Raihana and Jonathan
Raihana and Jonathan
May 14, 2022
“And then my soul saw you and it kind of went ‘Oh there you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
“Having a wedding during a pandemic brings a lot of uncertainty and stress to the planning and execution process, something my husband Jonathan and I didn’t quite understand until our own wedding was just days away and we got news that the virus decided to take a run through some very important guests. Devastatingly, we had to postpone. “What should we do? How long do we wait? What about my father who just flew in from Kansas?!”
With our determination, assistance from our phenomenal coordinator Tricia, and some extremely remarkable vendors who bent over backwards for us, we miraculously made it happen. A week later on Saturday, May 14th, 2022 we had the wedding of our dreams at Rock Back by the Bay. For the few who know us closely, our intimate, sea-side, gothic Disney romance ceremony and reception were perfect reflections of our unique relationship.
Even though we are different on paper, with Jonathan being an Attorney -at-law and with me carrying the mantle of Rock Musician and Radio Announcer; we are extremely similar at heart and lovingly bring balance to each other.
In March of 2017, Jonathan popped up on my Facebook as a suggested friend and I couldn’t get his face out of my head. As if by some magic, a few days later, I was in the car with my best friend and I saw that same face walking home from law school. My heart took this as a sign to add him on social media. After liking each other’s photos for a few days (talk about a modern romance!) I messaged him and we instantly bonded over our love of ridiculous storytelling and had this undeniable chemistry that quickly grew into love.
We knew we wanted our wedding to be an adequate representation of us and our favorite things – which for Jonathan, meant earthy decor and dark colors and for me meant those small Disney touches and carefully selected music. In choosing our flowers, decor, cake and color schemes we were fortunate to have creative close friends, family members and an amazing decorator, Brian, who brought our vision to life. To honor my love of the Disney film Tangled, we took a unique take on the film’s lantern festival scene, along with the flowers in Rapunzel’s hair and turned them into dark, moody colors to suit our aesthetic. Walking into our gorgeous venue was an unforgettable sight and guests even said they saw a spotted stingray gliding beside the deck.
Despite the challenges we faced, our wedding day could not have been any more perfect and we will carry the memories of it in our hearts for the rest of our lives.”
~ Raihana
Vendors –
Event Coordination – Events by Tricia
Decor – AbFab Events
Venue – Rock Back on the Bay
Get ready location – Hyatt Regency Trinidad
Photography – Ross Photography
Videography – Kinesis Studios
Cake – Elegant Cake Creations
Food – Boomerang Caterers
Bar – Blacktie Bartenders
Sound – Rene Sound and Vision Ltd
Bride and mother of the bride dresses and accessories – Judy’s Formal & Bridal
Groom’s suit – Ecliff Elie
Bride and groom’s shoes and additional accessories – Aldo Shoes
Flowers – The Velvet Box
Makeup – Spoilt Beauty TT
Hair – DK Haven Ltd Salon & Spa
Officiant – Reverend Clifford Rawlins
