The Liberian-Lebanese bride Erna who married her African American sweetheart, Donald, celebrated love with the beautiful display of African heritage and culture. The couple who embraced their roots showcased the perfect blend of all cultures with their unifying wedding. They met in South Korea and then tied the knot in New Jersey.
For their wedding, the beautiful Erna donned a gorgeous off shoulder, full lace sequin cathedral length ball gown, which she rocked with Ankara sneakers, Chic right! Stepping up the challenge, her groom, Donald, matched her in gorgeous by rocking a black and gold tux which represented his American Heritage.
The bridesmaids were also completely cladded in beautiful Ankara fabrics while the groomsmen also had a little bit of the African culture with Ankara bow ties.
On the choice of their wedding theme, Erna shared that: ” I am Liberian and Lebanese and my husband is African American we wanted to merge our cultures. This we did with the bridesmaids’ dresses, the groomsmen’s bowties and pocket squares, my bridal shoes, the music, and the souvenirs. We loved our look and did not want to change.
We decided to have both at the same time. I wore my wedding dress and my husband is Tux, the bridesmaid dresses were custom gowns made out of Ankara fabric, the groomsmen wore traditional tuxedoes with matching Ankara bowties and pocket squares, and I customized sneakers to have the Ankara fabric on it as well”.
During our reception, we also merged the cultures with the music. When we entered into the Palazzo Room we came out to “Can’t You See” by the Notorious BIG feat. Total and “Duro” by Teknomiles. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, all the Aunties had laid out their lappas (African fabric) carpet leading from the stairs to the center of the dance floor with their white cloth in hand waving us into our reception for this special occasion. This set the tempo of the evening. The other cultural tradition was the Liberian Grand March. You can’t go to a Liberian wedding and not have the Grand March! This got everyone on their feet and ready to party!
Photo Credit: @nanaannanphotography
