The Duke Mansion Wedding

Bryanna and Quinton met in 2010 while attending East Mecklenburg High School and were at The Duke Mansion wedding venue in May 2021.

She didn’t know anyone at the school but made a group of friends over the next few months, including Quinton. He was the funny guy who always made people laugh.

Their friendship grew closer throughout the rest of high school, and they kept in touch although the two went their separate ways after graduation.

Quinton knew that Bryanna was “the one,” but she said it took years before she figured it out.

From the bride: Our inspiration was a ‘Happily Ever After’. As big Disney fans, we wanted the day to resemble a fairytale.

We tried to have classic and timeless colors; there’s definitely beauty in simple classic colors like blush, white, gold, and silver.

We chose to have communion. As Christians, it shows our thankfulness and remembrance of what our savior Jesus did for us.

With our classic theme, we chose to have white drapes and a chandelier at the ceremony site.

We thought it really brought a touch of elegance to the space. In the reception space, we chose to have large letters (B&Q) as a pop of fun.

We also ‘DIY’-ed a hedge wall with flowers around the greenery and our last name in the middle (this was months in the making). Our flowers also followed the same color scheme (blush, whites, greenery).

We chose flowers that were in the overall color scheme (blush, white, green, burgundy).

We were able to use these flowers for the bridal and bridesmaids’ bouquets, centerpieces for the reception, and in big urns at the ceremony site.

The flowers were definitely a big part of the wedding, we were so pleased with the way everything turned out!

We personalized the day by incorporating different types of music and dance. Our father/daughter and mother/son dances were non-traditional, instead of one song each, we chose to have choreography to a number of songs.

And of course, we had touches of Disney throughout the ceremony and reception. I also choreographed a dance for the bridal party and close family to do, we’re really excited to see that video!

The fashion: I really wanted a classic look that was elegant, beautiful, and really represented who I am. My ivory wedding dress had a sweetheart neckline and the entire dress was full of lace, down to the train. Speaking of the train, it was really beautiful and relatively long. I also chose a cathedral veil to complete the look. Quinton chose to have an ivory tuxedo jacket, with somewhat reflective flowers, to match my wedding dress. He chose black tuxedo pants, with black shiny shoes and an ivory bowtie to top it off.

Most memorable moment: There were so many moments. The first looks with my dad and bridesmaids were so memorable! Walking down the aisle was epic, I was trying to take it all in, and seeing Quinton at the end of the aisle almost crying was so beautiful and something I’ll always remember. All the musical/dance elements were really fun and had us smiling from ear to ear. 🙂

Advice to other brides: When you’re in the middle of planning, it seems like the wedding will take forever to get here…that’s a lie lol. Your day will be here before you know it, so make sure to document the whole experience, and I’m not just talking about pictures, have videos too!

Not just of the fun stuff (trying on dresses, bridal showers, bachelorette activities, etc.), record yourself running errands, receiving packages, making those bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts. You will really enjoy looking back and seeing all the progress you’ve made.

Trust your vendors…enough said if you’re planning a wedding in under a year, IT CAN BE DONE. Make sure you have a close-knit community, excel spreadsheet, and do your research and you will be fine! Finally, at some point, you have to STOP looking at Pinterest/Instagram for ideas (~2 months out). If you don’t stop looking for ideas, you will be changing things up until the last minute and that’s not fun (for you or your vendors).