{Real Wedding} Towanna & James

Towanna & James had such a fun loving beautiful wedding! There were so many aspects and details that made me smile. For instance, their adorable doggie, Conan, was the ring bearer, Towanna's sister married them, their ceremony incorporated many interesting traditions and music selections, and Towanna had a 2nd wedding dress, that was shorter and so cute, which she changed into later on in the day at the reception.
Wedding Details:
Ceremony: Forsyth Fountain 
Reception: 109 W Liberty

Rentals: Ranco 
Photos: Don Wright Designs
Makeup: Ms Rita Janay
Dove Release: LowCountry Love Doves
Coordination: Simply Savannah Events/All the Little Details Designs
Catering: Thrive  Thrive A Carry Out Cafe 
Cake & Desserts: Addy B
Bartender: National Bartender
Old Savannah Trolley

Eco-friendly details: Full organic catering, most of the guests stayed in the very large vacation rental, bride & groom had their own private room within, flowers were bought from online wholesaler to save money, recycled all plastic cups, glass bottles, and cans, favors were Izzy soda and a functional bottle opener that can be used many more times, plus biodegradable paper straws to drink the soda with, and vintage mason jars were used for flower arrangements.

Here are some of the songs and wedding ceremony details they included:

Processional- “Ready for Love" by India Aire (wedding soloist and guitar player) 

Brides processional- “Make me whole” by Amel Larrieux
Presentation of gifts to mothers- “Beautiful Surprise" By India Aire (wedding singer)
Libation Ceremony & Tasting the Four Elements
Release of doves in honor of deceased grandparents and parents- “Pretty wings” by Maxwell

Tying of Knot ceremony and Mixing of Sands 

Jumping of broom*

Recessional- "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen

Bouquet Toss - "Women Rule the World" Beyonce

When we gathered together to practice their wedding ceremony, I think we may have been very entertaining to the tourists at the fountain. Towanna's sister is hilarious and kept making us all laugh! This may have been the silliest crazy wedding rehearsal, but we managed to get it together and run thru everything 2 or 3 times.

 Wedding Day Getting Ready

The groom and best man took forever to get ready! Who knew that 2 guys could take so long to get ready!?
Such handsome men - GQ ready! 

Ceremony Details

Dove Release

 

Tequila Time! Cheers to a Happy Marriage!

Jumping the broom:
*The tradition of bride and groom jumping over a ceremonial broom after being married. In some African-American communities, marrying couples will end their ceremony by jumping over a broomstick, either together or separately. This is a ceremony dating back to the 1600s and derived from Africa. Dating back to slave days, jumping the broom together has been part of weddings for couples who want to honor that tradition. It also has roots in the Celtic culture and including but not limited to Welsh, Celtics, Druids, and Gypsies and some aboriginal or shamanistic cultures.

Some couples choose to incorporate it into traditional and non-traditional ceremonies. Broom jumping is a brief ceremony usually within the wedding ceremony toward the end. The jumping of the broom is symbolic of binding a couple in marriage and also can be used to symbolize fertility and prosperity of the couple.
The "Jumping the Broom" is a ceremony in which the bride and groom, either at the ceremony or at the reception, signify their entrance into a new life and their creation of a new family by symbolically "sweeping away" their former single lives, former problems and concerns, and jumping over the broom to enter upon a new adventure as wife and husband.

The broom has both symbolic and spiritual importance in the African culture. The ritual itself was created by our ancestors during slavery. Because slaves could not legally marry, they created their own rituals to honor their unions. Some say broom jumping comes from an African tribal marriage ritual of placing sticks on the ground representing the couple's new home.

Libation Ceremony & Tasting the Four Elements:
(also called Bitter herb Tasting or Tasting of Four Temperaments). This ritual dramatizes the “Traditional” promise to love “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.” The four elements -- lemon, vinegar, cayenne pepper, and honey -- represent the sour, the bitter, the hot, and the sweet times of marriage.