The Four Seasons Hotel is one of my favorite wedding venues in Atlanta.  The ballrooms are gorgeous, the food and services five star and it’s the epitome of Atlanta luxury weddings.  So, it’s obvious to you why Shauna and Andem chose the landmark venue for their June wedding last year.  After meeting on PlentyofFish.com, Andem kicked the chivalry in high gear and wooed Miss Shauna until she couldn’t resist.  The two were wed in an intimate wedding ceremony with 60 guests that included traditions from many cultures.  I’ve been waiting to share their story and fabulous images by Catherine of My Life Photography for some time so sit back, enjoy and savor the story of their true love.

So tell us how you met! Love at first sight, blind date, friends forever, we want the particulars!
We first met through a social networking site called Plentyoffish.com, after we met we spent many hours and days speaking on the phone.  We decided to meet one another at the restaurant La Fonda Latina in midtown Atlanta.  We almost didn’t meet, because I was supposed to call once I reached LaFonda, but Andem didn’t answer his phone.  Just as I was about to leave thinking that he stood me up, I received a call from him stating that his phone needed to be charged, so he had the waiter charging it for him. This is how he missed my call.  During dinner we had great conversation, and we decided to continue dating one another; however I was still a little unsure.  After a few more dates, filled with flowers and candy,  I decided that our personalities weren’t right for each other and I told my grandmother that I wasn’t going to go out with him again.  My grandmother never says much but this day she said to me; “Shauna you should give him a chance, he seems like a nice man, no one ever brings flowers and candy anymore.”  After that statement from her, I knew that I had to at least give him another chance.  So we credit my grandmother for our marriage.

Now for the proposal . . . details!
I knew that Andem wanted to marry me way before we actually became engaged.  One day after a wonderful date at the Emory Conference Center he formally asked me, but it was important for him to get approval from my family before we made it official.  He came over one evening with his family member and he asked my mother, and father for permission.  After my family said yes we had a wonderful meal together.

We want to know all about the wedding details! Was it the small and intimate setting or the big traditional?!
The actual wedding and reception was small and intimate.  We had 60 close friends and family; however; we did invite 20 more people to come and have drinks and dance.  Most of our family lives out of the state and out of the country, so we figured a small wedding would be the best fit for us.

Was there a theme or inspiration behind the décor?
Our theme was romance with African infusion.  With this in mind all of our choices of decor were focused on this theme.  The invitations that I chose were black and white that included an elegant leaf of a palm tree, and these leaves were also included in our large arrangements used for our ceremony.  It was also important that lilies were a part of the arrangements since this was my favorite flower and the first flower Andem ever bought me.  For my centerpieces I wanted something that was simple and elegant, so I chose the cylinder vases filled with water, orchids, and floating candles.  In the same way, we chose a 3 tiered cake that was simple yet elegant, it included a black ribbon on the second tier with a swarovski crystal E that tied the ribbon together.  It also had floating pearls throughout every tier, on the top tier it had a halo of connecting pearls, and the cake topper was a pearl swarovski crystal crown.

What were your playful twists that made your wedding unique?
During the ceremony our pastor began preaching about how with marriage there are great days and there are days that won’t be that wonderful.  So he brought out a coloring book and crayons to symbolize the different colors our marriage could have.  We may have blue days, yellow days, etc..  Right after pastor pronounced us man and wife, we participated in the African American tradition of jumping the broom, and as we walked down the aisle as man and wife, we played Efik high life music.  Efik people are an ethnic group located primarily in Calabar and southeastern Nigeria. Since many of Andem’s parents and family members are from Calabar they came in colorful Efik dress which added beauty to our event.  During the reception we also played more Efik high life music, and as we danced we participated in a tradition where money was thrown on us, almost as if it was “raining money, and this continued until the music stopped.

What was your splurge?!
Personally, I splurged on shoes!!  It was important for me to have comfortable shoes that were beautiful. I found swarovski crystal shoes at the Stewart Weitzman store.  I also purchased a beautiful veil from Priscilla of Boston that was hand embroidered and hand beaded with swarovski crystals and pearls.  My gown was from the Emerald bridal collection it was also hand beaded with swarovski crystals and pearls in the shape of small flowers that cascaded down my dress and continued throughout my chapel train.  I wanted to make sure that my wedding photos told a beautiful story and this is why I chose Catherine from My Life Photography to capture this day for me.

If there was one thing you could change.. what would it be?
Honestly, there isn’t one thing I would change.

What was the best wedding advice you received?
I was so nervous about standing in front of everyone during our wedding ceremony, so I called one of my good friends that had gotten married the year before.  She told me to only focus on Andem and the message the pastor had for us.  This was the best advice I had received because it helped me through my ceremony jitters.

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Photography:  My Life Photography |  Venue and Catering:  Four Seasons Hotel |  Even Planner:  My Simply Perfect Event |  Floral:  Tulip |  Wedding Cake:  Henri’s Bakery |  Makeup:  Wassila Khawand at Jamison Shaw |  Hair: Taurus Sorrell    | DJ: Ian Dawson of DJ ID

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