Venue: Aristide Mansfield

Makeup & Hair: Flawless

Dress: Ava’s Bridal Couture

Cake: Slice of Life Cakes

Photography: Brandi McComb Photography

Flowers/Decor: Angelina’s Wedding Center and Events

From the bride ~

Emmanuel and I met through a mutual friend, I lived in Oklahoma and Emmanuel here in Texas.  Many hours of text, phone calls and Skype, we finally decided to meet up.  Emmanuel drove up to Tulsa, OK and our first date was actually on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013.  It was at that time we knew we’d be together for the rest of our lives, so I made the decision to move to Texas.

Emmanuel participated in bodybuilding competitions and had a competition in Pittsburgh, PA.  He had decided to compete in a competition in Pittsburgh so we traveled to Pittsburgh in September 2015.  After his competition the weekend of September 5th Emmanuel set up a secret rendezvous for me.  We had gotten all dressed up, a car service came for us and was driving us to a non-disclosed location, unbeknownst to me, Emmanuel had set up a helicopter ride to see the sights Pittsburgh (they have a beautiful skyline).  Unfortunately, a storm had rolled in and we were unable to make the trip because of a thunderstorm.  So it was off to our next stop – dinner.  Emmanuel had set up reservations at the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto.  It was a beautiful restaurant that overlook the Pittsburgh skyline.  After dinner and enjoying our dessert Emmanuel popped the question.

The wedding day in my words was magical.  I had always dreamt of a romantic wedding day and that’s what I got.  Having my father walk me down the aisle and officiating the ceremony was especially special.  Seeing our two families come together and support myself and Emmanuel is what I have always dreamt.  We loved being able to combine the two cultures in our wedding and showing the world that “love wins”.    Our wedding day is something that we will never forget.