiful southern winter day at 66 degrees and all sunshine.

Not one stone was left unturned and our day was a control freaks paradise.

Sway and I have a saying "If we are going to do it, we are going to do it big" and we had a day so grand you would have thought it was being aired on Real Housewives of Atlanta or Basketball Wives. 99% of our guest had to fly into Atlanta from locations around the US and other parts of the world including Germany, Bermuda and the DR. All left our wedding weekend in amazement and thoroughly entertained but more importantly they felt the overflow and exchange of love.

Our wedding was truly a beautiful experience and we are grateful to have had this experience with family and friends right before COVID-19 caused the shutdown of social interactions. We consider ourselves lucky to have had such a highlight in 2020 and many of our guests have shared the same sentiment.

As conditions start to stabilize and events resume I wish future brides success in their planning process and as financial circumstances may be limiting I encourage brides to be courageous and take advantage of DIY planning to have more control of your budget as I did.

Was it hard? Absolutely

Would I do it again? Absolutely