Jessica and Kevin’s Winter Wedding at Meridian House

Jessica and Kevin's Winter Wedding at Meridian House

Jessica and Kevin’s Winter Wedding at Meridian House

Working with Jessica and Kevin was another one of those client connections that immediately made sense. Kevin and I shared some key commonalities, including music and style. And Jessica brought ease and positivity to our first meeting, giving me few mandates beyond creating a fun, sexy vibe and inspiring people to move and be social. We even discovered that a number of their wedding guests were friends we had in common, so I was looking forward to their winter wedding at Meridian House from the start.

It was clear early on that we were on track to have a great event because of Kawania Wooten and her team at Howerton+Wooten Events. Their combination of warmth and attention to detail has us looking forward to working with them again. This was also our first introduction to Leonard Poteat Photography and he was kind enough to share this sneak peek with us. Enjoy some of his work here, then bounce over to his site to see even more stylish engagement snaps of Jessica and Kevin.

Kevin’s musical tastes tend towards the deep and esoteric. Jessica is a happy soulful kind of girl.

Kevin’s musical tastes tend towards the deep, underground and esoteric, which immediately resonated with me. One of his requests made it into a Song Of The Day post. Jessica is a modern, happy soulful kind of girl, with fave artists ranging from Alice Smith to Raphael Saddiq. Their special song choices were perfect for the occasion.

The processional started with Eric Benét‘s “Real Love”, followed by Jessica walking the aisle to John Legend‘s “Stay With You”. Kevin carries himself quite seriously, but let his sense of humor show by ad-libbing Andre 3000’s “forever-ever…” lyric from Ms. Jackson during their vows. None of us could contain our laughter. When the couple came back down the aisle to Beyoncé‘s “Love On Top” at the ceremony’s conclusion, the party almost started right there.

I connected a lot of my own selections to their broad suggestions for cocktails and dinner. Kevin picked “Rough” and “Calicho Dress” from Washington, DC ascendant jazz talent Donvonte McCoy. I complimented that with songs by Ahmad Jamal and Dorothy Ashby as well as tracks from DJ Day‘s phenomenal album Land Of 1000 Chances. Erykah Badu, The Robert Glasper Experiment, Groove Theory and Roy Ayers all made appearances on the dining playlist.

Jessica and Kevin's Winter Wedding at Meridian House

Jessica and Kevin performed a choreographed first dance to “Adore” that brought the house down.

Jessica and Kevin performed a choreographed first dance to “Adore” by Prince that brought the house down. Jessica and her father danced to Chrisette Michele‘s “Your Joy”, a tear-jerker for sure. Kevin and his mom two-stepped and foxtrotted to “Flying to LA” by Arthur Verocai. Then it was time to put the Meridian International Center on jam mode.

Jessica and Kevin's Winter Wedding at Meridian House

Jessica and Kevin's Winter Wedding at Meridian House

All good parties should end with slow jams.

Chuck Brown‘s “Block Party” is always a fun song for the young, old and young at heart. I also love any chance I have to work in Cousin Cole’s mash of “Good Life” by Brassroots with the original by Inner City. The aunties kicked off their shoes and the uncles popped their collars for line dance classics as well as a block of Frankie Beverly and Maze. Beyoncé got a few more spins as did Lauryn Hill and of course Michael Jackson. Before the group sent Jessica and Kevin off with a sparkler farewell, I wrapped with a few slow jams, including L.T.D.‘s “Love Ballad”. All good parties should end with slow jams.

Jessica and Kevin's Winter Wedding at Meridian House
Jessica and Kevin's Winter Wedding at Meridian House

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