When Amaiya and Matthew first crossed paths, they were students at the University of Maryland. Then, in 2009, she was a freshman, and he was a senior. They would see each other at different parties and events, in closer proximity than they realized, but due to their age difference, they didn’t really interact. After he graduated, they ran into each other at a friend’s kickback in 2011 and found themselves being “loose acquaintances.”
It wasn’t until they’d both moved, on their own, to New York City after college and started hanging out, attending Maryland alumni events in the city, and spending time together at parties with mutual friends that they realized there was a spark. They had a lot more in common than just attending the same school and living in the same city. They both wanted the same things — including wanting to be with each other. For Amaiya, the pandemic made it clear that he was someone she couldn’t do without.
“I think our bond solidified, and I knew he was my person when the pandemic happened – it was such a scary time, and he was a great balance for me,” she tells ESSENCE. “I was spiraling and freaking out, and he kept me very centered and grounded.”
That same grounding is what helped Matthew discover he’d found his person. In the midst of a tough time early on in their dating relationship, she’d gone out of her way to be there for him, and it blew him away. “I had never experienced something or someone like that before, and I knew then she was my person from that moment onward.”
And so, in August of 2023, he popped the question during a trip to Miami, asking for her hand at the perfect place: a restaurant called Crazy About You. They didn’t eat there though, hitting up a nearby restaurant after the special moment, where more than 30 of their loved ones were waiting to celebrate with them.
They’d all come together again a little over a year later. On October 12, 2024, the former Maryland acquaintances turned NYC lovers decided to celebrate their love story with a wedding in their home, the city that never sleeps. The theme for the bash was centered around all the one-of-a-kind characteristics of the city, and they exchanged vows with the skyline as their backdrop at the Ravel Hotel, dancing during the reception under the twinkle of the skyline’s lights. “It was truly magical,” she says.
From a sing-a-long to Fantasia’s “When I See You,” to NYC pizza and Jamaican black cake making an appearance, and time for TikToks, there were so many joyous memories made. For more on how the day came together, their love story, favorite moments, and plans for the future, keep scrolling through this week’s Bridal Bliss.
Amaiya and her bridesmaids showed off the very cool programs for the wedding day, which were fashioned to look like newspapers, in line with their New York state of mind themed celebration. There was also a vintage New York city taxi on hand, as well concrete table numbers and dinnerware, a caricaturist at the reception and New York pizza as a late-night bite to give “Concrete Jungle” vibes from start to finish.
An excited Matthew and his groomsmen are photographed getting ready ahead of the ceremony. Matthew was more than ready to marry Amaiya. “There was a night in our earlier days of dating where I had a really tough day, and the way Amaiya dropped everything and tended to me and how quickly she came to see me was unreal,” he recalls of how he knew she was the one for him.
Amaiya and Matthew did a first look with one another, but they also did one with their parents that created heartwarming memories. “A favorite moment was seeing my mom for the first time while wearing my tux. She was just so genuinely excited and overjoyed for me on our big day, and she looked so beautiful,” Matthew says. “It was the first time I had ever seen her so dressed up in a ball gown. I will always remember her smile and genuine happiness she and my family showered us with that day.”
Amaiya won’t soon forget her first look moment with her father. “Our family has had a tough year, so to see how genuinely happy and joyful he was to see me warmed my heart!”
“My top favorite moment has to be walking down the aisle while David Michael Wyatt sang Adele’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ accompanied by Sterling Strings,” Amaiya says. “Seeing my husband at the altar crying gave me all the feels!”
“I knew very early on when we started seeing each other in NYC that we were at least going to date seriously, it was just a feeling I had – something about it felt different than other people I dated,” Amaiya recalls of those first this-is-Mr-Right feelings. “It all just made sense – we had a lot of mutual friends, shared a love for our alma mater, both were super ambitious and passionate about our work, and were both big family people. It just felt easy.”
“We wanted a venue with beautiful skyline views, and Ravel was perfect,” Amaiya says of their venue, the Ravel Hotel in Long Island City. “Being able to have the roof open was the cherry on top.”
“I mean, we couldn’t have asked for a better weather day,” the bride notes. “It was beautiful all day and in the 70s in mid-October!”
“We knew we wanted a New York City themed wedding, because that’s where our love story really blossomed,” says Amaiya, in the back of a vintage NYC taxi for this fun photo. “We love to travel, and it’s been in the DNA of our relationship, so we contemplated a destination wedding, but we decided we wanted to create the destination for everyone else since the majority of our guests were from out of town.”
“We wanted to amplify the beautiful New York view with lovely fall elements throughout the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception,” she says. “This was offset with beautiful fall florals, greenery and candles to heighten the ambiance. We had napkins, tablecloths and black chairs with gold embellishments that were all velvet, as well as black glass-top tables to give the room a warm fall feel.”
The couple also incorporated fall elements, through florals, into their wedding cake. It was created by Aromas Boutique Bakery, a Black-owned custom cake business.
Speaking of cake, the couple made sure to give cake as a gift, one that honored their cultures, as Amaiya is Black and Puerto Rican and Matthew is Jamaican. “We nodded to our various cultures through the music at the reception as well as by providing Jamaican black cake as the favor at the end of the wedding,” she says. “We also nodded to Black tradition by jumping the broom during the ceremony.”
Also in line with the fall elements were the gowns of the bridesmaids, who were captured dancing their way into the reception.
The ladies weren’t the only ones busting a move, though. The fellas put on a show as they entered the reception.
The couple, introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Wynter (their hashtag, by the way, was #WynterIsComing, a fun play on Game of Thrones), dance close after making their grand entrance as husband and wife.
After a quick outfit change, including both the bride and groom changing into crispy white Nike Air Max sneakers for the reception, the two broke it all the way down on the dance floor. “At the very end of our reception when most people had walked off the dance floor, the DJ played Fantasia’s ‘When I See You,’ which is a special song for my friends and me. We sang our hearts out and it really hit me in that moment that I was at my wedding! They were so happy for me. We have a TikTok of the moment actually!”
“We are so excited to build our legacy and to experience each step of life together,” Amaiya says. “Having a life partner is truly so special and it is not something we take for granted.”
Vendors
Photographer: Daniel Verley
Planner: Melissa Gabriel
Florist: NYC Flower Project
Venue: Ravel Hotel
Videographer: Luxor Wedding Films
Wedding content creator: Jelo Pacana
Hair: Ricky Davii
Makeup: Eunice Kristen
Nails: Dénaya Wood
Cake: Aromas Bakery
Rentals: Glam Party Rentals and High Style Rentals
Linens/Napkins: BBJ La Tavola